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“I know. I just feel so helpless.”
“Annabelle was kidnapped because of her brother when we first got together. That is hours of hell that I never want to relive.”
“Christ,” Ryan whispered.
“Macy was also taken by her ex. That crazy bastard was intent on killing her,” Brad added.
“I always think of Lake Howling as somewhere that never changes. Life stands still. I’d return and it would be like walking back in time.”
“Nope,” Brad said.
They all looked up as Jake walked in. Ryan’s fists clenched as he waited for the news.
Please be okay.
“She’s doing ok so far. They’re going to give her a caesarean as the baby is not coming out naturally. Both Hope and the baby are stable.”
“Stable?” Ryan asked. “How stable? Is there a chance that will change and they won’t be stable?”
Jake took the coffee Tex handed him and swallowed a mouthful.
“The baby is stressed, and that’s why it needs to be delivered,” Jake said. “Hope’s blood pressure is up, but she’s strong. She’s in the hands of the doctors here now, and Brook has an excellent birthing unit. Hope is where she needs to be. They’re going to do the C-section now.”
“How’s Newman?” Tex asked.
“He’s doing what Newman does best,” Jake said. “Being calm and in control. It’s helping Hope to cope. But inside, he’s terrified. It helps they’re letting me stay with him. I can explain things.”
“I’m not coping,” Ryan muttered.How long before Faith gets here?When she arrived, he’d stop unraveling and find his control. When she got here, everything would be all right. It had to be; no other scenario worked for him.
Chapter 18
The drive from Howling was conducted in silence. Faith, Buster, and Mac, who’d arrived at The Hoot declaring he was coming with them, reached the hospital to find a waiting room full of people.
Ryan sat with Brad and Ethan, almost like they were a Texan barrier between him and his father. He saw her the minute she walked in.
“Hey.” He got to his feet and came to meet her. He didn’t hug her like last time, but one of his hands reached for hers. Grabbing it, he slid her fingers into his.
Faith looked over his shoulder and found the Texans watching them with a look in their eyes that suggested they knew just how close she and Ryan had been lately.
“Any news?”
“She’s having a caesarean, and according to Jake, who is the only one they’ll give information to, Hope is doing as well as can be expected, but the baby is not doing as well.”
“We got here as soon as we could,” Mac said, heading for Millicent.
“Mac, y-you’re here.” Millicent got to her feet. “I-I, ah….”
Millicent’s words fell away as Mac gently put his arms around her and hugged her close. The big shocker was that she slid her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his chest.
“This is not the time for hiding,” Mac said softly. “You need me.”
Faith shot Ryan a look. He and the Texans didn’t seem as surprised as they should be. Did they know about this? And how come no one had thought to tell her?
“I do,” Millicent whispered.
“Um,” Buster said from beside Ryan “I knew, but still…. There are no words,” he added softly so only she and Ryan could hear.
“I’m pissed no one told me, but I think it’s kinda cool,” Faith whispered back. “Weird, and like the universe has shifted on its axis and we’re now existing in like this different universe, but cool.”
