Be With Me(21)

“Are you getting enough rest, Birdie? Have you seen your doctor lately?”

She smiled as she sat down in the chair and actual y rol ed her eyes when Sawyer fussed around her, pul ing the ottoman over to prop her feet up.

“I’m right as rain, Sawyer. Even Doc Stevens says so.”

Sawyer frowned. “Do you think maybe you should consider seeing a doctor in Houston? Maybe a specialist? I mean Doc Stevens is older than dirt. He was practicing medicine in the stone age. Maybe he’s not up to date on the latest medical developments.”

Her eyes twinkled with merriment. “I’m two years older than Doc Stevens, Sawyer.”

His cheeks tightened, and he ducked his head. “I guess that didn’t come out too wel ,” he mumbled.

She laughed and put her wrinkled hand on his wrist. “I’m fine. Real y. Doc says I’l live another thirty years.”

“Good,” he said gruffly.

Cam and Hutch walked into the living room, their eyes lighting up when they saw Birdie. Sawyer stepped back as they both enfolded Birdie in hugs.

She smiled and preened under their compliments and patted each of them on the cheek as though they were ten years old again. And both of them beamed from ear to ear under her attentions.

Sawyer shook his head. They were al kids when it came to Birdie. She had a way of making them feel important. And loved. They had no defense against her, and none of them had a problem admitting that at al .

“You’l be okay here with Reggie?” Cam asked in a serious tone.

Birdie waved her hand at him. “You boys get on out of here. Regina and I wil be fine. I’l make sure she takes her pil just like you wanted. She’l probably sleep until you get back.”

“Okay, wel you have our cel numbers. Cal us if you have any problem at al .”

She made shooing motions with her hands. They each kissed her again, and she got up to go see them out. She stood at the door waving as they drove away, and Sawyer stared at her image in the side-view mirror until they turned onto the highway.

“Maybe we should offer to move her out to the house,” Sawyer said as he leaned back in the seat.

Cam glanced sideways at him, and Hutch leaned forward from the backseat to rest his arms over the middle divider.

“Who, Birdie?” Hutch asked.

Sawyer nodded. “Yeah. I mean she’s getting older.

We should think about taking care of her better. She lives alone in that same old house she’s always lived in.”

“That’s home,” Cam said. “I don’t want her to get rid of the house.”

Hutch nodded.

“She doesn’t have to get rid of it,” Sawyer said patiently. “I just thought we could keep a better eye on her if she was staying with us in the new house.”

“One, she’d never go for it,” Cam said. “She’s too independent, and the fact is, she’s healthy as a horse. She’l outlive us al . Two, think about what you’re saying.” He eyed Sawyer for a moment before returning his gaze to the road. “You’d be putting her in the middle of an already awkward situation with Reggie. It’s going to be hard enough to convince Reggie to stay with us. Add Birdie to the mix, and it wouldn’t be fair to either of them.”

Sawyer grimaced. “Yeah, good point. It’s just that .

. . having our family there. It sounded nice.” He shifted a little uncomfortably as he felt the other two staring at him. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut, because he sounded like a damn moron.

“I know what you mean,” Hutch said. “But Birdie is close, and now that we’re moving back, we’l be able to check in on her more often.”

“The more important issue is whether we’re going to be able to convince Reggie to stay,” Cam said.

Sawyer’s eyes narrowed, and he jerked his head in Cam’s direction. It was the second time in as many days that he’d heard Cam express doubts.

Fuck it all. If Cam was unsure, what the f**k was Sawyer supposed to think?

“You don’t sound so certain, Cam,” Hutch said in a low voice.

Sawyer glanced back at Hutch to see the same confusion registered in Hutch’s expression. He exchanged a quick glance with Hutch and offered a shrug in return.

Cam ran a hand through his hair and gave an agitated-sounding sigh.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “I’m worried. That’s al .

This is too important. If we don’t handle it just right, we could f**k things up permanently.”

“Are you trying to make a point here, Cam?” Sawyer demanded. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Cam frowned and looked his way again. “No man, I wasn’t making any point other than exactly what I said.”

“Wel , your inference was that one of us is screwing things up, and if that’s the case, you need to just get it out now.”

“Hold up,” Hutch said. “You need to back off, Sawyer. Your in-the-face approach ain’t going to cut it with us or with Reggie.”

Sawyer turned in his seat and pinned Hutch with his stare. “What are you saying, man? You got a problem with me?”

“I’ve got a problem with you getting in Reggie’s face and pushing too hard,” Hutch said unflinchingly.