“I would be upset too I think,” I respond. “I should’ve waited downstairs, I know. I picked up Ace from the vet and thought you would want to see him. I thought you wanted him. Didn’t you know about the no pet policy?”
“No,” he answers as he comes over and kneels on the floor on the other side of Ace. As soon as he touches him, his tense shoulders seem to relax and some of the anger eases out of him. He frowns when he sees the cast; but when Ace rolls to his back wanting a belly rub, Phillip smiles down at him. “I’m glad you’re okay, buddy,” he says to him. Then to me, “I’ll pay you back and help find him a home.”
“Oh, well, I thought I would just keep him,” I respond.
“You will?” he asks with what sounds like relief. “You don’t have to do this. You’ve already paid a huge vet bill. I can’t ask you to take him in too.”
“I want to,” I say as I reach over and rub his belly. “He seems sweet.”
“Yeah, he does,” Phillip agrees with a smile.
“But I may need your help,” I tell him.
“What do you mean?”
“I work long hours at the hospital. I get a few days off at a time, but I’ll need someone to let him out when I’m working, take him for walks, make sure he has food and water. I could give you a key to my place.”
“You want me to go into your house when you’re at work to take care of him?” he asks.
“If you have time? Or you could come when I’m there just to visit him, anytime you want.”
“Why would you trust me that much? You have nice things; and as you can see, I’m broke as fuck. I barely have a penny to my name.”
“If you tell me I can trust you, then I will,” I explain. “Besides, I doubt a lock would keep someone like you and the MC out if you wanted in bad enough.”
“That’s true enough,” he says with a grin. “I could definitely take care of Ace at lunch and on breaks if a job site is close to your place, but I can’t make any promises. Just, don’t come back here.”
“Why not?” I ask in a huff. “You don’t want to see me, just Ace?”
“What? No,” he says in a rush and then clenches his jaw. “I mean, I’m not supposed to see you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep seeing you. But my place is a shithole. Why would you want to come back?”
The fact that he’s admitted that he’s embarrassed about his apartment means a lot. Which is why I tell him, “I was adopted when I was a baby by an older man and woman who were farmers. They were nice to me, but they could barely get by. We didn’t have much and nothing new ever. I think they adopted me so that I could take care of them and help out at the farm, not because they wanted a daughter. It was sometimes lonely without a brother or sister or anyone my age to play with or talk to. Growing up like that made me appreciate everything I have now.”
“I’m sorry, that sounds a lot like me growing up in a trailer park,” Phillip says. “Too bad your parents didn’t adopt Nash too, then you could’ve had your brother with you and some help on the farm.”
His eyes widen as soon as the words leave his mouth like he said too much. I replay his last statement and try to figure out what he thinks he shouldn’t have said.
“Nash was adopted too?” I ask him, and he nods. “But why do you think…why did you say he’s my brother?”
“Fuck, Nash is going to kill me.” He scrambles to his feet, and I do the same. “Please don’t tell him I told you.”
“Are you serious? Nash is my brother?” I haven’t seen him in days, but just thinking about the man makes me remember his eyes and hair that are similar to the ones I see in the mirror every day. “Phillip, is he really my brother?” I ask since he hasn’t said anything while I was lost in thought. He’s just pacing back and forth in his nearly empty apartment, running his fingers through his floppy blond hair.
Finally, he stops pacing and looks at me, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Yes. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, though! He didn’t want you to know.”
“Why not?” I ask. “Did he know…he knew that night that you showed up at my house? He tracked me down, knew I was not only a nurse but his biological sister?”
“Yes.”
“That-that asshole!” I exclaim. Why would he do that? God, I feel so stupid for not realizing it sooner.
I need to leave, to get some air. I start for the door, and then remember the reason I was there in the first place — Ace.
Going over to where he fell asleep during our argument, I scoop him up to leave.
“Could you please get the door?”
“You’re leaving?” Phillip asks from behind me.
“Please open the door. My hands are full, as you can see.”
“Joanna, don’t leave when you’re pissed.”
“You should’ve told me!” I yell at him.
“Nash told me not to, and he had a good reason.”
“Oh yeah? What reason?” I blink back the tears in my eyes, angry and hurt that they knew this from the very first day and didn’t tell me. I guess Nash never wanted a sister; he just wanted someone who could patch up his friends.
“He never meant to drag you into the MC’s business. You pulled the bullets out of me. You saw how dangerous shit can be for us.”
“He used me. You used me like your own little private hospital!” I yell at him, which is when he finally opens the door and lets me
