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“Devon,” she said louder, making Pike send a concerned glance her way.
Her brother sighed. “She’s okay, but Rae may have broken her arm. We’re at the ER.”
“What?!” Oakley’s stomach plummeted.
“I told you not to freak out. Look, she’s all right. She took a fall when she and Lucas were riding bikes. She’s being a trouper. But I knew you’d want—”
“Which hospital are you at?”
Pike immediately slowed the truck and pulled to the side of the road.
“Memorial.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can, but we’re at least an hour away,” she said in a rush, adrenaline flooding her system. “Can I talk to her?”
“She’s in getting X-rays right now, but I’ll tell her you’re on your way. You know how she is. She’s being really stoic about it, but I know she’d feel better if you were here. I’m sorry to call you on your one night out.”
“Don’t even. You know I’m not going to be anywhere else but there. I’ll see you soon.”
They exchanged good-byes and Oakley let the phone drop into her lap.
“What’s wrong?” Pike asked, tone urgent.
She rubbed her hands over her face. ?
??Rae may have broken her arm.”
“Shit.” Pike put the truck in gear and made a quick, dirt-spraying U-turn on the road. “Is she okay?”
“Sounds like it. Devon’s got her in with the doctor. But I need—”
“Where are we going?” he asked, purpose in his tone, all playfulness gone.
“She’s at Memorial but you can just bring me back to my car and I can head out from there. I’m sorry to screw up the night. But I can’t—”
“Don’t you dare apologize for that.” He frowned her way. “And bringing you back to the studio is completely out of the way. We’ll be there twenty minutes earlier if we just go straight there.”
“But—”
“If you’re worried about Reagan seeing us together, we can just tell her we were working on Bluebonnet stuff. Most important thing is we get you to her as soon as we can.”
Oakley sagged in the seat at his resolute tone. It felt nice to have someone else handle things for a moment so she could get her nerves under control. Her mom panic was in full gear, but she’d heard Devon’s tone. He wouldn’t lie to her. If Rae was freaking out or in any true danger, he would’ve told her. A broken arm was awful but it was something that could be fixed.
She looked over at Pike. So much for their wild night. “Thanks for this. Welcome to the joys of dating a mom.”
He gave her a quick smile. “So we’re dating now? Excellent.”
“Shut up,” she said, a half-laugh escaping. “You know what I mean.”
He reached out and gave her knee a squeeze. “I have a feeling there’d be a lot of joys dating you, mama.”
There was no sarcasm in his voice, and the statement sliced her right open, making her want things she shouldn’t. “You’re not playing fair, James Pike Ryland.”
He looked back to the road, a shuttered look on his face. “You should know better than to expect that. I don’t play fair. I play dirty.”
But the joke landed flat because there was none of his trademark humor in it. Unspoken words sat heavy between them for the rest of the drive.
Yep. She needed to end this quick.
