Avery shot to her feet. “What?” Her wide brown eyes met his in a panic. “Okay, thanks.” She hung up and wrung her hands before signing and speaking simultaneously. “I got a hold of her mom. Gabby’s in the hospital. Something about an infection.”
His stomach sank. Hell. The cat bite yesterday. He thought he’d cleaned it out well and she’d taken a preventative antibiotic, but the tissue had been pretty irritated. He should’ve checked on her last night, but he’d figured after the awkward moment outside of Mrs. Crosby’s house a little distance was needed.
He pointed to the door, indicating he was heading out. “Reschedule my appointments today, would you?”
Avery nodded. “Text me when you get there. Give me an update.”
He strode out, drove across town and into the next county to the closest hospital. Redwood Ridge had an urgent care clinic, but emergent cases were directed to the bigger cities, a fact that never bothered him until this very second.
Infections were nothing to sneeze at, but his stomach settled by the time he walked through the front doors knowing Gabby would’ve sought treatment at the first sign of a problem. Hopefully, her hospitalization was just a precaution.
The front desk nurse didn’t understand sign language, so he scrawled Gabby’s name and date of birth on scrap paper so she could look up Gabby’s room.
“Are you family?”
He stilled, wondering if she was in ICU. Typically, that was the only time they’d ask. Knowing the bureaucracies of healthcare, he lied and nodded.
Letting out a relieved breath after the nurse handed over a room number, he strode down the hall. Gabby’s sister Rachel was in the room when he finally made it up. She flipped through a magazine from a corner chair, seemingly irritated to be there. She looked up and spotted him, rolling her eyes.
Rachel and Gabby couldn’t be from further ends of the gene pool and still have the same DNA. Where Rachel had dark hair and olive skin like their father, Gabby was fair like their mom. Rachel was crass and selfish. Gabby’s superpower was tact and gentleness.
Rachel began flapping her mouth, but Flynn had never been able to read her lips. As if knowing that irked him, she smiled, offering him an expression which indicated she thought he was stupid instead of deaf.
He focused on a sleeping Gabby instead. Her cheeks were a tad flushed, but other than that, she looked all right. An IV was hooked up to her right arm. Her left was bandaged. And…swollen from fingertips to elbow. Jeez. She got it but good. The monitor indicated her vitals were normal. He scanned the IV bag. Just saline for fluids and a heavy antibiotic.
Her lashes fluttered open and she offered a wan smile. “Hey.”
His stupid heart thudded in happiness. He skimmed his gaze over her caramel hair spread out on the pillow and then on the blue of her eyes as she fought to wake up. “How are you?”
She motioned to sign, forgetting her arm, and winced. Her cheeks paled five degrees.
Gently, he set his hand over hers and tapped his mouth, directing her to talk instead.
“I’m fine. Just a little sore and tired.”
“When did you get here?” And why hadn’t she called him?
She shifted a little in the bed and patted the mattress by her hip. He obediently sat on the edge. “My hand started swelling around midnight. I was running a fever, so I went into the ER.”
Uneasiness tightened his throat. “Did the infection hit your bloodstream?” Because that would be bad. Very, very bad.
She shook her head. “Labs looked good. If I stay fever-free, I can go home this afternoon.” Her gaze shot over his shoulder to Rachel. She frowned. “I said you didn’t have to stay. My car’s in the lot. I can drive myself home.”
The hell she would. He turned to face Rachel, who was waving her hand at him and talking a mile a minute. Shaking his head, he refocused on Gabby. “What’s up?”
The irritation erased from her forehead. “Mom dropped Rachel off this morning. She had to call in sick to sit with me.” She looked pointedly at her sister. “Which you didn’t have to do. Take my car and go to work. It’s fine.”
Gabby’s hand fisted under his, her eyes narrowing. “You know why. Because he needs to read my lips. I can’t sign right now.”
No doubt, Rachel was wondering why her sister was speaking more slowly than usual. Rachel starting a snit had knocked Gabby’s pulse higher according to the monitor.
“Tell her to leave or I’ll kick her out. Swear to God. I’ll stay with you and drive you home when they release you.”
She eyed him and swallowed hard. “What about your patients?”
“Light load today. They’re being rescheduled.”
Though she still looked hesitant, her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. Her gaze traveled to Rachel. “Flynn’s off the rest of the day. Take my car. Go to work. I’ll come pick it up tomorrow.” She closed her eyes as if seeking patience. “Tell Mom I’ll call her soon. Thanks for staying with me.”
Flynn waited until Rachel left the room before leveling Gabby with a stare. “When you didn’t show up for work, you scared me. Avery’s worried. You should’ve called me.”
Her pretty pink lips parted. “I’m so sorry. I—”
He was an asshole. Swiftly, he shook his head and wiped any anger from his face. “You’re fine. That’s all that matters.”
“You really don’t have to stay.”
He smiled. “Shut up.”
“I mean it. I’m in the hospital. I don’t need a babysitter—”
“Gabby.”
“Yes?”
“Stop talking.”
His grin widened when she sighed and grabbed the remote with her good hand. All flustered, she fiddled with the thing as the cord got caught in her IV.
He texted Avery to give her an update.
And then Gabby switched the TV to closed captioning. For him. Because she always did shit like that. For him. Until Brent had brought it up the other night, Flynn had barely registered those little things. Now he was noticing them everywhere. Like in the car yesterday when the radio readout displayed the song lyrics. He’d bet his bank account the SUV hadn’t come with that feature.
His gut retracted as if being punched. He’d been taking her for granted for years. Nearly his entire life. She had other friends outside their circle. So did he. But they spent a great deal of time together and he couldn’t help but question if that was why she was still alone. Perhaps Brent had been right.
He had to find a way to get some distance between them without her catching on to him. Eventually, the day would come where some guy would notice how great she was, how…irreplaceable, and Flynn would have to start figuring out how to go day-to-day without her doting.
He stood and dragged the chair Rachel vacated over to the bed and sank into it.
Gabby held out a package of Jell-O, wiggling it when he didn’t take it from her.
“I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to eat that.”
“I hate Jell-O. If you eat it, they’ll think it was me and maybe spring me sooner. I haven’t had much of an appetite.”
It