A Billionaire's Game (Ellsworth Brothers #2) (10 page)

The next few days for Jill consisted of work, trips to the
hospital, and caring for Drake. By the end of each day she was exhausted.

Drake was healing well, but Westin remained in ICU, still
unconscious. A week had passed since Westin had been admitted when Drake
decided to go to the hospital and face his family. Jill insisted on going with
him.

The elevator doors opened with a ding onto the fourth
floor where the medical ICU was housed. Calmly they approached the nurse’s desk
and asked to see Westin Ellsworth.

“Mr. Ellsworth is limited to two visitors at a time, and
currently two family members are with him. Are you family?” inquired the nurse.

“Yes,” Jill and Drake spoke at once. “I am,” Drake said.
“I’m his brother.”

“Fine. When someone leaves his room you are welcome to go
in. He’s in the third bay.”

“Great. Now what do I do?” asked Drake directing his
question to Jill.

“Let’s try to find your family. The rest of the them have
to be here somewhere.

“They’re probably in the family room at the end of the
hallway. Let’s go. I’m ready to face them.”

With confident strides Drake approached the room in which
the rest of his family was keeping vigil for their youngest member.

Drake entered the room. Before anyone could protest he
began to speak. “I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, but
that’s just too bad. I’m the person who is responsible for what’s happened to
my baby brother, and so I’m going to be at his side from now on. I need to face
up to the mistakes I’ve made and try to make things right. Hate me all you
want. I deserve it. But I’m not leaving. I’m staying here until Westin gets
better.”

The room was silent. Finally, Thea stood and approached
Drake. “You look terrible. What happened to your face? Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me, Thea, I’ll be fine. Westin is the
person we need to focus on.”

Agreeing, Thea told him, “Your mom has been with Westin
nonstop since he’s been admitted. No one can get her to leave. Maybe you could
try talking to her. She’s beyond exhausted, and all the stress and worry aren’t
good for her.”

Drake nodded.

Landen stood, walked to the phone and called Westin’s
room. His dad answered. “Dad, can you and mom come and join us in the family
room? Drake has come to talk to us. Yes. I know, but he’s here, so let’s talk
to him.” Landen placed the handset back into the cradle. “They’re on their way.
You better brace yourself because Mom wants to have a word with you.”

Drake knew that when his mother had words to share with
one of her children, she meant business. Drake was ready. He was ready to face
everything his mother would say, and he’d take it like a man.

Moments later they heard Caroline say, “Drake Hamilton
Ellsworth, I need to have a word with you.”

Drake approached his mother in her wheelchair and sat down
so he could be eye to eye with her. “Everyone else out. This is between me and
Drake.”

Landen, Thea, William and Jill all shuffled out of the
room and closed the door as they left.

“Now, Drake. Tell me what happened. Start from the
beginning and don’t leave anything out. What happened? Why is your brother
lying unconscious in the ICU?”

Bowing his head, Drake related all the details of his
dealings with Cunningham, his hired players and how he used Westin’s name as a
means to make it all happen without any regard for the possible consequences.

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I can’t say that enough. Please
forgive me.”

“I’m not the person you need to apologize to, and I’m not
the person who has to offer forgiveness. Go in that hospital room and speak to
your brother. And as for forgiveness, you’ll need to talk to the man in the
mirror for that. This doesn’t mean I’m not angry. I am. What you did hurt my
baby boy. But, I’m also your mother, and I will always love you no matter what
you do.”

Caroline’s eyes met her son’s and she saw tears forming in
them.

“I only hope that you know how much I believe in you and
know that you can do so much better. Stop listening to your father and Landen.
Start fresh and earn something, some dignity and respect on your own. I don’t
care what you do with your life, as long as you’re happy and doing an honest day’s
work.”

With tears coursing down his cheeks he leaned over to kiss
his mother on the cheek and whisper in her ear. His words were simple but
powerful: “Love you, Mom.” Then he stood and walked out the door and to his
brother’s bedside.

~

Early the next morning Drake awoke upon hearing a soft
groan come from his brother. He sat up with a start. “West. Can you hear me?
It’s Drake. West? Nurse!”

The on-duty nurse rushed in to the room.

“I think my brother is waking up.”

“Westin.” The nurse leaned over the bed to check Westin’s
pupils. “You’re in the hospital. You’ve had an accident. Don’t try to speak.
Just rest. I’m going to call the doctor and let her know that you’re awake.”
She looked at Drake and told him she’d be right back.

A sense of relief flooded through his body. Then he
remembered his mom and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. As the phone
rang he noticed it was only 4:30 in the morning.

“Hello,” said a deep voice rough from sleep.

“Dad. It’s Drake. Westin just woke up.”

“What?” William’s voice sounded clearer now. “Westin’s
awake?”

“Yes. He’s started groaning and his eyes were fluttering
open. He still has that tube down his throat so he can’t talk. They’re getting
the doctor right now. I thought you and Mom would want to know.”

“Yes. We do. We’ll get up and get right over to the
hospital.”

“No need, Dad. I’m here and can monitor everything. You
and Mom take your time getting up and come over after you’ve had breakfast.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Although, I know that
neither of us will be able to get back to sleep now. We’ll get up and ready and
be there within a couple hours. Have you called Landen?”

“I haven’t. Did he and Thea go home last night? I fell
asleep in Westin’s room and don’t know where anyone is.”

“Yes, they went home when we did. I think it was around
midnight.”

“I’ll call him, Dad. You just get Mom ready. I’ll see you
in a bit.”

“Drake. Uh…yeah. Good. Thank you for calling us.”

Drake coughed. “Of course. You’re welcome.” There was a
pause and then they ended the call.

The on-call doctor entered the room and began checking
Westin’s vitals. “Westin. Can you hear me? You won’t be able to talk because
there is a tube down your throat that was helping you breathe. Don’t panic.
We’ll remove that momentarily.”

Drake left the ICU and went into the hallway to call
Landen. He told him the good news that Westin was awake and that the doctor was
in with him now. “Listen I should really get back in there so I know what’s
going on.”

“Okay. Listen Drake, there are still a lot of things that
need to healed between us, but I do want to thank you for staying with Westin
and for keeping us up-to-date on his condition. Thea and I will be there within
an hour.”

“Sounds good. See you soon.”

As he ended the call, Drake walked back to his brother’s
bedside.

~

A week later Westin was cleared to move out of the ICU and
into a regular room. He was feeling a bit better and had even started eating a
little bit. Drake remained at his brother’s side for the duration.

Unable to walk due to his broken leg, Westin was quickly
getting restless. He was used to being active; going to work everyday, playing
racquetball and meeting friends for happy hour.

Westin was surprised one afternoon when his entire
immediate family showed up en masse. “What’s with the entourage?” he asked, his
curiosity peaked.

“Westin,” Drake began, “I need to tell you something and I
want the whole family to hear what I have to say. They already know what I’m
going to tell you, but in the interest of honesty and no more secrets I wanted
them present when I told you.”

“This sounds serious.”

“It is.” Drake cleared his throat. “You see, your
accident, or the reason you were attacked, is my fault.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m the reason you were hurt. I’m the bad guy, the
asshole. I was thinking only of myself and figuring I’d never lose that I
didn’t think using your name would be a big deal.”

“Using my name? What are you talking about?”

“Westin, I was playing cards to make money. Actually, I
had a team of players working to make money for me. I gave them a cut of the
earnings, but if they lost, I took the hit myself. Eventually, we’d lost enough
games that I had to borrow money and that’s when I got into trouble.”

“You had a team of card players? Drake, what the fuck? I
mean, what the heck. Sorry, Mom.”

“I, we, played poker for money. I hired some real card
sharks. When the losses got too great I had to borrow money to try and earn
enough to pay off my debts.”

“What happened to the 250 grand that I gave you?”

Caroline gasped.

Looking directly in Westin’s eyes, Drake admitted, “I
spent it.”

“How do you go through that much money and still need to
borrow from some loan shark?”

“I was living at the Grand Hotel.”

“You were living in a hotel?” Westin voice was getting
louder. “Are you stupid?”

“No. Well, yes. I thought the money would never run out. I
thought I was entitled to the cash because of my last name. I get it. I was an
asshole.”

“So how does my name fit into this story?” Westin asked
angrily. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

Drake drew in a deep breath. “I told everyone, from the
staff at the Grand, to the people I hired, to the guys I played cards with that
my name was Westin Ellsworth.”

“You what?!” shouted Westin. He reached for the plastic
water pitcher on his beside table and flung it at Drake.

He ducked but got drenched when the lid flew off the top.

“Jesus, Drake! You are a fucking moron! Everything is fine
as long as you don’t get hurt? Is that it? How is it that you haven’t been
disowned? Mom? Dad? Landen? You let him stay with me day after day after day.
Was that his penance? Is all forgiven now?”

“No. West. It’s not like that,” interjected Landen.

“Westin,” called Caroline. “I’ve never been so angry in my
life when I heard what your brother had done. The reason that he is still a
part of this family is because he admitted what he’d done and he asked for
forgiveness. I can’t turn my back on one of my boys, no matter what they’ve
done. I’m sorry if that hurts you.” Tears filled Caroline’s eyes and she began
to weep.

“Mom,” Westin called quietly. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry
with you. Please don’t cry.”

Caroline reached out her hand and Westin grasped it in
his. He squeezed her fingers. “I love you, Mom.”

“I know you do, my baby boy.” She smiled at him and wiped
the tears from her cheeks. “And, I love you.”

“West. I want to make this right. I went back to the guy I
borrowed the money from and told him the truth. That’s how I got this shiner.”

“I just figured you’d pissed off some chick.”

“I got beat up, but not nearly as badly as you. I wanted
him to kill me, if you want to know the truth, but then that would have been
the easy way out. I’m ready to make amends and do whatever it takes to earn
your forgiveness.”

“I don’t know, Drake. This is all so unbelievable.”

“I’m going to get a job. I don’t know what yet, but I’ll
do anything and I’ll start at the bottom. I swear, I’ll make things right. Just
tell me what I need to do.”

Westin ran his hands through his hair and leaned back into
his pillow.

Landen spoke up. “Why don’t we give West some time to
think about everything. He looks pretty tired.”

“I think that is a good idea,” agreed Thea. She walked to
Westin’s bedside and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Let me know if you need
anything or just want to talk.”

“Thanks, Thea.”

Each person said goodbye and exited the room except Drake.

“I’m so sorry, Westin. I can’t express that enough. If I
could trade places with you, I’d do in a heartbeat.”

“I just need some time. Can you give me that?” he demanded
angrily.

“You got it. Thanks for listening, man. I love you.”

Westin grabbed the pillow behind his head and threw it at
his brother. The throw was hard, but Drake caught it easily. He laid it on the
end of the bed.

“Damn, you, Drake. Do you get it now? What you do affects
other people. You don’t live in a bubble. Just because we have money doesn’t
mean our actions don’t have consequences. I’m so angry with you right now. I
want to hit you more than anything. Just get out. Get the fuck out.”

Drake didn’t respond. He nodded his head and walked out of
the room.

~

One morning a few days later, Drake entered his brother’s
room as the man was finishing his breakfast.

“Hey, West. I got your text. I’m here and I’m ready to
hear what you have to say.”

“Drake. Thanks for coming so quickly. I’ve been thinking
about what you said and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m still angry, but
I’m willing to stay open-minded as you begin to earn back my trust. You’ll need
to show me that you’re working, and not just when you want, but everyday. Any
fuck-ups will count against you. There are no more chances. You screw up and
I’m done with you. Show me with your actions that you give a damn about more
than yourself. Do something for someone else once in a while. Are these things
that you can agree to doing?”

“Westin, yes. I can do. I will do it.” Drake was feeling
such a sense of relief that his brother had agreed to give him another chance
to rebuild their relationship.