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As his blood ran cold in anticipation of what the sergeant was about to say, Daniel put his free hand over his ear to block out the background noise of convivial chatter, clattering silverware and crying babies.
“Aidan is my brother.” Daniel’s mouth went dry and his voice seemed disassociated with his body. “Is everything okay?”
“What’s wrong?” Elle whispered. All animosity that had previously darkened her voice was replaced by genuine concern. He realized he was no longer walking and had frozen in place.
“Sir, are you in the Savannah area?”
“I am. Why?” This time his words were a little more forceful. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Can you please come to Memorial University Hospital as soon as possible?”
“Yeah. Sure. Is Aidan okay? Is he hurt?”
“Sir, please come to the hospital and they can give you more information.”
The sergeant ended the call.
Daniel stood there for a moment, trying to get his bearings.
“Daniel, is everything okay? What’s wrong?”
Elle’s hand was on his arm. The brows above her blue eyes were furrowed in concern.
She was a touchstone that snapped him back to reality.
“I don’t know. That was the Savannah Police. They asked me about Aidan. My brother. They told me to come to Memorial University Hospital.”
Elle’s hand fluttered to her mouth. “Oh, my God. I hope he’s okay.”
Daniel shook his head a little harder than necessary, trying to shake away the fog.
“I do, too, but I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me.”
“Come on,” Elle said. “I’m going to drive you.”
Chapter Five
Elle remembered Aidan Quindlin, even though she didn’t know him very well. When he and his grandmother had moved into the inn after the fire, he mostly kept to himself. He was a couple of years younger than Daniel. He’d run in a different circle at Savannah Country Day. Aidan had dated her sister Kate. Elle seemed to remember some kind of drama surrounding their prom. Even so, that didn’t matter now. She was here to help Daniel. He seemed shocked and scared and human as he’d gotten official word that his brother had been in a motorcycle accident.
A day drinker ran a red light.
The helmet saved his life.
Still...head trauma. Possible spinal cord injuries.
Suddenly all her past differences with Daniel melted away, or at least faded into the background. Any decent person would help in Aidan’s time of need. Their grandmother and parents were gone. The fact that Daniel had gotten the call and he was Aidan’s only next of kin in the hospital waiting room answered the question Elle couldn’t ask—about whether Aidan was married or had someone special in his life. It appeared that the Quindlin brothers only had each other.
The waiting room was decorated for the holidays. Someone had decorated the windows with canned spray snow and stencils. A small artificial tree sat atop one of the end tables and an instrumental version of “The Christmas Song” played softly through the overhead speakers. She watched Daniel, who was sitting forward on the gray-green vinyl waiting room chair with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped and head down.
They’d been sitting in silence for about an hour.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked him. “I’ll go get us something.”
Daniel lifted his head and blinked at her as if he’d just remembered she was there.
“No. Thanks.” He rubbed his hands over his face, raking them back through his curly dark brown hair before returning his elbows to their resting spot on his knees. “Uh...you don’t need to stay. I don’t want to hold you up.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to leave you alone at the hospital. Besides, I drove you here. How would you get home?”
He studied his clasped hands. Then looked back at her. Pain was etched into his handsome face, though she could tell he was trying to act like he was handling everything. “I can Uber it. Don’t worry about me. Just go.”
Elle stood. “No, I’m not going to just go. Sorry, but I won’t. But I will go get us some coffee. How do you take yours?”
