Page 84 of Accepting Fate

He levels me with a serious look. “Go help Isabella. She needs you more than I do.”

“Isabella?”

He nods his head to the side, signaling me to look. I glance over my shoulder and see Noah standing beside a man sitting at the wooden dining table. He’s typing extremely fast on his laptop and saying something into a phone. His hair color mimics Grayson’s chestnut brown but is faded on the sides and shorter up top. He glances up and finds me staring. From my spot, I can tell all the Hayes brothers share the same midnight blue eye color. I see a tattoo peeking out underneath his t-shirt near his collarbone.

Grayson mentioned that Wesley is the only brother that isn’t covered in tattoos. So, by process of elimination, this must be Landon. He looks pissed off but, judging by all the chaos happening, I don’t blame him.

Landon tilts his head to the side. I follow and see a small blonde woman sitting on the ground wrapped in a blanket leaning against the island. Harper is kneeling next to her asking her something, but the girl doesn’t respond.

“That’s Isabella?” I ask quietly, shifting my focus back to Grayson.

“Yeah. Can you go help her? I promise I’m okay.”

“Harper can work on her. I need to look at that cut.” I try to turn his head again, but he doesn’t let me.

Grayson motions for me to come closer so he can whisper something in my ear. “I need to make sure Isabella is taken care of first. She is in rough shape, Angel. I need you to go be the amazing nurse you are and check her out. I won’t be a cooperative patient while I’m worried about her.”

Damn this man.

“But Harper is more than capable of taking care of her,” I argue.

I don’t want to leave him. And Harper is a kickass nurse, so I don’t understand why he wants me to leave him.

Grayson brushes his thumb along my cheeks and says, “I know she is but she needs you. I saw how you were that day with Lily and Alana. And Isabella needs that right now.”

This man and his damn words.

I look over my shoulder to see Harper trying to speak to Isabella. She is still silent and that's when I know Gray is right.

I let out a sigh. “Okay. Fine. But you better be prepared for a lecture about what you should and should not do with a head injury, Mr. Caveman.”

“Mhmm. Now get that sexy ass up and help her. I told you I’m fine,” Grayson says as he wraps his free arm around my waist and squeezes my thigh in his giant paw of a hand.

I place a soft kiss on his lips, untangle his arm from around me, and stand. “You’re not okay in the slightest, Bear. But I’m going to send Harper over here to stitch you up. I'd rather her look at your brain than me. I don't want to have nightmares about my boyfriend’s busted skull.”

I try to walk away but he grabs my hand. “Say that again.”

“Huh?”

“Call me your boyfriend again,” he commands.

Rolling my eyes, I humor him. “Boyfriend. Now let me do my job, you big caveman.”

I hear him let out a low growl as I walk around the couch towards Isabella and Harper.

I approach slowly and Harper’s head snaps up to look at me. She slowly stands and pulls me to the side and whispers in my ear. “Hey. I can't get through to her no matter what I do. I’m really trying, Lolo. But this poor girl has been through something awful, and she’s just not responding to me.”

I give her a quick hug and say, “I know, H. Let me try. Can you go look at Grayson? He has a nasty cut on the back of his head.”

Harper looks over at Grayson and shakes her head.“Yeah. But just so you know, you owe me an explanation and a bottle of wine.”

I nod and sink down to the floor in front of Isabella. She’s looking down at her hands that rest in her lap. One of them is cradling the broken one. Her wrist and fingers are shades of deep purple, and some of them are sideways. Her light blonde hair is in one big, matted ball with twigs sticking out. My eyes zero in on her face, looking for any signs of head trauma. I don’t see anything from where I am, but I can’t be certain until I get her to the hospital for scans.

This poor girl has gone through so much, and I need to make sure nothing else is wrong before I splint her leg, wrist, and hand.

Without touching her, I check her body for any more obvious injuries. She’s wearing what looks like a men’s black t-shirt that looks familiar.

Gray has been staying with me as many nights a week as he can. Every morning, he runs out to his truck and comes in with a fresh shirt and underwear. He must have given Isabella one of the shirts he planned on changing into the next time he spent the night.