Page 89 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
“How is she?” Reid asked, his voice thready and his heartbeat echoing in his ears.
“Lieutenant Turner.” A young EMT he recognized as Taylor Bailey pointed to Kaiah. “We gave her an EpiPen, and she’s regained consciousness. Her vitals are coming back to normal. We’re going to transport her to the hospital for an eval.”
“Thank you,” he told Taylor before turning his attention to Kaiah. “Hey, Ky.” His words sounded pained.
Kaiah rubbed her eyes. “What happened?” she whispered, her voice shaky. She reached for him, and he cradled her quaking hand in his.
“Just rest,” he told her, and his voice caught in his throat. He pushed her hair away from her face. He spotted a rash and hives onher neck, shoulder, and arm. Worry threatened to drag him under and drown him. If the EMTs hadn’t reached her in time... He wouldn’t allow himself to finish that thought.
His team jogged up behind him, and while another EMT gave them an update, Reid focused on Taylor. “I want to ride with her to the hospital.”
“Oh?” she asked. “Are you family?”
Reid shook his head. “I’m her—I’m her boyfriend,” he said, and he liked the sound of that word. “She doesn’t have any family here.”
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”
Reid turned just as Piper rushed over and threw herself into his arms. “Hey, baby.”
“Miss Kaiah’s sick.” Piper sniffed and tears trailed down her cheeks. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes, sweetie, she is,” he told her before kissing her head.
Becca, Cash, Astrid, and his parents appeared behind her.
“Piper’s been a mess.” Becca wiped her hands over her face and picked up Astrid, who was also wiping tears. “We were so worried.” Her voice was hoarse, and Cash pulled her against him. “It all happened so fast. We were talking, and then her face turned white, she said she didn’t feel well, and she passed out. Someone called 911, and I called you...” Her voice trailed off, and Cash rubbed her back.
“I’m glad you called me.” Reid touched Piper’s nose. “Miss Kaiah’s going to be okay. I have to go now, and I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me, Piper?” His daughter nodded, and he handed her to his father. Then he addressed his brother-in-law. “Chief, I want to ride to the hospital with her and make sure she’s okay.”
“That’s fine,” Cash said. “We’ll send someone to get you.”
Dad rubbed Becca’s shoulder. “And we’ll come to the hospital too. Kaiah’s like family.”
“Yeah,” Reid said. “She is.” He kissed Piper’s cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
Kaiah watched the IV dripping down from the pole and into her arm. The events from earlier in the day were fuzzy, but now she was at the ER at Coral Cove Regional Hospital. This was definitely not on her bingo card this morning.
“Kaiah? Can I come in?”
Reid’s voice sounded from outside the curtain, and she finger-combed her hair. What was her problem? She was in a hospital gown with an IV in her arm. There was no way she was going to look cute. She was still covered in hives.
It is what it is. Now he gets to see me at my worst.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice sounding thin.
He pushed open the curtain, slipped inside, and closed it behind him. “How are you?” he asked, his face full of concern.
Ready to die from embarrassment.“Okay.”
He pulled a chair over to her bed, empty except for her purse, and dropped himself onto it. Then he set her purse on the rolling table beside her bed.
Kaiah let her gaze travel over him. She would never get tired of seeing that man and his biceps straining the arms of his uniform. Nope. Never. In fact, if she had her phone in her hand, she’d sneak a photo of him right now and cherish it forever. Maybe she should see if her camera was in her purse...
“You gave us all a real scare.” Reid blew out a sigh that soundedlike he’d released it deep in his soul, rested his elbows on his thighs, and shook his head.
“I’m so sorry.” She grimaced. “I didn’t mean to ruin your day.”
He barked a laugh that shocked her. “Why are you sorry? It wasn’t your fault. Trust me, you didn’t ruin anything.” His smile faded. “You’d mentioned that you were stung when you were a kid.”
