Page 21 of Deception
“I’m sorry,” he says, and he bites his lip to stop it from trembling. “I should’ve known better, and now… This is going to be so expensive.”
Squeezing his hand, she shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I never should’ve driven your car.”
“I don’t think the car attracted the dog,” she says, hoping to ease his worry even a fraction. “You went for ice cream. Why were you going back to the house?”
“Noah wanted to get his test to show you. We ate quickly, and I wanted… I wanted to drive the car more. If I wouldn’t have—”
“Stop it.” Letting out a shaky breath, she keeps herself in check. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
He swallows hard and looks at her. “I made sure Noah was okay. His nose was bleeding, but I kept him calm until they got us out.”
“Noah seems fine. Maybe a broken nose, but he’s a boy. And he wants to be just like your dad, so it won’t be the last time he breaks it. At least it wasn’t from a fight. That’s how Colt ended up with all four of his broken noses.”
“Is he going to be mad? Colt?”
“He’ll be relieved you’re okay.”
Squeezing her hand, he looks away from her face. “Will he still want me to call him Dad?”
“Baby, accidents happen.”
“I just don’t want you to think you made a mistake adopting me. I don’t want you to stop loving me for this.”
The confession stuns her and breaks her heart. This is the reason he tries to be perfect all the time. Good grades, never staying up past his bedtime, and eating all of his vegetables even when he doesn’t like them. He’s worried they’ll change their mind and throw him away, and even the EMT seems affected by his confession.
“Lucas Lawrence, you listen to me, and I want you to hear me when I say this, okay?” Lex pauses and waits until he mutters an acknowledgement, and she runs a hand over his hair again. “Adopting you and Hailey will never be a mistake. Nothing—nothing—you do will ever stop us from loving you.”
“I ruined your car, Lex,” he whispers.
Calling her and Colt by their names instead of Mom and Dad like he has for the past year shows there’s a little more of Hailey in him than he likes to let on. More than she’s ever seen before. Just like his sister, he tries to distance himself to soften the blow of what he expects to come.
“My car is a thing. You, my boy, are one of the five pieces of my life that I care the most about. I don’t give a shit about the car as long as you’re okay.”
“I still feel bad.”
“Don’t. It’s okay,” she says as they stop. “It’ll all be okay.”
Doctors come out and pull his gurney from the back, and Lex steps out after him. The rest of the club pulls into the emergency lot, and one of the doctors looks frightened.
“What’s with the entourage?”
“You’ve got the sons of their President,” Lex says. “But make no mistake… I’m the one you should be scared of if anything happens to my boys.”
His eyes widen. “Yes, ma’am.”
“We’ll examine them and take them for tests. It’ll be a little while,” Dr. West says as he walks up to her wearing a smirk. “At least it’s not you on that stretcher again.”
“We really have to stop meeting like this,” she says as Colt walks up and wraps her in his arms.
“But I have college tuitions to pay for,” he jokes and walks inside after Lucas.
Everyone follows them inside, and the minute the boys are behind the doors leading to the trauma bays, Lex’s legs give out.
Holding her tightly, Colt kisses her temple. “They’re okay. They’re going to be just fine.”
“I know,” she says, burying her face into his chest. “Lucas said they had to cut them out. I saw the car, Colt. If Noah had been up front…”
