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His arms went around her. “How are you holding up?”
“I hate this,” she murmured. “I hate that this is happening and how there isn’t anything we can do. But more than anything, I hate that he’s up there all alone.”
“Well…to be fair…he’s not alone. He’s got a team of surgeons up there and nurses and some incredibly skilled people who are making sure he’s getting everything he needs.” He kissed her cheek and held her close. “And as soon as he’s in recovery, you know they’ll let us go up and see him.”
She nodded. “Thank you for being here with me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
“I’ll always be here for you, Lily,” he said gruffly. “Always. You can always count on me.”
“Mmm…”
“What the hell’s going on here?” Someone demanded loudly.
Not someone…but Lucas.
And he was glaring down at the two of them with a combination of rage and confusion.
Shit.
FOURTEEN
“Dad!”Lily cried as she scrambled off of Noah’s lap. She ran over and hugged him, but he felt stiff as a board.
“Hey,” she snapped, forcing him to look down at her. “Can you please just relax and remember why we’re here?” And yeah, it was a risk getting snippy, but she was mentally exhausted and couldn’t deal with one more complication right now.
“You’re right,” he mumbled, hugging her. “Sorry. Are you doing okay?”
She hugged him back. “Not really, but I’m doing the best I can.” Pulling back, she gave him a small smile. “I got to see him before they took him up to surgery.” Tears stung her eyes and her father was hugging her again.
“Oh, baby,” her mother said, joining in the hug. “I know this had to be so scary for you. Uncle Robert said you and Noah drove him here and have been with him the whole time.”
Nodding, Lily let go of her father and hugged her mother. “He looked so sad,” she sobbed. “Uncle Robert, I mean. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look that way.”
Emma held her tight. “It’s definitely tough, but I’m glad he wasn’t here alone. Come on, come sit down and talk to me.”
Only…it wasn’t just talking to her mother; her aunts and uncles were there all looking at her as she sat down beside Noah. “Where’d Uncle Robert go?”
“He’s on the phone with Uncle Zach,” Lucas told her as he sat down before glaring hard at Noah. “Why are you here and not at the office?”
Lily watched as Noah swallowed hard and she was afraid he was going to get nervous and stammer, but he surprised her.
“I was with Lily when Robert called,” he said bravely. “We got to the house before the EMTs got William into the ambulance and then I drove them both here. Your father is important to me, and I wanted to stay and help in any way I could.”
“And I wanted him here,” Lily added before realizing this really wasn’t the time to have this discussion. “Anyway, they took him up to surgery like two hours ago and we haven’t heard anything yet.”
“What happened?” her Uncle Jason asked. “We all got the message from Uncle Robert, but he didn’t go into any real details. Did Dad have a heart attack?”
Inwardly, she groaned, hating that she was going to have to be the one to tell them everything. Squirming in her chair, she tried to gather her thoughts. Noah reached over and held her hand to encourage her.
This man…
So…she told them everything—from all the sneaking around her grandfather was doing, to her finding the brochure and confronting him, to getting the call this morning. “It’s been a wild month.”
“He sent us all away,” Mac said wearily. “He sent us all away hoping we’d never find out he was sick.”
Jason nodded. “He figured this wasn’t going to be anything major and no one would catch on. What the hell is wrong with him? Does he have any idea how inconsiderate that was? How…how…?”
“He was protecting all of you,” Noah quietly interrupted.
