One hour and forty minutes after calling Jenni, Jacob strides into Noah’s room with Jenni’s dad, Michael, following him. Euphoric, I throw myself into Jacob’s arms, incredibly grateful he’s not spending the night in jail.
“If this doesn’t wake Noah up, I don’t know what will,” chuckles Jacob before he returns my embrace.
“He’s fortunate he has you as a friend, Emily, or he would have been spending the next three days behind bars while awaiting his arraignment.”
Jenni’s dad, Michael, has always been stern and conservative, but he’s also fair. If he thinks the person he’s fighting for deserves proper representation, he’ll fight for their justice all the way.
Once Jacob places me down, I sling my arms around Michael’s broad shoulders to offer him my thanks for helping Jacob. “Thank you, Michael,” I whisper into his ear as his Santa-like beard tickles my neck.
"You're very welcome, sweetheart." After inching back, his kind eyes drift to Noah before they slowly return to me. "Look after him."
Confident Jacob and I are up to the task, he spins on his heels and briskly walks out of the room.
* * *
Three days later, Jacob was forced to leave Noah’s side again. It’s only the third time he’s left the past eight weeks, but it was too imperative to sidestep. His court-appointed arraignment is today. He’s decided to plead guilty to all charges with the hope the judge will be lenient on him.
I've been waiting for his return the past five hours. Half of the time, I've been pacing back and forth in front of Noah's bed, and the other half, I've been sitting on the reclining chair, trekking my thumb over the veins in Noah's right hand.
I startle when my phone unexpectedly rings. I leap up from my chair, silently praying it isn’t a call from Michael saying Jacob was sentenced to serve time behind bars.
A small amount of reprieve fills me when I glance down at the screen and see the caller is my mom. After swiping a sweaty finger across the screen of my phone, I squash it to my ear.
“Hello.” Panic for Jacob is heard in my voice.
“Emily, how are you, darling?”
“I’m okay, Mom. Has Lola heard from Jacob?”
I don’t know what Lola and Jacob consider their relationship to be, but I'm too worried to deal with that right now. Lola can chew me out later.
The slightest whistle sounds down the line when my mom replies, “No, but Lola isn’t home. Is Jacob okay?”
My panic has me wanting to tell her my deepest darkest secrets, but only Cormack knows what happened here three nights ago, and that’s only because he agreed to pay Jacob's legal bills. Other than that, it remains a secret to everyone else.
When I hear a cough, I turn toward the noise. Silly tears spill from my eyes when I spot Jacob leaning against the doorframe, watching me intently.
“I have to go, Mom.”
I disconnect our call before she can issue a farewell. Just as I did the night he was released from custody, I throw myself into Jacob's arms. It hurts as much this time around as it did back then. His chest is as solid as a wall.
“You’re back!” My racing heart is heard in my squeal, beyond grateful he isn’t behind bars.
When I attempt to lower myself from Jacob's grasp, he stays holding on tight while moving to stand next to Noah's bed. "Come on, Noah, don't act like you don't want to get out of that bed to kick my ass!" Jacob taunts, glaring at Noah. "I have your girl in my arms, and you're not going to do anything about it?"
After narrowing my eyes, I endeavor to remove myself from Jacob’s firm hold. He’s so large, I practically have to climb down from him.
“Don’t be an ass, Jacob.”
When I slap his bicep, he laughs even more boisterously, but before I can voice my annoyance, the laughter highlighting his face switches to disbelieve. When I follow the direction of his gaze, my heart launches into my throat. Just like he always does, Noah has responded to Jacob’s rile. His jaw is ticking, and his fists are clenched into balls.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to help yourself.” After setting me onto my feet, Jacob curls his hand around Noah’s fist. It firms even more. "Come on, wake up and kick my ass. You know I wasn’t just hugging her. My crotch also got friendly with her thigh. What can I say? I'm a horny dog, and her leg was mighty enticing.”
When Noah moves the hand Jacob isn’t clutching toward his mouth, Jacob’s eyes dart to mine. “Get the nurse!”
16
“If his oxygen levels fall, we may need to reinsert the ventilator,” advises Dr. Kirkpatrick, the specialist Noah’s record label flew in from New York. “Most recoveries are one step forward, three steps back, so keep that in mind during today’s procedure.”
