For Everly (26 page)

“Fine,” her father said, wearing a smile that most people found charming. “Just enjoying a moment with my little girl.”

Bile once again surfaced. Everly turned her gaze to the window and struggled to regain her composure. Where in the world had all of these flowers come from?

“How are you, my girl?” her grandpa asked.

Swallowing hard, she turned her head and forced a smile. “Okay, Pee Paw.” She cleared her dry throat. “You shouldn’t have gone to all of the trouble of coming here.”

“That’s what I said.” Her father nudged Cole like they shared an inside joke.

Cole moved a step away from him and didn’t comment. Seeing the deliberate gesture, Everly’s breath caught. She battled back more tears.

“Don’t talk such foolishness,” her grandpa said, taking her hand. “You had us worried.”

“I’m sorry, Pee Paw. I’m all right.”

He smiled at her. “I brought you sunflowers. Thought they’d cheer you up. ‘Course, I didn’t know the entire ball team would bring you flowers, too.”

She looked again at all of the bright and cheerful arrangements. “I’ve never had flowers delivered to me before. That sure was nice of them.”

“Delivered? They brought ‘em themselves,” her grandpa laughed. “I think they bought out the gift shop downstairs.”

Her eyes widened. She couldn’t decide if she was flattered that her favorite ball players had personally brought her flowers, or horrified that they had seen her like this.

“The nurse said we only had a couple of minutes,” Cole said. “I’d like to speak to Everly, if that’s all right?”

“Of course,” her father said. He gave her a long look. “I’m sure she’s happy to see you.”

“We’ll be in the waiting room,” her grandpa told her.

Everly nodded. She watched in silence as they left. Then her gaze moved to Cole. He approached the bed. It was clear he hadn’t gotten much sleep, if any.

“You’re coming home with me,” he said.

Nothing else. Just that.

She didn’t know how to respond. Eventually, she went with, “I am?”

“Yep. I’ve arranged for Jonette to spend more time with your grandpa while I take care of you for a change.” When she opened her mouth, he added, “Don’t argue. You won’t win.”

Her emotions tumbled over themselves. How long had it been since anyone saw to her well-being? Since anyone worried about her enough to carry the fatigue she saw in Cole’s eyes? Since anyone pushed against her stubborn arguments and insisted that they take care of her?

How was this possible with Cole Parker?

“Why are you doing this?” she whispered at last.

He reached down and brushed his fingers along her right cheek. The worry in his eyes turned to another, more intense emotion. Her heart toppled as she held his gaze.

“I’m doing this for the most important reason there is,” he answered, his voice as soft as his caress. “I’m doing this for you.”

Chapter 35

Everly endured the evaluations and stream of questions by the nurses and doctors overseeing her care. She also spoke to the police, though she didn’t remember anything after leaving the restaurant with Rowan. By four o’clock on the day after the attack, they decided she could be discharged.

At that point, she was chomping at the bit to get out of there. The nurses had reduced her pain medication once she regained consciousness. Although her arm still throbbed, the swelling had gone down to almost normal. Now she just had a wicked bruise running the length of her forearm. She imagined her father’s mistreatment hadn’t helped.

When she was allowed to stand and use the bathroom on her own to wash up and brush her teeth, she saw the bandaging on her face and forehead in the mirror. God, she looked awful. Feeling incredibly vain, she peeled back the gauze to see what her face looked like.

Not as bad as she feared, she noted with relief. Rowan mentioned earlier that Wyatt told him to insist that a plastic surgeon handle the stitches. She’d be forever grateful for that.

As she changed into the sweater and jeans that Cole had brought for her, she thought about the incident that had resulted in her being there. Someone had laid in wait specifically for her. They planned on using a baseball bat on her.

Was the bat symbolic? Had they planned on killing her, or was it only meant to scare her? Had it been Rebecca, as Cole feared? What if it wasn’t?

She had no answers. The police would question Rebecca, since Cole told them about the slashed tires and his recent run-ins with his ex. Maybe that would result in this mystery’s solution. Everly actually hoped it did. The alternative was chilling.

She sat on the couch in her room and slid her feet into the black wedges she wore for work. When Cole walked in, he glanced at her feet and winced.

“Forgot the shoes. Sorry.”

She shrugged and gave him a small smile. “I’ve got a ginormous bandage on my head. I don’t think people are going to notice my shoes.”

A corner of his mouth lifted. “I thought you might say that.”

She finally noticed the plastic bag he held when he sat beside her on the couch. He pulled out a knit hat in a soft shade of purple. It matched her sweater, she realized.

“Margaret brought this a few minutes ago. I have a sister, so I know how weird girls are about their appearance when in public.”

“I feel like I should be insulted on behalf of girls everywhere,” she said, taking the hat and getting to her feet. “Yet I just want to kiss you. And Margaret.”

He also rose and stopped her before she could walk into the bathroom to use the mirror. His mouth brushed against hers. Once. Twice. Her breath left her in a sigh. He quickly took advantage of her parted lips, deepening the kiss. When her knees weakened, he held her more tightly against him.

A throat clearing interrupted them. Everly blinked several times as Cole parted from her and looked to the open door.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Wyatt said. “The wheelchair is here.”

Everly’s brain was slow to snap into focus. “Wheelchair?”

“Hospital policy,” Wyatt explained with a grin. “Wouldn’t want you collapsing on the way to the car and filing a lawsuit.”

“Oh.” Realizing she was still clinging to Cole, she let go of him. “I was just, um, putting on my hat.”

“Is that right?” Wyatt drawled. “Sure as hell looked like you were kissing my brother.”

Her face felt scorched. She realized that she wasn’t even holding the hat anymore. Cole bent down and retrieved it from the ground. When he handed it to her, she walked over to the bathroom with all of the dignity she could muster. Wyatt laughed when she passed him while holding the hat up to cover her face in an exaggerated display of embarrassment.

“How bad is it?” Cole asked behind her as she put the hat on. It was really cute, she thought with a smile, and it did hide most of the bandage.

“Bad,” Wyatt answered, catching her attention. She turned and looked at him. What were they talking about? “I’d say most news sources and a lot of less reputable ones, too. Fortunately, I know more ways out of this hospital than they do.”

Cole nodded. “Thanks.” Then he caught her gaze. “Ready to go, Wheels?”

“Absolutely.”

He picked up her backpack, which contained her prescriptions, medication, and aftercare paperwork, and moved forward to take her left arm. She didn’t feel like she needed the extra support, but wasn’t about to pull away from his touch. The wheelchair and an orderly awaited her just outside the door.

“Hi, Ms. Wallace,” the orderly said. “I’m Brian. I’ll be your navigator today.”

She laughed and sat obediently in the chair, taking care not to jar her injuries. “Just try to avoid walls and stairwells, Brian, and I think we’ll get along just fine.”

“You got it.”

Only when the wheelchair turned to the right did Everly see the two police officers standing on the other side of a set of doors with glass windows in them. They glanced briefly her way, then turned back to the hallway beyond the doors. Finally, her brain connected Wyatt and Cole’s conversation with the added security.

The paparazzi had picked up on the story.

Once again, she considered what her role in Cole’s life might do to his career. He’d opted to work with her in the first place to avoid negative publicity. Granted, he hadn’t wanted anyone knowing about his injury, but wasn’t this even worse? She could read the headline now:
Atlanta Pitcher’s Girlfriend Stalked and Attacked
.

What if the team decided that they didn’t want one of their players involved in something like this, regardless of his innocence?

What if the press dug into her background and brought everything back up?

She was so busy fretting that she didn’t notice where they were going until they were walking through a part of the hospital with unfinished walls and bare florescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling. It was like the setting for a slasher film, she thought with a shudder.

“Jesus, Wyatt,” Cole said. “Where the hell are you taking us?”

“Away from the press,” Wyatt replied. “Rowan pulled my car around back.”

Sure enough, they emerged from yet another set of double doors a minute later and saw Rowan behind the wheel of Wyatt’s Infinity. He got out when he saw them approaching and opened the front passenger side door.

“Curbside service,” he said as the orderly locked the wheels of the wheelchair and Everly got to her feet.

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“You’ll have to let her sit next to Cole,” Wyatt said, walking to his car and opening the rear passenger door instead. “I don’t want to listen to his whining the entire drive home.”

She glanced at Cole, who shrugged. “He’s right.”

That made her laugh. She let Cole help her into the car, then got herself buckled in as everyone else took their seats. Before long, they were on the road. She listened as Rowan, Wyatt, and Cole filled the car with banal chatter. Cole held her left hand, entwining his fingers with hers. It fully sank in that his interest in her was far more than a pretense to protect his career. The realization was enough to have her battling a combination of joy and innate fear.

Could her heart handle this?

Could his?

When they approached the gate leading to Cole’s home, they saw a slew of news vans blocking the way. Everly’s eyes widened.

“Let me out,” Rowan said in a determined voice. “Circle for a few minutes. Then you can come back.”

Rather than argue, Wyatt slowed to a stop and let him out. Once the door closed, Wyatt once again accelerated, driving past a rush of people charging the car with flashing cameras. When they pulled away, Everly turned to see Rowan engaging in crowd control. Whatever he said had everyone backing away.

“Damn, he’s good,” Cole said, also observing through the window.

“The best,” Wyatt agreed.

Everly smiled. When they returned to the house less than ten minutes later, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“Where’s Rowan?” she asked.

“Probably in the house,” Wyatt said. He pulled up alongside the security console and punched a series of buttons.

She glanced at Cole, who explained, “My family has the gate code.”

“Ah.”

They drove around back. Everly saw her car parked in its usual spot. Once again, she glanced at Cole.

“What? You didn’t expect me to leave Champ at Prix Fixe, did you?” he asked.

Her heart tripped over itself. She squeezed his hand in gratitude.

They all got out after Wyatt parked. Cole hurried around and offered Everly his arm. She slid her left hand around his bicep without comment. He led her upstairs to the kitchen, where Rowan was hunting in the refrigerator. He pulled out three bottles of beer.

“Sorry you can’t drink on those meds, Ev,” he said, putting the bottles on the counter and turning to the drawer holding the bottle opener. The way he zeroed in on the exact drawer told her he’d been there a number of times. “How ‘bout some sweet tea?”

“Sounds perfect, thanks,” she replied.

She sat at the kitchen island, watching as Cole retrieved a glass from the cupboard and Wyatt pulled the pitcher from the fridge. Rowan walked over with the bottles and sat across from her. For some reason, his compassionate smile made her want to cry. To cover her emotion, she tugged the hat from her head and used her fingers to fluff her hair. She imagined she still looked a hot mess.

Cole carried her glass of sweet tea over to the island and sat beside her. Wyatt sat on Rowan’s other side. When the three males lifted their beer bottles, Everly hurriedly lifted her glass.

“To Everly,” Cole said.

She froze with her glass in air. The guys all tapped their beer bottles to it and took a drink. Her eyes moved among all of them, her heart flooding with emotion.

With love.

They’d stood by her through one of the scariest experiences of her life. Not once had they made it seem like a hardship. Rather, they’d made her feel worth all of the fuss. She would never forget it.

Knowing she could never fully thank them for all they’d done for her, she took a sip of her tea. Her silent toast differed from theirs, however.

To friends like no other
.

Chapter 36

Wyatt and Rowan stayed for about an hour before they headed home. Cole walked them out, then rejoined Everly in the kitchen. She looked tired, he thought.

“I thought you wouldn’t object to pizza for dinner,” he said, grabbing his iPad and once again sitting beside her.

She smiled. “And here I was, getting used to powdered eggs and fruit cups.”

“Well, I’m sure I could whip something up, if that’s your fancy,” he said, pulling up the website of his favorite pizza joint. “The bar isn’t set very high, after all.”

“I’ll suffer through the pizza, thanks.”

He placed the order for a large pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms and an order of breadsticks. Then he gave Everly a careful study. She had propped her chin in her left hand and her eyelids were getting low.

“You going to stay awake until the food gets here?” he asked.

She blinked and sat straighter. “Yeah. I’m starving.” Then she looked down at herself. “I’d sure love a shower, though.”