Page 105 of Sudden Summer

Her eyes snapped to Hayes. “No. I’m good. I just can’t wrap my head around any of this. She’s never the one in trouble. It’s always me needing her…” Lainey looked up at me. “What am I going to do if she doesn’t⁠—”

“We’re only bringing positive vibes to this waiting room right now.” Jessie held out a water bottle and a granola bar to Lainey. But she didn’t move to take it.

“Did you poison these?”

“I told you.” Jessie’s eyes rolled towards Hawk as she placed the water and snack in the empty chair next to Lainey. “Look, I remember what it was like when I was pregnant with Beckett and felt like I might pass out. Just take the kind gesture for your baby’s sake.”

“My son,” she whispered.

“What?” Jessie asked.

“My son.” Her hand went to the swell of her belly. “I just had my ultrasound today. That’s where I was when Hayes called me. What if I never get to tell her she has a nephew? What if he never gets to meet her?”

Fuck, my throat was so fucking sore from the swell of emotion, I knew I was definitely going to puke.

Lainey reached over, taking the water bottle from the chair, but her damn fingers were shaking so much I knew she wasn’t going to be able to open it. I took the bottle from her, for a second, to crack the lid open before giving it back.

“Look, Birdie is our family. And since you’re her family, that means you’re our family, too. We take care of our family,” Colt explained. “You’re going to be just fine. Your sister is going to be just fine. Everyone is going to be fine. We just need to wait. They’ll come out and tell us good news soon.”

Birdie

God, I needed to wake up. Wake up out of this dream filled with dark, numb, nothingness.

It was wrong. My life was bright. My body normally felt good, and strong. Right now, I felt detached from everything…and I knew something was wrong.

Was I at work? That same welcoming sting of antiseptic that had become a comforting smell in my career was making my stomach ache.

I felt awful. Whatever had happened, I must have been put into wet concrete, because that’s how heavy my body felt. I wasn’t even sure if I could feel my hands and feet…

Focus. I could tell someone was near me. Pressing down on my arm. Did they have their head by me? Hair tickled across my skin…

I forced my body to listen to me. Just one eyelid. I only needed to move one eyelid, and then I’d know who was beside me. What awful thing had happened to me.

On my second attempt, I did it. My lashes fluttered, and muted light streamed into my eye. For a moment, it was too much, and I had to force my body to listen to my command to blink. But slowly, things came into focus.

And I was right. Someone was lying next to my arm. I tried to clear my throat; the noise was barely there, but it was enough to startle him.

Beau.

“Chickadee.” My name was nothing more than a whisper of disbelief on his lips. He looked tired. There were days’ worth of stubble on his face, dark circles under his eyes.

“Cowboy…” I licked my lips. They were cracked. Aching. Before I could try to form the words, his hand was in front of me, a cup with a straw being brought to my lips.

The water was room temperature, but it might as well have been directly from a glacier with how my body reacted to it. I felt the liquid run from my mouth all the way to my stomach.

“It’s water from the springs. I’ve had Ma or someone else in the family bring it down every day, for when you were strong enough to finally have some. Ma says it can keep for a few days, but I wanted it fresh.”

“You don’t believe⁠—”

“No. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some truth to it. And I’d sell my soul for a handful of healing dirt straight from the North Pole if it had even the slightest chance of bringing you back to me.”

“No dirt.” I smiled, my dry lips cracking from the sudden movement. “Where am I?”

“The ICU at Dallas Gen.”

I looked around the room. “My mom? Lainey?”

“Lainey’s been here. She was hysterical the first time. I had Colt drive her home once we knew you’d made it out of surgery. She’s been back every day. But visiting hours…only one person could stay.”