Page 101 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
* * *
MOLLYHATEDTHEsmell of hospitals, but she could see from the way Mike’s body stiffened as he opened the door for her and Elaine that he hated it more. He had reason to, she knew. The first person she spotted in the waiting area next to the admitting area was Finn. He headed toward her the moment he spotted her, pulling her against him. She allowed her one brief moment of holding him close, drawing strength, before pulling back. She needed answers, not comfort.
“They’re both okay,” he said.
But Molly needed to hear it for herself. She eased back another half step and he let her go, gesturing with his head toward the ER waiting room. “The nurse should be back in a few minutes. Chase took the worst of it. Georgina just got bruised up. Has a concussion.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “What happened to Chase?”
“Broken arm for sure. Ribs. The air bag on his side didn’t deploy.”
“How did this happen?”
“Road gave way. Weakened by rain.”
“Should he have been driving on it?” She hated the sound of blame in her voice and did her best to soften it when she added, “I mean, was it an obvious danger?”
“No. Lots of other people had driven on it.”
Mike took her by the shoulders. “Come on over here and sit.” Molly nodded and allowed him to lead her away from Finn, who went to sit beside a small woman who seemed drawn into herself.
Chase’s mother. The resemblance was strong. She met Molly’s eyes across the waiting room and then looked away. The nurse came out from the swinging doors then and headed straight for Chase’s mother. Molly got to her feet and crossed the room.
“You’re the sister?”
“I am.”
“Well, your sister will be released shortly. No internal injuries. Just a lot of bruising.” She turned to Chase’s mother. “Your son will spend at least a day with us. Precautionary. But rest assured, he’ll be fine.”
The woman closed her eyes as the nurse walked away and Molly saw her lips move in a clear prayer of thanks. When she opened her eyes again, she said, “I can’t afford too many days in the hospital.”
“The store will cover it,” Finn said from behind Molly.
“His insurance only pays fifty percent.”
“The store will cover it, Lilah.” This time Mike spoke, in a voice that would brook no nonsense.
“Double-teamed,” Lilah murmured. She looked up at Finn. “He’ll be okay.”
“That’s what they said.”
“And so will Georgie.”
Georgie. Molly pressed her lips together. Her sister had never been a fan of that name, but somehow, hearing it on Chase’s mother’s lips, it sounded like an endearment. His mother liked Georgina.
Part of Molly instantly thought, of course she does. What’s not to like? Then another part shot back, and what’s not to like about Chase?
“Yeah, she’ll be fine, too,” Molly said when she realized all eyes were on her.
“Chase carried her up the mountain.”
Molly frowned at Lilah. She was in shock, obviously, and so was Molly because she didn’t understand what the woman was saying.
“The truck rolled off the mountain and wedged against a tree. Georgina got knocked loopy,” Mike explained. “The tree was unstable Chase wouldn’t leave her in the truck. He hauled her out and up that bank.”
“That’s...amazing, what with injured ribs and a broken arm.”
“That’s the kind of man he is,” his mother said softly.
