“I've heard all about you and Daisy.” Clay swallowed hard. “J.T. loves you a lot.”
“It's mutual,” Grams said. “Daisy brought him home when they were thirteen, and he's been mine ever since. Tell me how you two met. Are you in the culinary program at Tech, too?”
“No ma'am. I've been working in the small business incubator they have there, first with my brewery and now as an advisor. We ran into each other on campus and hit it off.”
Grams' smile was almost blinding. I knew she wouldn't care that J.T. had a boyfriend, she'd only care that he was happy and loved. Based on the way Clay had rushed to be here, I knew J.T. was both.
I leaned into Royal, resting my head on his shoulder. “I hate the waiting,” I said, keeping my voice low so I could eavesdrop on Grams and Clay.
“I know. Try to close your eyes, get some rest.”
I made an inelegant sound in the back of my throat. A nap was not going to happen. I was drained from everything, and I'd been up since before dawn. I still wasn't going to sleep.
“Fine, then tell me about your packed bags. Are you going to move in with me?”
I glanced up to see his blue eyes trained on my face, emotion swirling through them. Nerves, humor, hope, and love. Royal felt it all and I wanted to give the same back.
“I was planning on it. Thought I'd bring a pie to bribe you.”
“I can always be bribed with pie. Or cake. Cookies…”
I squeezed his hand and laughed. “I know. I figured I'd sweeten you up with the pie before I asked for half of that closet.”
I was mostly joking. First, I didn't have nearly enough clothes to fill half of Royal's closet. Neither did he. His suite wasn't the most luxurious in Heartstone Manor—he claimed that honor belonged to Griffen and Hope—but it was larger than my own place by far. I wondered if Savannah and their cook would let me play in the kitchen. I'd figure it out later.
I opened my mouth to ask when the door at the end of the hall opened and a tall, thin woman in scrubs came out. She looked strained and tired. “J.T. Swift?”
I stumbled to my feet, Royal standing beside me. Everyone else did the same. “That's us. We're here for J.T. Is he okay?”
At that moment, I was afraid to hope, terrified she was going to say he was dead. I couldn't read her face, saw only the lines fatigue had drawn into her forehead, the circles beneath her eyes.
Please, please, let him be okay.
“He's stable.” My heart kicked back to life and I took a breath. Stable. He was stable. Stable was good.
She went on. “No visitors yet, he woke from anesthesia, but he's asleep now. You can see him in the morning.”
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.
She gave me that measured doctor look that told me she wasn't going to make any promises. “He came through surgery well. The knife made a mess but didn't damage anything vital. He lost a lot of blood, and he's going to be off his feet for a while, but, assuming things go well over the next twenty-four hours, he should make a full recovery.”
I sagged with relief, Royal's arm the only thing holding me upright. “When can we see him?”
“Come back after nine am tomorrow. He needs to rest and I want to take another look at him before we move him to a regular room. Then he can have visitors.”
Grams turned to Clay. “You can come home with me and stay in J.T.'s old room, or Daisy can give you the keys to the apartment over the bakery.” She tilted her head at me. “You're going home with Royal?”
“That's the plan,” I confirmed. To Clay, I added, “I can give you the key to the apartment, but you should go home with Grams. She'll be coming straight back here in the morning, and she makes a killer breakfast.”
Grams nodded in agreement. “I will and I do.” Turning to me, she said quietly, “I'm going to stop by the bakery on the way home, put up a sign saying we're closed tomorrow. After we see J.T., can we find some time to talk?”
“Of course, we can. I'll call you in the morning.”
Grams left, towing Clay behind her. She'd feel better with someone to take care of. Normally, that would be me, but I was going home with Royal. Tomorrow, I was going to take care of Grams, whether she liked it or not.
My dad had hurt both of us, but I had Royal. Grams had had too many shocks in a short period of time. My parents betraying her, me quitting the bakery, J.T. in the hospital… I didn't know what my future held when it came to our working relationship, but she was my Grams.