Page 56 of Just One More Affair
Guilt swamped Charlieas Jared’s family piled into the waiting room, a place they were too familiar with even if it was a different hospital. She backed against the wall, hoping nobody sought her out. She didn’t know what to say beyond telling them it was her fault Jared was injured.
He’d come to as the ambulance arrived and not only did she refuse to leave his side, he refused to let them transport him in the bus without her. But when they pulled into the emergency room, they’d rushed him inside, leaving her to sit in the waiting room where she called Noah. She asked him through her tears to let the family know, and settled in to wait for word from a doctor.
Noah and Fallon walked in last. They’d needed to get a babysitter before they could come. Though she hated to leave here, Charlie had offered to go home to the girls so Fallon could be here for her brother, along with her husband. Maybe it had been due to the hysteria Charlie couldn’t control but Noah insisted she stay put and they’d be there soon.
Before the couple could make their way to her, Remy strode over and leaned against the wall by her side. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Did you hit him with the tire iron?” he asked.
She shook her head, her lips lifting in an unwilling semi-smile. “No.”
“Then don’t apologize. When I met Raven, she was being stalked by her half-brother. If I’d been injured, would it have been her fault?”
Again, she shook her head.
“Nobody blames you,” he assured her, astutely getting to the core of her concern. At least her second worry because she was jumping out of her skin not knowing anything about Jared.
She swiped at her eyes. “I called the police as soon as those guys jumped out at them, but it took time for them to get there. The ambulance took even longer. But Jared was awake the last time I saw him.”
Remy squeezed her hand. “That’s good, honey. Now breathe. If I don’t take care of you, my brother is going to kick my ass.”
She blew out a long breath. “Where’s Raven?” she asked.
“She went to get some coffees.”
“That’s good. I’m sure everyone can use them.”
He nodded. “I wish we’d hear some news about Jared, though.”
Charlie nodded. “I know. I can’t take the wait.” She looked around, noticing Raven walk in, coffee in to-go trays in her hands. “I’m fine. Go help Raven,” she said.
He cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Thanks for checking on me.”
He winked at her. “Anytime.”
She glanced up at the ceiling. Brown stains—water marks—told the tale of how old the structure was. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to box breathe, a count of four in, hold for four, and breathing out for four, then repeating the cycle to calm her anxiety.
“Charlie?” Noah said her name.
Her eyes snapped open. “Hey,” she said to him and Fallon. Meeting the other woman’s gaze wasn’t easy. “I’m sorry. He was helping me rescue my brother and… it shouldn’t have happened. I—”
Fallon grasped Charlie’s hand. “It’s not your fault.”
Charlie swallowed over the lump in her throat. “That’s what Remy said but it sure feels that way.”
“I—”
“Jared Sterling’s family?” Fallon spun toward the doctor and rushed forward to hear what the man had to say.
Charlie lingered in the back, hoping to hear or have the news repeated to her secondhand.
“There are a lot of you,” he said, chuckling.
That had to be a good sign, right? Charlie wondered.
