Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“Sunshine.” Donovan’s lips press to my ear. “It’s okay.” His arm wraps around me from behind and pulls me away from the bed just a fraction. Evy steps forward and hugs my dad. “Take a breath.” He kisses me on the shell of my ear, and I nod, taking in a deep breath to calm down.
“All right, Mr. Hall. We’re going to get you moved upstairs.”
“I don’t need to stay over. I already told the other doc that.” Dad tries to wave the nurse off.
“You’re staying and that’s final,” Evy says before I can say anything.
“All right,” Dad quickly agrees with her. What the hell? It would have been a ten-minute fight for me, but whatever works.
“You think there’s a chair in the room? I’ll go get a bag and come back to spend the night,” I say, and Donovan’s arm tightens around me.
“You don’t need to stay, sweetheart,” Dad says.
“But you need—”
“I’ll be staying,” Evy declares, and I open my mouth to protest but quickly close it.
I’m not sure how to handle this. If it was Donovan I’d be the same way, so I try to keep that in mind. I’m not used to this change, but I like seeing someone else just as worried about my dad’s health as I am.
“And I’ll take Gracie home with me,” Donovan says, and my dad smiles at him.
“I’d appreciate that, Donovan. Thank you.” Dad nods.
“Now that we have that all worked out, it’s time to move you,” the nurse announces as she pulls up the side rail on the bed.
“Okay.” I move close and give my dad another hug. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” I kiss his cheek.
“Love you, pumpkin.” He kisses mine back.
“Love you too, Dad,” I say before Donovan takes me by the hand and leads me out of the hospital.
“Want to go grab some things from your place?” he asks, and I shrug. “All right.” He brushes his mouth against mine. “Everything is okay, sunshine,” Donovan tries to reassure me.
I force a smile because I wish that was true. I messed up today. My dad is used to me taking care of him, and I missed a step. I could have lost him, and my heart aches at the thought.
If I don’t take care of him, I might lose him. But if I have to spend my life taking care of my dad, I might lose Donovan. The thought of being without either of them is too much, and I close my eyes. I’m not ready to choose.
Chapter Twelve
Donovan
Gracie is quiet the whole drive over to her house and while she packs a bag. It’s not until we’re back at my place and she places her bag on the bed that I see the real sorrow in her eyes. She seems reluctant to be here, but maybe because her dad is staying overnight in the hospital she doesn’t want to be alone.
“Hey,” I say softly, and she turns from the bed to face me. “Would you rather stay at your house tonight?” I consider her twin bed back in her room, and I don’t even care that it’s too small for the both of us. “I could sleep on the floor.”
She smiles, and I see tears in her eyes before she walks over and puts her arms around me. “No, I want to stay here tonight. I want to be with you in this bed.”
“He’s going to be okay,” I reassure her, and she nods against my chest. “Tell me what’s going on inside that heart of yours, sunshine.”
She shrugs, and I kiss the top of her head, waiting for her to answer.
“I just feel like I let him down. I should have double-checked on him, I should have reminded him, I should—”
“Shhh.” I slow her spiral and hear her sniff. “You’re a good daughter and an incredible woman. Your dad isn’t sick because you did something wrong. People forget, sunshine.”
“He could have died.”
“You could have died in the car on the way to the hospital.” My hands tighten around her at the thought, but I need her to see reason. “Look at me.” When she finally tilts her chin up and her eyes meet mine, I brush away her tears. “I’m not going anywhere, and neither is he.”
“But what about—”
I shake my head. “You can play the what if game all day. I know because I did.” I shrug as she waits for me to explain. “You’ve never asked me how I got my scars.”
“I didn’t want to be rude.” That gets a little grin from her.
“When I worked at the FBI, there was this big case we’d spent years on.” Her eyes go wide with surprise. “I would spend months tracking a subject only to hit a dead end and then have to go back and start on another trail. It was an underground drug cartel that was using innocent people to run their product without their knowledge.”