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28. paige
Wild Heart
“Hey, Harry. How are you?”
“There’s my beautiful Bug.” He waves, happy to see me. He gives Preston a wink.
I let Pancake out of his carrier as Evelyn comes in, giving us both a hug. “Hi, honey,” she tells him.
“We’ve gone on two dates,” I tell them.
Evelyn squeals with glee and hugs Harry. It might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
The door opens without warning, and Sheila barges in. She spots Pancake and grimaces. “You know the rules.” She points at Pancake. “Get it out of here.”
“Hey, Sheila?” Preston says. Sheila turns. “Get out, And you better knock the next time you enter a resident’s room.” He gives her a look that gives even me pause.
Harry he covers his mouth and chuckles. Sheila glares at us and slams the door loudly behind her.
“She’s so rude,” I say.
Evelyn and Harry shrug. “We’re just used to her.”
“You shouldn’t have to be used to that kind of treatment,” I say. “I’ll take Pancake back with me this time.”
Harry nods, looking sad. Evelyn reaches over and holds his hand. I can’t with these two. They’re so adorable.
* * *
The next morning, I sit at my desk, scanning properties around Freedom Valley that could potentially be leased for my bookstore. Ideally, I want a place on or near Main Street, so it gets a lot of traffic. Nothing is available that looks even remotely decent, and I’m leery of dealing with shady landlords again. At least I have Preston to help me now.
I look out the big front window and see Preston’s black Jeep pulling up to the curb way too quickly. He gets out and jogs to the front of the office. It’s like time stills for a moment. Like something is about to happen. An eerie feeling settles over the office like before a storm.
“Paige,” he says as he comes in, his face full of pain.
And I know. Something bad has happened. I flash back to when Harry came to get me at school and told me that my mom had died. He wore the same somber expression. I’ll never forget the pain etched in his face that day. In some ways, it’s still there, even now, when I look at him.
“No, no, no, no.” I feel my knees start to buckle. Preston quickly grabs me and pulls me to his chest. “He’s at the hospital. We have to go. Now.”
Hot tears streak down my cheeks as we race to the hospital. I can’t breathe. Before I can unbuckle my seat belt, he’s already yanking open the passenger door. When we get to the front desk, I stammer over my questions and wipe my eyes. Preston steps beside me and calmly but firmly says, “We need to see Harry Mills.”
“Family only. Are you family?” the lady at the desk asks him.
He clears his throat. “Harry is her grandfather. I’m her husband.” He squeezes my hand firmly and looks at her confidently.
Husband.Whoa. We’ll unpack that later. I swipe my tears and lean into his shoulder. I’m thankful he’s here with me because I can’t think clearly.
She nods. “I’ll have Dr. McGraw come out and talk to you shortly.”
Preston steers me to a chair. He finds more tissues for me and sits with me, holding me. I reach down for my phone to text Harry and remember that I can’t. He’s the reason we’re here. I can’t text him or call him. I can’t lose him. I can’t.
“Thank you for staying with me,” I say.
Preston looks at me like I’m crazy. “I would never leave you,” he says, pulling me into him.
“I have to call everyone.”
“I’ve already handled it. Evan took Theo and Pancake back to the inn, and I updated everyone in a group text.”
