“I will,” she said with another forced smile as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, glad that this at least bought her a few days to get over her heartache.

* * * *

New Haven Hospital

The next day……

“We’re not supposed to release you unless you have someone to take care of you,” the nurse explained even as she helped Rory out of the wheelchair and into the waiting taxi.

“My brothers are going to take care of me,” Rory said as another wave of dizziness shot through her head and threatened to make her lose the green Jello lunch that they’d forced down her throat.

“Are you sure?” the nurse asked, looking uncertain.

“Yes,” Rory assured her, thankful when the nurse took her at her word and closed the door behind her.

“Where to, miss?” the driver asked.

“The Holiday Inn on Tremont Street,” she said, closing her eyes and letting her head drop back against the faded cloth seat as she did her best to ignore the throbbing that was starting to make itself known in her hip.

Thirty minutes later she was letting herself into the hotel room and praying for death with each step. She thought a soak in a hot bath would help, but by the time she made it to the bed, it was obvious that she wouldn’t be making it that far, at least not today.

Chapter 38

“You’re fired. Get the f**k off my site,” Connor told the bastard that he’d caught sitting on his ass and text messaging his girlfriend while the rest of the men busted their assess.

“What? You can’t fire me!” Dave, the man that he’d foolishly hired as a supervisor and gave one too many chances to, said, getting into Connor’s face.

“I just did,” Connor said, stepping around the ass**le as he gestured to a few of his men to remove the prick.

“What the hell am I supposed to tell my wife?” the man demanded as Connor walked away.

“That texting your girlfriend got your ass fired!” Connor yelled over his shoulder, not bothering to waste another second on the ass**le.

He pulled his phone out and after one look, shoved it back in his pocket and kicked a bucket full of sand out of his way, not giving a damn where it went. Three days, three f**king days without a single word from Rory. He’d never gone this long without talking to her or seeing her and he didn’t like it, not one f**king bit.

This wasn’t like Rory. He wasn’t the type of ass**le that expected her to check in. He wasn’t overbearing and would never try and keep tabs on her, but he was really starting to worry. Three days without a word. The night that Andrew received his transplant he called her to tell her that everything was going good so far and to tell her that he loved her, but she didn’t answer. The next day he sent her an email update of the project and still nothing.

Something was seriously wrong. He didn’t know if he’d somehow pissed her off and she needed space from him, which he could deal with, but he just needed to know that she was okay. Rory wasn’t the type to leave a project of this size for three days without checking in. She wouldn’t do that, not unless she didn’t have a choice.

He called Trevor and left a message this morning, but he hadn’t heard back from the man yet and-

“I just got your message. What’s going on?” Trevor asked, pulling on a Yankees baseball cap as he climbed out of his truck and headed towards Connor.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Connor asked, frowning as he noted that the parking lot was suddenly overrun with trucks sporting Yankees bumper stickers and Bradfords, a lot of Bradfords.

“Is that really any way to talk to your favorite in-laws?” Jason asked with a tsk as he threw a tool belt over his shoulder and walked over to join them.

“We’re here to get this project finished,” Trevor said absently as he tossed a hard hat to one of his younger cousins.

“Why aren’t you home with Zoe and the babies?” he demanded as he headed for the office, because he knew without a doubt that something was seriously f**king wrong. Rory would never volunteer to play babysitter so that someone else could finish building her dream.

“Mom’s staying with Zoe and the babies and so are Haley and the kids,” Jason said, following after him. “What the hell is going on, Connor?”

“Why did you call me looking for Rory? Where is she?” Trevor asked, joining them.

“I don’t know,” he said, opening the trailer door, “but I’m about to find out.”

“Where’s Rory?” he demanded as he stepped inside the trailer, not giving a damn that Jacob was on the phone.

When the man held up a finger, indicating that he needed a minute, Connor walked over to the man, took the phone from him and hung up.

“Hey! That was an important call!” Jacob snapped, moving to take the phone back.

Connor tossed the phone to Jason and leaned over the desk. “Where. Is. Rory?” he asked, biting out each word as he forced himself not to reach across the desk and grab the man by his neck and shake him until he told him what he wanted to know, needed to hear, that Rory was pissed off at him and giving him the cold shoulder. He’d rather her be pissed at him than hurt.

Jacob frowned in confusion as he shot a look at Trevor. “I thought she was staying with you.”

“No, I haven’t seen her since the babies were born,” Trevor said, starting to look worried and for damn good reason.

“Then I don’t know where she is,” Jacob said, rubbing his hands down his face as Jason pulled out his phone.

“Craig, any idea where Rory is?” Jason asked, pacing the office while Trevor and Jacob waited for an answer, but he was done waiting. Something was going on and he was damn well going to find out what that something was and when he found Rory he was going to spank her ass until his hand fell off.

“Pull up her bank records,” he said, pointing at the computer.

Jacob’s brows arched a few seconds before he started shaking his head. “I can’t do that.”

“Oh, I think you can,” Trevor said, crossing his massive arms over his chest as he joined Connor in glaring down at the nervous man.

“No, I mean, I really can’t do that. I don’t have her passwords for her personal accounts,” Jacob rushed to explain.

“Then who does?” Connor asked, praying that someone had that information, because if they didn’t then he didn’t know what else to do.

“Maybe one of her brothers,” Jacob said, sounding hopeful as he stood up and made his way around the desk.

“Where are you going?” Jason asked as he placed his phone in his pocket.

“To see if she left any clues on her desk,” Jacob explained, heading for Rory’s office door, but Connor already knew that he wouldn’t find anything.

“I’ve been working in there for three days and I haven’t seen anything,” he said, fighting back the need to slam his fist into something.

Where the hell was she?

Wherever she was, he wasn’t going to find her by standing around here.

“Where are you going?” Jason called after him as he stormed out of the trailer.

“To find Rory so that I can kill her.”

* * * *

“Oh my God yes! Oh, right there…..yes, oh…….that feels sooooooooo good,” Rory moaned as she settled back into the deep tub that she really needed to have her brothers steal for her. It really would make things a lot simpler for her if she didn’t have to sneak into Connor’s house for these late night soaks.

Granted, this one was more of a mid-day soak, but that didn’t change the fact that this tub really belonged in her house. Maybe she could get Connor to install it as a wedding gift, she thought with a pleased little smile as she looked down at the engagement ring that she loved.

She knew that it was small and was reminded of that fact by the catty remarks made by other women almost every day, but she really didn’t care. She loved this ring, because she knew how hard Connor had worked to buy it for her. He’d offered to replace it for her and even went as far as to drag her into several jewelry stores, but she absolutely refused to wear anything else. This was her ring and she loved it and she loved the man that had given it to her.