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Hospital. Yes. We needed to get to a hospital. Good. She had a plan to get my daughter help.
“The nearest one’s in Bozeman,” I said. “That’s two hours away!”
“You can take her by helicopter. I’ll be with her. With both of you,” Hannah promised.
I nodded. “Yes. Good idea. Rory can fly her.”
“Rory’s not here. Oh my god, he’s in Bozeman for that meeting.” I never wanted to hear the panic in Ivy’s voice ever again. Her desperate eyes turned to me. “You’ll fly her.”
I stared at Ivy as if she told me I was to fly us to the moon in a rocket, not to Bozeman in a helicopter.
“No.” The one word escaped my lips and I looked away. I wanted to throw up. God, no.
Hannah’s hands were on my shoulders, her grip firm, forcing me to face her. She looked more fierce than my commanding officer in the army. “Listen to me, Cooper. You’re licensed. Experienced. You have the chopper. I need you to fly us.”
I looked from her to Ivy, but Ivy was solely focused on Lily. The fear in her expression was heartbreaking to see.
I shook my head. “I can’t.” I can’t. The words were there. I didn’t say them but Hannah must have seen my hesitation because her grim expression intensified. “I can’t pilot one again.” When she frowned, I admitted my worst. “I killed six of my men. The chopper was hit and we went down. They…they all died.”
I remembered the heat, the warning bells that filled the chopper’s cabin. The smoke. One of the men screaming in pain. The way the desert got bigger and bigger as I fought for control. Waking up, a section of the chopper embedded in my arm and shoulder. Silence. I was sweating, but cold all at the same time.
Compassion softened her gaze, but not her resolve. “We’re not at war. No one will be shooting at us. Lily needs care now and you’re her best bet.”
Cole tugged me to my feet, put his hands on my shoulders. His gaze was serious. “We need you to do this, Cooper. Ivy needs you. Your daughter needs you.”
Your daughter needs you. They were quite possibly the only words that could have broken through that terror-induced haze. Lily needed me.
I nodded and Cole scooped Lily up into his arms, her body wilted and completely void of all her exuberance and boundless energy.
Yes, Lily needed me to be strong. I hadn’t saved my men, but I could save her. Reaching down, I helped Ivy to stand. “Come on,” I said, nudging her toward Cole’s truck, which was the closest. I could do this. I could save my daughter. “We’ve got to get Lily to the hospital.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
RORY
My heart was racing as I sped to the Bozeman hospital. Cole had called me several times, but I’d had my phone on silent during my meeting, only to hear his frantic messages when it was over. Dread had my stomach churning. This was just like before. The same overwhelming cascade of emotions I’d had when I’d gotten the call that Cooper had been in an accident. That he was in the combat hospital being stabilized and readied for transport to Germany. Knowing his chopper had gone down, but not what his injuries were.
This sense of helplessness was sickening. Someone I loved was hurt and there was nothing I could do. If something happened to Lily…if she didn’t make it.
I cut off that line of thought before this anxiety turned into outright panic. Thinking of the worst possible scenario wouldn’t do anybody any good. But still, the ache in my gut refused to go away. The pain in my heart was excruciating. I couldn’t go through this again. Never again.
Fuck! I slapped my hand on the wheel and tried to catch my breath. I slammed on my brakes and parked in the fire lane, not caring if my car got towed.
I found Cooper and Ivy in the ER waiting room talking to Hannah. Ivy sobbed when she saw me and came running into my arms. I shot Cooper a terrified look as I tried to catch my breath.
“Lily’s okay,” he said, his voice steady, but full of emotion. “She’s got a concussion, no internal bleeding. She’s going to be fine.”
My knees practically buckled in relief. I was supposed to be the strong one, to take care of Ivy, but I felt as if she were the one holding me up, comforting me.
Cooper looked pale but happier than I’d seen him in months. I held Ivy closer and stroked her back as she cried in relief. A little while later a nurse came out to find us. She looked between the three of us. “Who are Lily’s parents?”
Ivy spoke first. “We all are.”
We all are. Cooper gave me a small smile over her head, but I was too focused on seeing Lily to think about anything else. My anxiety still hadn’t eased and I knew it wouldn’t until I saw her for myself.
She was asleep in her room when we arrived, but her cheeks were flushed and aside from an IV in her arm and a white bandage on her forehead, she looked whole enough. I took her tiny hand in mine and only then did I let myself revel in the realization that she really was okay. She was going to be just fine and she would be in our lives every day—no matter what. I didn’t care where. It didn’t matter.
When she opened her eyes and smiled up at us, I was sure my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I’d had no idea I could love anyone so much, or in such a short amount of time. It was different than the way I loved Ivy. I loved her unconditionally, but this…this intensity I felt for Lily, well, it was pure.
