Rory (2 page)

He stopped suddenly when he saw
569
written on the door to his right.

He reached under his hat and
straightened his hair as best he could. He knocked on the wood paneling, but
when he didn’t get a response, he peeked inside. Cass was fast asleep in bed.

He crept in, hoping he wouldn’t
wake her. He stood by the bed and looked at her. She was still beautiful
despite the cuts and scrapes on her forehead and cheeks, and the black eye couldn’t
even mar that pretty face of hers. Her arms were both bound with bandages, and
her leg was in a cast and hung in a harness secured with a cord on the top of
the bed post.

Pretty light pink polish,
slightly chipped no doubt as a result of the accident,
embellished
her toenails. He sat and the chair creaked, causing Cass to open her eyes. She
looked straight at him. Damn it, he’d disturbed her.

“Rory.”

Just the sound of her voice
saying his name gave him warmth fuzzy feeling like a kid with a crush on a
classmate.

“Yep, it’s me. I’m sorry I
couldn’t get here sooner.”

“I hate to think they got you to
come all this way. I mean, I’m okay.”

“I know that, but I thought you’d
like to have a familiar face around when you came out of surgery.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“Oh and these are for you.”

He lifted up the flowers.

“Rory, they must have cost you a
fortune. It’s the biggest bunch I’ve ever seen.”

“I thought they’d be something nice
to look at while you’re in here. Hospitals are never much fun.”

“You are such a sweetheart.”

Yeah, lots of people often told
him that. To him it was just doing what came naturally, but hearing it from Cass
somehow made it more meaningful.

She looked sad and pale as if every
bit of color had been drained from her face. He reached over, grabbed her hand,
but realized he’d done the wrong thing when she winced.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay, really it is.” She
took his hand and squeezed it like she never wanted him to leave. They looked
at one another, neither of them saying a word.

“They said it was a hit and run
driver,” was the only thing he could think of to break the uncomfortable
silence.

“I think I remember that it was a
green car, but it was getting dark.”

“Have the police made a report?”

“The nurse said an officer will
be stopping by later to take my statement.”

“Good. Shane’s already called the
Tacoma Police Department to see what happening about finding the person
responsible.”

“He really shouldn’t bother
himself with my problems. None of you should. You’ve had to do too much of that
before.”

Rory hung his head down, knowing
what she was referring to. He had to change the subject for both their sakes.
“Yeah, the same old Shane, sheriff through and through.
He’s
up for re-election next month,” he said.

A tear ran down Cass’s cheek, so
he reached out for her hand again.

“What’s wrong honey? Do you need
pain medication or something?”

She shook her head. “I just
thought about how things used to be when Ryan was still alive.”

Rory swallowed the sudden lump in
his throat. He couldn’t help but get emotional when his baby brother’s name was
mentioned. God, he still missed him like crazy. They all did.

“So did they tell you how long
you’ll be in here?” asked Rory, needing to change the subject.

“No, but I hope it’s a quick
recovery because I have to get back to work to pay for my rent. Now it looks
like I’ll have medical bills to cover because my insurance doesn’t have great
coverage.”

“You have enough money to get by?
If you don’t, I’m sure Shane, Flynn, and I could pull our resources together
and help out.”

“No, you guys did enough for me
when…”

Rory looked down. She was crying
now. He’d come to the hospital with the sole purpose of cheering her up and
here he was five minutes into the visit making her cry. He was fighting back
the tears now too. He stood and gently sat his butt down on the bed, hoping the
movement didn’t jar her leg. He held her hand.

“We’re still your family and I
know I speak for my brothers and our mother when I say we’d like you to come
back to Montana and stay there until you’re all healed.”

She shook her head, sending a
tear splashing onto the pillow. “I don’t think I could.
Just
too many memories for me.”

“Well, if you change your mind,
the offer will remain open indefinitely.”

She nodded. He guessed when she’d
turned down the invite to both Shane and Flynn’s recent weddings, it wasn’t
because she was being unsociable, but that Timber Creek was a source of pain
for her. Maybe seeing any of the
Malones
was a source
of discomfort. He hoped she didn’t feel that way about him coming to see her.

Her eyelids started to flutter and
he sensed she was tired and needed to rest.

“I’m sure you want to get some
sleep, so why don’t I come back in the morning and we can visit all day.”

“Rory, you really don’t have to
do that.”

“I want to, okay?”

“Where are you staying?”

“I thought I’d find a hotel close
by.”

“No, you’re not wasting money. If
you can find my purse, take my door key and stay in my apartment.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I think the nurse
put my bag in the cupboard there.”

She pointed to the left of the
bed. He stood, walked over it and found the bag. Both straps and the front of
the purse had been almost shredded, and he guessed it was a result of the
accident.

“The key should be in the side
compartment.”

He peeked inside, seeing a tube
of lip gloss, a pen, and the key.

“Got it.”

“You still have my address?”

He nodded.
“Anything
that needs doing while I’m there, like water your plants or feed your cat?”

She shook her head. “Don’t have a
cat, and the one plant should be fine for a few days.”

He sat on the bed again, seeing
her eyelids getting heavier by the second.

“Okay, now you have a nice long
sleep and I’ll be here in the morning. Maybe we can have breakfast together.”

She grabbed his hand and
squeezed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“Sweet dreams, honey.”

She was asleep before he even got
to the door. He looked back and then dimmed the lights in the room.

He walked outside into the corridor
and took a deep breath. His feelings for Cass hadn’t changed, hadn’t really
gone away. He’d always tried to fight them as much as he could. He walked
toward the elevator. Ryan was gone so would it be so bad if he pursued her now?

Pressing the button to call the
elevator he knew the answer to that. He was too old for her, and she’d loved his
brother, not him.

Chapter Three

If he’d known Cass was living in
this sort of place, he would have dragged her back to Montana, even if she’d
screamed and cried all the way. He took off his hat and placed it on the
kitchen table. The hallway to the apartment was a mess with threadbare
carpeting, and an obstacle course of other tenant’s items like bikes and
strollers that were obviously too big to fit into the apartments. He sat down
on the one wooden kitchen chair. The leg wobbled, so he quickly stood, thinking
he might break it.

Rory shook his head. He knew Cass
probably didn’t earn much. He’d love to know just how much she was paying for
this studio apartment. Well, words were beyond him. He loved her for her ‘down
to earth take me as you find me’ personality. It was probably the reason she’d
offered for him to stay here without fear of what he’d think.

While she kept it clean and neat,
everything was so old it just looked downright tatty. The kitchen sink rusty,
and the taps looked like they were well overdue for replacing. There was a twin
bed in one corner of the room. He’d stay here tonight because he was so damn
tired, but tomorrow he was finding a hotel. He’d break the news to Cass in the
most diplomatic way he could.

Rory sat on the bed and leaned
against the wall. There was no way he’d let her recuperate in this hell hole. She
was coming back to Montana, and there she’d stay until she was done healing. If
she wanted to come back to Tacoma after that, well, it would only be to some
apartment that met with his approval.

He laughed.
Listen to me. I sound like her father.

Shit, I guess technically I could
be her father.
A young one, but one, nevertheless.

He shut his eyes, not realizing
he’d dozed off to sleep until men’s raised voices outside woke him up. He got
off the bed and walked to the window, stubbing his toe as he did so. He hobbled
around, dropping f-bombs by the second.

Pulling back the curtain slightly,
he noticed some altercation going on out front.

Was this a regular thing? Did Cass
have to listen to this sort of crap every night?

His big toe still stinging, he
sat back down on the bed and saw a piece of paper sticking out from underneath
it. He pulled it out, telling himself that he shouldn’t be so nosy, but he
couldn’t help it.

Looked like Cass
had borrowed some money and hadn’t paid it back.
He put it back wishing
he hadn’t seen it. She clearly needed help and that’s what the
Malones
were going to offer her.

****

Cass debated about ringing for the
nurse. Her leg throbbed like it had a heartbeat inside it. She tried to sit up.
At least she didn’t have to struggle to walk to the bathroom because they’d
used a catheter on her. She rested her head back on the pillow. The last nurse
to visit her room had left the room slightly ajar. The lights were now dim out
in the hallway. It was almost eerie- quiet except for the beeping of machines.

It had been so wonderful seeing
Rory again. Of the three remaining Malone brothers, he was the one who reminded
her most of Ryan. Handsome, tall, muscular, and like her former fiancé, had a
heart of gold. Well, not that Shane and Flynn didn’t either. They were all special
guys. Their parents had done a fine job raising them.

Rory…she’d given him the key to
her apartment without really thinking. Not that he was a snob. Hell, he was a
cowboy and worked in horse and cattle shit every day, but she knew her tiny
studio apartment wasn’t exactly the best in town.

She’d chosen Tacoma because she
thought it had more prospects for work, but the only work she could find was at
a retail store, and it didn’t pay for a whole lot. Hence, she’d enrolled in a
course at the local beauty school and borrowed money to do it. The bank had
turned her down so she’d resorted to the next best thing.

Shit,
I hope those guys don’t come calling while he’s there.

Cass bit her lip. What if they
did and Rory got hurt? What if Rory lost his temper and got himself into
trouble on her behalf?

Worst of all, what would he think
about her getting involved with people like that?

She didn’t know if she was
blushing or running a temp, but the whole thing suddenly made her feel uneasy. A
tear ran down her face again. How had her life gotten into one mess after another?
And why did she always have to involve the
Malones
?
Ryan had paid the ultimate price.

She needed something to help her
sleep. Her physical pain she could tolerate. The mental pain, no. She reached
over to the side of the bed and pressed the call button.

A few minutes later, a nurse she
hadn’t seen before came into the room.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I’m having trouble sleeping and
wondered if there was something you could give me.”

“Sure honey. I’ll be right back.”

Cass flicked on the TV while she waited,
wondering if Rory had settled down for the night okay. She guessed his feet
were hanging off the end of the bed. She smiled, so wanting to see that image.

The nurse returned, and Cass
flicked off the remote.

“I’ll put this into your IV, and
it should work in no time.
It’s
part pain med, part
sleeping aid, so you’ll have a good night’s sleep.”

Cass watched it go into the IV
line, hoping the nurse was right about the working in no time bit. She also
hoped it would give her sweet, peaceful dreams.

****

Rory woke with a crick in his
neck. The bed definitely hadn’t been designed with someone his height in mind.
His feet had been cold all night where they poked out from under the blankets
and dangled over the edge of the bed. He looked down at them hardly remembering
that he’d been woken up in the middle of the night by what he knew was the
sound of a gunshot somewhere in the neighborhood.