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Chapter 15
“We’re almost there,” Billy noted as they passed the Harper’s Crossing city limit sign.
The hospital was just a few miles away.
Glancing to his right he saw Maxi staring straight ahead. Her face was briefly illuminated by headlights from a vehicle in the opposite lane. He searched to find any sign of recognition that she’d heard him, but her expression remained blank. They’d been on the road for almost an hour and Maxi hadn’t said a word to him.
When they’d got on the highway he’d called the hospital and she was able to speak to Jamie Sloan, Jessie’s cousin-in-law and a nurse at Harper’s Crossing Community Hospital. Jamie had the same information they did but promised to call as soon as she heard anything.
Since she hung up the phone she’d been totally silent. He wasn’t sure if she was in shock or just scared. Maybe both. He wished he knew the right thing to say, the right thing to do, but he had no fucking clue.
Turning his attention back to the road he silently cursed the overwhelming sense of helplessness and guilt that felt like it was suffocating him. Powerlessness was not an emotion that he dealt with particularly well. Anytime he was faced with a problem or an obstacle, he didn’t sit on his ass crossing his fingers waiting for the issue to magically resolve itself. He was proactive, not reactive. He came up with solutions. He took action. He fixed things.
But this week he had not been able to do that. This week he’d been rendered completely helpless. This week he felt like he was in the ring with a blindfold on and his hands tied behind his back. Hits were coming from all sides, knocking him on his ass and all he could do was get up and try to stay on his feet.
And this last blow felt like the knockout punch. When he’d left boxing a year and a half ago, he’d left Charlie and the job that Charlie had offered him. Maxi had been saying all week that her dad looked tired, and he’d noticed it, too. But he hadn’t done anything about it. Maybe if he’d stayed on as a coach, like Charlie had proposed, he could’ve taken some of the strain off of him. Made sure he wasn’t overdoing it. Instead he’d walked away from the sport that was his life and the man that he owed his life to.
Lifting his left hand he rubbed the back of his neck before returning it to the steering wheel, which he gripped tightly. Tension thrummed through him like a live electrical wire as he stopped at the light.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch his steering wheel. He wanted to smash the glass beside him.
Nothing about this was right.
There was a very short list of people in his life that he would do anything for and Charlie and Maxi held the top two spots. They were his people. His family. The only real family he’d had since he lost his grandma. But he couldn’t fix this. It was shredding him.
His mind was trying to reconcile how one night could be both the best and worst night of his life? Being with Maxi was better and just more than anything he ever knew was possible. It wasn’t just about the sex, which was incredibly hot, it was so much more than that. He’d never felt so in tune, so connected to another person before. Being with her felt more right, more pure, and more real than anything he’d ever experienced in his life.
When she’d gone into the bathroom, it was obvious to him that she was freaking out. He knew that she’d most likely try to push him away and minimize what they’d just shared. And he didn’t blame her. It was scary as hell. But he was ready to face…whatever it was between them, and his plan had been to convince her of the same with a little charm and maybe a little humor.
Then, his phone rang and everything changed.
As he pulled into the parking lot the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach expanded. He had no idea what they were walking into. Since hanging up the phone with the Colonel, he’d fought his natural instinct to imagine the worst-case scenario. He couldn’t let himself go there. Whatever happened, he had to be strong for Maxi. That was all that mattered. Not what he was feeling. Not how this affected him.
When he pulled into a spot close to the Emergency Room’s glass doors, Maxi opened the passenger door and was out of the SUV before he’d even come to a full stop. Cutting the engine he jumped out and ran to catch up with her.
The first person he saw when they walked through the automatic doors was Seth, who was on his cell phone by the entrance. Sitting across the small waiting area sat the Colonel who stood and walked towards them.
Before the glass doors closed behind them Seth was off the call. “Jamie is going in now to try to get a status update.”
“Can I see him? I need to see him.” Maxi’s words were shaky and it shattered Billy’s heart.
Hearing the quiver in her voice, he wrapped his arm around her waist. He’d been trying to give her space. The entire ride he’d resisted holding her hand, rubbing her knee, just touching her so that she knew she wasn’t alone. But hearing her fear and vulnerability was too much. She stiffened at his touch, but he left it in place. She needed support whether she knew it or not.
“Well now, sweetheart,” the Colonel spoke calmly as he joined them. “They’ll let us know when you can go back and I’m sure Jamie will fill us in as soon as she can.
“No. I need to see him.” She stepped forward just as Jamie came through a door with a sign posted on it stating only hospital personnel were allowed beyond that point.
Maxi rushed towards her and Billy rushed to stay at her side. “Is he okay? Can I see him?”
Jamie lifted her hands as she explained, “He’s stable and responsive.”
Oh thank God,relief hit him so hard he had to lock his knees to remain standing.
“Can I see him?” Maxi repeated. “I need to see him.”
“They just took him to radiology to run a few tests and after that he’ll be put in a room. I’ll find out what room and take you there so you can wait for him.”
Maxi crossed her arms, wrapping them around her waist, as she nodded and tears filled her eyes. “Okay. Thank you.”
