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And before I did something I’d regret besides listening to him, I stormed out.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Mulaney
“I just saw you yesterday.”
I grinned as I answered my phone.
“It’s Grandmama.” Mitch’s voice broke. “She fell out in the yard.”
I straightened, shuffling some papers on Holly’s desk to mask the fear that streaked through me. “Did she break something?”
“No.”
“That’s good. I bet she’s pissed as all hell.” I relaxed a fraction, picturing her fussing at everybody.
He cleared his throat. “She’s been life-flighted to Austin. We just got to the hospital.” There was a long pause. “She’s unconscious.”
“What do you mean she’s unconscious?” I yelled, grabbing my bag and heading for the door.
“Thank God Granddaddy wasn’t too far behind her. He found her. She’s breathing, but—”
“But what?”
“We don’t know anything yet,” he said, sounding as defeated as I’d ever heard. “It don’t look good, Mulaney.”
“I’m on my way.” I ran to the elevator, catching the doors just before they snapped shut.
“Will you tell Stone?” An announcement crackled in the background, paging a doctor, and the reality that Ruby was in the hospital set in.
“Yeah.”
I hung up the phone and forced the tears that stung my eyes to stay in place. I’d missed the chance to see her before they left because I’d been selfishly running from my problemsagain. She was the one who taught me not to be afraid of anything and to face things head-on. I’d forgotten that when it came to Easton and the consequences had spilled over into every area of my life.
If something happened to her, I’d never forgive myself.
* * *
Six hours later,I ran through the corridor of St. David’s Medical Center in Austin until I found Mitch in the waiting room.
“Where is she?” Frantic, I searched for a set of doors that would lead me to Ruby.
He caught me by the shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. I beat on his chest. I didn’t need his comfort right now. I needed to see my grandmama.
“Any news?” Stone asked when he caught up to me, Muriella tucked into his side. Daniel and Vivian were right behind them. When I told them the news, they’d generously offered their jet. I hadn’t thought twice when they’d boarded along with us. It didn’t take anybody who’d spent any time with Ruby, let alone Christmas, to grow to care for her.
“Not yet. She’s in ICU. We can’t go back there with her.”
The sight of Granddaddy slumped in a chair had what little was holding me together nearly falling apart. I wrestled out of Mitch’s hold and rushed to Granddaddy, who stood and folded me in his arms.
“She can’t leave me,” he whispered over and over.
This man was one of the toughest I’d ever known, but it was no secret Ruby was the glue that held us all together. I’d never seen him helpless, and it nearly tore me apart.
When he let me go, I went right through the set of doors near the nurses station in search of Ruby, ignoring anyone who told me I couldn’t be there.
I wasn’t prepared for what I found. She looked fragile for the first time in my life, her eyes closed, her skin almost gray. Her hand in mine was cold to the touch.
