Page 122 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“Let me get this going,” the nurse said as she hung the new bag, “and I’ll go grab you another blanket.”

Sienna sat on the bed, and Grace leaned her head—still capped by Beau’s hat—against her shoulder. “You didn’t tell me about California.”

Tucking the thin hospital blanket around Grace, Sienna asked, “What about it?”

“Was it everything you wished it would be?”

More. Sienna wanted to say. Instead, she reached for her phone sitting on the table and unlocked it. “Next time, we’ll take you.” She opened her gallery.

“Are those dolphins?”

Sienna nodded. “A whole pod. The house was right on the beach. The entire wall is windows.”

Grace took the phone and began to swipe. “Did you swim?”

Sort of.

“The water was freezing. Maybe we can sneak away for a weekend in the summer.” She contemplated telling her about the trip Beau had planned for them to Provence but didn’t want to overwhelm Grace, given how exhausted she was.

Sienna watched as Grace flipped through the montage of photos—views of canyons, starfish washed up on the shore, of sunsets. She got to a video and pushed play, and Sienna watched herself hold out the phone while they were in the hot-air balloon, trying her best to capture all that sunrise had to offer. The video was shaky, and she had nearly dropped the phone. But Sienna felt Grace smile against her shoulder when Beau steadied her arm and came into frame, leaning her back just enough over the basket and kissing her.

“It’s really like a fairy tale,” Grace whispered sleepily. She pressed play on the video again.

The nurse cleared her throat when she entered the room with more blankets, and Sienna stood so she could bundle Grace more.

Grace mumbled a thanks as her eyelids fluttered shut. Sienna sighed, knowing that the adrenaline from anticipating what felt like inevitable news had worn off, and Grace could finally feel the enormous weight of the day.

Grabbing her phone from where Grace had placed it on the bed, Sienna held it to the nurse. “I’m going to step into the hall.” She texted Henry before calling Beau, who answered on the first ring.

“Hey,” he said. “Any news?”

Leaning against the wall, Sienna took a shaky breath. “Anemia, just anemia. I mean, she’s anemic enough to pass out, but... ” The idea that she should be relieved that such a diagnosis was a victory didn’t seem right, but she pushed the thought aside, choosing to celebrate the win anyway. “Her blood’s good. No cancer, no—”

“Thank god,” Beau interrupted. Sienna could hear the relief in his voice through the phone. “Can she go home?”

“Not yet. They want to keep her here because of her head, and they need to run a few tests tomorrow. The doctor said she’s not expecting to find anything, but you know, just in case,” Sienna told him. “She’s having an iron infusion right now. Poor thing fell asleep, she’s so exhausted.”

“You must be too,” Beau said.

Sienna looked around the hallway of the hospital that had begun to quiet for the night. Her shoes squeaked on the linoleum floor.Wasn’t I just barefoot on the beach?“Did today start on a hot-air balloon? Or was that last week?” She laughed and then shook her head. “Or was it all a dream?”

“No,” Beau answered. “We woke up together this morning.”

Sienna sighed, running a hand down her neck. She could nearly feel Beau’s face nuzzling against it trying to wake her up while it was still pitch-black outside. “It was a good way to wake up.”

“It’s my favorite way,” Beau added, and Sienna’s heart swelled.

“I didn’t say thank you. It was the most special weekend. I’m sorry it ended the way it did.”

Her mind flashed back to the car ride, the panic that struck her and held her mind captive, taking Sienna down a memory lane flanked by horrible nightmares. But there was something else Sienna remembered—the way Beau handled it.

“Don’t ever apologize for that. I only wish I could do more. Do you guys need anything at the hospital?”

“More?” Sienna asked with a laugh. “No. You’ve done more than enough. Henry will bring her a book tomorrow, but that’s all she needs. I’d take a hug, but it can wait.”I wish I didn’t hurry him out of here so quickly, Sienna thought. But even though Beau’s presence had been welcome earlier, Sienna wanted her focus to remain on her daughter while they waited for her bloodwork to come back. Her phone beeped against her ear, and she looked at the screen, seeing the notification for a dropped call.

“Stupid hospital service,” she mumbled.

“No need to wait.”

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