“My son, the felon,” her dad muttered, with a harsh curse.
Avery noticed her father’s hands grip his waist as he shook his head. “Dad, please don’t harp on the criminal charges right now. A positive attitude is critical to Andy’s recovery. Let’s focus on his health first.”
“You think I don’t want him to get better?”
“No, of course I don’t think that. But sometimes you can be so . . . judgmental. Please try to temper your opinions, at least until he’s out of the hospital.”
Her father’s hands flexed at his side as he stared into the distance. When he glanced back at Avery, he rubbed his surprisingly glassy eyes with the heels of his palms. “When will we get to talk to the doctor?”
Accustomed to her father’s cool demeanor, Avery was taken by surprise by his unexpected display of emotion. Perhaps stoicism was merely a shield he used to hide his fear. Or maybe he’d simply been preserving his strength. Either way, seeing his vulnerability tipped her off-balance.
“I’m told the doctor will stop in before early visiting hours end. Afterward, we can all go home to rest and shower . . . maybe grab a quick dinner before coming back this evening.”
“You go on home for a while. We’ll stay with Andy until they kick us out, and then we’ll come meet you.” Unexpectedly, he pulled her to his chest.
Despite everything, being held inside the cage of her father’s arms and hearing his steady heartbeat settled her for the first time since she’d received Janet’s call. He might be gruff and unyielding, but he did know how to reassure her, regardless of whether he could resolve Andy’s problems. At this moment, Avery would take the false sense of security and run with it for however long it would last.
Tears pooled in her eyes for the umpteenth time. She blinked them away before withdrawing from the embrace. “Okay. Let me go say good-bye to Andy and Mom first.”
Thirty minutes later, she turned in to the wooded enclave of homes three miles outside of town known as Artistry Row. Each of the seven homes in the cul-de-sac where she’d grown up boasted uniqueness, whether in design or color or both. Her own, stained the cheerful green shade of Early Spring and nestled amid a copse of aspen trees, resembled a tree house.
When her folks had decided to retire and move to Arizona a few years ago, Avery had practically begged them to sell her the family house at a below-market price. She couldn’t stomach the idea of another family living in the home that held most of her happiest memories. Just because she wasn’t a romantic like Kelsey didn’t mean she lacked sentimentality.
Her parents relented and agreed to informally finance the arrangement. They’d sacrificed the possibility of a higher, lump-sum payment in exchange for her happiness, which made Avery all the more grateful. But even at the market’s lowest point, going in on the house with her brother had been the only way to afford it.
Secretly, she hoped to live out her days there, and eventually leave her current job to start a private practice, like Richard Donner had done years ago. She assumed Andy would sell her his half of their home once she could afford to buy him out. Funny how those daydreams had sometimes made her eager to get him out of the house, when now she’d give anything to have him there rather than at the hospital.
She entered the ominously silent home and flung her purse on the kitchen counter. While pouring a glass of water, she noticed one of Andy’s red hoodies carelessly tossed over the back of the sofa, a pair of his sneakers by the side of a chair.
Drained, Avery simply passed the discarded clothing on her way to her bedroom, unable to deal with cleaning up before her parents arrived.
She fell across her bed, limbs heavy and numb. So tired. She closed her dry, scratchy eyelids and inhaled slow, deep breaths. Her body melded into the mattress as her mind skirted the edge of consciousness.
Ten or forty minutes later—hard to tell—her phone rang, jerking her from sleep. Groggily, she fumbled around in her purse, praying it wasn’t bad news from the hospital.
“Avery? Where are you?” Emma asked.
Avery lay back on the bed and flung one arm across her eyes. “Home.”
“I heard Andy’s lung collapsed. Is he okay?” Emma’s voice cracked, which didn’t surprise Avery. Her friends thought of Andy as a brother, too. “Why didn’t you call us last night?”
“I didn’t leave the hospital until after midnight. I planned to call you once I got my parents settled. Andy will be there for a few days, but his prognosis is good. I guess you heard about the cops, too?”
“Yes. Listen, I know you’ve been dealing with a lot.” Emma paused. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing, thanks. I’ve just got to brace myself for dealing with my parents for the next few weeks. You know I hate watching my dad take over and my mom act like June Cleaver.” Avery rubbed her eyes. “No doubt my dad and I will go several rounds throughout the coming weeks.”
“Maybe it’s time to quit being the family peacekeeper. You can’t keep defending Andy or your mom against your dad’s expectations. Putting yourself in the middle of this situation will be exhausting, Ave. Come stay with me while your parents are in town.”
“Thanks, Em, but I can’t leave Andy to face my dad on his own. It’d be a bloodbath.”
“It’s Andy’s first offense, right?”
“Yes, but he’s facing felony charges because he hurt someone.” The lump tightened in her throat. Fighting the tingling sensation in her nose, she closed her eyes and prayed for strength. “I know drunk driving is wrong. I know someone innocent got hurt. But I can’t bear to think of Andy in jail.”
“Me either,” Emma croaked.
“Town must be buzzing with this gossip.” Avery swiped at her nose.
“Mostly from the old busybodies,” Kelsey, who must’ve been listening on speakerphone, broke into the conversation. “It’ll die down soon, especially since Grey will be okay.”
“Greyson Lowell?” Avery rolled to her side and propped herself up on one elbow. “That’s who Andy hit?”
“It must’ve happened right after he left the restaurant.”
The fact Avery’s brother hit Grey on the very night she’d first laid eyes on him struck her as a ghoulish coincidence. Of course, in a town as small as Sterling Canyon, improbable coincidences happened with freakish regularity.
Suddenly curious about Grey’s condition, Avery asked, “Tell me, how bad was he hurt?”
“He tore his ACL. His doctor is waiting two weeks for the trauma to die down before he’ll operate.” Kelsey paused.
“Kind of ironic, isn’t it?” Emma chimed in. “What if you end up being his physical therapist? How awkward.”
“I’m sure he’ll prefer to use someone else.” When she considered what Grey’s penetrating eyes might look like when angry, she shivered.
“Um, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Avery. There are four PTs in town. Only two of you have ortho specialties. With Richard Donner still in Florida helping his mother recover from her hip replacement surgery, you’re the only ortho PT in town for the foreseeable future.”
Awkward didn’t begin to describe how Avery would feel if forced to work with Grey. Plus, there were bound to be ethical conflicts, under the circumstances.
“I can’t think about Grey right now. I just need to get through today.” Avery rubbed her forehead. “Tomorrow I’ll face other people and their judgments.”
“You do realize you have nothing to feel guilty about,” Kelsey decreed. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Andy did. He made a huge mistake, and he’ll pay the piper. But he deserves compassion, too. He didn’t intentionally set out to hurt anyone. It was a terrible, terrible accident caused by a moment of bad judgment. Who out there hasn’t had a moment of bad judgment? No one, that’s who! Most of us are just lucky none of ours ended in tragedy.”