Noah wanted to celebrate what those words meant, but more important right now was acknowledging the sacrifice Jasper was making.
His daughter. His beautiful, precious daughter. Jasper hadn’t figured out how amazing she was until it was too late.
Noah thumped Jasper on the back, wanting to pull him close like he would have the much younger, skinnier version. But the grown man beside him wouldn’t appreciate that.
He angled away, then ducked out the door and disappeared.
Delaney watched where he’d gone. Her gaze found Noah’s, and she smiled shyly.
Then she must’ve really seen him because she straightened. “What are you doing? You need to sit.”
“I just wanted to make sure Charlotte’s okay.”
“She’ll be a lot better if her uncle…” She paused. Her lips lifted in a slight smile. “Herfatherdoesn’t bleed to death. Come on.” She urged him out of Charlotte’s room and back to his own. “Do I need to sit in there with you to make sure you stay put?”
He did his best to hide his wave of dizziness. “No, ma’am.”
When they entered his room, the nurse sent him a scathing look.
“My daughter’s fine. Thanks for asking.”
“Of course she is. I’ll get the doctor. You stay put.” She marched out.
Delaney watched her go. “She seems sweet.”
“Oh, yeah. Regular Florence Nightingale.”
The words were still hanging in the air when the door opened again. He hoped the nurse hadn’t heard his remark. She already disliked him.
But it was… Noah couldn’t think of his name. The only one that came to mind was his sarcastic moniker for the guy who was way too interested in Charlotte’s nanny.Dr. Dreamy.
“How’re we doing, Mr…” His words trailed as he caught sight of Delaney. “Oh. Hey.”
“Hey, Ethan.”
The doctor finally looked at Noah, and the smile that had filled his face faded. “They said it was a gunshot wound.” His gaze flicked back to Delaney. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
But he moved closer, eyeing the bandage on her head. “What happened?”
“Just a little cut. It’s Noah?—”
“Right. Sorry.” He turned back to Noah and examined the wound. “You want to tell me what happened?”
“Not really.” Noah was too tired to be nice, so he figured he’d better just be quiet.
“It’s a long story,” Delaney said.
“I bet.” The doctor hummed low, then stepped back. “Looks like Nurse Nightingale did a good job cleaning it.”
A chuckle bubbled from Noah’s lips. “Sorry about that.”
“I’ve met her. You’re good.”
Noah couldn’t help but like this guy. And it was easier now that he knew which one of them Delaney loved.
“It’s not that deep,” Ethan said. “No need for a CT scan. I just need to close it up.” He turned to Delaney. “Why don’t you go check on Charlotte?”
