“I heard. Go. Family before everything else.”
“But you’re family too, and I don’t want to let you down.”
“Phoenix, you think for a fucking second if Emma was in the hospital I wouldn’t have already run through those doors and left your sorry ass behind? Go. Your family needs you. I’m going to move some things around and make a few calls. I’ll get this meeting rescheduled so I can stay in Clarence County for a while. Until we know everything is stable with Jessie and the baby.”
“I appreciate that, Cap. But you don’t need to do that. Mae said they’re good, and I believe her. I just need to see that with my own eyes.”
His eyebrows raised. “You’re sure?”
“Go. I’ll make sure Gage verifies you have access to my notes, but you’ve heard me give the pitch twenty-five times now. Besides, we all know you’re the brains and I was just there to be the beauty.”
“Yeah,” Seb chuckled. “Okay. Don’t fucking forget to let me know how she’s doing.”
“I won’t.”
“Good. Now go. Your girl is waiting on you.”
His hand came down on Hawk’s shoulder, squeezing for just a split second before Hawk nodded. The death grip Hawk’s fingers had on his own bag was radiating pain through his entire arm, but he didn’t dare loosen his grip. Before he could even catch his breath, he was in his truck.
The ride to the hospital was fucking torture. Hawk’s mindwas running in circles. He’d seen her eat breakfast, so she wouldn’t be dizzy from low blood sugar. Unless something was going on there. What had he read about gestational diabetes? Wasn’t that something they needed to worry about closer to the third trimester? Fuck. He’d need to figure out how to get more protein in her at meal time. She was favoring carbs because those seemed to help more with the nausea.
He held onto the steering wheel so tight that even by the time he was in the elevator riding up to the third floor, his hands still ached.
As soon as the door opened, Hawk scanned the area. A few random people were sitting in chairs off to one side of the waiting room. Stone pushed off the wall and the two of them walked down to the double doors, locked shut to protect the mothers and babies inside.
“How do I get to her?” Hawk asked.
“Just buzz through that intercom. The nurse at the station will open the doors for you.” Hawk nodded, but his hands didn’t move towards the intercom.
“She’s good, Hawk. Go see for yourself.” Stone’s hand squeezed down on his shoulder, and he wanted to say a million things right then and there. He at least wanted to say thank you for getting Jessie to the hospital. But he couldn’t.
So instead, he just nodded. Putting one foot in front of the other, he went through the motions. Hawk stood in the doorway of her room, unable to move. Even from the hallway, he could see Jessie’s face was tear-stained.
Her eyes went wide as he closed the door behind himself, turning to take it all in. The room was small, but she was the only patient in it. His eyes dropped to her belly. A blanket was tucked around her hips and legs, but her feet stuck out at the bottom, bright red toes proudly on display.
And still, in the midst of fear, and pain, Jessie was stunning. Hawk had never seen a more beautiful woman in hisentire life. She made him never want to look away. Radiant, strong, feminine, she was perfect to him. Nothing, and no one, would ever compare to Jessie Ford.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling him from the revelation that echoed through his soul.
Jessie’s eyes bounced between Mae’s face and his. He stood deathly still, not daring to move until he heard that she was really, truly, actually okay.
Mae moved, her steady pace punctuating the stillness of the air around him. Was he even fucking breathing?
“She’s fine. Go over there and see for yourself.” His sister pushed against his shoulder as she made her way to the door.
His feet propelled him towards the bed. The one chair was in the corner and he sure as fuck didn’t want to be that far from Jessie, so he did the only thing he could think of. Hawk stood at her feet and squeezed her toes. “You’re really okay?”
Her face turned towards Mae, who was slipping out. “Don’t you go anywhere! Did you call him?”
Mae held up her hands innocently. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”
“I had you here with me.” Jessie’s arms crossed over her chest. Hawk’s eyes zoomed in on her hand where an IV was. Were they giving her medication through it? Or just pushing fluids? Jesus, he had so many fucking questions, but he needed to hear her say she was okay. Apparently, she was too busy bickering with his damn sister. Fuck it. Hawk pulled the chair from the corner right to the edge of her bed.
“It’s not the same, Jess, and we both know that,” Mae sighed as she waited for Jessie to respond.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Now that Hawk’s here, I’ll head out. Call me if you need anything. Either of you, okay?”
