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“I know.”
I think the time has come for me to get our girl back. I’ve given her time to nurse her wounds but it’s time we sorted our differences out once and for all. I can’t go on feeling like half my soul is missing without trying to fix this.
I’m heading to the kitchen when I get a call from Lincoln Coldwell. I haven’t heard from him since Audrey and I argued but I’ve been expecting this call. “Coldwell.”
“Carmichael. Get your ass over to the hospital and support my cousin likeyou promised.”
My heart takes off at a gallop as I grab my keys. “What happened?”
“Her father is dying. He has hours.”
“I’m on my way.”
“And Hudson, you can thank Lottie. If it had been up to me, I wouldn’t have called. You broke your promise to be there for her when she needed you—again.”
He hangs up and I stare at the screen, regret and self-recrimination battering me hard. But overriding that is the need to get to her. I jump into action and call Mrs. Price, and she agrees to let me drop Tia with her on my way.
I get to the hospital and race to the floor where I find all of her friends waiting. Lincoln looks up before going back to ignoring me. Ryker approaches and he looks solemn, the mood evident of what’s happening behind the closed door of the room at the end.
“How is he?”
Ryker shakes his head. “Not good. They don’t think it will be long.”
Nausea ripples up my throat and I’d give anything to save her from this. From watching the person she loves so much take their last breath.
“Is she with him?”
Ryker nods. “Yeah, her and her mom are with him.”
“I didn’t know it had gotten so bad.”
“Yeah, he was brought in yesterday morning and she and Ruth haven’t left his side.”
“Yesterday? Why didn’t she call me?”
“You told her to leave, Hudson.”
“No, I told her to go home, to our home, and we could talk later. We were just throwing crap at each other, so I figured it was best if she left and we cooled down. I never expected her to leave.”
“Well, she thought you were rejecting her again, that you wanted her gone. Why would she think that?”
I shake my head and let my head hand low. “I told her we should pull back and put our relationship back to friends only.”
“What the fuck? Why would you say that?”
“Because I’m an asshole who panicked instead of using his brain.”
“Well, you fucked it big time. I’m not sure she’s going to forgive you this time. She’s a mess.”
“I know, but I have to try. I love her.”
“Then you better come sit.”
Ryker clamps a hand over my shoulder, and I move to sit beside him and Eden near the door. The mood is solemn, but I get a soft smile from Norrie and a chin lift from Xander. The silence is oppressive and heavy with grief. Behind that door, the woman I love is saying goodbye to her father. Watching his chest rise and fall, waiting for the moment when the next one doesn’t come. When all the words not said will stay unsaid. When the world becomes a little bit darker for his absence.
“You know she bought Redman Media and fired every reporter they had on staff. She did that for you because she loves you. She may not have said it, but she showed up. You might have said the words, but you didn’t show up.”
“Lincoln, that’s enough.”
