Free A Letter for Annie by Laura Abbot

stuff. The woman haunted him—in his thoughts, in his dreams and, most especially, in the flesh. He could no more have stayed away when he’d seen her struggling with Geneva and all her paraphernalia than fly. And even as his gut clenched, he admitted to himself that it wasn’t gallantry that had brought him here. No, something stronger and scarier. He wanted to protect Annie from the pain he knew was coming. Geneva Greer had returned to Eden Bay to die, and that would be a crushing blow for her great-niece.
    He closed his eyes, oblivious to the conversations around him and to the comings and goings in the reception room. He could rationalize that he was doing this for Pete, knowing that his friend would have done anything to make life easier for Annie. In fact, thinking of Pete should help him get a grip on his inappropriate attraction to Annie.
    But this wasn’t about Pete. And it wasn’t about the past. This was about Annie and him and now. Damned, though, if he knew what to do about any of it.
    He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes. “Kyle?” Annie stood in front of him, her lip trembling, her voice ragged.
    He rose to his feet. She stood mere inches from him. “It’s Auntie G.” She paused, unable to go on. “They’re…they’re hospitalizing her. Dehydration, the doctor said. And other complications. Fluid buildup and…” She was unable to finish.
    He couldn’t help himself. He reached out and cradled her ravaged face in his hands. “I’m so sorry.”
    A sob choked her and she flung herself into his arms, dampening his shirt with her tears. “Oh, Kyle, what am I going to do?”
    “Shh,” he crooned. “Just let it go, Annie. Let it go.”
    As he stood there holding her in his embrace, breathing in her floral scent, feeling her chest heaving in the effort to take in air, he knew the answer to her question.
    What was he doing here?
    He held her even more closely. This. Simply and inevitably this.

CHAPTER FIVE

    T HE NEXT FEW HOURS PASSED in a daze of bureaucratic and clinical red tape. After waiting while Dr. Woodruff made arrangements for a bed at the small Eden Bay Hospital next door, Kyle helped Annie move Geneva to the medical facility before heading out. The forty-minute admission process grated on Annie’s nerves and tired her great-aunt. When a room was finally available, Annie and a nurse undressed Geneva and helped her into bed. “I don’t like this!” she complained. Further objections were cut off by a fit of coughing, administration of oxygen, insertion of IVs and attachment of monitors.
    At a loss, Annie stood by as the nurses fussed over her aunt. Once they had her settled, one of them asked if Geneva had eaten dinner. Although the frail woman waved her hand dismissively, a tray arrived with a turkey sandwich, applesauce, butterscotch pudding, cranberry juice and a roll. “Hospital food. Bah.”
    Annie struggled to control her emotions. “You’d prefer to be fed intravenously?”
    Auntie G. had the grace to appear contrite. “No, but—”
    “No buts. You’ll be hooked up to tubes if you don’t do what you’re told.”
    A wan smile crossed Geneva’s lips. “Obedience. Not my strong suit.”
    “Tell me something I don’t know.”
    Geneva managed the applesauce, half her pudding and one small bite of the roll. “I’m done.”
    “Try the juice.”
    Shooting Annie a disgusted look, she set about sipping from the cardboard container. “Where’s that young man?”
    “Kyle? He went home.”
    “It was nice of him to help us.”
    Annie tried not to think about just how nice he’d been, holding her protectively as her world fell apart. “Yes, it was.”
    “He likes you.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “I’ve been around the block a few times, remember? I know what I know.”
    Annie removed the meal tray and smoothed the sheets around Geneva, trying not to think about what her great-aunt had said. “Here’s what I know. You need to rest. Let me