De La Fuente Family: Love in Montana Part 19

They exchanged greetings with the good vet, but he caught a glimpse of a wedding band on her left hand. His brothers would be disappointed.

An uncomfortable silence followed, so Eric asked, "O'Donnell? Is that an Irish name?"

She smiled. "Yes, it is. My father is Irish and my mother American. I was born and raised in Wyoming."

"Ah, so we've been practically neighbors," Kasey added with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so." She smiled, and Kasey had to nudge their brother, Diego, who nearly had his tongue hanging out.

She was a looker, all right, but married.

"We'll let you carry on while we go and discuss business," their dad said, as he led Sarah toward his office.

"Will you grow up?" Eric scowled at his brother.

"What'd I do?" Diego complained.

"You're tongue was hanging out, bro," Kasey pointed out.

They dropped back into their seats.

"Did you see her skin? So white, and those freckles," Diego drooled "Stay the f.u.c.k away from her Diego. She's married in case you hadn't noticed." Aiden left them speechless with his sharp words as he walked through and straight out the front door.

"As though I'm going to go after her." Diego ran his hands through his hair. "f.u.c.k, she's married. I don't f.u.c.k married chicks. Ever."

Eric winced with his brother's choice of words. He only hoped that Diego's voice didn't carry through to his father's office, or the kitchen. He'd have Lucia on his case if it did, not to mention it would embarra.s.s the young vet.

"So," Kasey started, "f.u.c.k and chicks reminds me of yours," he said looking at Eric.

His brother was trying to p.i.s.s him off and was going about it the correct way. Sylvia was no chick, she was the woman he loved and his brother would do well to remember that fact. He decided to ignore Kasey before he took his anger out on him. It wouldn't take much with him dissing Sylvia.

"Okay. You don't have to say any s.h.i.+t. I'm sorry." Kasey stood. "I'm going to find my hockey skates, and then the lake."

"You need to loosen up and go tell her what you feel before someone else snaps her up. She's a gorgeous woman." Diego interrupted as he turned the TV on and started watching a Fast and Furious movie.

He did need to chill, but when everything was up in the air with Sylvia, he couldn't. He just wanted his woman in his arms.

Chapter Thirty-One.

Over the past two weeks since he'd screwed up with Sylvia, Eric was finally back in Lexington. He'd always intended to come back for the woman he loved, but he'd had plans to make first. Plans that he hoped would tell Sylvia just how much she meant to him.

He had a secret project underway, as well as a McKenzie construction crew on loan. With Yuri's help in the beginning, he'd managed to locate and purchase the house in the country that Sylvia had set her heart on. It was surprising how quickly a sale could be final when you had the money to make a cash purchase, especially when that cash purchase was an extra ten percent on top of the listing price.

The last photographs he'd been sent of the renovation work had arrived late last night. Not long after he'd received a call from Ramon telling him to get his a.s.s back to Lexington because Sylvia needed him.

His heart had been in his throat ever since, and more so because he couldn't reach Sylvia, Talya or Yuri. He knew that Sylvia and Talya would ignore his calls, even though he had hoped otherwise. But Yuri? The first week that Sylvia had been back in Lexington, Yuri had been his only way to check up on her and the big Russian, although disgruntled and p.i.s.sed, had been good enough to keep him up to date. Yuri would collect on that favor no doubt.

So as he pulled up outside the apartment Talya and Sylvia shared, his heart was about to beat out of his chest with apprehension at what he might find. Probably why he dragged his feet up to their apartment.

He didn't need to knock because Talya came barreling out, and nearly knocked him on his a.s.s.

"Oh, it's you," she commented dryly, shoving out of his steadying hold. "What are you doing here?"

"What's wrong with Sylvia?"

Her eyes s.h.i.+fted and she tried to pa.s.s him without looking at him. He reached out and stopped her.

"Talya, please. Ramon told me that I needed to get back because Sylvia needed me. What did he mean by that?"

"You made your choice with your words and by staying away. So I'm not answering." She really was refusing to look at him so he stepped in front of her.

"I love her." He shoved his hands through his hair in frustration. "I love her, Talya. I didn't come back straightaway because I needed her to miss me like I did her. I needed her to want to see me again when I did come to see her." He started to pace. "But then I realized I needed to use actions as well as words, and with Yuri's help, I've done that. Please don't ask me to tell you what I've done because I don't want word getting back to Sylvia. Just know that I've done it because I want her permanently in my life because she's everything to me."

"You screwed up," she finally met his gaze.

"I did. I had a huge shock and I didn't think. Please, Talya," he begged, "I really love her."

Talya had sympathy written all over her face. "Then you're not going to like what I have to tell you." She looked up at the ceiling as though she was praying. "She's going to kill me for telling you, but you need to know that at first we all thought she didn't want you called because of what you said in Montana. It turned out she didn't want you called because she didn't want you to worry about her. You see, Yuri let it slip that you'd checked up on her daily, which told her you still cared and I guess, gave her hope."

"Talya, I'm hearing you but I'm getting frustrated with you not telling me where she is."

"She's in the hospital, and has been for about a week."

His heart missed a beat in his chest as fear clutched his heart.

Hospital?

"Hey, big guy," Talya gripped his arm, "don't pa.s.s out on me because I'll have to let you fall. You know that, right?"

He nodded.

"Look, it all came to a head the other week in Poles, and she got shot." She rushed on, "She's hopefully able to come home in a couple of days. She's doing well, Eric. Really well. But she misses you terribly. She still won't let us call you."

"I need some fresh air." He darted back downstairs and out through the door, only to drop onto the top step.

The woman he loved had gotten shot and he'd had no idea. How could he have not known? Why does she always have to think about others before herself? If she had thought about herself then surely he would have been called. Wouldn't he?

He felt Talya sit beside him, and her arm went around his shoulders. "She loves you. You know that, right?"

"I don't anymore."

"Don't think like that. She does love you, otherwise she wouldn't have wanted to protect you from finding out about her. If it was me, I'd have wanted you there to hold me, and I think she wanted you there but was too stubborn to ask."

"Tell me what I should do?" he asked. "I'm seriously at a loss as to what to do. I want to be there for her. I want to be the one taking care of her when she comes home." He never asked for help, but he'd never felt so lost before, either. "I need to see her, to hold her. I'm afraid I'll only make things worse, though, if I turn up at the hospital." He laughed but there was no amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice. "The woman I love is lying in a hospital and I'm worrying my sorry a.s.s off that I'll make things worse. As though being shot isn't worse enough."

"I know what you mean, and I think I have an idea," Talya added.

He nodded.

"Good. Then you need to make sure you're stocked up on food and juice. You'll have to take her to her check up appointments, and basically look after her."

"She's coming home with me?" He hoped he hadn't misread Talya's instructions.

"She is."

"When?" He had a better idea.

"I'll find out today. In fact, I was on my way out when I fell into you. But you probably have two, maybe three, days."

Could he do it? And would she be okay with a forty-minute drive straight out of the hospital?

"Will you let me pack all her things up from here?"

Talya gasped. "I didn't mean for her to move in with you permanently."

"That's the only way it works for me, and we're not moving into my apartment. That was leased and I've already told them I won't be signing again. I love her, and I want her with me for the rest of our lives. She just doesn't know that yet and I'd be really grateful if you wouldn't mention anything."

"Wow. I seriously hadn't expected to lose my roommate when I got out of bed today."

It was Eric's turn to comfort Talya. "You know that you'll be welcome to visit, anytime you want? And I mean that Talya. Don't wait to be invited. You're family to Sylvia, which means your invitation is permanently open."

"s.h.i.+t! Now you've made me cry." She sniffled into a Kleenex. "If not your apartment, then where?"

Eric grinned.

It took Talya a few minutes of thought before she realized what he meant. "Well, s.h.i.+t. You bought the roses."

He laughed, which he didn't think he'd do after his talk with Talya. "And the rest."

"Oh, G.o.d. Now I'm really going to cry."

While Talya softly cried against his chest, he wiped at his own eyes.

He was desperate to go to Sylvia, but he knew that she was on the mend and would be going home with him, which gave him the enthusiasm he needed to get their house in order with furniture.

He'd get the basics and then they'd shop together for everything else. In fact, the huge sleigh bed he'd ordered with the thick mattress was due to be delivered the following day. So at least that was one less problem.

"Let me drop you at the hospital, and even though it will kill me not to go inside to see her, I'll hold off until I come and get her to take her home."

She nodded, and without a word, followed him to his truck.

Chapter Thirty-Two.

For four days Talya had been acting weird. It was as though every time she came to visit Sylvia, she was avoiding her, which was strange considering they were in the same room. Every time her discharge was brought up Talya wouldn't meet her gaze. Even now that she helped Sylvia into leggings she was being evasive. That had put her on edge so instead of looking forward to going home, she couldn't help be distracted with her friend.

For brief periods, she would think about Eric, and whether or not he had something to do with her friend's distraction, but she really didn't believe that. He'd had over two weeks to contact her, and he hadn't, albeit, she'd been in the hospital for one of those weeks, and with the promise from her friends that they wouldn't call him. She tried to forget that it had been her decision not to inform Eric about her being shot, but she really had wanted to save him from worrying about her. In the end though, she'd wanted him with her so badly that she'd nearly given in and begged Talya to call him.

"Hey," Talya made her jump. "I don't know where you went, but you're going to fall over if you're not careful."

"Sorry."

"Hmm," she mumbled. "C'mon, you're ready. Sit in that."

She really had no wish to be pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair, but she knew that she wouldn't make it to the ground floor without one. Although her side was healing as it should, it still caused her pain to get around, and the longer she shuffled around, the more intense the pain became.

"I seriously didn't think you'd get in it." Talya shoved Sylvia's belongings from the hospital over the handles before setting off.

In the elevator, Sylvia looked around and realized her friend was nervous, so she sighed, and said, "Spill."

"What?"

"There's something going on with you." And then it hit her that Talya had said her car was in the garage. "Who's picking us up from the hospital, or do you have a taxi waiting?"

Talya pushed her out of the elevator and toward the entrance, when she more or less begged, "Please don't be angry with me."

"I don't understand." Sylvia frowned.

"You will in a minute. Just don't be pigheaded and hear him out."

Sylvia was about to turn to ask Talya what the h.e.l.l she meant when movement at the side of a black SUV caught her eyes.

Eric.

Her heart fluttered in her chest when he walked toward her. He got down on his haunches and rested his hands on his knees while he looked her over, and then finally, he reached for her hand.

She was surprised that his had a slight tremor to it as he held her tight, his eyes closed. When he opened them, all the love he had for her shone clear, and her tears leaked freely down her face.

"Hey, babe. Please don't cry." He knelt and used the Kleenex Talya pa.s.sed to him to try and mop her up. "I didn't mean to make you cry," he admitted, his voice gruff.

Sylvia reached out and cupped his face. "I can't believe you're here."

"I would have been here a few days ago, but after talking to Talya, I decided it was best to wait. Which is why you're coming home with me." He smiled. "I know we need to talk and I need to apologize, which I will, but for now, I want to get you away from here."