Chapter 6
Mason
Mom laughed tiredly as I paced the private hospital room. Sutton was supposed to be brought there as soon as she was out of recovery. According to the surgeon, everything had gone smoothly.
He’d updated us almost an hour ago, filling us in on what to expect next as well. A short stay in the hospital, lots of rest, and plenty of care. All of which I would see to personally.
“Could you be more like your father?” Mom said with another laugh, watching me make another turn as I continued to pace. “Although I’m eternally grateful neither you nor your sister inherited Shane’s hemophobia.”
“Shouldn’t she be recovered by now?” I grumbled, combing my fingers through my hair.
“It’s different for everyone, sweetheart. Remember Violet’s last C-section? She was in the recovery room for three hours before they had her pain under control enough that they were comfortable putting her in her room.”
“That was probably because of all the scar tissue from her previous two C-sections.” Another turn. My phone vibrated in my pocket for the two hundredth time. I continued to ignore it. Nothing anyone needed to say to me mattered at the moment.
Mom sighed and picked up her own phone. “Well, that took a left turn I wasn’t expecting.” She snorted out a laugh. “No. Actually, I’m not all that surprised.”
“Sure, Mom,” I said, hearing the words but not actually listening.
She laughed again, scrolling and tapping away on her phone.
Excruciatingly long minutes passed. On my next turn, the door opened, and two nurses wheeled in a bed with the head raised at an angle—one short and blond, the other considerably taller and brunette.
I caught a glimpse of Neil standing outside the room, arms tucked behind his back, suit perfectly in place, face stoic as ever.
And then I saw Sutton. Everything inside me relaxed for the first time in hours.
“Hey, beautiful girl,” I greeted once the nurses had her where she needed to be. Bending, I kissed her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Mason!” she whisper-shouted, eyes wide.
“OMFG! There was this really pretty woman with tattoos all over her arms. She said she was your godmother. And I was like, ‘Oh, cool. Like Cinderella?’ Only cooler, because never in the history of Cinderella have I ever seen a version where the Fairy Godmother has such amazing ink.”
Her brows scrunched up, and I bit back a smile. “Or any ink, actually. Whatever. I loved it. There was so much detail. I think I want to get a tattoo soon. Mom and I were planning on getting matching tattoos one day. I miss her so much, Mason.”
Grief flooded her face, and she blinked rapidly to fight her tears. I kissed her forehead again, wishing I could take away her heartache. “I’m sorry, beautiful girl.”
“You smell sooooo good,” she said, grabbing my jacket and holding me close. I felt her sniff me, and my body instantly responded. Fucking hell.
But then the sniff turned into a sniffle as her emotions bounced back and forth.
“Oh! Your godmother was—is?—so freaking pretty. She was there, and I felt really, really safe. And good. Like, amazingly good. There was pain, but I didn’t care, ya know?
And then I went to sleep. I don’t remember anything after that, and I woke up somewhere else and she wasn’t there.
So I thought it was midnight and she disappeared, because Cinderella!
And then I was sad, because I really liked how her eyes got all soft when she said your name. ”
She sniffled again, a few of her tears slipping over her lashes.
Those tears gutted me, but I wasn’t even sure why she was crying—her mom?
Tattoos? Not seeing the fairy godmother?
—before she was moving on to more details.
“When I opened my eyes, there was a really grumpy lady there who kept yelling at me to leave the mask alone. Oh yeah, there was a mask on my face. Did I tell you that part? It kept blowing air in my face, and it was freaking annoying. I should have pretended I was Darth Vader. Damn it! It was the perfect opportunity.”
“Someone yelled at you?” I growled, flicking a glance at the two nurses, who both shrugged.
Sutton nodded solemnly. “I cried and told her she was mean, and the pretty godmother woman appeared again. Because of course she did. She’s freaking magical!
And I was so happy to see her. Not just because she kept giving me apple juice either.
I asked her to be my fairy godmother, and she said she would.
But then she disappeared again. Which is rude, Mason.
We were bonding, and she had an endless supply of apple juice. ”
There was a lot to unpack in that, most of which I would have to sort through later.
Dallas Cage, who was my godmother, worked at this hospital.
At least, she did when she was helping deliver babies.
Which was why I hadn’t expected her to be with Sutton.
Hell, she hadn’t even crossed my mind. Given how calm Mom had been, though, I should have realized her best friend was nearby.
“How did you end up with such a cool godmother?” Sutton demanded. “That seems like a waste. You’re obviously not in need of one. I mean, look at you.”
She waved her hand in my face, rolling her eyes and releasing an annoyed huff before she sent the nurses a scowl. “No, you don’t look at him. I was talking to him. Not either of you.”
Both women grinned as they continued doing their jobs. Hooking her blood pressure cuff to the machine, the blonde listed off the treatments Sutton had during recovery before telling her goodbye.
“Sutton, what’s your current pain level?” the brunette asked.
“A big fat zero,” she said with a tired sigh, closing her eyes.
“That’s what I like to hear. If that changes, you let me know, hon.
” After making a few adjustments, she focused on Mom and me.
“I’m Winter, and I will be Miss Russell’s nurse tonight.
Can I get you folks anything? I’m not sure what the snack situation is, but I could scrounge up some drinks.
Maybe some graham crackers and pudding cups. ”
“We’re fine, but thank you,” Mom assured her.
“Okay then, I’m going to check on my other patients. I’ll be back.” She glanced at the monitors that were keeping track of Sutton’s vitals one more time before excusing herself, after reminding Sutton to press the call button if she needed anything.
Sutton opened her eyes as the door closed behind Winter. She blinked several times, her gaze dancing from Mom to me and back again. Surprise flickered over her face just as her chin began to quiver. “You’re both still here.”
“Of course we are, sweetheart,” Mom said softly. Moving to the other side of the bed, she leaned over the rail and tucked a few pieces of stray hair from Sutton’s face.
“I thought…” Swallowing hard, she whispered, “I thought I dreamed you.”
“Nope, not a dream.” Mom took her hand, and Sutton’s fingers automatically linked through hers.
“It would have been a really good dream if you were, but I’m glad you’re real.” Sutton’s caramel gaze floated to me. “Both of you.”