‘Tell me. Please.’
If it was bad news, she wanted to know immediately. No beating around the bush. She’d had enough of that.
‘Your brother has come through his surgery successfully.’
Grace punched the air.
‘Yo!’
‘He is weak, but he was lucky.’
She’d hardly call him that, but she let it pass.
‘The knife did not damage any vital organs. He has lost a lot of blood, and he needs another transfusion, but the doctors are hopeful he will make a full recovery.
‘Yes!’
Grace did a little dance around the waiting area, but the thought that other people might not receive such good news stopped her in her tracks. She’d been on the other side of the fence too.
‘Can I see him?’
‘We don’t usually let relatives in at this point. Mr Lancing’s still in the intensive care unit.’
Eva pursed her lips.
‘But you do seem very devoted to your brother. I’ll have a word with the surgeon.’
Grace crossed her fingers on both hands until Eva came back and beckoned her forward.
‘Just a couple of minutes. He really needs to rest.’
The sound of machines whirring, doing their vital jobs, hit Grace as she entered the room. She’d been asked to mask up, and the sight of doctors and nurses in green scrubs attending to patients made her halt briefly at the door. The inside of an intensive care unit was something she’d hoped never to see again. But this wasn’t about her. She was here for Will.
There was a patient in a bed in each corner of the room, and from where she stood it was hard to tell which was Will. They were all in white hospital gowns and covered in wires and tubes.
Grace forced her feet to move and passed the first two people, trying not to stare too hard. They had enough to deal with without her gawping at them. She spotted Will’s muscular hairy legs first, sticking out of his gown. He was at the end on the right. The gown stopped above his knees; they obviously didn’t have one quite long enough.
When she reached his side, she stopped for a moment to take in the face that had become so dear to her.
Will’s eyes were firmly closed, but the nurse at his side motioned for her to come closer.
Grace leant in and stroked his face.
‘Will…’
He opened his eyes as if it was a huge effort, but when he saw her, Grace was rewarded with a big grin.
‘Hello, sis.’
ChapterTwenty-Seven
The laughter in his eyes encouraged her more than any medical update.
‘Ah, so you did hear that.’
‘Sure did. I’ve always wanted a sister.’
Grace put her finger to her lips in case any of the staff were listening. Although she was fairly sure they had more important things to concentrate on.
