paws.
“I’ll take that as a yes ' Micki said, laughing.
She checked her watch and realized it was almost time to relieve Sophie at Uncle Yank's bedside. It had been two days since the accident and the doctors wanted him up and out of bed to begin the difficult process of making him mobile in order to prevent pneumonia or infection from setting in. It wouldn't be fair to subject Sophie to that hell all by herself.
Micki grabbed her purse and walked out of her office. 'Amy, if anyone needs me I'm at the hospital. I’ll check in when I can, okay?'
'Don't worry about anything on this end. We've all got things covered. You just get your uncle back to his cranky old self.'
'Put that way, it shouldn't be all that hard after all.' Micki laughed. 'Wish me luck,' she said and headed for the hospital and the grouch of the century.
Yank lay in his hospital bed and pretended he was sleeping while Lola paced the floor, muttering to herself. Only a blind man couldn't see he had a choice to make, he thought wryly. He just wasn't ready to make it yet.
'Why the hell didn't you tell me Spencer was gay? Why didn't he tell me himself?'
Lola turned around, obviously startled he wasn't sleeping. 'Why? Are you interested in him?' she asked.
'Ha-ha.'
Lola walked toward the end of the bed. 'How are you feeling?'
At the reminder, he winced and pushed the pain medication button on his IV. 'Like I broke my hip and had major surgery.'
She nodded. 'I figured.'
'You're avoiding my questions.'
She grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to his bedside, then smoothed her skirt and sat down.
Her new position gave him a direct view of the tank top beneath her blazer and her cleavage, which looked damn good for a woman her age.
'I didn't tell you because it wasn't my secret to tell and Spencer didn't tell you because…I don't know why. He kept it quiet because the industry's so male-oriented, he didn't want to make any of his clients uncomfortable.'
'That's bullshit,' Yank muttered. 'Nobody cares about his personal life, only his ability to negotiate the best damn contract he can.'
Lola's eyes sparkled with appreciation and he squirmed beneath her gaze. He wasn't used to her looking at him with anything other than frustration and disgust. He'd nearly forgotten what her approval felt like.
It felt good.
'I sent Sophie home for a shower and Micki's coming back in time for the physical therapist to help get you out of bed'
'I can't move.'
'You have to move or else you'll end up with twice as many problems. Here.' She shoved a contraption the night nurse had brought by. 'Breathe into this and make sure you get that pressure thing up to ten. You don't want to get pneumonia on top of everything else.'
He scowled. 'Damn bossy woman.'
'And you love me, Yank Morgan-don't tell me you don't.'
'Even if I did, and I ain't admitting nothing yet, don't you think you deserve a helluva lot better than a man who's going blind and now has a busted hip?'
She glared at him, the frustration and annoyance back full force. 'Don't you think that's my decision to make? That's been my point all along.'
'Are you saying I could tell you I love you just so you could turn around and make the 'decision' to say I'm not what you bargained for anymore?' he asked, outraged by the thought.
Lola treated him to a smile he couldn't figure out. 'I'm not saying yes or no. Life's full of risks and it's time you took one.' She rose from her seat. 'One beyond standing up on a chair and ranting like a fool,' she muttered and headed for the door.
'Where are you going?' It wasn't easy to admit but he didn't want her to leave.
'I have a lunch date and then I have to get back to work. I promised the girls I'd start going over the files and figure out who can cover your clients while you're laid up. The merger's got to be on the fast track now.'
He'd had a hard enough time swallowing his pride and agreeing to join his firm with Atkins but he couldn't let the agency flounder and the girls' PR business suffer. What with me young agents nipping at his heels, it was a smart business move. That didn't mean he had to like it
'Okay. Make sure Irwin draws up the paperwork. I want my lawyer doing the drafting,' he said to Lola.
“Then I suggest you talk to one of the girls and have them arrange it. I don't work for you anymore, remember? And I didn't hear
Yank punched his covers with his hand. 'Of all the-'
'Good morning,' Micki said in a too-cheerful voice as she walked into the room.
The little peacemaker had probably heard the arguing from the hall and decided to come fix things.
'What's going on?' she asked.
Lola smiled and kissed her on the cheek. 'Nothing you need to worry about I was just leaving, so he's all yours.'
'Oh joy,' Micki said, laughing.
'When are you coming back?' Yank asked Lola.
She turned. Her eyes held a fierce determination he'd seen only once before, when she'd given him her ultimatum and then walked out.
His stomach churned in anticipation.
'I'll be back when you have something to say that I want to hear' She waved goodbye and walked out the door. Out of his room and out of his life.
'Pardon my French but I suggest you shit or get off the pot, Uncle Yank. The woman may have the patience of a saint but even saints have their limits and she's obviously reached hers,' Micki said.
He leaned back in his bed, everything in his aging body aching. 'I need a nap.'
'You need to get out of that bed,' the chipper physical therapist they'd met yesterday said as she strode into the room.
And with that, Yank entered a hell that was second only to watching Lola leave him again.
THE RENEGADES SPLIT the two-game series with Los Angeles. Tomorrow was a travel day, which gave the team some freedom tonight although Coach Donovan insisted they remain in the hotel and hit their rooms by midnight. Damian sat at the hotel bar, nursing a beer with his teammates, participating in jokes and wondering how Yank and Micki were holding up.
He didn't plan on calling Micki, thus proving to himself that while he was on the road, only his career mattered. But that hadn't stopped him from tossing and turning in his cold, lonely hotel bed, wondering what she was doing, what she was wearing to bed and most of all whether or not she was missing him.
He rose and walked over to the bar to order a fresh drink.
'Hey.' A drunken Carter sauntered up beside him.
Although Damian had watched him down drink after drink tonight, Carter had been unusually quiet and subdued this road trip, making Damian wonder what trouble the rookie had up his sleeve.
'How's it going?' Damian asked.
The other man shrugged. 'It's going.'
Damian waited for Carter to leave, but he lingered, then grabbed a stool and sat down.
As team captain, Damian had listened to the guys when they'd had problems that might interfere with their game and he'd given advice based on his years in the league, but in the short time Carter had been with the Renegades, he'd never come to Damian for a damn thing. As far as Damian could tell, Carter needed no one except his ego.
