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I pause. “Um. Yes. You know?”

“He told us while we were waiting for the ambulance. He knew the doctors would need to know.” Harley blows out a breath. “It’s a shock for sure. He apologized for not telling us sooner. But it’s all good. We’re gonna take care of him.”

“Of course, you will,” I say, my throat tightening again.

“And thank you for being there for him, Law,” Harley says. “We know he’s been well cared for.”

I have to swallow before I can say, “Of course. My pleasure.”

“Okay, we’ll see you soon. Drive careful.”

“Will do. Tell him we’re on our way.”

We disconnect, and I take a deep breath.

“Nora told me he fell,” Sutton says.

I nod. “He told them about the Parkinson’s too.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh. Thank God.”

I’m so relieved. It was past time, and I hate that it took this for him to tell them, but now that they know, he will see their support and love. And the hospital staff will be able to take good care of him.

“Not the way I wanted it to happen,” I say, running a hand over my face. “But maybe a silver lining.”

Sutton nods. “It’s done. Let’s go.”

“I’m ready.” I lift her hand to my mouth and kiss the back of it. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

“Me, too,” she says with a smile that is clearly genuine now.

We pack up quickly, and I grab the container of pies. “I guess we’ve got some left over for next time.”

Despite the phone calls, I see the flicker of heat in her gaze.

She looks from the pies to me. “Yeah, there are tons of pies in our future. And tons of nights like this.”

My heart squeezes. I lean in and kiss her, sweet and quick. “And every one of them will be perfect.”

“And now we have something to eat on the way to New Orleans,” she says.

She’s the best. “Let’s go. We’ll leave your car out here.”

We shut off all the lights and close up the barn, then run through the rain to my truck. I settle her on the passenger side with the blanket draped over her until she can dry off a little and warm up.

We’re mostly quiet on the drive to the hospital, but we hold hands the entire way. I know we are both lost in thought about what this might mean for Brewser and how he must be feeling about the dancing being the thing that literally tripped him up.

I hate that for him. He loved dancing so much. This fall doesn’t have to mean that he can’t do it or that he should quit. We just need to be sure that the adaptations are in place whenever he does it. Hopefully he’ll see that now.

By the time we arrive in the waiting room outside the emergency room, Harley’s prediction has come true. Patty and Muriel are there, Bruce has arrived, and Andi is there with Nora, as are Alex, Astrid, and Declan.

Andi, Nora, and Astrid meet us within two steps inside the room.

“Hi,” Andi says, giving Sutton a wide-eyed look.

“Hi.” Sutton frowns slightly.

“You look like a happy mess,” she says, keeping her voice low. “Would you like to borrow a brush?”