Love, Chocolate, and Beer (Cactus Creek) (47 page)

Patiently, they rephrased their question, this time asking who she was to him.

“She’s the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with,” he whispered back.

The nurse looked stricken, sympathetic, but still, no one would let him through.

Minutes later, Derek ran in and shouted for someone to tell him where his sister was. He ran up to Luke and grabbed him by the shirt. “Is she okay?” he demanded.

“They won’t let me see her. Only you. Go. The doctor is right there.”

Nodding shakily, fear in his eyes, Derek rushed over to the doctor and they swept him straight into the back. Derek’s husband Jonathan stood next to Luke. Silently, they both watched Derek disappear behind the swinging doors.

Then they waited.

Quinn and Rylan arrived at the hospital soon after. Xoey and the entire bartending and wait staff came next. A little while later, all of the workers from Ocotillos joined them, along with many other concerned business owners, vendors, and friends.

The waiting room was soon packed.

And for the next two hours, they all sat there and heard nothing.

At hour three, finally, the doors opened. Luke looked up.

“She’s awake.”

He felt a wave of dizziness as blood rushed into his heart for seemingly the first time since he’d found her unconscious. Relieved cries echoed throughout the room.

Derek came straight over to him. “She’s asking for you.”

Luke rose up on legs he was amazed were still working.

He looked back and saw the friends and family that had known Dani for so much longer than he had. Suddenly, he felt gut-wrenchingly awful for them that they couldn’t go see her this instant. Just to see that she was okay. His step faltered, his emotions cementing him in place.

“Go,” said Xoey, her voice hoarse with lingering terror. “We’ll get our chance. You go now and tell her we all love her and that we’re all here. You just be there for her. For us.”

Luke nodded once and then walked the most emotional hundred yards of his life.

Oh god. His hands fisted in fury at the universe when he walked into her hospital room and saw her. His heart and soul was lying there before him on the hospital bed—bruised, battered, and broken.

“
Dani
.” Hot, angry tears ran down his face as he went to her side.

She cracked her eyes open. “Hi,” she said softly, her voice gritty and pained. Reaching for him with weak fingers, she laced her fingers with his.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

She tried to shake her head, but it came out as a weak head tilt. Opening her lips, she tried to speak again, but a serrated sound scraped out of her throat instead, causing her body to flinch.

“Shhh, don’t talk.” Luke swept the tear rolling down her cheek. “They said your throat is going to be pretty raw for a while.”

Her eyes snared his, and even though she didn’t—couldn’t—say it, he heard her.

“I love you too, Dani. So much.” He stroked her cheek gently, watching her eyelids flutter closed again as the pain meds overtook her. “Sleep, baby. I’ll be right here, always right here. And everyone is outside waiting too so you have to get better soon, you hear me?”

The silent room was his only reply.

* * * * *

“
YOU GUYS ARE
all being ridiculous. I should be able to go home already.” Dani tried to reason with everyone in her hospital room. “I’m not even that badly hurt. Sheesh, it was just a little steam explosion.”

Luke apparently didn’t think he could’ve heard a more absurd comment come out of her mouth. And he told her as much.

She rolled her eyes. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when that tank over-pressurized. A freak mishap with a faulty valve—it happens. Luckily, it was Ole Betsy and she’d been empty. If it had been one of the active brew tanks or the bigger systems, then I’d see your concern. But it
wasn’t
.” She smothered her wince when she shrugged. “Really, I’m just glad no one got hurt.”

“Besides you!” growled Luke, looking so pained by the memory. “A damn elephant could stick its head in the hole that got blasted through the building, Dani. You got knocked out by metal debris the size of a frickin’ desk that hit you with the force of a car. It could’ve sliced you in two! You’re lucky it just put you in a coma.” He fluffed her pillow roughly. “Derek and I already talked about it; you’re staying in the hospital until they kick you out.”

Dani groused in response, but her eyes shined with love. She turned those eyes to him, and he gave her a growly kiss. They’d been doing this song and dance all week.

And she was all ready for another go.

“At least hand me my phone. If I don’t call around for bottling equipment quotes before Derek does, the stubborn ass is going to finagle a way to make it so I can’t pay a cent to help.”

A few days into her recovery, Derek and Luke finally got a chance to tell Dani their winery/chocolate shop partnership idea. She’d been so elated over the beautiful plans that she’d nearly cried. Then when the topic of using part of the brewery for bottling came up, she had cried—a bizarre byproduct of the hospital meds, she’d declared.

“Plus, there’s so much to do with the insurance,” she continued on a rolling grumble. “The tank manufacturer, the building repairs, the contingency plan during renovations,” she counted off her fingers when Luke snagged her phone and shoved it in his pocket.

“All taken care of,” interjected Xoey from the corner of the room.

Everyone in the room turned to gape at her, mostly in shock, though Dani’s shock turned quickly into a huge smile beaming with intense pride. And hope.

“Oh cut it out,” sniffed Xoey. “It’s not that big a deal. My uncle’s a contractor. As far as the other stuff, it didn’t take a brain surgeon. The numbers are right there on the bills; I just picked up a phone.” She glared at her. “Quit looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” asked Dani, innocent as can be.

Xoey’s eyes narrowed. “Like you’re going to try and extend your little stay here in the hospital. This is just temporary, you hear me? I’m
not
going to be your general manager.”

Dani’s hand shot to her abdomen and her groan split the air.

Everyone gasped and rushed to her bedside.

“I dunno, Xo,” she moaned on a theatric grimace of pain. “It may be a really long recovery for me.” Of course, her acting had always stunk so she couldn’t keep her smile hidden for long.

Xoey glared at her something fierce. “Evil!”

Dani raised a shocked eyebrow when she saw it was
Isaac holding her back from charging the hospital bed.
Wait a minute. Are they holding hands?
A quick blinking eye-rub confirmed that no, she hadn’t been blinded by the blast, and yes, that really was Xoey holding Isaac’s hand.

Amazing. She’d never known Xoey to actually do that. Sleep with a guy? Sure. Contemplate a long, extravagant life together? Of course—if he was worthy. Hold hands with him for no reason? Hiss, boo, holy cross.

Aw, she really liked him. And not in the whirlwind Xoey-in-love-within-the-first-minute way. But in the sweet, hopeful, will-you-just-hold-my-hand-like-in-middle-school way.

Remembering a middle school story Xoey had once told her, Dani tilted her head and mouthed a silent question, “
Romantic CD
?”

Xoey flushed bright pink before replying with a quiet, “
iPod playlist
.”

Dani beamed.

Xoey rolled her eyes and spun on her heel to make a quick exit, practically dragging Isaac out the door. Once outside though, she stopped and stuck her head back in. “I’ll be back tomorrow. You better be walking by then!” With that, her stilettos clacked away.

After seeing the time, Javier and Sam hopped up to head on out as well, handing Dani some contraband Ocotillos food along with the many get-well cards that had begun pouring in from customers. “Business in the pub half hasn’t been affected at all, and the brew boys are working around the clock to get things functional on the brewery end,” reassured Javier.

Rylan spoke up from where he was decorating Dani’s arm cast. “Yup, and Quinn is already planning a grand re-opening hoopla.” He winked and put his arm around Quinn. “She’s really going that extra mile to convince me to sing at the concert she has planned.”

Eyes boggling with embarrassment, Quinn whacked him for that overshare.

“You guys are incredible.” Dani felt the waterworks coming on again. Seriously, what was
in
this hospital medication? Choked up, she gave them each a huge bear hug in thanks.

Surprisingly, she had one more visitor waiting in the hall.

Noah astonished them both by stepping in while the others were filing out. He walked right up to them with two envelopes in hand, one addressed to Luke and one to Dani. He gave Luke his first. Peering over Luke’s shoulder, she saw Luke pull out a triplicate document labeled ADDENDUM from the envelope.

“Luke, given your new business partnership with Derek, I’ve found your financial standing now to be solid enough not to require your patent collateral for the loan I gave you. We can revert it to a standard business loan. You can come by my office this week to sign those.”

He handed Dani her envelope next, a much thicker one. She slid open the seal, already knowing what she would find.

“And Dani, given Luke and Derek’s new business partnership, I’ve found our agreement for you to sign over a percent partnership of Ocotillos to be completely unnecessary. And frankly, just as foolish as I told you it was to begin with.”

Her envelope contained the contract it had killed her to sign last week.

Ripped in half.

Noah shook his head at them. “I honestly don’t know how you two are so successful at your businesses.” His lips twitched to the side. “But I
can
see why you two are so perfect for each other.”

Funny, though that statement came out as both compliment and criticism, when she looked up at his face, Dani saw a flash of…envy that made her wonder if it was more the former than the latter. But the peek into the mysterious inner workings of Noah was gone a second later as he turned to leave the room without another word, leaving them stunned silent in his wake.

“Okay, so maybe I don’t hate that guy anymore,” muttered Luke.

Chuckling lightly through the shards of pain across her body, Dani just dropped the envelope and pulled him down next to her in the hospital bed.

* * * * *

HE COULD’VE LOST HER.

Every day since the explosion, that’s all Luke kept thinking about. How he’d been so close to losing her. It ate at Luke’s gut to see her like this. His breathing was ragged as he stroked her non-broken arm, needing to keep touching her to know she was okay—banged up, but alive.

“Dani,” he began slowly, turning carefully in the hospital bed so he didn’t aggravate any of her injuries, “I know I said I wouldn’t push, and I’m not going to, but I’m worried about you. I want you to live with me at my place until we know for sure your apartment is safe. And whether you like it or not, I’m taking care of you until you’re fully recovered. Don’t freak out, alright, sweetie? It’s just for a few weeks.”

Dani’s fingers covered his lips lightly. “Luke, do you want to move in together?”

He stared at her in disbelief.

She let out a slow, beautiful grin that devastated his heart, made it spin in his chest as a tattered breath deflated his lungs. “You drive me insane, you know that?”

“Is that a no?”

He looked at her as if she’d lost her marbles in the blast. “Like I’d actually say no.” Then his eyes softened. “But you don’t have to do this now, honey. I’m not going anywhere. We can discuss this again when you’re fully recovered.” He sighed. The universe could be so cruel—scaring a commitment-phobe enough to start planning for the future, and scaring him enough to almost, almost accept. Gripping her hand, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Besides, I don’t want our relationship to move forward because of an explosion I’d just as soon forget.”

Leaning her head against his cheek, she said simply, “I decided before.”

His face tightened skeptically.

“I did. Ask Xoey. I woke her up the morning of the explosion to talk. Of course, when I told her about us moving in together, she went on and on, reminding me about
all
the other gorgeous fish in the sea.” She giggled at the annoyance flitting across his face.

He caught Dani’s chin to look into her eyes. “Why? What changed your mind?”

“I woke up alone.”

The hope he was feeling crumbled. “And I’ll live with that for the rest of my life. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I never should have left you after our fight.” He dropped his head into his hands. “If I’d just stayed in bed with you last night, you wouldn’t be lying here like this in the hospital—”