Chapter Nineteen | Noah

The fundraiser was in full swing. And noisy. I'd reserved the entire upstairs for the charity dinner after Jamal told me the tickets were selling out. We had seated fifty-four people. At forty dollars each, plus the proceeds from their drinks, we were set to make at least twenty-five hundred dollars. Add in my parents' five thousand dollars and Owen's commitment to buy two computers and printers and we were set to replace every computer we'd had stolen.

Everyone was having a good time, drinking, and talking. I tried to feel happy about it but seeing Brody at the trial yesterday had messed with my head. The assured man cinching the case until the accused was convicted was the man I loved. It had been a thrill to watch him.

There was no legitimate reason for me to attend the trial other than my curiosity and my desire to see Brody in his element. Observing him in that capacity had made me love him even more.

I had promised Liam I would wait until after the event tonight to try contacting Brody again. He'd had over a week to sort himself out … if that was indeed the problem.

That falling in love with me had scared and confused him.

It was possible he'd run for good. I knew that.

I thought back to Brody growling mine at me and then claiming me, making me his. Those were not the actions of a man who was afraid of commitment.

I was at a loss as to what had truly happened .

"Hey. Noah." Liam nudged me. "Thinking about him again?"

I groaned and turned to him. "I can't stop. He's taken up residence in my bones."

"That sounds painful."

"It is."

Liam placed his hand on my shoulder. "Have you figured out what you're going to say to him tomorrow when you track him down?"

"Going to keep it simple. I love him and I want him back in my life."

"Direct. Nice." Liam pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back. Liam was a good hugger. He clung on for longer than most people. He really meant it.

"I love you," he whispered against the side of my head.

I stepped away and patted both his shoulders. "Love you too."

The moment broken; we went back to work. I was splitting my time between bartending and playing the host upstairs. I chuffed out a short laugh. Liam and I'd had quite the time getting Jamal up those damned stairs. My shoulders were going to be stiff for weeks.

Liam raced over, touched my arm, and handed me our house phone.

"Someone for you," he said. "Some guy named Charlie."

My brow pinched. I didn't know anyone named Charlie. I took the phone into the back hallway away from some of the noise. "Hello? Noah speaking."

"Hey … Noah. You don't know me … I don't think. Not sure if Brody mentioned me or not. Probably not … but I'm Charlie Carlisle. Brody's brother."

My heart sank.

Why the hell is Brody's brother calling me ?

"What happened?" my voice shot out in a blast of pure panic.

"He's been in a car accident. A bad one." A long pause. "Big truck t-boned him."

I crumpled against the wall and slid my ass onto the floor. "Is … is he all right?"

"He's alive, but he's in surgery. I thought I should call you."

"Yes … um." I swallowed hard. "Which hospital?"

"Vic General."

My mind went a little haywire, playing out what I had to do to get there—fast. Liam wandered into the hallway; his brow dipped. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

I stared up at Liam as tears streaked down my cheeks. My man. The love of my life was walking the line of existence. I needed to get there but my car was at my apartment.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I said to Charlie.

"It'll help if you're here for him."

"I hope so." I closed the call and scrambled to my feet. "Liam, I need to borrow your car."

"Sure. Anything. What's happened?"

"Brody was in a bad car accident." I could barely hold my emotions together, but I needed to stay focused. Brody needed me. "He's in surgery."

"Shit. Is he going to be all right?" Liam came at me to offer me another hug. I didn't have time for one. I put my hand on his chest gently and kept it there.

"We won't know until he's out of surgery."

Liam reached into his pocket and produced a metal ring of keys. He unwound his car key and handed it to me. "He's in the Bastion Street parkade. Second level near the elevator."

"Can you let Jamal know what's going on?"

"Absolutely. Don't worry about a thing. You go. We'll take care of everything around here. "

Okay.

"Thank you." Then I took the key, retrieved my coat from the office, and dashed up the street and down Bastion Square to the parking garage. Lux was where Liam said he would be. For the first time since Liam bought his car, I didn't feel like snickering at the name he'd given it.

Thirty minutes later, I was racing through the doors of the emergency department. I burst past the lineup of people waiting for the concierge and got in the man's face.

"I'm looking for Brody Carlisle. He was brought in by ambulance. He's in surgery."

The concierge scowled at me, obviously annoyed I'd jumped the line.

"I'll go back there and check," he replied then turned and walked through a set of double doors leading into the emergency treatment area.

When he returned, I was ready to leap on him and shake the information out of him.

"He's in surgery," he reported.

"Yes, I know."

"He's already got two people back there. We're limited with space. Are you family?"

Lie.

"I'm his fiancé."

The concierge grunted and sighed. "All right. Follow me back." I was right on his heels as he led the way past curtain after curtain of treatment beds. We went straight past those and down an empty hallway until we eventually came to a waiting area. There were five people there.

I was immediately able to pinpoint Brody's brother. Next to him, a frail older woman with an oxygen tank. They both had Brody's dark curly hair and mahogany eyes.

Charlie looked up at me. "Noah? "

"Yes. Yes, I am." I felt ready to burst or break down. Or both. "Any news?"

"A nurse just came out and told us he's doing well in surgery," Brody's mom said.

What on earth does that mean?

Is he going to make it or not?

I sank into a chair at Charlie's side.

Brody's mom leaned forward, looking past Charlie.

"I'm Brenda. Brody's mom."

I took her fragile extended hand and shook it. "Noah."

Then we were quiet. So quiet. The whole waiting area was silent. It was eerie. All of us dreading word that our loved one had passed.

Everyone's head jerked up when a woman in scrubs appeared.

She looked at us. "Are you Brody's family?"

Brenda gripped Charlie's hand. "Yes."

"I'm happy to report, he's doing well. He's in recovery right now. We're going to keep him there for a while, but we have a room for him that you can wait in."

Charlie and I rose to our feet. After the woman told us the room number, Charlie helped his mom stand and rolled the oxygen tank cart for her as we made our way there.

There was already a small hard couch in the room but one of the nurses brought us in an extra chair. Again, we were quiet for a while. Still in shock, I suppose.

I decided to break the ice.

"How did you know where to find me? Did Brody tell you about the pub?"

"No," Charlie said. "I phoned his assistant, Alesia. She gave me the number."

"Ah." Brody hadn't talked about Alesia much. I knew he was friendly with someone at work, but I didn't know it was his assistant. I didn't even know he had an assistant .

"You work at the pub then I guess, hey," Charlie said.

"In a way. It's mine. I own it."

"Ah."

I looked at the floor. I had no idea what to talk about with these people. This was Brody's family. Before me sat two people who loved him. I raised my head. "I love him."

Brenda smiled at me. "Our Brody is very loveable. He has a big heart."

"I've noticed."

"He's hurting because of what happened between the two of you," Brenda said. "I'm hopeful you'll work it out. Brody deserves love in his life."

Truer words had never been spoken.

"I think he might have been on his way to see you, when—" Charlie looked at his hands. "Not that it's your fault. It isn't. It was an accident. But he'd come to a decision about you."

In an instant, the room was too hot, and I felt nauseous.

What decision?

"Do you know what that decision was?"

Charlie studied me. "I think Brody should tell you."

I ran my hands through my hair and leaned forward, my elbows propped on my knees. The tectonic plates in my mind were sliding back and forth, crashing into each other, making my brain feel as if it was going to buckle and crack open. Had Brody been on his way to end things for good? Or had been distracted because he was in love with me and wanted to tell me?

Two hours passed in silence. When a thump echoed throughout the room, we all jumped. It was a gurney. Brody was being rolled into the room. We all stood and watched as the battered, bruised, and casted body of the man we loved was deposited in the bed .

Charlie and I stood aside so Brenda could get close to her son. I moved the chair to the bedside so she could sit and hold Brody's hand. She wept as she pressed his knuckles to her forehead and then kissed each ridge of them. I wanted to touch him, but I could wait my turn.

With Brenda holding fierce to Brody's hand, Charlie and I went to sit on the couch. We rose again when a woman in green scrubs entered the room.

"I'm Dr. Weaver," she said. "I performed the surgery on Brody." Then she went on to list a litany of issues she'd had to deal with. I was thrilled to hear his life hadn't been in danger.

"It's the broken bones that are going to take some time to heal. I'm hopeful, he won't need physical therapy, but it is possible. He'll need home care for several weeks."

I imagined some random person coming to bathe and dress Brody. To cook his food. Do his laundry and any other number of errands. He'd hate having strangers in his home.

Plus, who would take care of his animals?

"I can stay with him," I blurted out before my brain caught up to my heart.

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Brenda replied as she peered up at me. There was such affection in her eyes that I wondered what Brody had told her about me.

"I'll let you work out the details," the doctor said. "We'll keep him here three nights, at least. We'll make sure he can get around on crutches before you take him home."

"Thank you," Charlie said, waited until the doctor left, then went to stand behind his mom. He rubbed her shoulders. "Mom, you must be exhausted. Let's get you home. Noah can take over." He looked at me. "I'll give you my number so you can call if anything changes."

"I won't leave his side," I replied.

After their words of love and encouragement, Charlie and Brenda left the room. I closed the door and went to sit in the chair at his bedside. I reached through the rail and held his hand.

"Hey, handsome," I started. Brody was unconscious but I wondered how much of what I was about to say might reach him. "The first time I saw you, I'm certain my soul reacted to your presence. I was aware of you and your every movement. My senses were tuned to you. Then our eyes met for the first time …." I squeezed his hand and smiled. "I think my heart knew it was in trouble that day. And for every day after that until I couldn't deny why it was aching so hard."

I lowered the rail, brushed my fingers through his curls, and with gentle fingers, touched the purple bruising that would keep one of his eyes closed for some time.

"You're the most incredible, kind, and caring man I've ever met. And your mom is right. You have a big, beautiful heart that I hope feels for me the same way mine feels for you."

I lowered my forehead to his chest. "Brody, I love you so much."

Brody shifted slightly. "I love you too."

My head snapped up, revealing me grinning like a maniac.

"You're awake!"

"Shh." Brody chuckled softly. "My head hurts."

"Oh, God." I touched his head. "I'm sorry. Got a little excited."

Brody's cracked lips smiled at me. "I was heading to the pub to tell you I love you too."

I stroked his chin. "Wish you'd phoned me instead."

Brody peered around the room. "Instead, I ended up here, huh."

"You were involved in a bad accident."

A frown settled on Brody's face. "I don't remember much beyond the pain. And flashing lights. Then faces looking down at me. Gets blurry after that. "

"Not something you likely want to remember."

"True." Brody angled his hips and then sank back against the mattress. "Fuck." He groaned, shut his one good eye, and squeezed my hand. "I feel busted up."

"Good news is you have one good arm and leg and twenty-one intact ribs."

Brody huffed out a laugh then regretted it, swearing about his pain level. I placed a button connected to a machine in his hand. "Pretty sure you push this button to get the good stuff."

Brody pumped on the button until I'm certain it wasn't dispensing any more morphine. However much he had received by the repeated attempt—knocked him out.

A man in colourful rainbow scrubs came into the room.

"My name is Jonathan. I'm Brody's nurse for this evening."

I touched my chest. "Noah. His fiancé." Not sure why I used that term again. Maybe I liked the sound of it. "I'm going to be staying here tonight."

Jonathan walked toward the couch. "Let me help you fold out this bed. Then I'll get you some sheets and blankets. A couple of pillows."

A few flips of the cushions and the couch became a twin bed. Jonathan bustled out of the room and returned with the bedding. He set it down on the bed at one end and left us.

I must have nodded off with my head on Brody's thigh because I awoke to him carding his fingers through my hair. I looked up at him and smiled. From this angle, I could see how bruised and swollen his face was. "You won't be winning any beauty contests for a while, I'm afraid. "

The lashes of his good eye fluttered at me. "You'll still love me."

"For as long as you'll have me."

Brody touched my cheek then brushed his fingers across my lips .

"You're mine."

My heart stuttered in my chest, nearly faltering from ecstasy.

I was his. I'd always be his.

"All yours, Brody. And you're mine."

Brody's thumb moved back to my cheek where he traced circles on my skin.

"I love you, Noah Waters." Then he hummed as he touched me.

I was reluctant to leave Brody's side but when he fell asleep, I realized how badly my back was hurting. After emptying my bladder, I laid out a top sheet on the makeshift bed, threw a pillow down, and climbed under the blanket. I could see my man from where I lay.

I pulled out my phone. It was late. Liam was probably entertaining .

Me: Brody is going to be all right. He told me he loves me. We're good. It's all good.

I didn't expect an answer and was surprised to get one.

Liam: Sweet! Been waiting up hoping you'd call.

Me: No big date?

Liam: No. I wanted to be ready to go if you needed me.

I smiled. Best friend ever.

Me: Aw. You love me.

Liam: Fuck off. Glad he's all right. And love won. Talk tomorrow.

I tucked my phone back into my pocket and tried to sleep. The hard bed wasn't much better than sitting in the chair by Brody's bedside. I made my way back over to the chair and fell asleep with my head on Brody's thigh, imagining what it was going to be like to live with him.

The man I loved and who loved me back.

The man I almost lost.

The man I can't imagine surviving without.

Mine.

Charlie was sitting with Brody for a few hours today. I had things I needed to do at the pub. I'd spent the past two days at the hospital. My first order of business had been to head home and have a much-needed shower. Then I'd gone around to Brody's to take Bentley for a walk. Charlie and I had been alternating animal duty. Now I was in the office, explaining some of my jobs to Liam.

Thank God, Liam was a quick learner. I wasn't sure how much time I was going to have to spend at work while I was looking after Brody. Charlie and I had organized a schedule, giving me a couple of hours each night to nip into the pub to make sure Liam was running things the way I needed him to. I was going to be relying on the talents of my staff to hold down the fort.

Surprisingly, I felt comfortable doing it. Brody was more important.

"When do you bring him home?" Liam asked.

"Tomorrow morning at ten."

"And he's all right with you basically moving in with him?"

"It makes the most sense. His brother has a full-time job and a family he needs to put first. His mom … well, she isn't capable of helping. And Brody isn't keen about having strangers from the Vancouver Island Health Authority coming into his home. "

Liam smiled at me. "Plus, you want to be there for him."

I laughed. "Guilty. I want to take care of my man. He saw the wisdom in that."

"Are you going to subject him to your cooking? You're supposed to help him get better not send him back to the hospital to have his stomach pumped."

I shoved Liam. "Fuck off. My cooking isn't that bad."

"How long does it take to boil an egg?"

"Fine." I laughed. "I'll have the pub on speed dial."

"Seriously, though." Liam patted my shoulder. "Is moving in with him going to put too much pressure on such a new relationship?"

"We'll figure it out."

"I've never seen you like this, Noah. So willing to go with the flow."

"Because I'm not striving for perfection?"

"Exactly."

I shrugged. "What Brody and I have is better than perfection. What we have is real."

"You love him that much."

"He's become the most important thing in my life. I could have lost him in that car accident. I already loved him but the experience of fearing the worst made me realize how much I love him."

"As your best friend, I'd appreciate getting to know him."

I hadn't wanted to rush Brody into meeting our entire group. The few nods from Liam and the interrogation from Ethan had pushed what I thought Brody was prepared for. Then he'd gone to my parents' gala and met them and my sister, brother, and their partners. And he'd survived.

Even though Brody had been thrown in at the deep end, my friends might be more difficult to endure. They could be relentless when it came to someone they loved .

"Soon. Give him some time at home first. The hospital has overstimulated him."

"And that's something that's an issue for him, why?"

I touched Liam's arm. "I'll tell you when he says it's all right for me to do so."

Liam grunted and opened the door into the hallway. "Go. We've got this. Get your love nest ready to bring your man home to."

I finished up the last couple of items on my list, then grabbed my coat. I stood in the doorway, peering around the office, remembering all the hours I had spent in there, pouring over reports and yanking my hair out. For the first time ever, the pub wasn't the most crucial thing in my life.