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“Wha…” I couldn’t get a full word out. I swallowed hard and tried to calm my shaking. “What do you mean, in the hospital? What happened? Is he okay?” Pain lanced through me. If something had happened to him, and I wasn’t there…
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.
“There was an accident. He was thrown from his horse and into a fence. A few of his ribs are broken, along with his left arm and some cuts that needed stitches. Nothing major. It could have been worse. Much worse. I just thought you should know.”
“Oh God.” The tightness in my chest eased ever so slightly, knowing he was okay, but it was barely enough to get in a full breath.
The man I loved was in the hospital, and I wasn’t there to be with him. They may not want me anymore, but I needed to see for myself that Caleb was going to be okay. I’d leave after if they still wanted me to. “I need to get to him.” I glanced around the changing area, noticing all eyes on me. And for once, I didn’t give a damn.
“Don’t worry. Thomas has been working on that little problem since we found out he got hurt. Just in case,” Declan said calmly. “Hold on Tori.” His voice then sounded farther away, like he was talking to someone else. “How far is it?”
How far was what?I wanted to scream.
“Garrett’s plane will be ready on the tarmac for her in thirty minutes,” I heard Thomas say in the background.
I let out a breath. Bless Garrett. He may have been a brat growing up, but the youngest Kingston—hell,allthe Kingstons—had my back right now.
“I’m heading there now.” I hung up, threw my phone into my purse, and darted for the door.
Mother sputtered behind me. “You can’t just take off in that dress.”
I waved behind me. Nothing mattered but getting to the States. “Put the dress on our tab.”
A little too late, I realized I wasn’t wearing shoes but figured screw it. I wasn’t stopping now. When I got to the car, I yanked open the door and jumped into the backseat. “To the Livington airstrip, please,” I said to the driver. “And please hurry.”
The driver stepped on the gas, and we sped to the Kingston’s private airstrip in no time. It wasn’t until I was somewhere over France, I realized I was still in a wedding dress.
* * *
“I really don’t knowwhat kind of impression you’re wanting to make, but I assure you this is not a good one,” Thomas said as I descended the steps. He reached his hand out and assisted me with the last few. When I made it to the bottom, I slapped his hand away and held out my hand.
He chuckled and handed over my cowboy boots.
“Not funny.”I leaned on him as I slipped on one boot and then the other. “I was in the middle of dress shopping. My clothes and everything are still in the dressing room. I had to get here as soon as I could.”
“I know.” He gave me a hug.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on tight. Tears burned my eyes, and my throat grew tight.
“That’s why I was working on the plane before we called you. I knew you’d want to be here.” Thomas was the absolute best.
I nodded against his chest and took a deep breath before we separated. He took my arm and steered me along as I hiked up the too-long dress and rushed to his waiting car. “I’ll have someone bring you a set of clothes to the hospital,” he said as we climbed into the car.“If you’d told me you needed that in addition to the boots, I would have brought it.” His teasing voice eased some of my sadness.
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “I know. I’d forgotten I was wearing it.”
“I’ll call ahead and have someone get you something to change in to.” He signaled to the driver we were ready to leave.
I looked up to stem the tears struggling to break free. “How is he doing?”I whispered.
“When I left, he was getting a CT scan. He has a gash on his head, and they wanted to make sure there wasn’t any additional head trauma. Besides a likely concussion, he’s all stitched up, and they reset his arm and put him in a cast.”
I forced myself to take another breath. He was going to be okay. Hehadto be. “How’s Andrew?”
“Hovering worse than their mother. He’s worried about his other half.”
I watched the trees zoom past as we sped to the hospital. Outside, it appeared like a normal, calm day. The sun was shining, and people were driving around the city as they went about their day—nothing like the internal storm raging inside me.
Guilt tore through me. I should have been here. I should never have let them run me off. I should have fought harder for them. Everything turned into a blur as I let the tears flow freely. I’d held it together the best I could the entire plane ride, but I couldn’t anymore.
