AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Jemma’s in the hospital. The entire family’s there. I have to go.”
She knew what was coming next, even before he opened his mouth. Not that he had to ask. Her first instinct was to drop everything and go with him to see if the darling little girl who’d captured a small piece of her child-immune heart was okay.
“Come with me.” He grabbed her hand, his eyes beseeching, his tone desperate.
“You don’t have to ask.” She stood on tiptoe and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Let’s go.”
“What about all this?”
Touched by his concern for her when she knew how worried he must be, she laid a silencing finger against his lips. “It’s not important. I’ll have a quick word with Anna and meet you at the car, okay?”
“You’re incredible.” He cupped her cheek for a moment, his love for her enveloping her in a warm, welcome shroud she hated to shrug off. “Thank you.”
“Go.” With a gentle shove she pushed him away, waiting untl he headed for the door before letting her face crumple.
She had to find Anna, get her to wrap things up here, so she could be there for Blane.
He needed her.
With what she’d had planned for later, it would be for the last time.
Chapter Seventeen
Blane swiped a hand across his eyes, but nothing could banish the gritty dryness from lack of sleep.
Not that he was the only one. Glancing around the hospital waiting room, he saw every member of his family in various sleepless poses: his folks sitting upright and rigid in the horrible orange plastic chairs, gripping each other’s hands, Sandi and Monica with their heads resting on the wall at their backs, and Jodi, her pallor startling as her forearms rested on her belly.
The girls’ spouses were at home looking after the kids and he wished he could be there, away from the harsh sterility of this place with its pungent antiseptic odours, bustling medical personnel, and the glare of fluorescent lighting highlighting the exhaustion and worry etched across the faces of his family.
He hated seeing them like this, hated the thought of his precious little niece under the knife of some surgeon they’d never heard of.
There’d been no choice: remove her appendix before it ruptured and possibly killed her, and while it was a simple enough operation performed every day, he couldn’t imagine a two year old having to go through it.
He slid across an empty chair and draped a comforting arm across Jodi’s shoulders. “She’s going to be fine, Sis.”
Jodi lifted her head, raising red-rimmed eyes to meet his.
“Is she?” she whispered, her hands shaking so hard she had to clasp them together and rest them on her belly.
“Of course she is. You need to look after this little one and let the docs do their job and look after Jem.”
He briefly laid a hand on her bulging belly, silently praying he was right. Contemplating any outcome other than a positive one was inconceivable, and while his gut churned with dread he could only imagine what Jodi must be going through right now.
“I feel so helpless,” Jodi said, resting her head against his shoulder, and he cuddled her close, wondering if wanting this parent gig so desperately was a wise choice after all.
“Mrs. Lee?”
Jodi sat bolt upright as a youngish doctor in scrubs appeared before them.
“How’s Jemma? Is she all right?” she blurted, clutching Blane’s hand in a bone-cracking grip.
Blane held his breath, his gaze fixed on the doc’s mouth, willing him to deliver the good news his family so desperately needed to hear.
After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor’s face creased into a smile. “Jemma’s going to be fine. The surgery went well. She’s in recovery now, but should be out shortly and then you can see her.”
“Thank goodness.” Jodi sank against him like a lifeless doll—a heavily pregnant doll—as he sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward.
The doc’s weary smile said he’d been through this scenario a hundred times before and he politely nodded before hurrying away.
