More Than Cookies (The Maple Leaf Series) (32 page)

“Was he complaining of any pain or anything?” Orion asked Adam who had taken a seat across from them.

“Nope. He did his Elmer Fudd impersonation on the drive to the pizza place. You know, like he used to do. It was hysterical.”

“I laughed so hard my tummy hurt,” Myah said, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Us too,” Wendie said. “Ian is hysterical when he’s ‘hunting wabbits.’”

Orion let out a small laugh, but his eyes were glossy. “He hasn’t done that bit in years.” He released Sage’s hand to rub at his nose.

Sage noted how that hand shook a little. How Orion sniffed every now and then. How his left foot tapped, wiggling his entire leg. The man was on the verge of coming unglued and she didn’t blame him one bit. She felt on edge, and Ian wasn’t her father. A fleeting thought of something happening to her mother made her stomach do a sick roll. She recalled being a nervous wreck when Rick had his heart attack in New York. That helpless feeling was the worst. The knowing that there wasn’t a damn thing you could do to make your loved one better but wait. Wait for the coin to be tossed. Wait for the dice to be rolled. Wait.

A petite woman in scrubs came through the waiting room doors. “Which one of you is Orion Finley?”

“I am.” Orion raised his hand like a student.

The doctor sat beside Adam facing Orion. Sage could hardly breathe as the doctor studied her small, pink hands for a moment. “Mr. Finley, I’m Doctor Wesnell. We’ve checked your father for a heart attack and a stroke, but it doesn’t appear that he’s had either.”

Myah started crying again, so Wendie collected the girl from Orion’s lap. “Come with me, honey. Let’s get some air.”

The doctor waited for them to leave then focused back on Orion. “Your father’s vitals are good right now. Does he have a history of passing out like this?”

“No, this has never happened before. He has memory issues due to a near drowning accident years ago and as he’s aged that’s gotten worse, but passing out has never been a problem.”

“Okay. It could be an isolated incident, but I’d like to keep him here overnight for observation. You should follow up with his doctor.”

Orion looked at Sage. “Maybe he was coming down from the events of today?”

“A plausible theory.”

“What events?” the doctor asked.

Orion angled his head one way then the other, probably searching for the best way to say,
I almost ended up dead today by the hands of my ex-wife.
“My life was in a little bit of danger earlier today.”

“A little?” Adam said.

“A heightened state of stress may have caused your father to pass out,” the doctor said.

“But he was fine after the event passed. He was laughing and happy.” Orion ran a hand through his hair.

“It could have taken a little time for his body to catch up to his happy mental state. It could also be as simple as he was hungry.”  

Orion nodded. “Can I see him?”

“Absolutely. He asked for you and Sage.” The doctor looked back to the doors where Wendie had disappeared with Myah.

“That’s Sage,” Adam said, pointing at her.

“Right this way then.” The doctor stood and gestured to the hallway.

Adam stood. “I’m going to catch up with Wendie and Myah.” He gave Orion’s shoulder a squeeze then left.

Following the doctor to Ian’s room felt like the longest trip ever. Brief peeks into the rooms along the way made Sage pray for each patient. She wanted them all to be able to leave the hospital, but she knew, mathematically, that wasn’t going to happen.

Let’s hope math is on Ian’s side.

The doctor stopped outside room 211 and rested her hand on the doorknob. “When the ambulance first brought your father in, he was incredibly anxious. We’ve given him something to keep him calm and allow him to rest.” She checked her wristwatch. “I’d say you have ten minutes before the full effects hit him.”

She opened the door. “Mr. Finley?”

Sage’s step faltered as she looked at Ian. Wires and tubes snaked from him to machines around the bed. He appeared frail and… sick, and again she was reminded of Rick. It hadn’t been easy to see her strong, invincible cousin in such a weakened state, and it was no easier to see Ian that way even though he was an old man.

“Mr. Finley?” the doctor asked again when Ian didn’t reply.

He was so still.

Is he breathing?

Suddenly Sage was cold. A chill charged down her spine and she couldn’t take another step closer to that bed. Not if Ian was… not if he was…

Oh, God.

“Dad?” Orion’s voice was far away, because he’d reached the bed. He scooped up Ian’s hand. “Dad.” This time the word was just a whisper.

Slowly, Ian’s eyes opened and he turned his head to Orion. Sage’s legs nearly crumpled beneath her. Relief flooded her body and mind as she sidled up to Orion.

Ian gave them both a slightly lopsided smile. “I feel funny,” he said.

With just those three words, Sage could tell he was back to that child-like Ian she had first met. What was it about Myah that brought about a remission in symptoms? Was unconditional love a cure for his condition? That didn’t sound scientifically possible, but it felt true. Without Myah around, Ian’s mental health declined.

“They gave you something to help you sleep, Dad,” Orion said gently. He still held his father’s hand.

“I want to go home.” Ian made a move to sit up, but the doctor quickly put a hand on his shoulder.

“Mr. Finley, take it easy for a little while,” she said.

He nodded, but looked at Sage. “No more horseback riding, Sage.”

Horseback riding.
Had that activity been too much for him? Oh, God, what if she caused this by pushing him too hard during their ride? She shouldn’t have taken him that far down the trail, but he was having so much fun—so was she—and he hadn’t seemed unwell in the least.

“Sage.” Orion’s voice pulled her out of the nasty loop of thoughts. “Same as we told Myah. Not your fault, right?” He held her gaze until she nodded.

“I’m just glad you’re all right.” Sage leaned down and gave Ian a kiss on the cheek. “I like hanging out with you.”

Ian blinked eyelids heavy with approaching sleep. “I like hanging out with you too.”

“Nah. You just like my cookies.” Sage made a deal right there with any and all divine powers that if Ian was truly okay, she’d make the man cookies every day.

Ian yawned.

“Okay,” the doctor said. “Looks as if our friend here is almost ready to snooze. Everybody out.”

“Can’t we stay, please?” Orion asked. “I don’t want to leave him alone.”

“He won’t be alone. We have a hospital full of people. He’s only going to be sleeping and for quite some time, hopefully. Go home. Come back in the morning.” Though the doctor spoke with authority, a tenderness warmed her eyes. How many times had she said these words to worried family members? Hundreds no doubt.

“We’ll come back first thing,” Sage said.

Reluctantly, Orion nodded then turned to the doctor with a hand extended. “Thank you.”

She accepted his handshake and gave Sage a look that said,
Even the Alphas need comfort.
Sage planned to give Orion all the comfort he needed. She wanted to be everything he ever needed, now and always.

“Bye, Dad.” Orion bent and gave his father a kiss on the forehead.

Ian closed his eyes as he mumbled an unintelligible response.

“Cookies will be waiting,” Sage whispered as she kissed Ian too.

The old man smiled, but didn’t open his eyes. His chest rose and fell in that steady way that marked slumber.

The doctor led them out. “I’ll call you if anything comes up, but I don’t expect anything to. Get some rest and we’ll see you in the morning.” She nodded to both of them and grabbed a tablet from the nurses’ station before ducking into another room down the hall.

“Let’s find the rest of the gang,” Sage said.

Orion stood in the hallway, motionless and looking a little lost. He turned when Sage touched his forearm. “Yeah,” he said softly.

Sage took a firm grip on his hand and brought it up to her lips. After pressing a light kiss to his knuckles, she said, “We can stay in the waiting room if you’d rather, Orion. We can do whatever you want.”

He hesitated for a moment, and Sage was sure he was going to say to stay. Instead he said, “No. Let’s go home. Myah should be at home now that it’s her home again. We should celebrate that it’s going to be your home too.”

Sage loved that his idea of home included her.

****

Orion was awake all night. Fortunately, watching Sage sleep kept him occupied, but a big piece of his brain kept wondering how his father was doing. Of course he was getting proper care. Of course the hospital was the best place for him right now.

Of course Orion had spent nearly every day with his father since forever. He couldn’t imagine a time when Ian wasn’t around. He wouldn’t imagine it. Not now. Those were thoughts for some other day. Thoughts that he would have to deal with someday.

Today was not that day.

The guy just passed out.
But still, it made Orion realize, with extreme clarity that his father would not be around forever.

Sage stirred next to him, a silky smooth leg rubbing against him and for one beautiful moment, he forgot the more somber thoughts of the morning. He put aside the fact that his father was in the hospital, that his ex-wife had almost killed him and was now in jail, that his barn had a huge hole in it, and that the work he’d done on the three bears for Rockefeller Center had been destroyed. Sage had the ability to do that for him. To make him hopeful for the future.

After all, his past had sucked. It could only get better, right?

“Morning, sexy,” Sage said, her voice a little sleep raspy.

“Hey.” He dropped a kiss on her warm, soft lips.

“Let’s wake up like this every morning.” She snuggled closer, her hair tickling his chin as she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

“Best plan ever,” he said. “In order for that to happen, my dear, you need to pack up your shit and move it here. Like right away.”

Her smile lit up the room more than the summer sun beaming in through the curtains, and he imagined how warm she was going to keep him on frosty winter nights.

“Okay.” She rose to her elbow, her fingertip tracing circles on his chest. “Here’s the plan then. I’m taking Myah to my house where she will help me and the Stannard Moving Crew pack up my
shit
, as you so eloquently put it. You will go see your dad and hopefully bring him home. Then we will rendezvous here for a celebratory dinner prepared by me. How’s that sound?”

“Too good to be true?” Because it was, wasn’t it? Nothing in his life ever went the way he truly wanted it to. Could he possibly have his daughter and Sage? Could he have the life he was always too afraid to dream of?

“You’d better get used to getting what you want, Orion.” Sage punctuated that statement with a slow, deep kiss that instantly hardened him. “I want to give you what you want.”

“What if I want you to cover yourself in whipped cream so I can lick it off every inch of your amazing body?” He played with the ends of her silky hair as it dangled over him.

“I’d say point me to the whipped cream, baby.” She rose and slid a leg to either side of his hips. Leaning forward, she kissed a line from his chin down his neck. She continued down his chest to his stomach where his muscles twitched from the tickle of her lips.

When she ran her tongue over the tip of his arousal, he grabbed the log spokes of the headboard and said, “Forget the whipped cream. We don’t need it.”

She took him into her mouth fully.
Christ.
Did she have any idea what she did to him? Did she know how much pleasure she brought with her simple presence?

Working him with her skilled lips and tongue, Orion hovered between the here and now and someplace else altogether—somewhere divine and utopian. He panted like a beast as she caressed him, her breasts rubbing against his bare legs, her hands gripping his bottom and pressing him closer to her. It was as if she’d taken a walk inside his brain, researched everything Adriana had denied him, and made a to-do list for herself.

How he loved this to-do list.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, when his body cried for release, he let go of the headboard and wove his fingers into Sage’s hair. He came into her hot, wet mouth, shuddering and gasping for air over the pleasure she brought him. She finished by kissing a line across his collarbone to his left ear where she gently nipped at his earlobe.

“I usually loathe mornings,” she whispered, “but not so much today.”

“No,” he managed, still riding a high, “this morning should not be loathed in any way.” He turned his head and caught her lips, ready to reciprocate the attention she’d given him.

He slid his hands along her slender, naked body and pulled her in close. He wanted them to occupy the same space though he knew that wasn’t possible. Unfortunately.

Pushing her slightly until she was on her back, he straddled her, equally as happy to be the person on top as he was to be on the bottom. With Sage it didn’t matter. Any position would cause pure bliss. He was sure of it, but would be more than willing to collect data to support this hypothesis.

A lot of data.

 He closed his mouth over one creamy white breast and flicked her budded nipple with his tongue until Sage arched up, pushing her hips against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, kneading the muscles in her back and at her waist then down to her perfect ass. He gave her other breast the same attention and when she was writhing with need below him, he grazed his lips down her stomach to her inner thigh.

Lingering there until she begged, Orion eased his way to her fiery center, kissing and stroking, teasing and caressing. He was hard all over again touching her like this.

Her body quivered in his hands, her muscles tightening and relaxing, tightening and relaxing. He’d never tire of exploring her. Not ever.

“Orion,” she whispered, her hand tipping his face up to her. “I need you inside me. Please.”