Jessa smiled, reaching for her hand. "Glad you're here."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nate stared down the hall where Lily had disappeared with Lance. He wasn't sure what to do. Part of him wanted to stay. If he hadn't been there earlier, Lily would have fallen. He wanted to be there in case she needed help again. But he knew he really had no right to be there. He wasn't family. He wasn't even a super close friend, though Will did trust him to work on his Escalade—which said something. Realistically, his tie to the Collingsworth family had been severed when Lily ended their engagement.
Bracing his hands on his knees, Nate stood up.
"You heading out?" Will asked.
"Yeah. I'm going to go to the garage for a bit. Let me know if you need me to do anything." He touched the phone on his belt. "Just call my cell."
Will stood and walked over to him. "You're welcome to stay and wait with us."
Nate glanced at the others, and each one nodded. "Thanks, but I think it would be easier for Lily if I wasn't here."
Will frowned. "If you're sure..."
"I am. I'll check in later. If I can bring you guysanything—like food that isn't from the hospital cafeteria—let me know."
As Nate left the waiting room, he remembered how it had felt to be part of that group. For seven years, they'd included him as one of the family. But then he'd lost that. And then he'd lost the last member of his own family. Now it was just him. And from the looks of things, that wasn't going to change anytime soon.
Which was fine, he told himself. There were too many things demanding his attention right then. A relationship would just have suffered.
As he stepped out of the hospital, the warmth of the day embraced him. Remembering Lily's words about the heat, Nate hoped it didn't get too hot. It seemed her body was already struggling with the demands the day had placed on her.
Revving his truck's engine before putting it into gear to leave the parking lot, Nate gave a frustrated shake of his head. Couldn't he keep from thinking about her for even a minute? Every single thing lately seemed to lead back to Lily. Although, if he were honest with himself, he had to admit that over the time since she'd left, she really had never been too far from his thoughts. At least once a day something would bring her to mind. It was no wonder Crystal had felt he'd never fully committed to their relationship.
Walking into the garage, Nate saw a man in a suit talking with Don. No doubt someone from the insurance company. They'd said they would be stopping by. He'd assumed they'd let him know first, but apparently they hadn't felt the need.
"Mr. Proctor?" The man stuck his hand out as Nate approached. "I'm Steven Baylor."
He confirmed Nate's suspicions when he named the company he worked for. "What can I do for you?"
As the man began to talk, Nate found he was grateful for the distraction and was happy to give him his full attention.
~*~*~
"Get her onto her left side," a nurse barked out. "We need to get her to the OR."
Lily pressed against the wall, panic flooding her as she watched the flurry of activity around Jessa. The nurses called back and forth as they disconnected and reconnected monitors. Things had been going okay until the baby's heart rate had dropped. Now they were scrambling to get her prepped for a move. Lily assumed it meant they were going to have to do a C-section.
Worry tightened Lance's features. As they pushed the bed out of the room, Lily caught a glimpse of Jessa's face. Her eyes were closed, and her skin was pale. Then the next moment, the bed with Jessa, the nurses, and Lance were gone.
Dear God, please protect them both. Please don't let anything...
When her trembling legs gave way, Lily slid down the wall and buried her face in her hands, struggling to draw in a deep breath past the vise that gripped her chest.
"She's in the best care." A hand rested on her shoulder.
Lily looked up and through moist eyes saw the face of one of the nurses who had been in and out of the room before everything had gone crazy.
"Let me help you," the woman said. She held out her hands to Lily.
"I have MS," Lily told her as she grasped them. "My legs aren't working too well at the moment."
"That's all right. I'll help you." The smile the nurse gave her was comforting. "Is the rest of your family here? In the waiting room?"
"Yes."
