The Closer You Come

Fingertips brushed over her wrist. Gasping, she faced the culprit. Jessie Kay had woken up and now stood at her bedside. Her lips were moving.

“You’ll have to start over,” Brook Lynn said, speaking over her sister. “I’m on silent, and I’m not ready to change that. I have to read your lips.”

Jessie Kay nodded and, with tears welling in her eyes, said, “I’m so sorry this happened. Sorry I wasn’t there to help you.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, but...” Features tight with tension, Jessie Kay latched on to her hand and squeezed. “I was with Sunny. She’d just gotten a huge check for the oil leases on her land, and she staked me a few hundred bucks. We went to the casino in the city to try and win more.”

Just like Uncle Kurt. Trying to hide her dismay, Brook Lynn said, “And while you were there, you threw a penny in a wishing well and asked that one of my implants fall out?”

“Never! Dude. You know I hate wishing wells.”

True story. Jessie Kay feared the Pet Sematary effect. “Then I still don’t see how this is your fault.”

“It just is. For once in your life, don’t argue with me.”

“Fine. You’re to blame. You suck.”

A relieved nod. “Much better.”

Brook Lynn squeezed her sister’s hand in return. “How long have I been here?”

“Two days. You’ve actually woken up and talked to me a few times before, but the doc told me the drugs might screw with your memory.”

Brook Lynn clenched her eyes shut and dragged in a breath. She’d missed two days of work? After she’d told Edna she would be more reliable. After only two days on the job with Jase. I’m the worst employee ever. Both of her bosses had to be tee-icked.

“By the way, Jase is in the waiting room. He hasn’t left, not one time,” Jessie Kay said, her eyes going wide with awe. But the awe was soon replaced by dismay. “He yelled at me. Told me I was nothing but a drain on you, and I needed to step up and do my part.”

Two reactions bubbled up at once...warm flutters dancing in her stomach, anger burning through her veins. Jase had stayed? Had worried about her? He cared about her that much? But he’d yelled at her sister, insulted her, when he’d had no right to do so. He didn’t know the fires and trials that had molded Jessie Kay into the woman she was. He hadn’t been there every time she’d tossed and turned with nightmares, crying out for their parents. He hadn’t been there when she’d scrimped and saved to buy their uncle a birthday present—only to find out he’d hocked it the next day.

“I love you,” Brook Lynn said. “You know that, right?”

Jessie Kay gave a reluctant incline of her head, wiped away the tears that had sprung up and quickly moved on. “Kenna is here, too. Brad was, but he had to go to work. I’m supposed to call him with a progress report and...” Her gaze shifted. “Hey! No one invited you in here, death-peddler.”

A shadow fell over Brook Lynn just before Dr. Murphy claimed her attention.

“Nice to see you, too, Miss Dillon,” he replied.

Jessie Kay hated doctors almost as much as spiders, and Brook Lynn could only blame herself. As much as Brook Lynn had cried before and after each of her visits, her sister had learned to associate medical treatment with anguish.

Dr. Murphy was an older black man with a full head of silver hair and eyes the loveliest shade of chocolate. He was one of the most distinguished-looking men she’d ever come across.

“How are we doing, my dear?” he asked with a warm smile.

“Well. I think.”

“Good, good. Let’s have a look at those vitals.”

The exam lasted only ten minutes or so, and as he checked her over, he explained how the tube anchoring the new implant to her ear canal hadn’t adhered properly and had come loose, wreaking havoc on her whole system. From her equilibrium to actual brain activity. While knocked out, she’d even had a seizure. But she was on the mend now and could go back to her regular schedule upon her return home tomorrow, as long as she stayed off trampolines and away from jump ropes for the next several weeks.

When Dr. Murphy left, she lumbered into the bathroom to clean up as best she could, which was actually easier than anticipated. Propped on the sink was a plastic bag filled with goodies. A washrag, hairbrush, toothpaste and a toothbrush. A ponytail holder, T-shirt and a nice bar of soap. She returned to the bed feeling ten thousand times better.

Jessie Kay hadn’t left from her spot and once again clutched her hand, as if she couldn’t bear another moment of separation.

“Thanks for the supplies,” Brook Lynn said.

“Do you seriously believe I’m that thoughtful?”

“Good point. Who brought them?”

“Beck, at Jase’s order.”

Jase again. The man confused and angered her...but he also delighted her. What am I going to do about him?

“I was so afraid,” her sister admitted. “If I were to lose you...”

“You didn’t. You won’t. You heard Dr. Murphy. I’m fine.”

“Yes, but for how long? You work too hard. You need a break. You deserve one.”

“We have bills. More now than ever.”

Jessie Kay shook her head, the first hint of a smile revealed, like the sun peeking out from behind dark clouds. “We don’t. Jase is taking care of everything.”