Page 75 of Made for You
Her brow furrowed, but the nurse piped up. “Unfortunately, only one person can visit at a time right now.”
“I guess it’s good you don’t have to sit around in here anymore. Is everything okay?” Her amber eyes tracked between mine.
I had never lied to her, and I didn’t want to now.
“I think so. I hope. Should be.” Less confident than I would’ve liked, but there was no chance I was going to tell her Kiley was missing. She didn’t need more stress, nor did Rosie, and so for now, I’d keep the details sparse. “I’ll be back soon. Love you.” I kissed her lips and turned, only realizing what I’d said and the startled look on her face as I went.
But looking back would mean seeing her face and wanting to run back and explain myself, or do a better job confessing my love than tossing it out there on a stressful morning in front of two other women I didn’t particularly know when I didn’t have time to let the words unravel between us.
That said, I’d been thinking the words for days, feeling them for weeks. I’d wanted to share them a hundred times in the last twelve hours, and this moment, when she was going to see Rosie in a hospital bed, and I was about to go hunt down Kiley and hopefully not have to maim her father… I’d had to say it. I’d needed to let them out. I just hoped she’d forgive me for flinging them out there and not sticking around to let her respond.
Time mattered now. Internally, I’d delineated the best courses of action, marked my best plan, and I had texts from my entire team. We’d find her. It’d end up being nothing, but in case it wasn’t, in case Carl had abducted his own daughter?
Saint Security was behind me, and we would find her. Whatever it took.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Nikki
After Bruce’s abrupt goodbye and that “Love you” sent out so casually it knocked the wind out of me, it’d taken a full minute of fumbling around not being able to figure out what to do before I’d shifted into gear and managed to follow the nurse.
Through the doors and down a long hallway, I finally ended up in Gram’s room, and mercifully, my frazzled brain had let me focus on the immediate issue.
I’d prepared myself for her to look small in her hospital bed. I’d braced for bad news and tragedy, for timelines and regret over lost time and even the idiocy of her moving out. I’d mentally convinced myself to do whatever it took to stay strong and not break down sobbing and begging her not to die and leave me alone in this world.
I had not expectedthis.
“Dehydration,” I repeated for a third time.
“Yes. And perhaps a bit of exhaustion. But no evidence of stroke.” Dr. Daniels seemed to be fighting a grin, her expression one of patient amusement.
“I told the staff I didn’t have a stroke. I felt weak and tired but not confused or upset, not disoriented. Just… bad. And they’ve had an IV in me for hours now. I just need a good nap and some lunch, at this point.”
Gram’s voice had an edge of impatience, and I couldn’t blame her for it. She’d not wanted to come in, but due to her medical history, when Amir had found her with very low blood pressure and weakness this morning when he’d popped in to ask her to breakfast, they’d all flipped.
I kind of loved him for it, even though I understood why she wasn’t pleased. That said, this was exactly why she’d moved in there—to be monitored. To not be alone if something happened.
“I’ve been bracing for terrible news. This is very… solvable, right?” I asked the doctor.
She nodded, her deep tan hands clasped in front of her a stark contrast against the white coat. “Absolutely. As I told Ms. Renwick, it sounds like she’d been overdoing it a bit and had lost track of hydration. We’ve had a heart-to-heart about such things, and I expect she’ll be on top of it from now on.”
“Of course I will,” Gram practically scoffed.
“Gram.” I widened my eyes, a little surprised by her surliness.
But Dr. Daniels shook her head, waving off the attitude. “No worry, Ms. Hastings. Your grandmother is going to be fine. I’ll get the nurse to finish up the discharge paperwork, and we’ll get her out of here as soon as we can.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“If you need anything else, let us know,” Dr. Daniels said, then turned to Gram. “It was nice to see you, Ms. Renwick. Please take care of yourself.”
“I’ll do my best tonotsee you again soon. Unless it’s at the market, Larissa.” Gram winked, and I chuckled.
Of course she knew the woman well enough to be on a first-name basis. How I’d forgotten we were still in Gram’s small town and not somewhere else where there was anonymity had to be due to the stress.
As Dr. Daniels bustled out of the room and off to save someone else, Gram clucked her tongue at me. “Where’s your man?”
My stomach flipped and dropped at that, tumbling down a hill and off a cliff it’d been narrowly avoiding since last night. “He had a work emergency come up.”
