“This is him. Hey, Bel, hang on a sec!” I called before he ran off with Hawk.
“Mr. St. James, this is Dr. Tierney at St. John’s General.”
Oh no. Oh no.
“I’m calling regarding Cara Scalone. She was rushed into the emergency room earlier today, and you are her emergency contact.”
My hands were shaking so hard that I had to consciously tighten my hold on Storm so I didn’t drop him. Bel must’ve realized something was wrong because he wheeled the wagon closer, and both twins were quiet, watching me with worried looks.
“I-is she okay? What happened?” I was an expert on emergency situations by now, and it was only that experience that allowed me to keep it together.
“She’s stable but in critical condition. She had a heart attack in her shop. A customer found her and called 911. It was early enough that her outlook is good.”
“I—” I should’ve been there. I normally worked today, but because it was Halloween, Cara had convinced me to take the day off to be with the kids. That was why she’d been there. That was why a random customer had found her and not me. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Thank you, Mr. St. James. Just ask for me when you get here and we can discuss more then.”
I hung up, I thought. I wasn’t even sure. But I was no longer on with the doctor and was dialing Koa strictly on muscle memory.
“Hey, are you guys back? We’ll be home in less than five minutes,” he answered as soon as the call connected.
“Koa—” My voice broke. “I need you.”
Chapter 13
Koa
My leg had fallen asleep abouttwenty minutes ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to move Riot.
We had been in the hospital for hours, waiting for the doctor to update us, with no knowledge of what was going on or whether Cara would even survive. In the time it had taken us to get here, Cara had suffered another heart attack and had to be rushed back for surgery. They’d been in the middle of it when we’d arrived, and we hadn’t gotten news for a sickeningly long time.
I ran my fingers through Riot’s hair. He had finally fallen asleep, and I was doing everything in my power to let him rest. Lord knew he needed as much as he could get.
Thankfully, Knox was a responsible kid and hadn’t drunk at all at the party he had been at, so he’d been able to come and pick up the kids and bring them home, as they had all become restless. I probably should have done it, but I hadn’t been willing to leave Riot here alone. I couldn’t.
The update had finally come shortly after Knox had left. Cara had survived two massive heart attacks, luckily. She’d been touch-and-go for a while but had stabilized just a bit ago. Nowwe were waiting for her to be transferred back to an ICU room so we could see her. Riot refused to leave until he did.
Cara was like a mother to Riot. To all of us, really. I didn’t know how he would’ve reacted if she hadn’t made it.
My back ached in this chair, and I was desperate to stand and move around. Fuck, how long did it take them to get her moved into a room?
My phone buzzed and I did my best not to jostle Riot as I pulled it out. It was a message from Emily, Melodie’s mother.
Emily: Just wanted to let you know everything’s okay here. The littles are all in bed finally. Knox and Wynter are shaken up, but they’ll be okay.
I smiled softly. When I’d called to ask her if Wynter could sleep over, she’d instead offered to go to our house and spend the night so Knox wouldn’t be alone with all the kids. He’d probably chafed a bit at that, but I was thankful. Riot and I worked hard not to put that kind of pressure on him. Riot hadn’t had a childhood because he’d been raising kids that weren’t his. He refused to do that to Knox. Besides, Knox loved Cara as much as the rest of us and needed his own time to process.
I quickly texted her back
Me: Thank you. We should be able to see her soon. She’s finally stabilized. Then I’m going to try and force Riot back home to rest.
She reacted to the message with a thumbs-up and then typed:
Emily: Good luck. I’ll be here as long as you need me.
I thanked her again before putting my phone down. Riot shifted, whimpering slightly in his sleep. I massaged the back of his neck with my thumb. He calmed instantly, like he always did. Riot didn’t get nightmares like he used to anymore, but massaging his neck always worked to help settle him down. I doubted he even knew I did it.
It felt like ages before a nurse came to tell us we could go visit.
