Page 36 of Married to a SEAL

Chapter 11

Rebecca waved goodbye to the kids after dropping them off at their summer camp and climbed back into her car. A quick glance down at her phone showed that it had lit up with messages in the few minutes she’d been tending to the kids. She scanned through and saw texts from the girlfriends and fiancées of every man on the SEAL team, but there was still no word from Ryan.

Blowing out a sigh, she swiped through the messages, reading the string of texts from Alison first.

I just heard about Patrick! OMG, call me ASAP!

Rebecca, are you okay? Call me!!!

They’re releasing me from the hospital. Call me on my cell!

Well, there went her plan of heading back to the hospital. At least she’d checked her texts before driving back there. She’d go straight to Alison’s townhouse instead, she decided.

She drove a couple of miles to where Alison lived and pulled into Evan’s empty spot in the driveway. She checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, taking in her bloodshot eyes and the dark circles beneath them.

In all honesty, she felt even worse than she looked.

Her sunglasses hid most of her exhaustion when she was dropping the kids off, but now?

Her best friend would know what a wreck she’d been.

It had been hours, and she still hadn’t heard a single word from Ryan. Not a single update on Patrick. She had no idea what type of surgery they’d rushed him into, but the not knowing anything was killing her.

Was he awake? Sedated? Unconscious? Was he asking for her or totally unaware of what had happened?

She’d never felt so helpless.

She knocked on Alison’s front door and waited as she heard someone shuffling around inside. Evan’s sneakers were sitting by the doormat, and she felt a weird twinge of sadness. What if Patrick’s sneakers and PT gear were never sitting around her house again? What if he never made it back home for them to move in together?

What if her baby never met his father?

A fresh wave of sadness washed over her, and her lower lip trembled.

“Rebecca, oh my God!” Alison said as she opened the front door. She took one look at Rebecca and immediately pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around Rebecca as best she could with her huge baby bump in the way.

Despite herself, Rebecca smiled. “Thank God your little guy decided to stay in there a bit longer. I don’t know how much more excitement I can take this week.”

“I told him he gets an eviction notice in thirty days,” Alison joked, closing the door behind Rebecca. “And I may have to forbid Evan from traveling between now and then.”

“I may have to forbid Patrick from it, too,” Rebecca said, bursting into tears.

“Oh hun,” Alison said, wrapping an arm around Rebecca’s trembling shoulders and guiding her toward the living room. “You don’t have any updates?”

“No,” Rebecca said, sinking down into an oversized chair. “Not a single one. It’s unbelievable,” she sniffed, swatting away fresh tears as they rolled down her cheeks. “It just—it doesn’t seem real. I felt like I’d dreamt it all, yet here I am.”

“Lexi just texted me a few minutes ago saying she was looking for Ryan on base. I was going to call you earlier but didn’t want to wake you in case you slept in after such a long night.”

“I could barely sleep. And I haven’t heard anything from Ryan since late last night. Or, technically, early this morning. Who knows anymore.”

Alison sat up straighter, adjusting her strawberry blonde hair into a low ponytail. She shifted on the sofa, looking cuter than any pregnant woman should in a tank top and long maxi skirt. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you came by to check on me. You should go wait at home with the kids though. Call Ryan and demand to know what’s up.”

“They’re at camp,” Rebecca said. She pulled a bottle of water from her oversized purse and took a long sip. “I figured I should send them since I still don’t know the extent of Patrick’s injuries. I mean, why upset them and have them sitting around all day with me worrying? I’d rather know exactly what’s going on. I’ll talk to them this evening and tell them what happened. Hopefully we’ll have a better picture then.”

“Evan was sent to Landstuhl after he was injured last year. What are the chances Patrick would end up there, too?”

“Pretty good I guess if you’re in the military,” Rebecca said, tears welling in her eyes. “Or if you’re injured while deployed somewhere in Europe or the Middle East.”

“One of the nurses told me Ryan showed up last night looking for you. I was already asleep so they wouldn’t let him come back to see me.”

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