25. Hadley
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Hadley
My hands nervously slide up and down my thighs. I knew this day was coming. It’s the whole reason I came back to Aspen Springs.
Well, maybe not the whole reason.
Mom was taken back for surgery about thirty minutes ago. I’ve been a ball of nerves since then.
Grayson tried to comfort me, but he isn’t doing much better. He’s currently pacing back and forth across the far wall in the waiting room, his eyes glued to his feet.
I rest my head against the wall behind me, trying to dam up all the emotions swirling inside of me. Realistically, I know a hip replacement surgery is low risk, but it’s my mom.
She’s the only parent I’ve ever known. I can’t even fathom losing her.
I hear the automatic door slide open and several sets of feet walk in. “What are you guys doing here?” Grayson asks.
My eyes slowly open. My three guys are standing there, staring directly at me, not paying attention to what Grayson said.
The emotions I’ve been trying to contain all morning burst free. Silent tears start cascading down my cheeks.
Austin crouches before me, his arms banding around me. I nestle my head in his chest, my tears soaking into his shirt.
“It’s okay, angel. We’re here. We aren’t going anywhere.”
Brooks and Conrad sit down on either side of me, their hands rubbing my back and brushing my hair out of my face. When the tears stop, I pull back, dragging in a ragged breath.
“Hey there, Trouble,” Brooks says from my right, making me smile. He pulls me into his side, kissing my forehead.
While I lean against his brother’s shoulder, Conrad laces his fingers through mine. The simple gesture tells me he’s there without any words.
My eyes finally look up to see my brother glaring at us from the corner of the room. I know I should care that he knows, but right now I really don’t.
I’m falling for these men. Grayson needs to just deal with it.
Austin senses where I’m looking and glances over his shoulder.
“Fuck,” he mumbles under his breath. He presses a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth before standing and facing my brother.
“I thought all those rumors around town were a joke,” Grayson says, arms crossed as he stares down Austin.
“I’m sure a lot of them are,” Austin says, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
Grayson gestures to where I’m sitting between the twins. “Obviously not all of them.”
Austin sighs loudly. “No, not all of them.”
“So, you’re fucking my sister? All of you are?” he asks, his eyes darting to Brooks and Conrad.
“I’m not going to answer that. I’m also not going to talk about her like that,” Austin says.
Grayson huffs out a breath, his jaw tense. “Are you with all three of them?” he asks, eyes locked on me.
“I am,” I say, my voice hoarse from crying.
“They’re going to break your heart, Had. This is never going to work,” he says.
I love Grayson for caring so much about me, but he’s dead wrong about this. I know we have a lot of things standing in our way, but I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want this relationship to work.
“We aren’t going to break her heart,” Conrad says in his calm tone.
“You say that now,” Grayson retorts, running his hand over his face.
“Let’s go outside and talk,” Austin tells my brother. “You can hit me or whatever you need to, but I’m not letting her go.”
My head snaps up off Brooks’ shoulder. “Grayson, do not hit him,” I say, my eyes shifting between the two of them.
Austin leans down, kissing me fully on the lips this time. “For you, it would be worth it.” He looks at the twins. “Take care of her. I’ll be back.”
Then he’s striding out the doors and into the parking lot. Grayson continues to stare at me for a moment before following his best friend outside.
Through the large windows, I can clearly see them yelling. Well, Grayson is yelling. Austin is standing there letting my brother say what he needs to say.
Conrad squeezes my hand. “Are you okay?”
About my brother knowing about us? Yes. About everyone knowing about us? Yes. About my mom still being in surgery? No.
Not knowing how to put all that into words, I just shrug.
“I’m sorry we just showed up,” Brooks says. “We wanted to be here for you.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” I grab his hand with my free one. “Grayson is mad now, but it’s just because he loves me. He’ll get over it.”
“I hope so,” Brooks says, running his hand through his hair. “Your brother kind of scares me.”
Conrad and I both laugh quietly.
My brother is a big, burly fire captain, but to me, he will always be the guy who put Band-Aids on my knees when I fell and always told Mom to buy strawberry ice cream even though he hated it because it was my favorite.
“Don’t tell him that. He’ll make it a million times worse,” I say.
Movement out the window draws my attention back to the two men I care about, who are bickering over me.
Grayson cocks his fist back like he’s going to punch his best friend. Austin stands there calmly, saying something that I can’t make out.
Grayson’s arm drops down to his side.
What did he say?
As Grayson puts Mom’s car in park in the garage, I hear the crunching of gravel as Conrad parks his truck in front of the house.
Grayson glares at all three of my men, but he keeps his mouth shut and lets them help get Mom situated in the house. She’s exhausted and just wants to sleep, so we get her settled in her bed with ice packs on her hip.
“I need to run to the firehouse for a bit and check in,” Grayson tells me. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
He glances at the guys standing on the other side of the living room, then finally strides out the front door to where he left his own truck across the street early this morning.
Well, I guess that’s better than yelling at them.
“Do you still think he’s going to kill us?” Brooks says, staring as Grayson drives his truck up the street.
Austin shakes his head. “He’ll come around. I was honest with him about…stuff. He doesn’t hate you or any of us. He just cares about his sister.”
I quirk my brow at the “stuff” part, but don’t say anything.
“There’s some dinner in the fridge for you guys,” Conrad says. “There’s a lasagna and a salad.”
My eyes suddenly feel watery again. “Thank you, “I whisper, not wanting to cry anymore.
My mom made it through surgery just fine. I have all three of these men. No more secrets. Somehow, it’s all going to be okay.