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I’d taken my eyes off her. I’d been so wrapped up in Presley that I wasn’t paying attention.
I knew better.
Gracie was a kid.
I’d moved as fast as I could. I saw that car out of my peripheral.
I’d hear the screeching of those tires against the pavement for the rest of my life.
How fucking close that car came to her.
I’d snatched her up just as the bumper was about to make contact with her. I’d wrapped her in my arms and rolled onto my back across the hood, my head slamming into the windshield, and I’d prayed like hell that I wouldn’t crush her.
I had one fucking job in this lifetime that mattered. I was given this little girl to care for.
The best gift I’d ever received.
And I’d been so fucking selfish. So caught up in my own bullshit.
It was destructive, and I’d received a warning that I was going to heed starting right fucking now.
When we pulled up to the hospital, they wheeled me out of the ambulance, and I tugged at a few cords hanging on me and surged forward.
“Where’s my fucking daughter?” I asked, and I didn’t hide that I was losing my patience quickly.
“Cage, she’s inside with Presley and your dad. She’s just fine. Stop giving them a hard time and let them do their job. You’re covered in blood, and they need to make sure you’re okay.” My mother’s voice pulled me from my rant.
“I’m fine. Is all this necessary?” I asked, and the paramedic nodded. “You’ve got a big gash on your head, and I’m guessing you’re going to need stitches.”
“Fuck,” I growled as they wheeled me inside, and my mother told me to lie back on the bed.
I was a grown-ass man, but I knew when my mom was angry and worried, and she was definitely a mix of both.
They took me into the back room, and a doctor came and did the same tests the paramedics had just done before pulling back the bandage to look at my head. “Hey, I’m Dr. Locket. You took a good shot to the head. Luckily, you clearly have a hard head,” he said, and the dude looked like he was maybe in his mid-twenties.
“No doubt about that. He’s always had a hard head,” my mother said as her gaze locked with mine, and without speaking a word, she basically threatened my life with a look.
Don’t you dare move. Let them take care of you.
The next three hours were spent getting a CT scan and a ton of X-rays and stitches. Everything had panned out exactly as I’d said.
I was fine.
I had road rash on my back and arm and one broken rib. Everyone seemed shocked that I didn’t break anything else. I didn’t feel anything as far as physical pain. I was anxious to see Gracie and Presley, and that was all that mattered at the moment.
My brothers and sisters were all at the hospital now, and Brinkley and Georgia stopped in the room to tell me that Gracie was eating ice cream in the cafeteria with Presley. Finn, Reese, Hugh, Lila, Maddox, and Lincoln were with them.
I’d asked Presley not to leave my daughter’s side, and she’d done exactly what I’d asked.
The relief I felt that Gracie hadn’t been hurt was indescribable.
“Barely a scratch on her,”her doctor had said.
“Can you text Presley and ask her to bring Gracie here? I need to see her.” The nurse finished cleaning up my back and I thanked her.
“Of course. But I promise, she’s fine.” Georgia patted me on the shoulder and then typed into her phone.
“Cage, you need to listen to what the doctor said. You took a bad hit to the head,” my father said.
