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She released a long breath. “You know the Shaw men. Fierce protectors. He argued until they agreed to let him stay with Stella. He’s with her now.”
“Daddy? Uncle Brock and Uncle Ty?”
“They’re all here, and all okay as of now. Tell Maverick to be careful driving.”
I glanced at him. “He’s driving safely, don’t worry. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay, sweetheart, see you soon.”
Hitting End, I stared out the window as no one spoke. I wiped a tear away and forced myself not to cry.
“Grams is strong, Lil,” Bradly offered from the backseat. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. When Maverick reached for my hand, I instinctively laced my fingers with his. He gave me a soft squeeze, and I turned to look at him. With one single smile from him, I felt the pressure ease off my chest slightly.
I was so glad he was with me. I couldn’t describe the sense of calm I had just from touching him.
It was then I remembered he’d never had a family, perhaps he’d never gone through something like this.
But no—that wasn’t fair. Mindy and Justin had loved him, had wanted him before they’d died in a car accident. He was so young, had been happy for the first time in his life. Losing them must have been devastating for Maverick.
He looked back at me, and I offered a small smile of my own before staring straight out the window and sending up a prayer that my grandmother would be okay.
It felt like we waited forever as the entire family sat together, hoping to hear news about our grandmother. Blayze and Georgiana had left to take Ryder and Rhett home, but only after Lincoln had practically begged them to do so. The same with Ryan and Morgan. Blakely was fussy, so it hadn’t taken much to talk them into heading home.
Once Granddad had come out and said Grams was out of the woods, the fear covering the waiting room like a heavy blanket finally lifted.
Maverick hadn’t left, and he was now sitting with Bradly, Nathan, and Josh after returning from a walk with my father, who’d been going stir-crazy. It was Maverick who’d suggestedthe walk, picking up on Dad’s anxiety. Before that, he’d also gone out and gotten pizza, soda, and coffee for everyone.
The doctor finally entered the waiting room, and the entire family stood at once.
“Shaw family?” he asked.
“Yes. Is our mother okay?” Uncle Ty asked as he stepped forward.
“She’s more than okay. After running some tests and checking her bloodwork three times, it appears she didnothave a heart attack.”
“What?” Uncle Brock said, stepping up next to Ty. “But she said her chest was hurting.”
The doctor smiled. “A great many things can cause chest pains. All the tests are indicating it was an anxiety attack. We checked her blood for different markers, and we do them at different timeframes after the initial complaint since some show up a few hours later in the blood. Everything came back normal.”
A collective sigh filled the room.
“I’ve already spoken to Mr. Shaw and asked him to make sure his wife doesn’t take on any extra stress, or really any stress at all right now.”
“That stupid fall festival,” Lincoln said. “She was put in charge of it this year, and they’ve already started hounding her about every little detail. She’s been so worried she won’t be able to get everything done.”
“Who is ‘they’?” Uncle Brock asked. I could see he was ready to tear someone apart.
“The vendors, the mayor…you name it,” my mother answered as Lincoln nodded her head.
“I’ll take over her position,” Aunt Kaylee offered. Uncle Ty grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it as he mouthed ‘I love you’.
“Thank you, Kaylee,” Dad said.
“Don’t thank me yet. I have a feeling people will be wishing they’d left Stella alone once they get a taste of me.”
A few chuckles filled the waiting room.
