She pulled her Jeep into the gas station in Jupiter, ninety miles away from the Grove. In her bag she had a little over a hundred dollars in tip money. On that she might make it to Jacksonville. Maybe. She’d likely stop somewhere else. Staring hard at the gas pumps, she slowly began to function again. She wrapped her arms around herself. How could she tell Jay? Her skin crawled while she got out of the Jeep to pay for gas.
She kept her gaze down. What if she was too late and her mother had won? She had nowhere else to go. Looking up at the night sky, she listened to the sound of silence. The gas fumes kept her grounded. Putting the pump back, she almost tripped.
She’d be a terrible mother. She couldn’t walk straight. Her hand gripped her elbow until she climbed back into her Jeep. Looking over, she saw her phone vibrating. Her tears stopped flowing, though, stayed in the back of her throat. Taking a deep breath while keeping her eyes down, she answered. “Hello?”
No one said anything. She almost put it down when the message light flashed. Calling herself slow, she listened to the message. “Penny, it’s Sandy. Please call me back. There has been an emergency.”
Sandy? Penny’s phone read “call failed” when she dialed her back. Taking one last look at the gas station, she ignored her hot cheeks and eyes. Jay deserved better. And she had no place else. He had to be fine. He better not have been in an accident on that bike of his. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he turned the car back south on the highway. Once she told him the truth, she’d be fine. Being in the middle of nowhere on a highway, her mind raced with what that message said.
When she hit West Palm, almost an hour away from home, her phone finally worked. Sandy answered. “Penny, where are you?”
Sandy shouldn’t have to be burdened with her too. She said, “On my way back. What happened to Jay?”
“It’s bad. He’s still unconscious.”
He didn’t deserve that. She flinched. He had to be fine. “Where are you?”
“Jackson Memorial Hospital.”
Back in Miami, an hour and a half away. She couldn’t speak for a moment, but she did speed up a little. Her heartbeat raced. The words stayed low, near a whisper. “I’ll be there.”
“Hurry.”
She couldn’t ask the right questions. Before she could form the words, Sandy hung up. Her whole body shook when she kept picturing that motorcycle. He couldn’t die.
Gulping for air. Her fingers gripped the wheel when she found a spot in the garage. Her legs wobbled when she walked through the door. At the front desk, they pointed her to the ninth floor. Getting into the elevator, she fought being dizzy.
“Penny.”
Hugging her friend helped stop her thoughts from flying around her head. “Sandy. What happened?”
Taking her hand, Sandy led her down the hall. “He was found beaten, but he’s awake.”
Her mouth fell open. “How? Who?”
Petting her hand, Sandy grimaced before she told her, “At your home. There was a home invasion he interrupted.”
Her entire body stiffened. Was the doorman sleeping with her mother again? “That doesn’t make any sense.”
A chest pain hit hard. Her skin tingled. Was her family involved? Biting her lip. She shouldn’t be here.
“He’s been asking for you.”
Teary-eyed, she followed without question. At the door Sandy stopped and used her hands to get Penny to go inside. Her legs went weak as she walked in, but she moved. Her body began to shake when she saw bruises on his face. Lightheadedness assaulted her on her walk. The beeping of the machines near him made no sense. Covering her mouth with her hands, she came next to him, putting her hands on his. “Jay.”
Nodding. Her body warmed up when he slightly lifted his head and his blue eyes met hers. “Penny.”
She touched his hair, arranged his blankets, and kissed his cheek before sitting next to him. He’d be okay. Her heartbeat went back to a normal pace, and the ache in her throat eased the smallest bit. In a quiet voice, she told him, “I’m here, Dimples. I’m not going anywhere.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks when he took her hand. “I’m sorry, Penny. I’d never hurt you.”
The bruises on his face didn’t take away from the light in his eyes. He deserved to know everything, but she had no idea how to start. Stroking his forearm to not upset him, she said, “I don’t know what to say.”
He squeezed her hand, and his jaw set firm while he attempted to sit up. But the monitors went off. “Penny…”
The doctors rushed inside and she stood up. “I’m here. Lie back down. Everything will be fine.”
Pressing his lips together, ignoring the doctors, he told her, “No. Go. Run.”
Where? She had no place to go. She patted his knee while a nurse took his pulse, though his eyes never left hers.
Someone in a white coat asked her, “Can you wait in the hallway, miss?”
Penny nodded at Jay one more time before going out to see Sandra. “Why aren’t his parents here?”
Rubbing her forehead, Sandra glanced around the hallway before answering. “He didn’t tell you? I have his power of attorney in case something happens to him.”
Penny bit the side of her mouth. She should have asked. She should have seen a lot of things. Shaking her head, she stepped closer. “No. What happened to his parents and Jay?”
Tilting her head, Sandra pursed her lips. “He should tell you that.”
Penny bristled. She’d have to be more like him to get answers. “I should have asked a lot of questions.”
Frowning, Sandra gazed down. “You’re here. It will help.”
Sandy’s eyes were close to tears. She knew.
“Why me, though?”
Penny fumbled and almost fell back a little. Then her feet steadied, but her shoulders caved closer to her neck. “Penny, he doesn’t have a lot of people he can be open with and trust. I set him up with Eva when I thought you weren’t coming back to Miami.”
“I wasn’t on his radar.”
Sandra held back a sob. “You are wrong on that one.”
Covering her mouth with her hand, Penny gasped, then nodded. “He named his company after me.”
Sandra breathed in easier then smiled. “Ahh. So you know.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why.”
Smiling, though her voice still had more unshed tears, Sandra said, “Men like Jay don’t make friends. This attack will make it worse. I don’t want my cousin going down a dark path. Please help me and be here for him.”
All those things he had done to help her financially . . .. He likely meant to help her, but then so did her mother. No one listened to her. Closing her eyes, Penny told herself to stop fretting. When she opened her eyes, she set her gaze on Sandy. “I have a right to feel angry and betrayed.”
Sandy took her arm and begged, “Penny, I don’t know what he did to you, but don’t abandon him now.”
The guilt ratcheted up her spine. Her mother took money and ran. She’d never be her. Tightening her fists at her side, she made a decision. “I don’t have anyplace else to be.”
Sandy hugged her. “Thank you. Whatever he did to you, let him apologize.”
She looked back at Jay’s room. They had so much to talk about. She had so much to say. Hugging her friend, she nodded. “I’ll listen when he does.”
Through the window in the hallway, both women stared inside. Jay sat up in his bed arguing with his doctors. At least he’d be okay.