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Her gaze moved next to Billy and Shayna. His elbows resting on his knees, his hands slack, his head hanging down. The position exposed some of the burn scars on the back of his neck from an explosion that had taken out a lot of his Ranger unit. Dani had been out of the army by the time that’d happened, but she still knew enough people in the service that word sometimes got to her. And since she’d worked on more than a few Rangers over the years, word of the ambush that had killed Billy’s teammates made its way to her before she’d ever even met him. Next to him, Shayna sat with her hand massaging the back of Billy’s neck, her fingers occasionally stroking the ends of his hair.
Shayna tucked her dark hair behind an ear and unleashed a long sigh. “Come on, Sean.” The whispered plea made the backs of Dani’s eyes prick. Last fall, Shayna and Sean had worked a disaster together—her as a journalist and him as a firefighter—and something about that experience had forged almost a sibling type of closeness between them.
Opposite them, Tara sat on a couch, her back resting against Jesse’s chest. Their hands were entangled and resting against Tara’s belly. Tara’s head leaned against her free hand and her eyes were closed, but the tension in her posture made it clear she wasn’t resting. Every so often, Jesse pressed a kiss to her hair.
The couples weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary for lovers, but fuck if they weren’t making something inside Dani ache, something that she didn’t even want to think about let alone feel. Six years ago, she’d packed away the part of her that needed the kind of quiet yet fundamental intimacy that came from sharing life and love with another person. And she wanted that need to stay all put away.
Next to Shayna, Coach Mack and Jayne sat in that silently restless way that came from waiting to know if someone you cared about was going to be okay.
Dani got up and paced. Come on, she shouted inside her head. Come fucking tell us his vision is going to be okay already. She tugged her hair into a ponytail and tilted her head back, and then let the long strands go again, just to have something to do with her hands.
“Dani?” Jayne said, rising from her seat. “Will you give me a call and let me know what’s going on? I should probably get home to check on Dad.”
“Yeah, of course,” she said, rubbing Jayne’s arm. “We’ll make sure Sean knows you were here.”
She nodded. “I’m praying for him.”
“Thanks.” Dani hugged herself as Jayne said good-bye to the others. Despite the June heat, a chill had seeped into her bones while she’d been on the street with Sean. The cold air conditioning of the waiting room wasn’t helping, and she’d left her sweater in her car still parked back at Full Contact.
After Jayne left, Mo got to his feet.
“You heading out?” Dani asked.
“Hell, no,” he said. “My ass is just getting tired of sitting.” That pronouncement gave rise to a round of chuckles.
“Do they make the chairs uncomfortable on purpose?” Billy asked, shifting back in his seat. He pulled Shayna’s hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.
Dani looked away.
“Why don’t I go down to the cafeteria and get some drinks and snacks,” Tara said.
“That’s a good idea,” Kristina said. “I’ll come with you to help carry things if you want.”
Tara nodded. “Sure. Any special requests?”
When the guys didn’t answer, Shayna said, “We could probably all use some sugar and caffeine. So whatever fits that bill.”
“Want help?” Jesse asked, concern filling those dark eyes. Because of their navy backgrounds, he and Sean had gotten tight these past few months. Dani was glad that Sean had so many people here rooting for him.
“We got it,” Tara said with a small smile. “But you’re welcome to tag along.”
Jesse got to his feet. “Maybe if we leave, news will come faster.” Murmurs of agreement went around the circle, and then the three of them left.
On a sigh, Mo stopped pacing and nailed her with a dark-eyed stare. “Lay it out for us, Dani. What’s going on right now?”
She took a deep breath and met each expectant gaze in the room as she spoke. “They’re gonna be most concerned with evaluating the injury to his eye. They’ll check for fractures to the bony orbit, note any herniations to the parts of the eye, check the position of the lens, and look for bleeds and foreign bodies. They’ll also make sure the optic nerves weren’t impacted. And I would have to think he has a concussion, so they’ll give his whole hard head a once-over, too.”
“Finally, one time him being hardheaded comes in handy,” Billy said, raking a hand through his dark blond hair.
