Heartbreaker (Havenbrook #3)

Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

MAC

Somewhere around late afternoon, I had lost track of time. I was exhausted, and I’d only been there for half a day. I couldn’t even imagine how tired the rest of my family must have been.

We’d managed brief snippets of sleep between the commotion around us, the announcements over the speakers, and the well-meaning but near-constant phone calls from friends checking in, but it wasn’t enough and certainly wasn’t sustainable.

I sat, slumped against Hudson’s side, his arm draped over my shoulders as I rested my head on his chest. His phone was propped on his knee, turned toward me, and a comedy special streamed on the device.

I’d never have guessed what I’d needed was to watch an inappropriate and crass comedienne while in the ICU waiting room, and yet here I was. Though, to be fair, I’d had absolutely no idea what I’d needed since the moment we’d walked through the doors.

But Hudson had. All day, he’d been fulfilling my needs without me uttering a word—first with some much-needed coffee, then with the cookie he’d brought back with lunch. And then there were the baby llama videos and the bloopers from The Office and a video that was just five straight minutes of puppies playing.

Honestly, I sort of wished he’d cut it out, because he was only proving to me just how perfect he was and how well he got me.

Now, if only he’d choose me and stay…

“Mrs. Haven?” a voice called. A Black man wearing light blue scrubs stood in front of the doors that led to the ICU patient rooms.

“Yes?” Momma sprang to her feet, wringing her hands in front of her as she strode toward the surgeon.

I jumped up, along with my sisters and gran, until we surrounded our mom. The six of us huddled together, our hands clasped as we waited for the news we’d been simultaneously hopeful for and dreading all day.

I eyed the surgeon critically. Since I hadn’t been there when my daddy had been brought in, I had no idea who’d been performing this life-saving surgery on him or their level of competency. And I had no idea how to gauge such a thing.

The doctor was short and stocky, standing only a few inches taller than me. He could’ve been anywhere between thirty-five and fifty-five, but I’d guess he was closer to the latter. His rich, brown skin showed only a few laugh lines, but he was bald and his short-trimmed beard was almost completely white. Kind eyes met mine behind his round, tortoiseshell glasses, and I felt myself relaxing.

Surely he wouldn’t look at me like that if something had happened, right?

“Good news,” he said, and the entire room seemed to expand with a collective exhale. “The surgery went very well, though we did run into a few complications that held things up a bit. After we took Richard off bypass, the graft began leaking, so we had to go back on bypass to do further repairs.”

“But he’s okay now?” Momma asked, her brow furrowed with worry.

“Yes, ma’am. We got him all fixed up. We’ll need to watch him in the coming days to make sure he’s coughing and clearing out his lungs. Pneumonia is always a concern in bypass patients. But if he does what he’s supposed to?—”

“Oh, he’ll do it, all right,” Gran said, her voice firm.

The surgeon shot her a grin. “Good, that’s what I’d hoped to hear. As long as he follows the instructions given and starts leading a healthier lifestyle, I don’t see any reason why he won’t make a full recovery.”

Thank God . I hadn’t allowed myself to really go down the path of the what-ifs, but they’d been in the back of my mind since I’d talked to Will that morning. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d needed to hear that my dad was okay until I’d gotten that confirmation.

“Am I able to see him?” Momma’s voice wobbled the slightest bit, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap an arm around her.

He nodded. “He can have visitors, but only in pairs for the time being. He’s still very much out of it, and I expect him to remain so for the rest of the evening.”

“Thank you, Dr. Harris.” Momma threw her arms around the surgeon and squeezed him tight. “Thank you so much for savin’ his life.”

He patted her on the back while accepting her exuberant embrace. “It was my pleasure. If he does as he’s supposed to, he’ll be causing trouble for you ladies for many years to come.”

After Dr. Harris walked away, Rory squeezed Momma’s hand. “Why don’t you and Gran go in first?”

With a shaky nod, Momma reached for Gran’s arm, linked it through hers, and the two of them walked down the hallway.

It was quiet for long moments while my sisters and I watched our mom and grandma until they turned a corner and slipped out of sight.

“Okay.” Rory turned around to face us, wiping under her eyes. “We need a game plan and to figure out how we’re gonna get Momma out of this hospital. She needs to rest, but she won’t leave Daddy alone.”

“I’d stay, but I think that may cause Daddy more harm than good.” Nat shrugged.

No one bothered to disagree because there was little doubt in my mind that was true. Nat had a way of riling our father up that none of the rest of us could manage.

Rory glanced at her watch, her brow furrowed. “I’ve gotta get back and pick up the girls. Marie was so sweet to take them, but they’ve already been there so long.” She turned to Will. “What about you? Can y’all stay?”

Will’s eyes were bloodshot, and she had more baggage beneath them than a luggage rack. She was actually swaying on her feet. “Yeah. Of course. I can stay.”

I huffed out a breath. I should’ve been used to this by now, but I wasn’t. I wanted to scream, hellooooo! at the top of my lungs just to get a reaction.

“ I can stay,” I said, trying not to let the irritation seep into my tone. “Y’all have been here the longest. It only makes sense that I’m the one to stick around.”

“Oh!” Rory’s tone belied her surprise, as if the thought had never even crossed her mind. “Of course. That’d be great, Mac. Thank you.”

Nat shifted on her feet. “Asher and I can take Gran and Momma ho?—”

“I hope you weren’t about to say home, Natalie.” Momma strode up behind Nat. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she seemed more relaxed than when she’d gone in.

Nat’s eyes grew wide, and she mouthed Oh shit . Momma didn’t use our full names unless she really wanted to drive a point home. Or she was mad as hell. Hopefully this was the former.

“How is he, Momma?” Rory asked. “Can we go back?”

“He’s fine. But Dr. Harris was right—he’s completely out of it. It doesn’t make sense for y’all to stick around tonight when he won’t even know y’all’re here. Everyone should go on home and get a good night’s rest. Y’all can come back in the mornin’ when he’ll be coherent and y’all’ve had some sleep.”

Rory shot me, Nat, and Will a look before stepping up to our mom and resting a hand on her arm. “Momma…we were thinkin’ it’d be?—”

“Aurora Haven, I know you’re not gonna finish that sentence with some nonsense about me goin’ home.”

My eyes went wide as I shot a glance at Will to see her doing the same. Two full names meant shit was getting real. Our momma wasn’t messing around.

Tentatively, Will stepped up. “But, Momma, you’re so tir?—”

“Willow, I’m not gonna hear it.” She held up a hand to stop all conversation and looked to me as if challenging me to say something just so she could pull out my full name, too.

“This is silly, Momma,” I said. “You’re exhausted. You said yourself he was out of it, so why not go home and get cleaned up and sleep in your own bed for a night? I’ll stay so he’s not alone.”

“Mackenna”— annnnnd, there it was —“if any one of y’all thinks you’re gettin’ me anywhere away from this hospital for the next few days, you don’t know me very well. I haven’t spent a single night away from your daddy since we got married, and I don’t plan to start tonight. I certainly don’t plan to go home and sleep in our bed without him.” Her voice cracked, and my chest cracked right along with it.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’m capable of makin’ my own decisions. And my decision is to stay right here with your father.” She jabbed a finger toward the ground and narrowed her eyes on each of us, daring us to challenge her.

Considering neither me nor my sisters were stupid, we all realized a losing battle when we were up against one. Our momma was right—she could make her own decisions. We just had to hope she was doing what was best for her.

“All right,” Rory finally said. “But Gran’s comin’ home.” She turned to our grandmother, an accusatory finger pointed in her direction. “And don’t argue with me, old woman. I’ll get Nash to carry you out of here if I have to.”

Gran raised an eyebrow. “You’re gettin’ awfully feisty over there.” She hooked her arm through Nat’s and dipped her chin. “I like it.”

“You—” Rory’s shoulders relaxed, and she dropped her finger. “Oh. I thought that’d be a lot harder than it was.”

“That’s what she said,” Nat mumbled, which caused Gran to hoot with laughter, which, in turn, sent a ripple effect around the group until we were all in stitches.

Delirious laughter was a real thing, apparently.

With amusement in her voice, Nat tipped her head toward the main door. “C’mon, Gran. Asher’s stayin’ at the house, so you can ride with us.” Nat squeezed our momma, then guided Gran away, tossing a, “Later, bitches,” over her shoulder to me, Rory, and Will.

“You gonna ride home with Hudson, Mac?” Will asked, resting a hand on my forearm.

“Yeah.” I nodded, deciding it was best just not to tell my sisters I planned to send Hud on his way while I stuck around with Momma. They’d make it into a whole big deal, and none of us needed that right now.

So instead, I just stood next to my momma, waving everyone off, trying valiantly to ignore Hudson’s laser-focused stare that had been pinning me in place for the past five minutes.

Once everyone else was gone, Momma turned to me. “Y’all gonna head out now?”

“No.”

She blinked at me for a few seconds, as if stunned by my firm answer. “No?”

“No,” I confirmed, shaking my head. “I’m stayin’ with you. Hud can go home. I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“Honey.” Her eyes softened, and she lifted a hand to cup my cheek. “That’s real sweet, but I’m fine. Your daddy’s fine. We’re all fine. And you need to go home and rest.”

“But I don’t!” I said, surprised by my vehemence. “Because I got to sleep last night and the night before. Because I wasn’t here when I needed to be. Because I was roamin’ around, makin’ everyone worry, when they had other things to concentrate on. So, no.” I stood tall, voice firm as I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not leavin’. I’m stayin’ right here with you.” I swallowed hard, attempting to shove down the knot that had formed in my throat. “I need to be—I need to do something.”

So much for swallowing down all that emotion, because from the way Momma cocked her head to the side, her lips curving down in the corners, she’d caught the slight tremble in my voice.

“Oh, sweetheart. Don’t beat yourself up about bein’ gone. You hardly ever leave, and it was good you got away for a while.”

“But I?—”

“None of that now. It was impossible for any of us to predict this. You got here when you could, and that’s all that matters.”

I nodded, but inside, all I could think about was the fact that I’d fucked up, and I’d done so when my family needed me the most.

I hadn’t texted Will when Hudson and I had gotten to the highest point to let her know what was going on. I hadn’t checked in with anyone, too wrapped up in Hudson to see beyond our insane chemistry. And, yeah, I’d finally gotten to the hospital, but my sister—who’d been a literal half a world away—had managed to arrive before me.

Heat enveloped the length of my back, and I didn’t need to turn around to know Hudson had come up behind me, standing so close, our bodies had to be nearly touching.

“Get her home for me, will you?” Momma asked, her gaze directed over my shoulder.

He settled a hand on my hip, his thumb brushing up and down along my side. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m not— I can’t?—”

“Mac,” Momma said, tone soft but firm. “I’m stayin’ with your daddy, and I’d like to be alone. If you need something to do, go check on town hall. Daddy was there Saturday mornin’, and we left in such a rush, I don’t even know if I locked up his office or not. Can you do that for me?”

I blew out a frustrated breath. I could go check on things at town hall and then come right back. With drive time, it’d put me back here well into the night, but I didn’t care. I was going to?—

“And then go home, sweetheart.”

I froze, my eyes snapping to my mom’s. “But, Momma?—”

“Don’t ‘But, Momma’ me, Mackenna. I’m exhausted, and I know you are too. It’s been a long few days, and I need some alone time with your daddy before the slew of visitors starts pouring in. I’m gonna spend the evening tellin’ him all the ways I’m gonna kill him now that we know he’s gonna live.”

I breathed out a laugh, my shoulders slumping in defeat. One thing about being a competitor all my life was that I knew when the fight was over. I knew when to give in or to push harder. And pushing my momma harder would only be cruel at this point.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “I’ll check on town hall and go home, if that’s what you need.”

Her face softened with a smile, her eyes warming as she stared at me. “That’s exactly what I need. Thank you.”

If that was what my mom needed, then that was what I was going to give her. I was sick and tired of being the failure in the family, of being the person no one called, of being the last one everyone thought of.

And I was willing to sacrifice anything in order to finally prove my worth.