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“Yep. I heard him. Gracie and I will stay at your house tonight if that’ll make you feel better.” I wasn’t doing it for myself. I was doing it for my daughter, and to give my parents some peace of mind. If I were to have a reaction, I wouldn’t want Gracie to be home alone with me—but I felt physically fine.
I didn’t miss the look that passed between my mother and my sisters, and Brinkley came to sit beside me on the bed.
“It’s your last night with Presley. I’m sure she’d want to stay at the house with you and Gracie,” she said. They knew I was supposed to take her out tonight. Gracie was supposed to sleep at my parents’ house. But that all seemed like it was a million years ago now.
I was hurting my girls by dragging this out.
I’d been distracted earlier with Presley, and that was on me.
All on me.
And she was leaving tomorrow, so I wasn’t going to have her stay up all night worrying about me having a concussion or Gracie being upset.
“No. We’ll sleep at your house.” I cleared my throat just as Presley walked in with Gracie’s hand in hers. When my daughter’s eyes locked with mine, she took off in a run, and I pulled her onto my lap, trying hard not to wince as I wrapped my arms around her, and she started sobbing.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“Don’t apologize.” My voice came off harsher than I meant it to, and I pulled her back and tipped her chin up to look at me. “You did nothing wrong. Daddy was the one who should have been watching.”
“I didn’t see the car.” Her little voice wobbled, and I was so fucking pissed at myself that she’d had to experience this shit. She’d probably have nightmares about it now. I could have stopped this from happening.
Ishouldhave stopped this from happening.
“Gracie, you shouldn’t have had to be looking out for a car. This is on Daddy, not you. Okay?”
She nodded as the tears fell down her face, and Presley hurried over with some tissue and helped clean her up.
“You all right?” Presley asked. Her dark eyes were puffy from crying, and I knew this day had taken a toll on her, as well. I saw the sadness on both of my girls’ faces, and it was a reminder that I’d pretty much failed everyone today. My family stepped out of the room when the nurse came in with my release papers.
“I’m good to go,” I said as Presley stared at the bandage on my forehead as if she didn’t believe me.
“Those stitches will need to be checked in a few days. I know Dr. Locket went over all the concussion side effects with you, so you need to call the hospital if you have any concerns,” the nurse said as she handed me a pen, and I signed at the bottom of the release papers.
“Got it.” I pushed to my feet and set Gracie down. When we walked out of the room, she ran to my father, and he scooped her up. I could feel Presley’s eyes on me as she walked beside me and reached for my hand. We paused outside the hospital and said our goodbyes to everyone, but I was quiet and ready to get out of there. Hugh handed me my truck keys but shot me a warning look not to drive and motioned to where my truck was parked a few feet from where we stood. I thanked them for coming and then asked my parents to take Gracie to their car and said that I’d meet them there shortly.
My parents hugged Presley, and I bent down to meet Gracie’s eyes. “Say your goodbyes to Presley. She’s leaving tomorrow.”
I could tell Presley wanted to say something, but the look on my face must have been why she didn’t. She leaned down and pulled my daughter into her arms.
“I love you, Gracie girl. I’ll be FaceTiming you real soon, okay?”
Gracie broke down in tears, and I squeezed my eyes shut and wondered how I’d allowed this to happen. How I’d fucked up so badly and let things get this far.
“I love you, Presley. I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you more, sweet girl.” Presley’s voice shook. I glanced at my parents, and my mother swiped at the tear running down her cheek.
Jesus. Everyone was a fucking mess.
I helped Gracie to her feet, and my dad carried her to the car as I turned toward Presley, who pulled out a tissue from her purse and wiped away her tears.
“I can change my flight. I already texted Phillip to tell him I need a few more days,” she said. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Gracie, but I can stay. I can be there for you two tonight and tomorrow. For as long as you need me.”
“No. You need to get back. You can’t put your life on hold for us.” I shoved my hands into my pockets because I knew this conversation was going to suck. I’d known it was coming, and I’d put it off.
“But I can, Cage. I can be there for you guys right now.”
“And what? This will just suck in three days when we say goodbye again? Why drag it out? We knew this was coming. I’m sorry for messing up our last night together and bailing on our date, but maybe it’s for the best.”
