Page 10 of Just One Kiss

And so they did.

Nobody in all his years had ever shown him that kind of grace. It had been one of his life’s greatest gifts, certainly more valuable than all the money he’d made.

If only Carly had been so forgiving.

Josh’s eyes welled with fresh tears at the memory as the woman behind the intercom box buzzed the door open and he walked into the quiet cardio unit. The low hum of the fluorescent lights and the indistinct chatter of medical personnel met him on the other side. The oversized metal door closed behind him, and Josh started down the hallway toward the nurses’ station, where the jumbled intercom voice had told him to go.

A nurse looked up as he approached. She smiled at him. He tried to read behind the smile—was it a look of pity, like a “you’re about to get really bad news”look?

He couldn’t tell. These people had probably perfected their poker faces.

“You’re going to want to go down to Room 212,” the nurse said. “The waiting area is right outside.”

“Am I allowed to go in and see him?”

“You said you’re the father?”

Josh nodded.

“As long as they’re not doing tests, then, yes.”

He thanked her and started off in the direction she’d pointed, looking for Jaden’s room and preparing himself for whatever he was about to encounter, whatever news he was about to hear. But how did you prepare yourself for the unknown? How did you brace yourself for the realization of your worst fears?

He rounded the corner and found the waiting area outside Jaden’s room, and in it, he found something else he hadn’t prepared himself for: Carly’s family.

He stopped at the door of the little room, lined with a wall of windows, and found himself standing face-to-face with an older, more white-haired Gus Collins. And Carly’s dad was not a fan of Josh.

Maybe because Josh had given him plenty of reasons not to be.

“Josh?” Quinn’s surprised expression matched her tone.

Carly hadn’t told them he was coming.

Josh faced Quinn, thankful for a reason to break eye contact with Gus. “Hey, Quinn.”

She pulled him into a brotherly hug, then stepped back. “It’s good to see you.”

He’d always had such a light-hearted relationship with Carly’s little sister—he hadn’t thought about it until later that Quinn probably hated him for leaving too. If so, he was thankful she wasn’t letting on now.

“Where is he? Can I see him?”

“They’re doing tests,” Gus said. “Nobody’s allowed back there right now.”

Quinn shot her dad a look most likely meant to reprimand, but Gus seemed unfazed.

Josh shifted where he stood. “Where’s Carly?”

“She’s in the room with Jaden,” Quinn said, then quietly added, “you should go in there.”

He looked around as if they were sharing secrets and he wanted to be sure no one else heard them. “I should?”

“You’re his dad, Josh,” she said. “And I think Jaden would want you both in there.”

“Is he scared?” The thought of it tied his stomach in a knot. He’d take every bit of that kid’s fear away if he could. Jaden didn’t deserve it.

Quinn gave a soft shrug. “He fainted suddenly and no one knows why. Wouldn’t you be?”

A man whose face Josh recognized from the television walked through the doorway, holding a tray of disposable coffee cups.

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