Page 76 of Gabriel & Skye

“Is everything okay?” Gray rushes over, seeing the commotion.

“Let the girls know that Skye had to leave. They think their grandpa had a heart attack.”

“Oh, shit,” Gray says. “I’m so sorry. I’ll tell the girls. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Appreciate it,” Trav says.

“We need to hurry!” I grab onto Trav’s sleeve as we hurry toward the exit.

We follow Gabe to his truck. Trav jumps in the passenger side, and Gabe opens back on his side for me to climb in.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He gives me a small smile as I buckle myself in and he jumps in the front and starts the engine.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.

If he fell like that and they’re suspecting a heart attack, it has to be pretty bad.

I try not to tear up. My Grandparents have both been such strong figures in my life. The idea that this could happen so suddenly rocks me to my core.

I know they’re elderly, but Gramps seemed fine when we left.

“What else did Gran say?” Travis runs both hands through his hair.

“Just he wasn’t feeling good, so he went to lie down. When she checked on him a little later, he’d fallen out of bed.”

“Fuck.”

Gabe stays silent as he makes the journey to the hospital; I have no idea where it is.

“She was so upset, Trav,” I sniff, wiping my eyes. “I know they’re elderly, but it’s still a shock to the system, thinking something could happen.”

“It won’t,” Trav grits. “Gramps is strong. He’ll be okay.”

“But we don’t know that. Maybe we should call Mom and Dad.”

“Let’s just wait until we get to the hospital. Grams may have already called.”

I know it’s literally a five-minute ride, but it feels like it takes a lifetime to arrive.

Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay. That’s my running mantra as I close my eyes and promise to be good for the rest of my life if Gramps can just be okay.

I’m not ready to lose him. None of us are.

19

Gabriel

I wait as patiently as possible in the waiting room for any sign of Trav or Skye. They were let in to see their grandfather fifteen minutes ago. He was awake and talking. Thank God for that.

Hearing Skye’s gentle sobs in the car broke my heart. I know what it’s like to lose people close to you; my grandparents on both sides were extremely loving. I miss them so much.

It’s a sad fact of life that everyone gets older, and both the Hendry’s aren’t getting any younger. Still, seeing Skye so upset didn’t sit well with me.

It’s not the first time tonight that I’ve felt that protective urge come over me. When Trav found out about the bar incident, he patted me on the back. Lucky for those guys, they don’t live around here, or they would have gotten a visit from the new sheriff.

Any asshole who acts that way towards a woman in Stoney Creek wouldn’t be a local for very long. They’d get run out of town for good.

---