After saying goodbye to Aiden, Reese pulled out her phone and called Millie.
"Millie, can you help me get a spot for gic testing?"
She remembered Millie''s old job at a gic testingpany. Their tech might not match the top internationalbs, but they were still a leader here at home. If they could run specific tests, the results should be just as good.
Now that she knew what was going on, and that the Ratcliff family clearly didn''t care about Matthew, she had to do something. Matthew had helped her more than once. She owed him.
"Of course."
When the call ended, Reese slipped into the hospital room and spotted Sebastian on the sofa, typing away on hisptop. Every so often, he nced up at Annie''s
IV.
He looked up when he heard here in, eyes shadowed with exhaustion.
"Where''d you go?" he asked.
Reese walked over to check on Annie, then quietly tucked the charm Sebastian had gotten her into the nket. With her back to him, he didn''t notice.
"Annie''s fever is under control," she said calmly. "We''ll be discharged soon. You should go, really. No point in you waiting around here."
Sebastian looked like he wanted to argue, but before he could say anything, his phone started ringing-loud and insistent.
He nced at the screen, answered, and said, "Yeah?"
Whatever he heard made his brow crease. He shut hisptop and looked at Reese.
"Sorry, something came up at work. I have to go handle it. If you need anything, just call me, okay?"
He hesitated, then quickly added, "It''s a work thing. Nothing to do with Leslie."
Reese didn''t want to respond. Honestly, where he was or who he was with wasn''t her concern anymore. No need for these exnations. But then she remembered the gic testing, the possibility of Sebastian getting sick in the future. The words she wanted to say stuck in her throat, and she just nodded. "Alright."
Sebastian couldn''t help but smile a little at her reply. He reached out, almost on reflex, to ruffle her hair.
Reese stepped aside, letting his hand fall to nothing. "Go on," she said quietly.
The air between them grew tense and awkward. Sebastian''s hand hovered, then he drew it back, looking a little lost.
He nced at Annie one more time, then called to the housekeeper waiting at the door. "Keep an eye on them. Call me if anything happens."
The housekeeper nodded, and Sebastian hurried out.
Reese watched him go, noticing the slight limp in his step-probably from that knee injury he got when he went looking for Annie''s charm. She stood there, eyshes lowered lost in thought.
After a moment, she snapped back and remembered Mr. Ratcliff. His room was just upstairs, and she hadn''t visited him in a few days. At his age, every visit mattered.
She told the housekeeper to keep watch over Annie, then headed up to Mr. Ratcliff''s room.
On his floor, she moved quietly and pushed open the half-closed door.
The room was almost silent except for the steady beep of the heart monitor.
Aiden sat by the bed. When he saw Reese, he stood up and lowered his voice.
"He just fell asleep. The nurse went to get his medicine."
Reese nodded and tiptoed closer,
gently tucking the nket around the elderly man. Aiden looked a little embarrassed Ma''am, need to use the restroom. Could you...?”
Reese smiled. "Go ahead."
She checked her watch. "I can only stay about half an hour. Annie''s still downstairs and I shouldn''t leave her alone too long."
"That''s enough," Aiden said.
"If the nursees back, you can go. She''s trustworthy, one of our own."
After Aiden left, Reese sat quietly. Mr. Ratcliffy motionless, face pale, his breathing so shallow she could barely see his chest move.
She nced at the heart monitor on the nightstand. Everything looked normal. She finally let out a quiet breath.
There was a book nearby, so she picked it up and started reading.
Maybe twenty minutes went by. Aiden still hadn''te back, but the nurse returned first. Reese remembered Aiden''s words about trusting her, so after a brief handoff and a few quiet instructions Reese left Mr. Ratcliff''s room and went back downstairs to check on Annie.