Gray noticed Beth fidgeting, clearly uneasy over being in the room with him. Beth was a stunning woman, but obviously not comfortable taking center stage. Suzy not only took it; she owned it. Giving her a smile, Gray said, “Beth, I’ll see that Suzy is taken care of when she’s released, you don’t have to worry about anything in that regard. I’d like to ask a question, though, why is Suzy so against contacting your parents? I’d think they would want to know about her accident.”
Giving him a shy smile, Beth said, “Our parents are a little…different. Actually, they’re a lot different. I get along ok because I don’t rock the boat, but Suzy has battled with them for all of our lives. They’re both professors, quite brilliant really. They live, eat and breathe higher education. Our mother is a history professor and our father a biology professor. I caved to pressure a bit, which is one of the reasons I’m a teacher. Suzy rebelled from early on, and they clashed at every turn. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they love us in their own way, but they aren’t warm, nurturing people. If they came here now, they would spend the entire visit lecturing Suzy about her job, her clothes and how her lifestyle caused her injury.”
As if realizing that she’d been talking to a near stranger, Beth’s face flushed a pink shade. “Thank you for telling me, Beth, I appreciate the honesty. I’ll in turn be honest with you. I’m crazy about your sister and have been for quite a while. I realize that it will take some time for her to be able to trust again after the emotional damage that Jeff inflected on her, but I’m not going anywhere.
Beth appeared to study him for a moment as if testing the sincerity of his words. Finally, she seemed to come to some decision, and he could see her face softening. “Gray, I believe you. My sister comes across as fearless and unbreakable but that’s just a façade. Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that she could conquer the world if she wanted to; very little stops her. She can, however, be hurt. Jeff did a real number on her, and I watched her fall to pieces over it. She got up and brushed herself off but make no mistake, inside she’s still torn apart. I know she has feelings for you too even though she has tried to fight it. With an affectionate smile, Beth added, “She can never hide anything from me. Don’t let my quiet demeanor fool you though, if you hurt my sister you will have two Denton sisters after you and that, my friend, would not be pleasant.”
Wow, Gray could see the family resemblance now. Beth practically glowed as she laid down the law to him. Gone was the quiet, shy person and in her place was a lioness protecting her cub. Even though she was calling him to the carpet, he couldn’t help being impressed.
“Beth, I know this sounds a bit cliché, but I only have the best of intentions where your sister is concerned. You have nothing to be concerned about. I intend to find a house that Suzy will be comfortable in while she recovers, and she’ll have everything she needs. If you would feel better living with us, I’d be more than happy to have you.”
The spark seemed to leave Beth as fast as it had come, and she returned to her former quiet manner. “Thank you Gray, but I’ll be fine. I will be over daily to help, though, and I’ll be here tomorrow morning to help you um….finalize your plans with her.”
Gray laughed as he read the underlying message in her expression, ‘good luck with that.’ “Thanks Beth. I plan to go look at houses early in the morning so if you could be here it would be great. We don’t want to leave your sister alone to inflict damage unto the nursing staff, do we? Also, please call me Gray. As she leaned over the bed to give her sister one last kiss before leaving, he stood, prepared to escort Beth to her car.
“Beth, I’ll see you out. Suzy would have my head if I let you walk to your car in a dark and probably deserted parking lot.”
He could see the protests forming on her lips. Beth obviously wasn’t comfortable yet in his company. He opened the door and held it for her to precede him out. She was quiet as they walked down the hall to the bank of elevators. Gray decided to break the ice and asked her about her job.
“Well, I’m actually supposed to start working for Suzy tomorrow, but that doesn’t look great right now. You do realize that she isn’t going to stay at home while she’s recovering don’t you? I’d give her maybe two days max before you are carting her to the office. It’s not going to be pretty, but my sister isn’t an idle person. In fact, she’ll probably be the patient of your nightmares,” Beth chuckled.
Gray laughed along with her knowing she spoke the truth. “We will cross that bridge when we have to, Beth, and thanks for the warning.”
Soon they were in the parking garage, and Beth was walking towards a bright red convertible VW. Gray was a bit surprised. Like her sister, there appeared to be more layers to Beth than he’d originally thought.
Beth turned to say goodnight to Gray. As she was getting in the car, she asked, “Your brother, he is just visiting, right?”
Gray stifled a groan at her question. Dear lord, please don’t let anything happen between Beth and Nick. Suzy would kill Nick and then move on to kill him. His baby brother was a love ‘em and leave ‘em type of guy. He was so charming that women seemed to love him even as he was showing them the door. Somehow he didn’t think the Denton sisters would feel that affection for Nick should he do the same to Beth.
He pondered lying to her, and then knew that if she was going to work with Suzy, she’d be seeing Nick around the office. “Actually, Beth we are both moving here. Jason wants us at headquarters now, especially with Claire having the baby soon. Jason plans to take time away to spend with his family, and I’d like for him to be able to have that.”
Beth felt her heart drop. She’d just met Nick tonight, why did she care whether he was coming or going? Now Gray probably thought she had a big crush on him as well. The way Nick stared at her made her self-conscious. She felt like the old Beth again, wondering if her clothes made her look big, was her dress clinging to her hips. Nick was drop-dead gorgeous and she was Beth, frumpy former fat girl with nothing to offer a man like that. She noticed Gray studying her, almost as if reading her mind. “Goodnight Gray, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Gray watched Beth buckle herself in the car and with a quick wave, she was gone. He walked back into the hospital and made a mental note to have a serious talk with his brother in the morning. Better to stop trouble now before it came calling later.