Liv nodded to Neil who walked away toward the door.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Weren’t you listening?”
“Fuck, no. Liv, why are you here?”
How did she know?
“I didn’t want you to be alone.”
There was something in her voice, a quality that gave me a sense of dread. My gaze went toward the windows. Beyond the panes, the sky was cobalt blue. A blue the same as Julia’s eyes. “Where is Julia?”
I stared at my sister as she paced by the end of the bed.
When Liv didn’t answer, I said, “Tell me again why you’re here.”
Her pacing stopped as she turned my way, her green eyes looking at me with pity. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”
With my one mobile hand, I gripped the bedrail.
I didn’t fucking do pity. “I’ve been alone for nearly twenty years, and you haven’t given a shit. Why is now different?”
“That’s not fair, Van. I have given a shit.” She stood taller, the cords in her neck protruding as she dropped her hands to her side. “You don’t make anything simple.”
“I see, so you wait until I’m unconscious.”
Liv’s lips came together. “You’re not an easy man.” Exhaling, she came to the side of the bed. “I may hate you for some of the things you’ve done, but I still love you. Being nasty won’t scare me away. I knew damn well what I was going to get when you woke up.”
“And yet here you are.”
“I can go.”
It had been a long time since I’d seen my sister in person. It was after Madison and Phillip’s wedding and before Madison came to me asking for my help. After the wedding, I vowed to sever all ties with anyone with the last name of Thomas. A few years later, I’d been in Dallas for business. Liv was the one who found me, showing up at the hotel.
Looking at her now, I assessed how she’d aged. With boots, tight black slacks, and a soft green sweater, Olivia looked younger than our forty-one years. Of the three of us, Liv was the most athletic—much to our father’s chagrin.
As kids, Lip and I played the mandatory football and basketball, but my energies went to music and acquiring knowledge over catching balls. That didn’t mean I wasn’t fit. I was. I worked out routinely, but Liv was the one who ran half and full marathons. One of her last letters spoke about a bicycle trip in Holland—something about biking fifty miles a day. As I looked at my sister now, I saw my only connection to Donovan Thomas—the man I’d given up.
There was a truth I couldn’t deny; I didn’t want to lose her too.
My tone mellowed. “It’s strange to see you in person.”
Liv nodded. “Lena called.”
That’s how Liv found out I was here—Lena.
Fuck, Julia wasn’t my emergency call.
It was Lena.
“I’d be less surprised to see her. Tell me about Julia. Have you contacted her?”
“Lena was here in the hospital first until I got here. She had to get back to Montana, something about business and takeovers. You two speak the same language.” Liv feigned a smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have known…any…if Lena hadn’t…” She took a deep breath. “I didn’t know…”
I shook my head as a dull buzzing began to grow in my ears. “Talk to me.”
“What do you want?” she asked.