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I only half heard him, still thinking about what Dylan had said. Ella? Her ex? My mouth went dry, and my mind turned to sludge. It occurred to me that I’d finished an op, gone straight to the plane, then driven here. I hadn’t slept in over seventy-two hours. “I’m … tired.”
“That’s not surprising,” McCrae said, closing the circle by stepping up next to Damon. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I focused on McCrae, trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic. “I’m fine,” I said tersely.
“How long are you staying?” Damon asked.
Shrugging, I stepped away from them and moved toward my father. I was unsure of how to approach, but I knew I had to. “How are you feeling, Dad?”
He turned toward me and muted the television. He looked so tired, not like the in-charge man I’d grown up knowing. “I’m good, son.”
The way he said “son” had something going on inside my chest. This was different from the grumpy way he’d spoken to me the past couple of Christmases. “Good,” I said.
An awkward silence fell, and I made a decision right then. I turned back to Damon, nodding to Canyon and McCrae. “I’m staying at least a week.”
“You are?” Mom asked, clapping her hands together as she walked back into the kitchen.
“I’ll stay at the hotel in town, but I’ll be back in the morning.” I nodded to Mom and moved past her.
“No, Noah,” she argued. “Just stay here.”
Kayla came back inside as I was approaching the front door. “You’re leaving already?”
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” I said, patting her shoulder. “I just need some major rest.”
“Noah Johnny Armstrong,” my mother said in that way only a mother could.
I stopped and turned back. “Yes?”
“Stay here. We have plenty of room.”
Kayla pinned me with a look that dared me to stay, even though she knew I wouldn’t.
“See you tomorrow, Mom.” I couldn’t look at them as I stepped outside.
I had just slid into the Jeep when Kayla rushed after me and shouted, “Wait! You can’t leave like this.”
She threw the Jeep door open, her gaze full of fire. I didn’t have the heart to pull it shut on her.
“You come home to check on Dad and to comfort Mom, presumably, and then you leave? You won’t even stay with them?”
I didn’t want to have a verbal sparring match with my sister. “Kayla. I haven’t slept in seventy-two hours. I’m exhausted. I just need to go somewhere without all of this.”
Kayla threw her hands up in the air. “Without your family?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose. “What is she doing back in town?”
It took a moment for Kayla to figure it out. “Ella?”
I didn’t want to be this vulnerable with anyone, but I had to know. “I saw her at the hospital. She said she thought someone would’ve told me she was back. What does that mean? And on top of it, shetouchedmy arm.” The instant I said it, I felt ridiculous. The way I was freaking out about it, you’d think I was a child and an adult had touched me improperly. “Never mind.”
“What do you mean, she touched your arm?” Anger sketched the lines of her face. Kayla had always worn a lot of makeup to make herself look more professional, but it was the end of the day, and I could tell she was worn out. Her makeup was dark around her eyes, and her lipstick looked stale.
“Nothing. It was stupid. She told me she was sorry, and she touched my shoulder.” I brushed it off. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” All the old feelings swirled inside me, and I hated it.
Kayla let out a long breath. “She’s been back a couple months. She’s divorced. The rumor is that Brian was abusive.”
I jerked to meet her gaze, ice shooting through my veins. “What?”
