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“To hell with this.” Elijah got up and walked back over to the desk. “Excuse me.”
The woman looked up.
“Can you tell me why I can’t go back to see my grandmother?” he asked. “I’m her family, and I should be allowed to be with her.”
The woman gave him a soft smile. “I’m sorry, but those are the rules. The doctor is with her, and she deserves her privacy. When it’s okay to see her, I’ll let you know.”
Mason stood next to Elijah. “HIPAA, Elijah.”
Damn HIPAA. Elijah wanted to know what happened to her, why she’d been on the floor, pale and unmoving. His anxiety was already high, but not knowing what was happening only made it go higher.
Pissed, Elijah stomped back over to where he was seated and dropped into his chair. Waiting sucked.
* * * *
Two grueling hours later, the woman behind the desk waved him over. “Is your name Elijah?”
“Yes.”
“You can go back now,” she said then looked at Mason. “Are you a relative, too?”
“My husband,” Elijah said before he even knew those words would fly out. Elijah had stunned himself but was grateful Mason didn’t look taken aback, too. Holy crap! That was one hell of a thing to say when he’d just met the guy. Mason would probably run for the hills once this was over.
“Follow the green line to the nurses’ station. They’ll help you from there.” The woman pressed a button, and the double doors opened.
As they walked, Elijah peeked up at Mason. “Sorry about that.”
“About what?” Mason asked, looking genuinely confused.
“About calling you my husband. Sometimes I speak before I think.” Elijah wished he could take back his declaration. Mason more than likely thought of Elijah as some weirdo or creep for saying that.
If roles had been reversed, Elijah would have run for the door. They’d known each other less than twenty-four hours.
“You were just trying to get me back here,” Mason said. “No big deal.”
If Mason wasn’t freaking out about it, Elijah would let it go. He had more pressing things on his mind. He would deal with Mason being a shifter and Gage’s secret later. And he would find out what his friend was hiding.
* * * *
Mason had never had to deal with elderly humans, and he had to confess he was glad when they finally left the hospital. Claire had fallen, hurt her hip, and had been on the floor for some time. The doctor said she’d also suffered a mini stroke while she’d been down there, and if Elijah hadn’t gotten her help on time, she might not have survived.
Elijah stepped outside and took a deep breath. “Thanks for…” He looked up at Mason. “Just…thanks.” They walked toward Mason’s truck. “You were there when I needed someone.”
“It was no problem.” Mason opened the passenger door for Elijah. “I told you. Family is everything. It was nice of the hospital to let your grandfather stay with his wife.”
Elijah chuckled. “They would have had to physically remove my granddad from the room if they’d said no.” His mate held up his arm. “He bit me once.”
Mason frowned. “Your grandfather?”
“Yeah.” Elijah climbed into the passenger seat. “I’d tried to force him inside the house because a nest of hornets had been disturbed and they were flying for us, but he said he wasn’t letting bugs ruin his day. I got him inside but not before he bit me and I was stung a few times.”
Mason winced. “I’ve been stung by hornets. That’s no picnic.”
“Hurt for days afterward,” Elijah said before Mason closed the door and hurried around the hood.
“Where to?” he asked, unsure of whether his mate was ready to go home.
Elijah took a deep breath and leaned back in the seat. “If you want me to be completely honest, I could go for some barbeque.”
