Free Worth the Fall by Mara Jacobs

twenty-four hours.”
    She looked like she was going to argue with him but then just shrugged and gave a small smile. “You’re probably right.”
    “ Plus, all those damn stairs. Not to mention the ones that did me in in the first place.”
    She put a hand on his ankle. “Oh Petey, you have no idea how sick your father is about that. He was beside himself. He still is.”
    “ Why? It’s the end of January in the Copper Country. What outside steps aren’t icy? I just wasn’t paying attention. Too much of a Southern boy now.”
    “ They don’t have icy stairs in Detroit?”
    “ Not for hockey stars—we’re exempt! We do our share of ice time in other ways.”
    She swatted his good leg and chuckled. His mother ’s laughter was better than any Vicodin. “Seriously, Mom, you’ve got to get Dad to ease up on himself. It never occurred to me that it was in any way anyone’s fault.”
    “ That’s right,” Lizzie said, entering the room. “If you think about it, he was on his way to see me. One could say it was my fault.”
    “ Yeah, let’s go with that,” he said, winking at his best friend, who flipped him the bird behind his mother’s back.
    “ I need to get back home. I have a conference call.”
    “ It’s after five. Didn’t you promise Finn you’d keep normal work hours now?”
    “ West coast.”
    That sparked his interest. “Who ya going after?”
    A coy smile played across her face. “Can’t say, it’s too early. Let’s just say Darío made the connection and it would be a Major coup for Hampton and Associates.”
    What Major-winning golfer lived on the west coast? “Phil?” She only smiled wider. “No shit? Lizard, that’s great.”
    “ Petey,” his mother said, swatting him again as she rose from the bed. “Watch the mouth.”
    “ Sorry,” he said, though they both knew he wasn’t. “Good luck with the call.”
    “ Thanks. Like I said, way too early. We’re just going to talk about some of his charitable foundations and if we could help him out.”
    “ Which of course you can.”
    “ Of course,” she said with no hesitation. She came over, bent down and kissed him on the forehead, and ruffled his hair. Yep, definitely a toddler. “Al thought she’d be home around eight after having dinner with her mom and sister and stopping by the hospital for a quick visit with her dad.”
    “ How long has she been keeping this up?”
    Lizzie sighed, placed her hands on her hips, and looked out the window like she was counting the passage of time via the seasons. Maybe she was. “Jeez, I think her dad’s been in and out of the hospital for nearly a year now? Maybe a little less. Her mom didn’t start going downhill until this past summer, and it’s been a lot slower.”
    “ Jesus,” he said under his breath.
    “ Yeah,” Lizzie agreed.
    He looked around at the stupid pink sheets. Where had she found time to do this? “This seems like a lot to ask. Maybe we should figure something else out. A motel or something? Call Jules and see if she has any rooms available for long-term. I know it’s snowmobile season, but she loves me. She’ll find me a room.”
    “ You are not staying in a motel, nice as Jules’s place is. You’ll go stir crazy. At least here you can hobble to the kitchen and living room for a change of scenery. Plus, you can’t beat the view,” his mother said, motioning out the large window to the ice-covered lake. If he weren’t pissed at ice in general right now he’d agree.
    “ Honestly,” Lizzie said, “I think this might be good for Al, too. She’s been in such a rut lately with the hospital, her mom’s situation and her private practice.”
    “ So, what? Another patient for her to look after?”
    “ You mean like her parents’ kind of patient, or her patients’ kind of patient?” Lizzie joked. “‘Cause I’m thinking you could probably use both kinds of attention.”
    “ Ha fucking ha,” he said, and shrugged as his mother arched a brow at