My gaze flicked to Jack. I’d forgotten he was still there.
“Shall I leave so you two can talk? You know, since you’re such good friends.”
Wow. The arctic had suddenly made an appearance in my hospital room. I frowned as I suddenly noticed I was the only patient in the room. Marblehead had a small hospital. There was no way I’d be alone in a room. Not if I wasn’t critical.
I pressed my fingers to my forehead. A dull throb sat there, as well as in every muscle of my body. Let alone the ankle I refused to acknowledge.
One thing at a time.
I dropped my arm to the bed and opened my hand. The muscle in his jaw jumped, and his eyebrows snapped down. I wouldn’t beg, but I wouldn’t shut him out anymore.
We were both far too stubborn. Someone had to give, and I knew it had to be me. Blake was a difficult man under the best of circumstances, and these were less than ideal in any definition of the word.
I’d scared him.
I knew it.
I didn’t want to process it. I didn’t want to look too closely at any level of our relationship. Instead, I’d lived in the mystery of my grandmother’s house. I’d entrenched myself in figuring out why anyone would want to break in. I was used to worrying about my own problems, and far too familiar with being alone.
He fisted his hand under his arm before finally dropping them to his sides, then reaching for me.
Our hands locked.
“I found her diary.” My fingers tensed. “Where is it?”
“I’ve got it.”
I blinked. “Oh.”
“You dropped it on the steps,” Jack said quietly.
My gaze drifted to Jack. He was rumpled. His dress shirt open at the neck, bowtie hanging around his neck, suit jacket missing. “How?”
Jack shrugged. “It’s my job to watch out for you, Gracie.”
“No, it isn’t,” Blake muttered.
Jack dipped his fingers into his pockets. “And that’s why I figured out where she’s been, and you haven’t?”
Blake’s fingers flexed around mine.
“How long?” I asked.
Jack shrugged. “Not long after you started working for Blake.”
Blake’s head fell back.
“So, I guess it’s time for us to have a discussion about this, huh?”
Jack pursed his lips. “Might be a good time.”
“No, it isn’t.”
At a sharp knock, we all swiveled our heads to the door.
Dr. Perrault strode into the room. Some people might have thought the doctor resembled a kindly grandfather, but he was no pushover. Even Blake’s steely stare didn’t slow him down. “I need to examine the patient. Whatever discussions you’d like to have will have to be during visiting hours.”
“I’m paying for a private room,” Blake said between gritted teeth.
“And that’s why Ms. Copeland is in a very nice corner room. She needs her rest, and I need to examine her.”
My eyes widened at his hold. “Circulation, Blake,” I said softly.
He glanced down at our hands and immediately eased up on his hold. “Sorry.”
“Why don’t you go get a shower and change of clothes? You look worse than I do.”
“Ever the charmer, Ms. Copeland.”
“Just…humor me?” I tugged him closer and he stood to loom over me.
His knuckles pressed into the pillow beside my head, and his other hand cupped my face. “This discussion isn’t over.”
“No.”
“Complete transparency.”
“Can you say the same?”
His eyes stayed trained on mine. There were shadows there. Not just the fatigue-soaked kind. “I’ll do my best.”
At least he didn’t lie. That would have to do.
Chapter Five
“So, it’s not broken?” I gripped my blanket and gasped as Dr. Perrault rotated my foot. My forehead and pits tingled with sweat.
“No.” He lowered it into the immobilizer, then flipped the sheet back down. “You bruised your ankle bone with the way it was pinned between the rocks, but mostly ended up with a mild sprain as you tried to free yourself.”
I tried to look at him, but there were spots floating in my vision. I almost preferred a break. I’d had one of those before. In fact, Dr. Perrault had set that when I was fourteen. I didn’t remember it hurting nearly as much as this.
He moved to the right of my bed to look over my IV. Various bags were converging together to pump whatever cocktail they’d deemed necessary to get me back on my feet.
I had a feeling there was something in there for pain as well.
Could be the needle the doctor flashed, because suddenly I was feeling a helluva lot more chill.
“You’ll have some discomfort for a few days, then a twinge or two as the bone heals. You were very lucky, Ms. Copeland.”
“I’ve been in that cove a hundred times since I was a kid.”
“Yes, but we’re far more nimble as a child. And the rocks on our beaches erode more and more every year.”
“I have a firsthand account, thanks.”