Chapter Fifteen

Quinn sat in her carstaring at the hospital as rain pummeled the windshield with a vengeance. Dre's exertion in Denver's high altitude triggered his sickle cell trait. They'd flown him to Houston as soon as possible. Mama B got a call half an hour ago explaining Dre had been checked into St. Luke's Hospital. Since it was almost midnight, valet parking wasn't available and the front doors were locked. She'd dropped Mama B and Jamaal off at the ER entrance, then drove around to find a parking spot, grateful for a moment to gather her courage.

Now she just needed to go inside.

If only flashes of seeing Oliver on that hospital bed weren't causing her heart to throb with the all-too-familiar ache of grief. The years had reduced the acute pain to a lingering, persistent twinge.

Why weren't the sweet times they'd spent together the memories that came to her first? But no, his collapse and the hospital afterward were the ones she immediately thought of.

Then his betrayal.

She drew in a shaky breath.

Stop.

Dre's diagnosis of a splenic infarction was completely different than what happened to Oliver. She looked at herself in the rearview mirror and pinched her cheeks to get color into them. She grabbed her purse and put on some lipstick.

Quit stalling.

Flipping her raincoat hood over her head, she opened her car door and hurried toward the hospital.

Masks were available inside the sliding glass doors. Hoping a mask would prevent the hospital smells from overwhelming her, she grabbed one and put it on. She took off her raincoat and shook it out on the huge entryway carpet.

The cavernous emergency room resembled a lounge. Tropical décor in blues and greens from the carpet to the fabric on the couches and chairs complemented the light wood used. Her mask blocked most of the smell, but she caught whiffs of alcohol and food.

Her stomach churned.

"Hello," called a woman stationed at a huge desk by the door. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to see a patient."

She pointed to a clipboard. "Please sign in. I'll also need to see your ID."

Quinn folded her damp raincoat over her forearm as she fished out her driver's license and signed her name on the register. She wrote Andre Biel for the patient she'd be visiting. The woman punched on a keyboard and printed out a nametag. Quinn stuck it on her shirt.

"If you'll wait, I'll have someone escort you to Mr. Biel's room." The woman picked up the hospital phone.

She'd hoped to find her own way to Dre's room, and if she got lost, that might buy her time to adjust to being inside. But Dre was a celebrity, and surely they had protocols so not just anyone could barge into his room.

A moment later, a security guard walked toward Quinn.

"This way, Ms..." He looked at her nametag. "Weldon."

Once at the elevators, the security guard punched the button.

"I'd rather take the stairs," Quinn said. The exercise would help. She needed to rid herself of some of her nervous energy.

The man smiled. "I'll meet you on the fifth floor."

Quinn entered the stairwell, surprised to see the tropical theme extended in here. Huge leaves decorated the walls.

By the time she got to the fifth floor, she felt better. She took off the mask and jammed it into her purse. Anxious to check on Dre, she exited the stairwell to find the security guard waiting. He led her to Dre's room. A crowd of people filled the hallway. She recognized Officer Hunter from Chuck's. He was in uniform and stood beside another cop. She wasn't certain who the other people were. Some wore Scorpions' shirts, so she guessed they were from the team. Mama B stuck her head out of the room. "Quinn, come."

Her feet felt glued to the ground. She stared at Mama B, silently pleading for help.

Mama B, bless her, somehow understood and walked over to put an arm around her. She led Quinn inside. Dim lights swathed the room.

A shiver raced down her spine.

A man stood inside the door talking to Jamaal. Mama B stopped Quinn with the slightest pressure. "Quinn Weldon, this is Jacob Pellegrini."

Dre had mentioned his friend Jacob many times. "Nice to meet you."

"You too, Quinn."

She spun toward the bed and froze.

White sheets covered Dre's motionless body.

Multiple machines with flashing red and yellow lights gave off quiet intermittent beeps. The hospital room was huge with two couches and four reclining chairs.

Arm still around Quinn, Mama B coaxed her forward and softly said, "Andre, Quinn is here."

His eyes opened. They were bloodshot and glassy.

"Dramatic much?" Quinn asked.

He chuckled and opened his hand on the bed.

She darted over and picked it up.

"I can't believe your sickle cell trait is to blame for this," Mama B complained. "You don't even have sickle cell disease. You've never suffered like this."

"I wonder why this never happened before?" Dre's voice sounded a bit hoarse.

"Because you're an old son of a bitch now," Jacob called from across the room.

Dre weakly pointed at the door with his other hand. "You can leave."

"Yeah, guess I can." Jacob walked to the other side of the bed.

"Thanks for flying back with me," Dre said.

Jacob clutched Dre's hand while Quinn held his other. "I'm headed back to Dallas with the trainers. I'll call tomorrow."

His mother and Jamaal walked Jacob out of the room, leaving Quinn and Dre alone.

"Sweetheart, I didn't expect you to come." He gently tugged her hand, pulling her closer to him. "I know how hard hospitals are for you."

She loved that, even in such bad shape, he was concerned about her. "I had to be here."

"I would never have asked you to come." He lovingly squeezed her hand and closed his eyes. "But I'm glad you're here. You're the only one I want right now."

His words caused a mudslide of emotions to swamp her. She lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed the back.

~

Quinn waited with MamaB and Tracy during Dre's surgery. The media camped outside until the team of surgeons announced Dre's splenectomy was a success, and that they would keep him in the hospital for at least a week to make sure his red blood count rebounded.

She went back to work the next day and spent her afternoons and evenings with Dre. She no longer feared entering the hospital. She sometimes thought of Oliver, but those thoughts didn't paralyze her any longer.

In the days following his surgery, a bevy of people visited Dre. Teammates, coaches, and various NFL personnel. Dre's best friend, Zack, stopped by once a day and always had Kasey, who she learned was the star of the reality show Hunter Kase, on FaceTime.

On the fourth post-surgery day, Quinn stepped off the elevator, her arms and hands full. She stopped at the nurses' station to drop off a box of cookies. As she said hello and handed Wilma, Dre's security guard, a bag of treats, his door opened. A gorgeous woman with jet black hair and dark features exited. Her eyes and face were red.

After the woman passed, Quinn entered Dre's room.

He squinted at the bag in her hands. "You're sneaking me in food? I might have to marry you." He'd never remarked about the diet they had him on.

She set the bag on the overbed table and pulled out two cups. "I checked with the nurse before I left yesterday. I've got chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt, and they're both on your diet. What's your pleasure?"

Dre grinned. "Do you remember the night I came to your grandparents' house after you rescued Jamaal and you asked me the same question when Ivan offered us ice cream?"

She nodded. "I don't remember your answer."

"I didn't give you one. I couldn't tell you what I really wanted then." He tenderly reached out and cupped her chin. "I can now. So ask me again."

She didn't understand where this was going. "Dre, what's your pleasure?"

"You."

Her heart squeezed. Smiling, she leaned forward and kissed him.

~

Ignoring the prickingpain in his side, Dre scooted over on the bed and patted the spot beside him. Quinn climbed in next to him before tugging the tops off the cups and putting a plastic spoon in each. "I say we share."

He kissed her temple and then ate a bite of the delicious chocolate. "You're not going to ask me about the woman who just left?"

"No."

"Are you curious?"

"Yes."

He smiled. "Good. I want you to be curious. I want you to care, and I want to tell you about Anita. She's one of the reasons I'm taking things slow with you."

"You've got my attention."

"Anita and I dated a year and a half ago during the offseason. She came on strong. Things progressed quickly, and when I say things, I mean sex and feelings I'd never experienced before. I thought I loved her. After only two months, she told me she was pregnant. I wanted to do the right thing, and we planned to get married in a month. One day at her place, I found a picture of a sonogram, and she said it was our baby. When I showed it to Zack's wife Sadie, she's a PA for OBGYN doctors, she said it looked like a healthy four-month fetus."

Quinn gasped.

"Yeah, Anita tried to pass another man's baby off as mine." He'd been an idiot for falling for her. "She came by today to apologize. She's married to Wyatt James."

"Your new quarterback?"

"Yeah. When I confronted her about the sonogram, she admitted he'd fathered the baby, and I suggested she go to Wyatt and tell him the truth. Not sure how that went, but I'm guessing well considering they're married now." He chuckled.

"I'm sorry she tried to use you, fool you, whatever you want to call it."

"Today she explained why she picked me. She and Wyatt had broken up before she learned about the pregnancy, and she didn't think he'd reconcile with her and want the baby. She'd heard how close I was to my family and wanted a man like that for her child. That's why she pursued me."

"And tried to exploit you." Quinn took another bite of vanilla before offering her cup to him.

He waited until she'd swallowed, then said, "Hey."

When she turned toward him, he kissed her, wanting to taste the vanilla from her lips. It was as delectable as he thought it would be.

Her chiming phone interrupted them. They regretfully sighed and broke apart.

She grabbed her phone from her purse.

Dre mixed the vanilla and chocolate together.

"Oh, it's the video of my brothers' basketball game. Dad records them for me, has done so for years." She abruptly stopped talking, like she'd said something wrong.

"Can I watch with you?" he asked.

"Of course." She pointed out her brothers. Ike was blond while Shane had dark brown hair. Both were tall and lanky. "They have Dad's height, I got Mom's." She bragged on the boys while they watched the game.

An hour later, the door opened. Mom came in. "Hi, Quinn. How's the patient?"

"The patient can—" Dre stopped speaking when he spotted Mac behind her.

Mom walked over to Dre and kissed his cheek.

Mac looked exhausted, his shoulders slumped. "Hello."

"Hi, Mac," Quinn greeted him.

Mac sighed. "I hoped to have a private moment with Dre."

When Quinn made a move to slide out of the bed, Dre put his hand on her thigh. "You can say anything you'd like with the women here."

"Try to be understanding," Mom insisted before she sat in the chair beside the bed.

Quinn quietly whispered, "I don't mind stepping out."

Dre shook his head. "I just now got comfortable thanks to you, so you can't move."

"Yes, sir." She continued so only he could hear, "Don't take my agreement to your command as more than helping a feeble, weak man after surgery though."

He loved that she was trying to lighten the mood. "Yes, ma'am."

Mac approached the bed. "I'm here to apologize."

Dre studied the older man. "Hospitals make people say the damnedest things. This is my second apology today."

"Who gave you the first one?" Mom asked.

"Anita."

"Well, that was long overdue." Although her remark could've been sarcastic, it wasn't.

Mac took a deep breath. His shoulders lifted the slightest bit before they fell. "The money you gave me—"

"The ransom money you bribed from me," Dre corrected.

Quinn's back and shoulders stiffened.

He hadn't explained this part of Jamaal's kidnapping to her. "I was in the Dominican Republic the weekend of the kidnapping. Because of sketchy cell phone reception, calls and texts from Tracy, Knox, and Mom weren't coming through. I didn't find out what was going on until Mac called me and threatened to disappear with Jamaal if I didn't wire him two hundred thousand dollars."

Eyes wide, Quinn stared at Mac.

"I did the unthinkable," Mac admitted. "I took Jamaal, although he will tell you we had a great weekend. He thought he was visiting me for his birthday. I needed him as leverage. It took me two days to get through to Dre." Mac concentrated on Dre. "I swear, I planned to do what I promised. I was going to pay my supplier, return Jamaal, leave town, and start over somewhere else.

"When I went to my supplier and gave him the money, your money, he claimed I owed him a lot more. He made up some story about interest, which he'd never mentioned before. Said I could wipe my debt out if I did one last job. That's why, even though I'd promised you I'd leave when you had the money transferred to my account, I threatened to run away with Jamaal if Knox didn't continue to work with me."

Dre's head began to pound.

"Knox agreed, and little did I know, my supplier was setting me up to take the fall for his crimes. I can't tell you how much I hate myself for involving Knox."

Instead of answering, Dre let the silence stretch.

The whites of Mac's eyes appeared yellow in the fluorescent lighting. "I wouldn't have disappeared with Jamaal."

"You did disappear with Jamaal," Dre replied.

"Not permanently."

"And that makes it all right?" He didn't raise his voice, although he wanted to.

His mother interjected. "Dre, Mac merely wanted to explain what happened."

"And tell you how sorry I am for involving you." Mac rubbed his forehead.

Quinn weaved her fingers through Dre's. That tiny gesture lessened his anger. "I don't care about the money, Mac. My family is my concern. For their sake, I hope you're being honest about why you're back."

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." ~ Nora Ephron, "When Harry Met Sally"