Blue Christmas (The Moody Blue Trilogy | Book One) (36 page)

She seemed to
dismiss his comments. “So Sergio, you said you were in the neighborhood. Was
that just a line?”

He laughed easily.
“Actually, yes and no. I’ve got some meetings in Orlando tomorrow. But I would
have come even if there were no meetings. Laura can be rather persuasive.”

“Well, regardless
how you got here, I’m glad you came. I’ll admit I was furious when I first saw
you here. But it was also nice to see a familiar face.” She stopped and turned
to face him, taking his hand in hers. “I can’t believe you cared enough to go
out of your way to find me here.”

He squeezed her
hand tightly in his. “When are you gonna get it through that stubborn head of
yours that we care about you? Huh?” When she returned his smile, he pulled her
into a tender hug and felt her relax against him almost immediately.

Sergio pushed a
strand of hair out of her eyes and winked at her. “Enough of all this serious
stuff. I’m starving. What do you say we find some lunch somewhere?”

They turned
around, heading back to the motel. He threw his arm over her shoulder in a
brotherly gesture and she laced her arm around his waist. “Sergio?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He roughed her
hair up. “You’re welcome, Hannah. De nada.”

Chapter 25

“
A
re you ready, Jackson?”

“That’s an
understatement. I want to go home. To
my
home.”

Alli stuffed the
last of Jackson’s belongings into the duffel bag and heaved it onto the cart
supplied by the hospital. “I know, but just be thankful the doctors are letting
you go to the McKenzie’s for a few days. That’s almost like home, right?” She planted
a kiss on his forehead.

“I know, I know,”
he lamented, moving toward the obligatory wheelchair. “Why can’t I just walk
out of here? I feel like some old geezer in this thing.”

“Jackson, enough
with the whining.” She handed him another bag to hold on his lap. “Are you
still sure you want to donate all this stuff?”

They looked around
the room, overflowing with flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. “Yeah, I’m
sure. The kids in pediatrics will get a lot more use out of these than I will.
Except for MJ’s autographed basketball. You packed it, right?”

“Don’t worry. I
got everything you want to keep. Including the flowers from William and Kate.
I’m going to have them pressed. For a keepsake.”

“I’ve gotta watch
you like a hawk. I take a bullet and you’re flirting with royalty. What’s wrong
with this picture?” He tossed her a lopsided grin. “And did I mention he’s
married now? Oh yeah, I believe I did. And boy, is that one
hot
princess.”

She planted a fist
on her hip. “Jackson.”

He grabbed her
hands and pressed them to his lips. “I’m just kiddin’, babe.”

She surveyed him
curiously. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. I
feel so
gritchy
. I want to get out of this place. I want to go home. I
want to go for a ride in my boat. I want to—”

“—take care of
yourself so you don’t wind up back in here. All that will come. But your
recovery is serious business.”

“I know, Alli.
We’ve been all through this already.”

“Yeah, at least a
hundred times and I still don’t think you realize how important it is. You’ve
got to be totally faithful to do all the exercises and take all your
medications, and—”

“Excuse me, Nurse Ratched.
Can we just go?”

“That’s just what
I’m talking about! You keep joking about all of this like it’s some kind of game.
You can’t fool around with it, Jax. There’s too much at stake. You are
so
lucky
to be
alive,” she whispered.

He took a deep
breath. “I don’t think luck had anything to do with it.”

She attempted a
smile, understanding his meaning. “You’re absolutely right. And I don’t think
any of us will ever be the same because of it.” She cleared her throat and
stood back up. “Okay, let’s blow this joint, whad’ya say?”

The endless crowd
of well-wishers gathered to see off the celebrity patient. Jackson was gracious
to all of them, signing autographs, stopping for others to take photographs of
him with nurses, doctors, and other patients, especially those from pediatrics.
His parents urged the entourage to keep moving, obviously worried how
exhausting this would be for their son.

Finally, loaded in the limousine along
with his parents at a back entrance in the parking garage, they headed out for
the McKenzie estate. Alli sat beside him, holding his hand in hers. His parents
sat on one of the side seats.

“So where’s Jason
and Sergio?” he asked. Gevin, Marissa, JT, and Tracey had stopped by earlier to
visit before they left the hospital.

“Laura said Sergio
flew down to Orlando on business,” his mother answered. “She said he’d be back
in a day or so to see you.”

“I’m sure Jason
will be at the house,” Alli added.

Jackson leaned
over to whisper in her ear. “What’s going on with him and Jennifer?”

Alli shrugged and looked
out the window. “I don’t know. He’s been really quiet the last couple of times
I’ve talked to him. Very evasive, y’know?”

“He ever mention
Hannah?”

“No. Not a word.”
Even the sound of Hannah’s name tugged at her heart. She and Hannah had become good
friends in the brief time they’d known each other. Alli missed her. “No one’s heard
from her either. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling right now. But then, I have
to admit it’s been great seeing Jennifer again. I’ve always liked her. I don’t
know, Jackson. I have such mixed feelings about everything.”

He leaned his head
on her shoulder. The conversation died as they drove through the streets of Chapel
Hill. Soon, his steady breathing told her he’d fallen asleep.

Ten minutes later, Bob woke him. “Jackson,
wake up. Take a look at this.”

“What’s going on?”
he asked sleepily.

They had just
turned the corner onto the McKenzie’s street. For as far as they could see, the
street was lined with people. Kids, teenagers, adults—all assembled to greet
him.

“Unbelievable,” he
whispered.

“Jackson—look,”
Alli pointed to a banner held high above the heads of the crowd.

“WE
LOVE YOU, JACKSON!

WELCOME
HOME!”

Colorful balloons
danced above the heads of the crowd as they waved and screamed and cheered the
passing vehicle. A handful of policemen were on hand to maintain control, but
these people were not here to cause trouble. They were here out of love.

After the
emotional press conference, Alli thought Jackson had surely cried the last of
his tears, but she was wrong. As a single tear trickled down his face, he
smiled at the scene surrounding them. Alli laughed through her own tears,
hugging him.

Bob handed his
wife a handkerchief as she wept openly. “Reminds me of that unforgettable sea
of well-wishers that night outside the hospital,” he remembered, his voice
husky.

But Jackson had
missed all that. And while they had described the scene to him over and over,
in precise detail, Alli knew it could never have prepared him for seeing this
with his own eyes.

Finally, as they
neared the gated entrance to the McKenzie’s, Jackson regained his voice. Well,
almost. “I can’t believe it. I had no idea . . .”

Bob Greer smiled. “Well,
son, now you do.”

“Are you gonna
eat that?” Sergio stabbed a fork into Hannah’s pie. She’d been toying with it,
but hadn’t taken a single bite. He sliced a healthy portion and consumed it. “Mmm,
this is
delicious
.”

She nodded, amused
by his antics. In the past few days she had grown accustomed to Sergio Cruz’s
unpretentious ways. She wasn’t the slightest surprised by anything he did. She
smiled, sliding the dish across the table to him. “I’m not really hungry, I
guess,” she teased. “Go ahead, hot shot. Help yourself.”

“Really? If you’re
sure,” he asked, already devouring most of the hot pastry. “Thanks, Hannah. But
you didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?”

“About going back
with me.” He took a sip of coffee between bites, then wiped his mouth with the
cloth napkin. Their waiter stopped by, refilling their cups.

“If we keep
drinking this coffee, we won’t need a plane. We can just
walk
back
and
probably make it there in
a couple hours.” She laughed quietly.

“Like I need
something else to get me wired,” he added, finishing the pie with a flourish.
“But we won’t have to walk. I told you—I’m flying back in the private jet. I
want you to come with me. You’ll love it. All the comforts of first class and
none of the hassles of flying commercial. Basically, anytime we need to get
somewhere, the record company makes it available to us. It’s perfect for quick
trips like this.”

“I don’t know, Sergio.
I’m not sure I’m ready to go back.”

“Look, Hannah—your
classes start Monday. You told me yesterday you didn’t want to miss any classes.
Sounds to me like the perfect excuse to get your life back on track.”

She cradled the
warm cup in her hands. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It’s gonna be
rough. There’s no way around it. But you can handle it. We’ve had plenty of
time to talk through it . . . you’ve had a chance to relax and
bolster your courage a little. It won’t be easy, but I know you can do it.” His
grin was crooked as he smiled across the table at her. “I’ve seen some pretty
serious backbone surfacing the last couple of days. I think you
are
ready.”

“Sergio, how can I
ever thank you for this?”

“For what? Dinner?
No sweat. Besides, I ate your pie.”

“You know that’s
not what I meant. I’m talking about you coming down here like this.”

“I told you—I was
in the neighborhood.”

“Stop it!” She
laughed. “I’m trying to be serious here, okay?”

“Okay, okay—I’m
sorry. But it wasn’t like some major strain to spend time with you, Hannah.
I’ve enjoyed it. I mean that. And besides, I think it’s been rather
therapeutic.”

“How so?”

“Nothing gets you
out of yourself like helping someone else with their problems.” He shook his
head, his dark eyes dancing. “Laura is so devious. She practically roped me
into this whole thing—first with Kylie, then with you—but all along I think she
knew that
I
needed the help almost as much as you did.

“Think about it.
She had to know if I was helping you through all this, I’d be distancing myself
from my own pain. And she was absolutely right. Somehow, I think we
both
learned a lot from each other the last couple of days.”

He reached across
the table, extending his hand toward her. Hannah returned his warm smile,
allowing him to take hold of her hand. The gesture seemed to seal the friendship
they’d found together.

“So it’s settled,”
Sergio announced, standing to leave. “We’ll stop back by the motel and get your
things, then we’ll fly back to Chapel Hill.”

A shiver trickled
down Hannah’s back as she stood up, taking his hand again. “If you say so. I
can’t say I’m ready to go home, but I know you’re probably right.” He led her
through the restaurant, threading their way through the tables toward the
entrance and carefully avoiding any eye contact on the way out.

Alli smiled at
those around her. There was no place she’d rather be at this moment in time.

The McKenzie dining
room was expansive but charming. An enormous chandelier with lights turned low reigned
over the long linen-covered table, adorned with fine china and elegant crystal.
Candles glowed, gently casting a sense of warmth among the guests. Fresh
flowers cascaded along the center of the table. Those that lined the table were
visibly happy this night as they celebrated Jackson’s recovery.