“Really?” Kara replied in surprise. “Me?” Smiling, she realized that his medication was making him speak his mind.

“Well, you and Maeve. Wouldn’t be the same without little Maeve,” Scott replied with a dreamy sigh and then, after tightening his hold on Kara’s hand, he drifted off to sleep.

Kara looked down at their clasped hands and then let her gaze linger on the good-looking man who was lying so still in the bed in front of her. A sheet covered him, but she could still make out the outline of his strong, lean legs, flat stomach, and washboard abs. Scott looked peaceful as he slept, but his forehead held an egg-sized bump that, when Kara gently placed a fingertip on it, made him groan in his sleep.

That is going to hurt like hell when the drugs they’ve given him wear off.

Sighing, Kara stretched her foot out behind her and hooked it around the leg of the visitor’s chair. Dragging it toward the bed, she was careful not to break the tight hold Scott still had on her hand as she sat down next to him.

A few hours later, Scott’s night nurse came in to check on him and monitor his vitals. Sasha had known Kara since grade school, and she smiled when she saw her sitting beside Scott, holding his hand while he slept. Kara smiled back sleepily, confident her friend wouldn’t mention to anyone that she had been there.

It was just before seven the next morning when Kara was woken from her uncomfortable position in the chair by Candy’s clear, shrill voice at the nursing station, asking for directions to his room. Kara was thankful that the nurse there stalled Candy just long enough so Kara could pull herself together. She didn’t want Candy to come in and discover Kara keeping an overnight vigil beside Scott.

Kara managed to run her hands through her hair, wipe the sleep dust from her eyes, and straighten her clothing before Candy arrived to find her standing beside Scott’s bedside.

Kara placed a finger to her lips as she turned to Candy. “He’s still asleep,” she whispered.

Candy did an exaggerated tiptoe on her shiny stilettos toward them. “That’s probably for the best.” She glanced over at Kara. “You’re up early?” Her tone was curious, and Kara’s shoulders relaxed as she realized that either Candy didn’t suspect she’d spent the night at Scott's bedside or didn’t care.

“The garden center opens early,” she replied truthfully, with a shrug.

Candy nodded and turned back to look at Scott. Reaching out, she gently placed a finger on his head but removed it quickly when he groaned. She frowned. “That looks really sore.”

“I’m sure it is. He got hit hard. Thank goodness, it doesn’t sound like anything is broken, though.”

“That’s good.” Candy looked around the room and then, walking over, sat down carefully in the chair that Kara had recently vacated. “I guess I’ll just wait for him to wake up, then,” she said. “You can stay and keep me company, if you like,” she added, smiling at Kara.

Kara couldn’t help but smile back at Candy’s hopeful and friendly expression. “I can stay for a few minutes longer,” she replied. “But then I have to go. I have a young daughter to get back to and a business to run, but I was worried about Scott.”

Candy nodded gravely. “Me too. It’s nice of you to check on us.”

“Happy to help,” Kara said. She tilted her head and smiled uncertainly as Candy blinked her long lashes at her, but the lines around her eyes didn’t move.

Botox, Kara realized. Candy must have had some injections to reduce her forehead lines, and while it made her face perfectly unlined, it was also hard to read.

“You have beautiful eyes,” Kara said carefully. “They are a lovely shade of blue.”

Candy smiled. “Thank you, it’s the colored contacts. They make them in so many pretty colors now. You should try them.”

“I don’t think they’d look as good on me, but I do love them on you.”

Candy smiled at her. “Have you known Scottie long?” Candy finally asked, glancing over at him.

“Not really. I’ve known his law partner all my life, though. Courtney and I went to high school together.”

“I’ve known Scottie for what seems like all of my life now too. We were engaged, but I got scared and blew it.”

“Oh? That must’ve been hard.”

“More stupid than hard,” Candy replied, giving a dramatic sigh.

“Well, we all do stupid things. Are you two just friends now?”

“I think so. He’s still mad at me at little, though.”

She looked so dejected for a moment that Kara almost found herself feeling sorry for her.

Kara then blinked in surprise as she watched Candy reach into the large leather tote that she had dropped at her feet and pull out a large ball of cream wool. A moment later, she began to expertly weave it onto two large knitting needles and was soon clacking away and tapping her foot in time to the stitches.

“You seem really experienced with those,” Kara said, gesturing at the needles as a long trail of stitches quickly wound their way toward the floor.

“Oh, I am,” Candy announced, stopping for a minute to scoop two large squares of bubble gum out of her purse and pop them into her mouth before she continued knitting. “Would you like me to make you something?” she asked, smiling at Kara before blowing a large pink bubble. “I love to knit. It’s so relaxing. And you have a kid too, right? I can make her a sweater or a hat or something? I have some really cute kids’ patterns. I love making things for children.”

Kara shook her head and laughed in surprise, leaning against the wall as she watched Candy knit a little while longer and wondered what else there was to learn about this woman.

Chapter Twenty

Kara smiled brightly when Scott opened the door to his apartment the next day, then immediately frowned in concern when she saw the large, darkly bruised bump on his forehead. “Ouch!” she said and wrinkled up her nose as she held out the plant she had brought him. “That looks like it really hurts. How are you feeling?” she asked as he accepted the plant and took a few unsteady steps back so she could enter the apartment.

“I’ve felt better, but the drugs they’ve been giving me have helped take a lot of the edge off.”

“Are they strong?”

“They were. I’m not taking as much as I did at first. I saw too many guys get hooked and have to wean themselves off when I was playing. I don’t want to go there.”

“Probably smart,” Kara agreed and followed him into his living room. She watched as he took a blanket off his couch and, after balling it up, waved at the cleared space, motioning for her to sit down as he reached for the remote and muted his TV.

“Sorry, things are a little bit of a mess in here. I haven’t been doing a lot,” he said.

Kara shook her head. “No apologies necessary. I just wanted to stop by for a minute to see how you were doing and check if you needed anything. I saw Candy at the hospital and she assured me she had it all under control, but I thought I’d drop by too.”

Scott’s eyes widened as he looked over at her. “I didn’t dream it, then? You were at the hospital all night?”

Kara blushed and raised one hand. “Guilty. I went to school with the nurses there, so they let me sleep in a chair in the corner of your room.”

“That was nice of you.”

Kara shrugged. “I was worried.”

Scott sat down heavily in the chair across from her. “Thank you. I wasn’t feeling well last night, but things are better now, just a headache and a slight concussion.” He pointed at his forehead. “And, of course, this little beauty.”

Kara wrinkled her nose. “It’s a nice color,” she said with a grin.

“Yeah, if you like purple and green.”

“I could try to cover it with makeup, if you like.”