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Were.
Inhale.
Alive.
I blew out the last breath, repeating the mantra over and over again in my head.
“There you go. Lift your leg, baby. I’ve got you.”
After sliding my yoga pants up my thighs, he continued the process until I was fully dressed. If we hadn’t been in the middle of a crisis, I would have melted over the reverence with which he took care of me. Kissing me gently on the lips, he helped me to my feet, then left me standing in the middle of his bedroom while he grabbed a shirt, his phone, keys, and wallet. We rushed out the door a few seconds later.
At first, I’d assumed we’d be going to the farm, however Alec explained that the ambulance had already left the property and was on the way to the hospital. He held my hand the entire drive, while I prayed to any god who would listen.
Please, let them be okay.
Tires squealed as Alec took the turn into the hospital parking lot, pulling into the first available spot and shutting off the car. I opened the door and took off running toward the emergency room entrance with Alec hot on my heels. The closer I got, the darker my thoughts ran until I stopped moving all together…five feet from the door.
“What’s wrong?” His worried face appeared in front of me, though I could hardly see it through my tears.
“I’m scared,” I cried out.
“Me too, baby.”
Drawing me against his chest, I felt the truth in his words. There was a fine tremble in the arms wrapped around me, and I could hear his heart thundering away beneath his shirt.
“Whatever happens behind those doors, know this, Quin. We are stronger than our weaknesses. We are fearless against adversity. And we can get through anything so long as we’re together.”
His words penetrated the depths of my soul, where dread and worry had made their home. I wasn’t the same terrified eighteen-year-old girl anymore, who found out about her father’s illness, without a single friend to share the burden with. Alec was there. River, Emory, and the rest of the del Toros would be there as well.
“I’m ready.”
Threading our fingers together, we moved forward until the automatic glass doors opened to the almost-empty waiting room. Approaching the counter, I was grateful once again for Alec’s presence.
“Her parents were brought in. Millicent and Charles James.”
The middle-aged woman at the desk typed on her keyboard, however, a commotion on the other side of a closed door on my right caught my attention. The door suddenly flew open and there she was, standing toe to toe with a man in a lab coat, a doctor I presumed.
“Please. You can run whatever tests you want after you tell me how he is,” she begged.
“Mom?”
“Quin.” She turned. “Thank God you’re here.”
Rushing toward her, Alec and I made it in time to ease her into a waiting wheelchair as she was overcome by a fit of hacking coughs. Her face and hair were streaked with soot and she was still wearing her pajamas.
“Mrs. James,” the man spoke. “Let’s get you back to your room where we can give you some oxygen to counteract some of the smoke you inhaled.”
She sputtered and wheezed, trying to catch her breath as he wheeled her in the direction of a vacant room. We followed closely behind. Once there, Alec lifted her from the wheelchair, setting her gently on the gurney and I sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand.
“I’m Dr. Morgan. One of the ER physicians.” He placed a mask over her face while he introduced himself. “Take slow deep breaths while I listen to your lungs, then I’ll get an update on your husband.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Alec replied.
A few minutes later, he finished his exam and after instructing Mom to keep the oxygen on her face, he left the room.
“What happened, Mom?”
“He saved me. The bedroom was already filled with smoke when he woke me up.” She paused to swallow a few times, her voice getting raspier the longer she talked. “We got to the front door right when the man Alec had watching us kicked it open. Your father yelled at me to get out of the house, then he turned and ran back inside.”
