Tabitha nodded.
“Okay, great.”
Blake grabbed her phone and called, letting Tabitha speak on the message.
When she hung up, Jenna announced, “Okay, now it’s my turn to call your daddy. He’s gonna have so many messages. He’s so popular.”
She’d let him know that there was a pileup and she was driving them. That Rhonda was going to let them know they were coming and that she’d keep him updated in real time.
Tabitha’s lips curled in a weak smile.
“And then after I get done, you ladies get to be DJs for the whole ride. Okay? So think about what songs you want to play.”
“Okay.” Blake said enthusiastically as Tabitha nodded, snuggling in closer to Blake, her eyes glazing with pain and exhaustion.
Jenna turned back and focused on the road as she voice instructed her car to call Deacon. She would get them there as quickly and safely as possible. And then she would make sure that Tabitha got seenimmediately.
Liam, her uncle, used to be the head of the emergency room, and her dad had more money than God. If this wasn’t what money like that was good for, then what was?
23
Traffic wasthe devil’s taint. It should have taken himfivehours to get back to Hope Falls from the Bay Area, it took him over eight, and his baby was in the fucking hospital.
He knew it was only a broken arm, but fuck he’d never felt so fucking helpless. He was already on the highway stuck in bumper-to-bumper hell when a dozen messages came through. He’d been on the Altamont and not had reception when he got the first calls. The messages all arrived at once when he was driving through a town called Tracy, which was commonly referred to as Satan’s asshole by residents and commuters alike, so the entire day had a theme from hell.
He’d thought about trying to hire a helicopter. It was the one fucking time in his life he wished he had an assistant, something he’d prided himself on not having. If he had one, then he might have been able to get to Tabitha faster than the eight slogging, snail hours it had taken.
The only good thing, the only saving grace, was that Jenna was with his baby girl and she was a phenomenalmom. There was no one, not even Poppy, who he innately trusted his daughter with more. He couldn’t say why. Maybe it was what Ava said, they had a connection. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was if anyone other than himself was going to be with Tabby, he would only want it to be Jenna.
Liam had been in contact all day. He and Frankie were in San Francisco visiting their parents, but he’d been in touch with the hospital since he’d worked there for a decade and still knew all the staff and was giving Deacon updates. He knew his daughter was fine, in good hands, he just needed to see her with his own eyes. And he was finally about to.
He turned into the Pine Ridge Hospital parking lot and grabbed the spot closest to the entrance. He was opening the door before the vehicle was even stopped. He knew he was going to get a ticket or his vehicle towed because it was an EV charging station, but he didn’t give a shit. His vehicle was hybrid, but he wasn’t about to take the time to plug it in. As he walked across the pavement, he texted Jenna, who he’d been keeping in contact with all day. Sometimes she had cell service, sometimes she didn’t.
Deacon
I’m here
The message wasn’t delivered, which meant she didn’t have service right now.
The sliding glass doors to the ER opened with a swoosh, and he rushed to the front desk. There were at least five people ahead of him. He tried to wait patiently. He did, but as a nurse passed by, he couldn’t help himself.
“My daughter is here, she’s five, and she broke her arm. I need to see her.”
The nurse shook her head and continued walking, she didn’t even break stride. He understood. She had a job and telling him where his daughter was or taking him to her wasn’t it.
When the person who was at the front of the line left, the next person went up, and he tried to send the text again. Again, the red notice appeared beneath it, indicating it was not delivered.
He knew it made him an asshole, but he wanted to offer the three people ahead of him ten grand each to let him cut the line. He wasn’t going to. He knew his money, didn’t, orshouldn’tallow him privilege. So, he stood, waiting, going fucking insane, phone in hand, hoping and praying Jenna’s service would come back up. He tried Blake’s as well, but had no luck there either, which made sense considering they were most likely together.
When the couple at the desk turned and walked to the waiting area, the man directly in front of Deacon gestured for him to go before him. “You can go, man.”
“Are you sure?” Deacon wanted to cry with gratitude.
“Yeah, I have two kids. I get it.”
“Thanks.” Deacon moved forward, and the two women he now stood behind did the same, which meant there was only a woman on crutches who was about to go to the front. She glanced over her shoulder. “Go ahead. I don’t have kids, but if I did.” She did a full-body shiver as if she couldn’t imagine it.
“Thank you.” Deacon hoped he was expressing just how thankful he felt as he stepped past them and quickly turned back and thanked them all once more. “Thank you guys, really.”
