The clock on the fridge said it was after nine. He should have been home over an hour ago. Had he stayed later with his mother? I reached for my phone on the coffee table and saw that I had two missed calls and one text message. All from Woods.

I clicked the text message.

{tm}Please answer. I'm worried about you and Mom passed out during dinner. I think she hasn't been eating properly. Call me!{tx}

That had been ten minutes ago. I jumped up from the couch and started to dial his number when the front door swung open and Woods came running inside. His eyes locked on mine and he stopped and let out a deep breath. "Thank God. Shit, baby, you scared me."

I dropped my phone and walked over to him. "I'm so sorry. I just woke up. I fell asleep on the couch. How's your mother?"

Woods pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me. "She was too weak to stand up so I called an ambulance. Angelina kept saying it could be a stroke. She rode in the ambulance with Mom so I could come back here and check on you."

I pushed at his chest. "Go! Go to the hospital. No, wait, let me get my shoes, I'm going too."

"Are you sure? If you're tired I don't want to drag you to the hospital. We could be there all night."

I slipped my feet into a pair of tennis shoes and ran my hands through my hair. "I want to be with you."

Woods smiled and held out his hand for me. "Good. I won't be able to focus if I'm worried about you here alone. If you need to sleep, I can always hold you."

I tried not to think about the fact that Angelina was helping him take care of his mother. He had been able to leave her knowing she would be there beside his mother. What was I good for? He had to worry about me. I was weak and needy. I was one more thing for him to stress over. I wasn't any help at all.

"Stop frowning. She's gonna be okay. The paramedics said there's a good chance her potassium is low. They don't think it's a stroke but they said due to her heart rate we needed to admit her and let doctors check her out."

I nodded as he laced his fingers through mine. "Let's go," I told him.

I was going to find a way to be helpful. He needed someone to lean on right now and I was going to be that someone.

"Did you sleep okay without me here?" he asked as we stepped outside.

"Yes. I slept great," I lied, because telling him the truth would only have upset him.

Woods

Della had finally given in and curled up against me. She'd been asleep within minutes. It was after three in the morning and they had Mom in a room under observation. Angelina was in the room with her. It was better that way.

I wasn't stupid. I knew Angelina wasn't helping my mother out of the goodness of her heart. She had no goodness in her heart. She was doing it to get to me. It wasn't like my mother needed a live-in nurse. Just a friend, and Angelina was being her friend.

Della didn't seem to mind. I had been watching to make sure it didn't get to her. The moment it seemed like Della was upset about Angelina's still being in our lives in this capacity, I would end all connection with my mom until Angelina left. She would eventually leave anyway when she realized I didn't want her and nothing she did was going to change that. Della owned me. She always would.

Della started to whimper in her sleep. I pulled her into my lap, brushed her hair back off her face, and whispered in her ear. That always calmed her. She rarely had bad dreams anymore. I normally saw them coming on and stopped them before they could take over.

"I have you, I'm right here. You're in my arms and nothing can touch you, Della. Nothing, baby. I won't let it," I assured her as her breathing returned to normal and her body eased back into a peaceful sleep. Smiling, I pressed a kiss to the side of her hair. I liked knowing I could fight off her fear. It was a powerful drug to know all she needed was me.

"Doesn't that get exhausting? She's like a helpless, needy child." Angelina's icy voice annoyed me. I didn't look up at her. I'd rather have kept my focus on the woman in my arms.

"How's Mom?" I asked her.

"She's sleeping. She hasn't been eating well. I knew that but I can't force her to eat. I'm not a damn nurse. If you came to visit her more often she'd eat more. She misses you."

My mother had never missed me. She was my father's puppet. She wanted me around if he did. When she thought I was going to marry Angelina she wanted me around.

"You're choosing her over your mother and it's disappointing, Woods."

I lifted my eyes from Della's peaceful face. "No. My mother is choosing her wants over mine. I will not live my life the way she wants me to. I will love who the f**k I wanna love. She doesn't control that," I replied in a cold voice.

"You have the Kerrington Club to run, Woods. You need someone who can stand by you and help you. You have to take care of not only the club but her. She's a weight on you, not a help. You can't be a successful businessman with a burden like her," she said, pointing at Della.

I held her closer to my chest. I could do anything if I had Della. Anything.

"What you're not understanding---what my mother is not understanding---is I can't live without Della. I can't breathe. I can't f**king concentrate. I need her. Just her. I can do anything if I have her with me. So take your snide comments and beliefs and leave me the hell alone. I know what I need and it will never be you. Did you hear that? Is it sinking in this time? It. Will. Never. Be. You."