Page 129 of What About Us

He nods, and I feel my chest ache.

I fucking hate seeing him like this.

I glance around for Ivy, to hold her hand and pull her to me, but she’s not here. She must be in the waiting room, calling the others.

“Go check on her,” Harper says with a nod. “I’ve got this.”

“Five minutes,” I reply and rush out to the waiting room, where sure enough, there’s my girl standing at the far wall, her phone to her ear.

“I know, Ava. But we’re at the hospital and Blake’s with him. Harper and Xander are here too.” She looks up at me as I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Okay. Just head this way when you can. I’ll keep you posted as I know more. Just drive safe. Okay, see you soon.”

She hangs up and blows out a breath.

“Ava’s up at the ski resort, working on a condo. She’s on her way, but the weather’s shit and it’s going to be slow going down that road.”

“You’re so fucking incredible.”

She frowns up at me. “No, I love you. This is what happens when we’re a we. Tucker and Darby are on their way, and I left a message for Easton. I assume he’s at work. I couldn’t reach him.”

“So fucking incredible,” I insist and tug her against me, wrapping her up in a hard hug and kissing her head. “Fuck, I love you.”

“I love you too. How is he?”

“The same, but he’s in good hands now. They’ll take care of him.”

She nods and squeezes my arms, soothing me. “You should go back in there. I’ll be right here.”

“I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

“I’m fine. Honest. Go be with the family, and I’ll be here when the others arrive.”

I start to shake my head, but she gives me a little shove. “Go. Go be with your dad, X. I’m good here.”

Finally, I nod and walk away, but I stop at the front desk.

“Hey, just want to let you know that I’m with Greg Hendrix. My siblings will be here soon, and they’ll want to come back to be with him.”

“As long as the doctor clears it, it’s no problem. If the room gets too full, you might have to rotate.”

I nod in agreement and then head back to check on my family. I’ve known that the emergencies Dad has been through were scary. All the sibs told me about them after the fact, and I hated that I couldn’t be here to help.

But now I know what they go through, and the guilt that I’m not here to carry the burden with them sits heavy in my chest.

I’ve missed being home in Montana full time for a couple of years now. I still love hockey, too, but the need to be home more and more has been eating away at me.

And spending the past few months here with everyone has been amazing.

So what the fuck am I going to do when I’m cleared to play again?

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

IVY

If I could rate this day on a scale of one to ten, one being the worst ever and ten being the best day of my life, this one would get a negative fifty-seven.

What a shit-tastic day.

My legs are tired and stiff as they carry me out to my truck from the hospital, and once inside, I sit for a moment before starting the engine.