Chapter 22
Ocean
Brrrring. Brrring. Brrring.
The fancy vintage phone on the kitchen counter scared the shit out of him when it rang, and Ocean almost dropped the glass he’d been filling with water from the pitcher in the fridge. Snatching it up, he smacked himself in the ear in his haste, wincing as he said hello.
“Ocean?”
“Yeah. Roan? Are you guys still at the grocery store?”
“No. The hospital. I need you to get Pope on the phone.”
Whirling, Ocean made it three steps with the receiver in his hand before a sharp tug reminded him that he couldn’t take it with him.
He hastily put the receiver back on the counter beside the now cockeyed phone and hurried to the den, where Pope lay beside the dogs, the three of them soundly snoozing.
“Pope,” Ocean hissed, shaking him harder than he intended, but his heart was hammering, which made caution impossible. “Pope, wake up.”
“W-what!” Pope snapped, jerking awake.
“Roans on the landline and says they’re at the hospital.”
That was all it took for awareness to return and Pope to scramble off the cushion, banging his knee hard enough on the floor that he growled a stream of curses as Ocean helped him to his feet.
Ocean was certain his knee would buckle during one of those first few frantic steps, as Pope tried to move entirely too fast to get to the kitchen.
“Roan! What the hell is this about being at the hospital?” He barked into the receiver the moment it was in his hand.
Even pressed against him, Ocean still couldn’t hear what was being said. Guess they’d intended calls to be private back then, though right now, he’d have given anything for a speaker feature. It felt like forever before Pope spoke again.
“Okay, you sit tight while we figure shit out here. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Silence again, but shorter this time.
“No, no, you did good, both of you. Sounds like the only damage is to that hard-as-a-rock skull of his. I’m going to reach out to Mark; Joker’s Wild is closer to you than we are right now. Just park your ass in a chair and wait for him to get there.”
Silence again. Ocean was getting sick of fucking silences.
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of it. You just take a moment to breathe and collect yourself,” Pope said, his voice having slipped into that soothing tone he used when someone was upset. “Everything is gonna be just fine. I promise. It’s okay to hang up now. We’ll be there soon.”
Though he couldn’t be certain, it seemed like the short silence that followed was Pope waiting for Roan to hang up first, while Ocean had resorted to restless pacing, anxious to learn what the hell had taken place.
Only, instead of telling him, Pope hung up, then immediately raised the receiver to his ear again and started dialing a number.
Oh yeah, he had said he was going to call Mark.
Grumbling beneath his breath, Ocean continued to stalk between Pope and the center island, impatience slowly getting the best of him. He had to bite his lower lip just to keep from demanding answers.
“Hey. It’s Pope. Danger got himself hit with a piece of the ceiling when it fell in at the grocery store. He’s at the ER with Roan. Can you and a couple of guys head over? It’s gonna take a bit before Ocean and I can get down there.”
This time, Ocean heard a burst of sound from the receiver, though he still couldn’t make out what was being said.
“No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. Apparently, the whole goddamn roof caved in.”
Never in his life had he ever felt like a stretch of silence went on as long as the one that occurred while Pope listened to Mark.
“Roan said no one was trapped and Danger was the only one injured. He was carrying someone who couldn’t get to the back room on their own. Was alert and complaining about how much he hated hospitals and pissed about needing more stitches, so it sounds like he’s his usually ornery self.”
There was no way he was going to get through another pause without something to occupy himself, so Ocean went around the island to retrieve a glass, guzzling the water so he wouldn’t snarl at Pope to hurry this shit up so they could go.
At least now he had some clue about what had happened, not that it settled his nerves much.
How the hell did a ceiling just cave in?
“Thanks.”
The call ended, and Ocean opened his mouth to demand more details only to snap it shut when Pope scanned the sheet taped to the side of the fridge before once again dialing a number.
The clickity clack of nails on tile drew his attention to the dogs, who’d managed to track them down, tails wagging as they nosed at Ocean’s hands, demanding pets.
Exhaling, he knelt so he could rub their fur and press his face to the husky’s fluff, inhaling the scent of cedar clinging to it, since Pope had used his own body wash to clean them.
“Sunshine, I need a favor,” Pope said. “Danger got himself banged up at the grocery store. He’s down at the ER getting checked out.
Roan is with him, but Ocean and I are out at my place.
Normally, we’d have taken off by now, but the boys found a couple dogs this morning, and they’re skittish as hell.
Think you and Kermit can get here safely and babysit them? ”
At least this pause was short, because Ocean’s patience was seriously frayed.
“Thanks. It sounds like it’s finally easing up some. See ya when you get here.”
This time when he hung up, he placed the receiver back in the cradle and turned to face him. “Get dressed; I’ll tell you everything on the way down. We’ll need to take your jeep, so grab your keys.”
Scrambling, Ocean gave the dogs a final pat before sprinting to his room, socks slipping on the polished wood floor when he tried to stop at the door.
He hit the wall instead, fingers scrabbling for the knob, finally able to wrench it open and get inside.
He left his sleep pants in a pool on the floor and snatched on a pair of jeans that were too long and loose, not that he took them off when he realized they were Roan’s.
He just knelt and cuffed the bottoms before scrambling to the mudroom, where his boots waited in the tray beneath the key rack.
Pope strode in as he was tying his boots, hair pulled back in a hasty ponytail, to yank his boots on too.
“Sunshine and Kermit should be here in a few minutes.”
“Will you drive?” Ocean asked, hand shaking as he offered Pope his keys.
“No problem.”
They were waiting at the mudroom door when Sunshine and Kermit pulled up and parked off to the side of the driveway on the rain-soaked lawn.
Pope yanked the door open for them as they rushed up the steps, barely giving them time to get their outwear off before leading them inside to meet the dogs while Ocean remained seated on the bench, thoughts still spiraling in a million different directions.
By the time Pope emerged, Ocean had his head in his hands, shoulders quaking, until Pope’s heavy hand landed on the back of his neck and squeezed, fingers digging into the pressure points, flooding his brain with endorphins that chased some of the haze of worry and fear away.
Pope’s voice in his ear, warm breath caressing the side of his neck, helped ease the tension more.
“Let’s just take a moment and settle our nerves before we land ourselves in an ER bed instead of beside Roan in the waiting room,” Pope murmured.
All the while, Pope’s fingers kneaded muscles that had been loose and relaxed before that fucking phone call. Every press of his thumb dragging along the side of his neck made the tension ease more, until Ocean was no longer trembling.
“Good to go?” Pope asked.
Ocean sucked in a long, ragged breath before slowly exhaling.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Okay, let’s get moving,” Pope said with one last squeeze.
Outside, the rain still poured from the heavens, but not nearly as hard as it had when the storm first blew in.
The sky was still a deep, pissed off gray, but when Pope started the Jeep and turned the wipers to the highest setting, visibility was clear enough for them to see the rain-soaked road.
As Pope maneuvered the vehicle, Ocean adjusted the thermostat to keep the windshield from fogging up.
“So, here’s what I know so far,” Pope said.
“Everyone stranded at the grocery store was seated in the back waiting for the storm to blow over when the ceiling began to leak. Then chunks started falling into the aisle, and the manager hurried everyone into the backroom. Roan, Danger, and a few others were assisting people who couldn’t get there on their own when more of the ceiling started crumbling.
Danger was carrying the last man, whose mobility scooter couldn’t maneuver past the mess, when he was struck on the head by a piece of debris as they reached the door.
Roan and the butcher managed to yank them inside before the roof collapsed, but Danger was knocked out, though he was conscious by the time the EMTs arrived.
No one else was hurt, and no one was trapped.
Firefighters and EMTs were able to get them all out of the backroom, so everyone is safe.
Danger has a gash and a concussion; Roan’s got a sore back from Danger and the old man landing on him when they yanked them into the room.
When he came around, Danger was alert enough to explain to the butcher how to manually raise the rolling metal door, which is what allowed them to get help.
He had the EMTs give Roan his phone so he’d have the landline number, but he couldn’t call it until they got to the hospital, since the power outage means cell services are still down.
Mark headed for the ER with a few folks to sit with Roan and wait for news about Danger. Now you know as much as I do.”
Ocean needed a moment to let the words sink in, and once they had, he was able to stop rubbing the arm of his seat so restlessly and sit still so he wouldn’t distract Pope.
“How does a roof just cave in?” Ocean asked.