Page 119 of Grumpy Darling

“He’s my brother,” Cammie replied. “I already told you that!”

The nurse nodded. “Okay, I’ll see if I can get an update from the doctor as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, you do that!” Cammie replied.

I had no idea how the nurse wasn’t shaking under Cammie’s glare. People often said Grayson was terrifying, but I’d never seen him look even half as threatening as Cammie did then.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” the nurse suggested, indicating to the rows of plastic chairs behind us.

Cammie looked ready to yell at the woman again, but I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and steered her away. “We’ll do that, thanks.”

“This is ridiculous,” Cammie scoffed. “I can’t believe she won’t tell us anything or let us see him.”

“I know,” I agreed.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you think we should just push our way through the doors? They can’t stop all three of us.”

“Uh...” I wanted to storm the ER as much as she did, but I also didn’t want to get kicked out of the hospital.

“Maybe we just give the nurse a minute and see what she can find out,” Violet said, still calmer than me or Cammie.

“Okay, well, after that minute’s up, I’m giving her another earful.”

I had no doubt about that.

As we went to find a seat, I looked at all the other people in the waiting area, presumably the worried families of other patients. Was it okay that Violet and I were here? The nurse had wanted to know if we were related to Gray, and technically only Cammie was. I suddenly worried if we were intruding and turned to Grayson’s sister. “You don’t mind that we’re here, do you?”

She blinked at me. “Where the hell else would you be?”

“Well . . . This is time for family . . . And the nurse seemed concerned about whether we were related . . . I don’t want to overstep.”

“Uh, no, youarefamily. This is exactly where you’re supposed to be. Both of you.” She sunk into one of the plastic seats and shot another sharp look at the nurse behind the front desk. “I don’t care what she thinks.”

Violet and I took a seat on either side of her. Cammie continued to stare down the nurse, but thankfully Parker and Reed arrived before she could go back for round two or come up with another crazy plan to get to Gray. My nerves were just about frayed enough that I might have gone through with it if she suggested it twice.

“Any news?” Reed asked.

“Nothing yet,” Cammie replied. “Mom and Dad are with him. The nurse is apparently going to update us when she knows more. But I’ve already pissed her off so much that we might never find out. How was he on the ice?”

“He woke up once they’d put him on the stretcher,” Reed said, falling into the seat beside Violet.

“He did?” My heart felt like it started beating properly for the first time since I’d seen him fall. I could feel tears forming in my eyes again. “We weren’t sure. We didn’t know if...”

Parker reached out and grabbed my hand. “We don’t know much more,” he said. “But he was awake.”

I wiped a stray tear from my cheek and closed my eyes for a moment to prevent any others from falling. Grayson was awake. I had to believe that meant he’d be okay. When I opened my eyes again, I realized Reed and Parker must have raced here straight from the ice. “You guys are still in your hockey gear.”

“You didn’t finish the game?” Violet added.

Reed shook his head. “There’s no way either of us could play. We left right after Grayson. The guys will just have to manage without us.”

“But what about the coach from Ryker?” I asked. “Your signing...”

“That’s not what matters right now.”

Parker nodded in agreement. His eyes were serious, and it must have been the first time I’d ever seen him look that way. He would usually be the one cracking jokes to lighten the mood, but even he couldn’t find a reason to laugh right now.

Reed leaned closer to Violet and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m glad you’re here.”

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