Though there were already six or seven people in the break room eating and talking, he saw her immediately and headed her way.

“I got you a cranberry juice. I made a turkey and Swiss and a roast beef and cheddar. I figured we could switch halves.”

He grabbed her gaze. “You made these this morning? While I was sleeping?”

She blushed, and despite his worry about his brother, the agitation and anxiety that had been clawing at him seemed to fall away. “You have all those groceries in your fridge, I figured you should use them.”

“Thank you for taking such good care of me.” He ate, listening more than he spoke, and Carmella filled the quiet, instinctively knowing he needed that.

By the time he needed to go to the client consult, he was recharged and far more focused.

“I’ll interrupt if anyone calls,” Carmella told him as she headed back to her office.

Caught up in the sight of her walking away, Duke leaned against Asa’s doorway for a few moments more.

“Let’s head to the showroom now that you’re done staring at Carmella’s ass,” Asa called as he headed the opposite direction.

Duke caught up with his friend. “I’ll never be done staring at Carm’s ass. It’s fucking perfect. It’ll be perfect when she’s ninety.”

“I told her love made you sideways.”

Duke snorted. “I saw it happen to you. I’ve seen it happen to other people. I figured it was like, only amplified. Super-like. But it’s …” He broke off, trying to find a way to express it. “It’s different than anything I’ve ever felt. She’s everything. I’m all about it.”

Asa tipped his chin in agreement. “Settles down all that stormy shit inside me.”

Yes. Exactly.

CHAPTER Twenty-eight

He came out of the meeting with a new client and the possibility of a collaboration to enter a build contest at a major show the following year.

But no call from his parents.

They had another appointment to follow, but he had enough time to call his mom before then and ended up leaving a voicemail. Then he tried his sister and got the same.

“No calls?” he asked Carmella when he stopped by her office.

“Not yet. I’ve had the phone with me at all times so I haven’t missed anything. Have you tried calling them? Maybe they got caught up in dealing with stuff and haven’t had the chance to call yet. You know how it can be sometimes.”

“I figured that might be it. I tried my parents and my sister and got voicemail on everyone.”

“The waiting room at my mom’s doctor’s office makes you turn off cell phones. Some hospitals do.”

He let go of some of the fear. “I should have come to you earlier. Okay, that all makes sense. We’re getting ready to go back into the next meeting. I just wanted to check.”

It wasn’t until he’d come out of the next meeting and called his mother again that someone finally answered.

“What’s going on?” he asked the moment she picked up.

“We’ve been dealing with the medical staff and the police for hours,” his mother said.

“Police? About the accident?” Jesus, had it been Danny’s fault?

“They’re saying it might have been a suicide attempt. Which is nonsense, of course. It was a traffic accident for goodness’ sake.”

“Mom, is Danny out of surgery? Is he all right?” First things first.

“He got out about three hours ago. He’s in recovery.”

Duke blew out a breath. “And he’ll be all right?”

“They think so. He’ll be in ICU for at least the next few days.”

“Now, what’s this about the cops and this being a suicide?”

“Ever since he got out of rehab the last time, he’s had a rough go of it.”

“Rehab? Danny was in rehab? The last time? It was more than once?” Why didn’t anyone tell him anything?

“He didn’t want it to be broadcast. He was embarrassed. His job is very stressful and he used alcohol to cope. They said he also had trouble with that crystal meth, but Danny said it was just liquor.”

Meth might explain why his brother could keep up with the insane demands of his life. And then couldn’t anymore, apparently.

“I’m coming down tonight. I’ll grab a hotel near the hospital when I get in. I’ll text you my hotel information when I arrive if it’s too late.”

“Why on earth would you do that? Duke, you can’t do anything. He can’t see anyone even if he was conscious, which he isn’t. Come down for Thanksgiving and bring your friend.”

“You’re going to need help with all that. With getting Danny help. Was he intoxicated when he got into the accident?”

“He ran off the road on the coast. Right off an embankment. If he’d been just a mile further, he’d have gone off a cliff and into the ocean. Your father is sure it’s just that the roads were slick. Sand blows over them sometimes. Your brother did not try to kill himself and he’d never drive drunk.”

Looked like maybe Danny wasn’t the only one in denial.

“Thank god he’s going to be all right. But he’s going to have to deal with a lot of stuff when he starts to recover. I can help with all that.”

“We have people for that sort of thing, Duke. Professionals. Stay in Seattle. Right now there’s nothing you can do. It’s just going to upset him more if you come. He’ll be ashamed to have you see him like that.”