“You mean to tell me he would put you though this hell, terrify his family and risk his life because he was hurt and jealous?” Creed’s face reddened with anger. “That’s the most selfish, stupid, messed-up logic I’ve ever heard!” He was so mad he let go of Meg’s arm to pace the room, rolling his shoulders. He looked like a caged lion, muscles twitching with adrenaline, eyes flashing with a predatory fury.
“Creed, he was hurt. He’s always had this…well, he and I had gotten closer over the past couple of months. He helped me work through the depression I felt when we thought you were killed.” Meg’s mouth worked faster than her mind.
Creed stopped pacing and looked as if he was about to roar, king-of-the-jungle-like.
“If he were half the man you deserve, he would have come to me himself,” he roared.
Meg narrowed her eyes at Creed feeling defensive of her friend. “Not everyone handles issues with their fists.”
“Better his fists against my face than the SUV against a cement wall!” Creed’s eyes flashed with fury before they softened—his expression morphing into anguish. “He didn’t hear you scream in agony. He didn’t watch you crumple to the hard floor ripping at your own face.” His voice broke with emotion.
“Cole wasn’t thinking.” Meg shivered at the memory of the icy hot glass.
“Damn right he wasn’t!” Creed roared.
“Don’t be angry with him, Creed,” Meg moved across the room to stand near him. She felt too weak to fight. She just wanted to be held by his strong, safe arms again. She reached out and touched his chest, willing him to feel her fears and just hold her.
He turned to look at the beauty, her dark, wild curls spilling over her shoulders untamed and perfect. His heart pinched in a vise as their eyes locked. Meg’s eyes drifted down to his bloodstained shirt. “You held me.” It was a statement, not a question.
He reached his large hands up to hold her shoulders gently and nodded—the anger in his heart doused by her touch.
“He loves you?” Creed had to ask, and though he was cringing inside as he waited for the answer, it wasn’t the real question he needed to ask, and he knew it.
“Yes, he does.”
Creed’s eyes fell. He nodded.
“And you, him?” He could barely get the words out and couldn’t look at her even when he did.
“I love him like a brother.” Meg’s voice was unwavering.
Relief washed over his aching heart as he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in the small of her warm neck. Her scent filled him. He knew he was holding the world in his arms and was honored to feel her holding him just as tightly.
Chapter 40 Words Whispered Over the Bed of the Unconscious
“Why on Earth would you blame, Meg?” Margo was trying her hardest not to feel the defensive knee-jerk reaction that gripped her muscles into knots.
“I’m not blaming her, but you have to admit, it can’t just be a coincidence that Creed shows up and turns Meg’s head, then this happens.” He nodded miserably toward his unrecognizable son. “We both know Cole and Meg were becoming an item,” Theo’s face was pasty and pale from worry over his son lying on the Intensive Care Unit’s bed 1A.
Margo’s arms were crossed over her blue surgical scrubs. She tried not to glare at Theo above her mask. They were only allowed to remain in the room because of their doctors’ privileges—professional courtesy and all. But, if the nurses heard them arguing, they’d be kicked out faster than a rowdy guest on a raunchy talk show.
Theo slumped miserably into one of the stools. The wheels squeaked loudly, shaking Margo from her self-inflicted silent trance.
“Theo, kids their ages fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat. That Cole took his disappointment—if that truly is what we’re saying here—to the extreme, reflects his own flaw.”
Theo threw angry, hurt daggers at Margo with his eyes. “Theo, neither of us wants our children hurt. We both want them to be safe and happy, but that’s not the hand dealt to Meg. Her life is going to be one battle after another—at least, for the foreseeable future. Cole has everything going for him, God willing. Maybe it’s best if they don’t see each other anymore.”
“We live in the same house, Margo. How do you propose we do that?”
Margo shrugged slightly. “We’ll need to make some changes in that area.”
Theo frowned. “What the hell are you talking about, Margo?” His voice was raspy with an equal mix of exhaustion and emotion.
“One of us will have to move out.” Even at saying the words, Margo felt her heart shatter in her chest.
Tears welled in Theo’s eyes. “You can’t be serious.”
“If the only way to keep our children safe is to keep them separated, yes, I’m completely serious.”
Theo looked away from Margo, feeling absolutely dejected and alone.
“You’re doing this now? When I need you the most? The extent of his spinal cord injury is still unknown even after being given the I.V. corticosteroids. You know that. You know what that could mean.”
“I’m sorry, Theo. Just as your first concern is for your child…mine is for my children. They will always come first. Always.”