Page 84 of Single-Minded
“I’ve got her,” I called to West, who swore and paddled the last few feet to the shore in high gear.
I kneeled beside Nova, who rolled onto her side toward me, howling in pain.
“I’m here, sweetie,” I said. “I’ve got you.”
As I pulled her into my arms, I noticed the blood on the dock. Lots of blood.
“West!” I yelled, then asked in what I hoped was a more soothing, less panicked voice, “Where do you hurt, Nova?”
She wrapped herself around me and clung to me, sobbing too hard to reply. I found my answer when I cradled her head to me and felt the blood coming from the back, her hair soaked with it in one spot.
West hollered to the twins to paddle in and wait for him to help them out, then came up beside us and crouched down.
“I think she hit her head on the cleat,” I said as I pieced it together.
“Oh, Nova, girl,” he said, his tone full of love and concern as he checked out the wound I couldn’t see.
I met his eyes over her head, my heart pounding. There was so much blood.
He inspected the wound. “That’s a big one, baby girl,” he said. “Come here, princess.” He shifted so he could take her from me.
Nova clung harder to me, still sobbing, her head burrowed into my shoulder as she shook it just enough for me to discern.
“I’ve got her,” I said, holding on tightly, wishing I could make her pain go away. “Do we need to take her to the ER in Nashville?”
“I suspect she needs stitches,” he said. “Doc Julian can do it in his office here in town.”
“Daddy, we need to get out,” Scarlet called out. “Is Nova okay?”
“She’s gonna be okay,” he said, which made Nova cry harder. “Just give me a couple more minutes, girls. Nova, did you hurt anything besides your head?”
He had to coax an answer out of her, but she eventually shook her head.
“Let’s get you standing up,” he said to me. “You sure you won’t come to Daddy, princess?”
Nova continued to sob but snuggled in closer to me. I lifted my brows at West, feeling a little bad that she wouldn’t go to him, but not because I didn’t want to comfort her. That she trusted me so completely was weirdly gratifying. I just wanted to help her feel better.
With a lot of help from West, standing behind me with his hands under my elbows, I stood with his daughter wrapped around me. Still behind me, he leaned over my shoulder and kissed his daughter and whispered comforting words to her, his hand on my back.
“Let’s get her up to the house and get her life jacket off,” he said.
The twins appeared at the end of the dock, their big eyes filled with concern. Their kayaks were pulled halfway onto the shore.
“Thanks for moving your kayaks up, girls,” I said to them. “That’s so helpful.”
“Even if I told you to wait for me,” West said, planting a kiss on Scarlet’s head as he reached her, then doing the same to Sienna.
“I held Si-Si’s boat. Then she held mine,” Scarlet reported. “Then we both pulled them up as far as we could.”
“You did good,” West said. “Take off your life jackets, head up to the house, and open the door for Miss Presley while I get the boats all the way out of the lake.”
With Nova in my arms, I made my careful way up the path toward the house. The twins raced by me, giving us a wide berth.
“Are we going to Dr. Julian’s office?” Sienna asked.
“I think so,” I said.
Scarlet reached the house first and slid the door open.
