She nodded, desperate for his words to be true. She didn’t exactly have the best relationship with her father—though, to be fair, none of the Haven girls did. He was overbearing and condescending and antiquated. A chauvinist in every sense of the word. He held views that Mac didn’t, actively roadblocked the things she fought for and believed in with her whole being.
But he was still her daddy, and despite his many, many…manyflaws, she loved him.
“Thank you,” she said softly, hoping to saturate the two words with as much feeling as was filling her chest.
“Don’t thank me for doin’ this, Kenna. I’m here because I want to be, and because I—” He cut off suddenly and shook his head, his left hand tightening on the steering wheel.
She held her breath, desperate to know what he’d been about to say and hoping he’d pick up right where he left off. Had he been about to tell her he loved her? And if he did, what would that mean for them?
Instead, he said, “And the next time I hear you say this is your fault, I’m gonna remind you exactly why this whole thing lands squarely on your daddy’s shoulders. He’s an adult who knew the risks and chose to ignore them. That’s onhim,not you.”
Feeling an odd sort of disappointment that Hudson hadn’t said what she thought he might—though she had absolutely no right to—she sank back into the seat and closed her eyes, knowing the last thing she needed to be focusing on right now when her daddy was lying in a hospital was her and Hudson.
At some point, they must’ve pulled up to the hospital, and she must’ve stepped out of his truck. Must’ve even managed to walk the distance between the parking lot and the ICU waiting room, because suddenly her sisters were there—all of them, even Nat—crushing her between them in a hug, her arm still hanging behind her because she couldn’t seem to let go of her grip on Hudson.
“Don’t youeverdo that again, Mac,” Rory said, her voice stern but quavering, like she was on the verge of crying. “You had us all worried sick. And in case you haven’t noticed, we have other things to be worryin’ about right now.”
Mac pulled out of the group hug and looked into Rory’s eyes, seeing the sheen there, and felt her mouth dry up. “Daddy?”
Rory pressed her lips together, her eyes filling even more, and Mac looked to Will or Nat for answers, both of whom wore tired, weary expressions.
“He’s in surgery right now,” Will said. “CABG they called it—coronary artery something or other.”
Mac swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Open heart surgery?”
Will nodded sagely, squeezing Mac’s hand that wasn’t still encased in Hudson’s. “Momma brought him to the ER Saturday mornin’ ’cause of chest pains. They ran some tests and admitted him almost immediately because of the blockage. He, um…” She brought her hand to her temple and closed her eyes before blowing out a breath and shaking her head. “I honestly don’t remember a lot of the details because the past two days have been a blur. But they transferred him here last night, did a whole bunch more tests, and decided he needed surgery ASAP.”
“How long’s he been in there?”
Rory glanced at her watch. “About five hours.”
Mac closed her eyes and exhaled. She’d been having sex with Hudson on the forest floor without a care in the world while her daddy went in for life-saving surgery. While her momma and sisters and gran sat with the weight of that on their shoulders.
Almost as if Hudson could read her mind, he squeezed her hand and gave a sharp shake of his head when she looked back at him.
“The surgeon said it could take seven or more hours,” Rory said, “so we’ve got a bit yet.”
“Okay.” Mac couldn’t ask what she really wanted to know—what were the possible outcomes of this surgery? How likely was it that her daddy would come out of it okay? What she wouldn’t give to hear his disapproving tone as he reprimanded her one more time. “Where’s Momma?”
Her sisters split apart and gestured down the hall toward a bland waiting area where her momma and gran sat, their heads resting against the wall behind them, eyes closed, hands clasped together between them. Surrounding them were Nash and Finn, both men with their long legs sprawled out in front of them, their arms crossed over their chests, heads tilted at odd angles as they slept.
“How long have y’all been here?” she asked.
“Since last night. We followed the ambulance up here. Sean’s out of town, but thankfully the girls are stayin’ at the Waverlys’ house until I get back home.” Rory lifted her chin in Nat’s direction. “Then Nash ran and picked up Nat from the airport a couple hours ago.”
Mac wrapped her arm around her younger sister and tugged her into her side, pressing their heads together, not even realizing how much she’d missed her until this very moment. “I thought you were supposed to be in Morocco.”
Nat waved a hand in front of her. “Meh, Morocco can wait. I knew y’all’d fall apart without me, so I postponed my shoot and hopped on the first flight I could get.”
They all must’ve been exhausted, especially her momma. They’d been here, pacing the halls of the hospital and worrying themselves sick. All while Mac’d been having sex in a tent with her non-boyfriend and worrying about watching a damnsunrise.
Even with Hudson’s reassurances in the back of her mind, she couldn’t stop the thoughts from bombarding her, every one of them boiling down to the fact that she’d managed to fail at being a daughter, and all she’d had to do was show up.
“Someone better tell me something to take my mind off all this nonsense.” Nat huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back into the uncomfortable chair. “Isn’t it just like Daddy to ruin a perfectly good trip home?” It was obvious she was trying for snideness, but the wobble in her voice meant she didn’t quite pull it off.
They were clustered in the waiting room where they’d been for the past three hours, save for the short break when Finn, Nash, and Hudson had gone to grab everyone something to eat. Momma and Gran had only managed to nibble, most of the food going cold and uneaten in the takeout containers.
“Rory,” Will said, tipping a head in her direction. “That’s all you. What’s the news on the street?”
