Before Knox can respond, another nurse comes in. She’s wearing bright green scrubs with kittens on them. Stark contrast to the emergency room nurse wearing plain blue ones. “Hi. Are you Ms. Townsend’s family?”
I nod. “Yes, I’m her daughter, Rowan. And this is my, uh, friend, Knox.” Real smooth, Rowan.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jane and I’ll be your mom’s nurse until seven. You can meet me upstairs. Do you know her room number?”
I look to Knox because although the ER nurse just told us, I’ve already forgotten.
He says, “Yes, we’ll meet you there. Thanks.”
Knox and I gather our belongings while Nurse Jane switches Mama’s oxygen to a portable tank and places it on the end of the bed. She’s busy gathering her medicine and other items for the transport, so we leave and head for the main elevators to carry us to the sixth floor.
When we get to her new room, there’s a recliner and a small couch that appears to double as a bed if the cushions are moved around. It’ll be good to have options so maybe I can get comfortable enough to get some much-needed rest.
Knox settles onto the couch, putting our stuff on the floor next to it.
I sit on the recliner, suddenly hyper aware of the situation. I suppose I’ve been running on instinct and not thinking much, but now that we’re in this new room that Mama isn’t in yet, and Knox is stretching out on the makeshift bed, it hits me—Knox has seen me at my absolute worst. My mother was in an emergency situation and I froze. I couldn’t do anything to help her but panic. If Knox hadn’t been there, I’m not sure what would have happened.
“Hey, you should go. You only have a few hours before you need to be on a plane.”
He sits up. His hair has noticeably grown over the past month, and the dark curls in front are half falling in his eyes which have turned redder. There are ashen undertones beneath his tanned skin. “Aren’t you worried about me driving in the middle of the night?”
“You live twenty minutes away by a major freeway. You should be fine as long as you don’t fall asleep. You won’t, will you?”
He shrugs. “Probably not. I don’t mind staying though.”
I want nothing more than for him to stay and that scares the hell out of me. “It’s okay. And I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us tonight.” I remember my car as he stands. “I’ll probably have Wyatt drop me off to pick up my car before going to the airport. Maybe I’ll leave it in long-term parking while we’re in San Francisco.”
He was reaching down for his bag before freezing mid-reach. “You’re still going? Your mother just had a heart attack.”
The hairs on my arm rise, and the back of my neck heats. “She’s going to be fine. And it’s none of your business.” He has no idea why I would need to still do this competition, no matter what. This is for Mama more than anybody.
He picks up his bag and extends to his full six-foot-two height, towering over me. His eyes droop and turn cold. “You really are something. Do what you want.” He heads to the door, then comes back, handing me my purse. “Give me your keys. Weston and I will return your car later this morning and leave the keys in the restaurant.”
I’m dumbfounded and shaken.
He rolls his eyes and unceremoniously dumps the contents of my purse onto the sofa, retrieving my keys. Then he leaves without a backward glance.
Lillie’s Butterhorn Rolls
1 package active dry yeast
2 tbsp + 2 tsp warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 tbsp butter, melted
Grease 2 baking sheets and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly. Grease a separate bowl and place the dough in, flipping it once. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch dough down and divide into 2 equal parts. Roll each part into an 8-inch circle and brush with butter. Cut each circle into 8 triangles and roll up each triangle from wide edge to tip and pinch to seal. Place rolls with tip down on baking sheets 2 inches apart. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until golden, 12-14 minutes.
Yield: 16 servings
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It really isn’t any of your business anyway.
We only have two rooms this time. Hannah and Wyatt are sharing the one connected to mine. I’m closer to the elevator than the last time we stayed, but not quite as close as the first time. I still have a Jacuzzi tub, which is really all I want out of this hotel, especially since we’ll be here nearly a week.
When Daddy and Wyatt arrived at the hospital around eleven this morning, they were tight-lipped on why Wyatt went to Houston. It’s not like I think I have a right to know why Wyatt went, but there’s something fishy going on. I’ve known them too long to not realize when they’re going out of their way to hide something. They kept turning the conversation back to Mama and her health, especially when she was awake, because they knew I wouldn’t push in front of her. At this point, I will never argue with Mama again. She can do whatever she wants because I refuse to cause
