Page 74 of Wilder Heart

“Illegally, I guess. They kind of caught me by surprise. I didn’t have time to do my hair or sharpen my favorite shiv, either, but what can you do?”

Robert, if possible, frosted even further. Turning away from him completely, Robert bent at the waist and told Annalise, “Which one was it you wanted, peanut? I’ll get it for you.”

Wilder rolled his eyes so hard it hurt and turned away to hunt down a coffee machine. He found one helpfully waiting down the cafe counter, complete with a stack of polystyrene cups. He grabbed one and pulled the tab for regular, groaning in relief when steaming black coffee poured from the spout.

There was no cream or sugar, and the taste itself was barely worth it, but it was better than nothing. It was almost worth turning around and realizing Robert had ushered Annalise off without him.

That was fine. He didn’t want to spend any more time in Robert’s presence than he had to, anyway. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to find them.

When he got back to the maternity ward, they were wheeling Mary-Beth out of her room. Robert, Emily, and Annalise hovered behind her as they squeezed her cot through the open door.

“Wilder, there you are,” Mary-Beth said, reaching out and snagging his hand. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. Have you heard from Lain yet, by chance?”

“No, not yet. I’ll give him another call right away.”

“Please, yeah, and thank you again. I guess I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yes. Good luck in there.”

She turned the other way, leaning over to give Annalise a quick kiss on the forehead. “Stay with Grandpa and Uncle Wilder, okay?”

“Yes, Momma.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Emily followed along beside the cot as they wheeled her away, leaving Wilder standing in the hallway with Robert andAnnalise. After they turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Wilder blew out a breath, his shoulders sagging with exhaustion.

“I guess I’ll go try to call Lain again.”

Annalise perked up. “Can I come? I want to talk to Daddy.”

Robert opened his mouth, but Wilder beat him to it. “Absolutely. Come on, it’s right over here. The nice nurses at the desk let me use their phone last time. They probably will again.”

“I could be a nurse when I grow up,” Annalise said. “I like helping people.”

“You also really like animals,” he pointed out. Robert followed at their heels like he expected he’d have to jump between them at any moment to protect Annalise from a stray shiv. That kind of behavior could make a man self-conscious. Wilder resisted the urge to shoot him a scowl.

“I do! Maybe I could be a vet, then. Nurse animals back to health like Doc McStuffins.”

“I don’t know who that is,” he replied blankly.

“I’ll show you! I have her show on my tablet. We can watch an episode together when we get back to Momma’s room.”

“Sure thing. Sounds fun.” They reached the nurses’ station, and he leaned on the tall desk and offered the lady sitting behind it—one he didn’t recognize, thankfully—a weary smile. “Hi, they let me use the phone here earlier. Do you mind if I try my brother again? His wife’s going in for a C-section.”

“Sure, no problem.” She picked up the office phone and set it on top of the counter beside him. “Just press nine to dial out, and then the number you want to call.”

“Thanks so much.” A glance over his shoulder revealed that Robert was near enough to eavesdrop. Wilder stared until Robert did a double-take, rolled his eyes, and moved away to study the bulletin board against the far wall.Thenhe dialed Lain’s number.

“Hello?” Lain’s voice was frantic.

“Lain, it’s me.”

“Thank God. I got your message. We’re on our way back right now, but we’re still five hours out. What’s going on? Is she okay? Are the babies okay?”

“She’s fine. They’re taking her back to surgery now.”

“Alone? God, I knew I shouldn’t have taken this trip. We thought we had more time, I can’t believe?—”

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