17. Ellison
“We have to go,” is the only thing Montana says after hanging up the phone and reaching for my hand.
I could hear Celeste’s panicked voice over the line, and instead of me screaming Montana’s name as he made me come harder than I ever have in my life, sirens fill the air as we race across the lawn to the house.
My panties are still in his pocket, my thighs slick with my release, but it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is getting to Grandad.
He promised me.
The ambulance pulls up before we reach the house, two guys I recognize from town jumping out and racing up the porch just as we’re rounding the corner. My heart drops to the floor as we burst into the living room.
One of the guys is talking to Grandad and Celeste as the other hustles back outside to grab the stretcher. Grandad looks pale, and for the first time in a long time he just…complies. He accepts the oxygen mask and doesn’t argue as Celeste describes the last couple of hours. He’s loaded onto the stretcher, and Montana squeezes my hand harder.
Guilt settles in my stomach like a lead balloon. While Montana and I had been playing games and fooling around, Grandad had been in trouble. He’d needed us and we weren’t here.
Is this my fault? If Montana had been home, he would have gotten help faster.
I see Montana’s head nod slowly in my periphery, but I can’t make out the words that Celeste is saying.
“Hey, are y’all ready to head to the hospital?” Jensen says as he walks in through the open door. “I already called Mason and Bodhi. They’ll stay here and watch the dog. Can you drive?” He directs the question at Montana who nods, and maybe it’s because his presence is so imposing or that subconsciously I can recognize that he’s not just standing here as Montana’s friend but as Sheriff Kade, but it’s enough to bring me back to the present.
“You’re here. How did you—” My voice is raspy, and I’m not entirely sure I’m making sense.
“Heard the call come in on the radio and was in my car before the transmission was even finished.” His smile is reassuring like he has everything under control, and maybe he does; I just know I’m relieved to see him.
“You wanna change?” Montana asks and I nod, thankful for a minute to gather myself. I push up on my toes and kiss his cheek before racing toward the bedroom.
I don’t even bother closing the door before my dress is in a pile on the floor and I’m pulling on panties, jeans, and a T-shirt and grabbing one of Montana’s flannels. I know the hospital will be cold, but I throw my hair into a messy bun anyway and hustle back to the living room. No one has moved, and I thread my fingers with Montana’s like I’m the one holding him up and not the other way around.
Pressing a kiss to my forehead, he leads me out behind Celeste and Jensen, helping me into the truck before we take off for the hospital. It’s silent except for the low hum of “This Heart” by Corey Kent mixed with the sound of the tires on the asphalt.
I want to say something but he’s gonna be fine feels empty when I don’t know if he is. I don’t know what’s wrong and I don’t know how to fix it; I just know I’d give anything to make him okay.
“He’s going to be fine,” Montana says quietly but firmly as we park in a spot close to the emergency room entrance.
My head whips to him as my lips part. “I’m supposed to be sayin’ that to you.”
He nods and rolls his lips inward as he stares out the windshield, making it feel like he’s a million miles from here.
“Grandad sees a cardiologist, has an appointment next week to talk about getting a couple stents put in. I think that’s probably what we’re lookin’ at.”
“Do you need me to call anyone? Your parents or your sisters? I can do that so you can focus on Grandad.”
Like I’ve broken a spell, I watch as his lips turn up ever so slightly on one side, his head turning slowly to look at me.
“Thanks for bein’ here, Eddie.” I nod frantically because I need that reassurance more than he could ever know. “Celeste called my parents, and I’ll text my sisters when we know more.”
“Of course, that makes sense. Are you ready to go in? Do you need a minute?”
“No, I’m ready,” he says with a half smile before leaning across the cab and placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Thank you.”
“Always.”
* * *
It was wellinto the early-morning hours when we finally got cleared to go back and see Grandad. Montana had been right about the stents, and even just seeing him postsurgery, he looked like himself again—said he felt better too.
It was good news. Great news.
And I’d lost it.
No one pointed out the tears streaming down my cheeks as I stood frozen in the doorway. I was blindsided by my reaction, but what was worse was I couldn’t stop it. It wasn’t until Grandad held out his hand toward me, beckoning me to him, that I felt my heartbeat start to slow.
He was the second Greene man in the room to offer me comfort, and I accepted it, shamelessly tracing the freckles and scars on his hand with my fingers. His nurse had kicked us out not long after, and I’d felt every muscle in my body the entire drive home.
Mason and Bodhi had gone back to their place, saying they’d take care of the morning chores so Montana could rest. Archer and Bea had texted us while we were at the hospital to say they’d dropped off muffins, a breakfast casserole, and a couple of pints of fruit for breakfast.
As everyone rallied around Grandad, my heart was damn near ready to burst. It’s not that I didn’t know how people in Blackstone Falls treated their neighbors, but I’d never been a part of it.
People had been more likely to bless my mother’s heart than bring her a casserole. She’d alienated us from this town and the wonderful people in it. No one had been unkind to me, but I never felt like I fit in anywhere.
Except with Montana.
But maybe that was my fault too. I’d feared rejection so I stopped putting myself out there at all. It wasn’t something I could fix overnight, but I could make the effort now that I’d claimed Blackstone Falls as home.
But that would have to wait till morning.
The exhaustion was too great as I let Montana lead me to his bedroom and straight into the shower. I was thankful, the smell of antiseptic lingering even though we were no longer at the hospital. I needed to wash it away just like the fear that still clung to my skin.
Montana must have felt it too. He was quiet, his hands gentle as he rinsed the shampoo from my hair, the intimacy of it so much more than anything I’d ever experienced.
We’d dried off and thrown on some clothes before crawling into bed. He’d wrapped himself so tight around me it was hard to breathe, but just like the shower, I needed it as much as he did. And with only a few hours until the sun was due to rise, I drifted off, exhaustion mixing with a flicker of hope that everything would turn out all right.