“It’s all right,” he whispered. “I’m going to head to the kitchen and keep him there while you go upstairs. Come down whenever you’re ready.”
Meredith nodded, half-frantic. “What time is it?”
Gray glanced at the clock. “Just after seven.” He rolled his eyes. “My brother must have left New Orleans before five. He’s cracked.”
“Or he’s worried.” Meredith gave him a look as she shimmied out of her sleeping bag. “At least he cares.”
She was about to slip out of bed when he grabbed her. “Wait.” He held her soft, delicate hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. He didn’t know what he was allowed to say, but he couldn’t let her go without a word. “Last night… thank you for staying.”
Her fair cheeks turned pink, and he saw doubt and hope at war in her dark eyes. She bit down on her smile and shook her head. “Go see your brother.”
Hurrying before Bax had a chance to seek him out, Gray left his bedroom through the utility room entrance to find his brother bent over the dogs’ food bin. He quickly closed the door behind him.
“Oh, good. You’re awake. You haven’t fed the dogs, have you?” Bax held a teeming scoop of food aloft, and Vulcan and Juno pranced with excitement at his feet.
“No. Go ahead.” Gray moved past him into the kitchen, grabbed the coffeepot, and began filling it at the sink. “Want some coffee?” he asked over the rush of water. He might have heard the stairs creak as Meredith made her way up, and he let go a small sigh of relief.
“Yeah, thanks,” Bax said, walking over to the sink to wash his hands. “So is Meredith still here?”
Gray dodged him and opened the refrigerator door to take out his Cafe Bustelo. “I guess. I didn’t hear her leave.”
It was his best bluff, and Gray hoped it was good enough. He could feel Bax’s eyes on him as his brother reached for the dishtowel to dry his hands.
“How’s that going?”
Gray busied himself measuring out coffee and shrugged. When he finished prepping the coffee, he forced himself to turn and meet his brother’s gaze. “It’s going okay,” he answered honestly. “Sometimes it’s weird having her look after me, but I like her.”
All truth. Bax just didn’t need to knowhowmuchhe liked her.
His brother grinned with annoying self-satisfaction. “I thought you might,” he said, nodding slowly. “You just had to trust that I knew what I was doing.”
Sighing and rolling his eyes, Gray didn’t gratify the statement with a response. He gripped the counter behind him as the coffee started to brew.
“Besides, she was here when you needed her yesterday, and that means I was right to hire her.”
Gray could say nothing against this. Bax’s smugness was a little hard to take, but he was so glad Meredith had come into his life.Gladdidn’t cover it, really.Elatedwas closer to the truth.
“So why are you here so early?” he asked, moving the subject away from Meredith.
Bax’s good humor sobered. “Dr. Cates can take you first thing. We’ll need to be there by eight.”
Gray hoped he hid the way fear lanced through him. He knew what the day held — a battery of tests that would only seal his doom — and his mind reached for a lifeline.
Meredith.
Even the thought of her brought him peace. He needed to hold onto the certainty that he’d see her again after it was all over. They were going out for a delicious meal and crème brulée. He’d be able to sit across from her and watch her laugh all evening.
Just as the thought took shape, he heard her on the stairs, and he turned to find her dressed and pulling her hair into a ponytail. He was smiling before he realized it, and he fought to keep his impulses under control.
“Morning, guys,” she said casually. Gray knew just by looking at her that she struggled to play it cool. She made eye contact with him just for a second before smiling anxiously at Bax.
“Hey, Meredith,” Bax said, smiling back in a way that made Gray want to strangle him. “Did you freeze up there in that icebox of a bedroom?”
“Nope, I was cozy.” Then quickly added, “Coffee ready?”
“Just about,” Gray said, tracking her as she crossed the kitchen toward him. She stopped just in front of him and opened the cabinet that held his coffee mugs.
“Well, y’all sit. I’ll get this,” she murmured, taking down three.