Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
MAGNOLIA
Seven hours later, the entire extended Dupree family gathered in the fourth-floor waiting area, pacing, holding each other, and praying.
The younger kids had finally given in and fallen asleep on the floor or on their parents’ laps.
Sage’s parents—devastated and struggling to let go—were with their daughter’s body, saying goodbye.
In a private room down the hall, Abilene looped an arm around my waist and yawned.
“You can put your shirt back on, you know,” she said to Bowen, whose legs were stretched out on the bed as he cuddled Willow skin to skin—the same way he had since he found her in the operating room.
He only gave her up for a few minutes at a time when another family member demanded it.
I suspected that holding Willow was the only thing keeping Bowen together.
“I know.” He sniffed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“But I’m helping her body temp, her heartbeat, and her breathing regulate.
” His eyes were red; his nose even redder.
“Plus, I look and sound the most like James—so when he’s out of surgery, she’ll already feel bonded to him. ” He glanced up at me. “Right?”
“Right.” My heart had already anchored itself to this man, who’d been mine for less than a day.
“Well, if that isn’t the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is,” Abilene whispered so only I could hear. “And if you’d told me he looked like that with his shirt off, I would’ve implored you to lock him down a long time ago.”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” I said.
“Okay, you’re right. A great set of abs does not negate years of douchebag behavior. But dang, those are definitely trying.”
I pressed my lips together. “Not the time.”
“Tell that to your eyes. They’re binge-watching his six-pack like it’s Netflix.” She was trying to make me laugh—to make things lighter—and I loved her for it.
I pulled in a breath and gave her what she wanted. “Try again, queen. That’s an eight-pack, periodt—and stop eyeing my man like he’s McSteamy stepping out of the shower.”
Her brow lifted. “Your man? Did somebody hit the fast-forward button while I was asleep?”
Out of respect to Sage and James, the tell-all she wanted would have to wait till another day. So I gave her a simple nod and proudly whispered, “My man.”
She grinned, and I knew it was killing her not to squeal or ask for more ‘deets’.
“I can hear every word y’all are saying,” Bowen teased. But it couldn’t overpower the worry and the ache he was carrying. Pushing through the fear, his gaze smoldered. “Careful—keep talking like that and I’ll never bother with shirts again.”
I couldn’t hold back my smile. “I’d be okay with that.”
He winked. “Guess I’ll have to give you the extended version later. No audience.”
My face burst into flame. “Staaahp.”
Abilene hooted. “What does that mean?”
Bowen's stomach answered for him, growling so loudly it made Willow flailed in his arms. She inhaled and held it, gearing up, before screaming at the top of her lungs.
The three of us laughed.
“I’m sorry,” Bowen soothed as he rocked her.
“It’s okay. Bellies growl. It’s just what they do.
” He tickled her stomach. “If Granny hears your belly growl, she will fill it up with cookies. You know, once you have teeth.” Willow stopped crying and looked up at him.
“And Gramps will buy you a candy bar every single day, hungry or not. But I’m going to be your favorite person.
We made a deal, remember? I will get you all the treats. ”
“I think my ovaries just had a seizure,” Abilene said.
I smacked her on the butt and she laughed.
It had been a long time since we’d eaten anything of substance. We hadn’t gotten to enjoy our tub of popcorn before the rain turned it soggy. And we’d split the box of Goobers a couple of hours ago. It occurred to me that there was probably a waiting room full of Duprees with growling stomachs.
I walked over, bent down, and pecked Bowen on the lips. He hooked his free arm around my back, keeping me in place, turning it into more than a peck.
I tipped my forehead to his, hoping I was making things better for him like he said I always did. Then I stood and ran my thumb over his jaw. “I’m going to get you some food and see if anyone else is hungry.”
His face fell at the thought of me leaving. “We can just grab something from the cafeteria.”
“You don’t want to do that,” Abilene said. “UVA Medical Center is known for many things, but a good cafeteria is not one of them. There’s a reason I head out to Bodo’s, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, pretty much anywhere else when I get a break.”
“We can’t have you scaring poor Willow anymore,” I said. “You stay here in case…James…”
“Yeah. Okay. Hurry back,” he said.
“I will.”
“I just got off,” Abilene said. “I’ll come with.”
When I told the family I was going to get food and asked if they wanted anything, Ford handed me his credit card and instructed me to get plenty for everyone.
Forty-five minutes later, Abilene and I walked back in, both of us lugging a huge IHOP bag in each hand—complete with pancakes, bacon, crepes, and omelets.
As we stepped off the elevator and into the hall, I came to a dead stop, my breath lodged in my throat.
Abilene nearly stumbled into me. “What the—”
“Shhh.” My head tilted to one side, my brain trying to comprehend if what I was seeing was real. A very tall man with fiery red hair was striding urgently down the hall in front of us. But all I could see was his backside.
“Is that…Griffin?” Abilene wheezed.
That’s what I was trying to figure out. The hair color was right, and the height, but everything else was different.
He stopped a nurse rushing past, turning his head to speak to her, giving us a side profile view. Holy crap. It was him.
But this was not the Griffin Dupree I’d dated.
This Griffin was all man—broad shoulders, cut jawline where baby fat used to be, a coppery shadow of scruff making him look older than he was.
His henley clung to muscles that hadn’t existed two years ago, and his hair wasn’t buzzed like in all the Hollister advertisements.
Now it was trimmed into a sharp, textured crop.
“Where can I find James Dupree?” his voice rumbled, low and confident. Deeper than it used to be.
The nurse’s head snapped back like she thought she might be dreaming. She blinked. Then blinked again. “Are…” She swallowed visibly. “Are you a relative?”
“Yes,” Griffin’s voice reverberated off the walls, not the least bit aware of what he was doing to the poor woman. “His brother.”
She nodded. “Your family is just down the hall. James’s surgery is wrapping up right now, I believe.”
Griff’s shoulders, which had been stiff and slightly hunched, dropped in relief. He’d probably been terrified his entire flight here, worried that James might not make it. “Thanks.” He gave her an all-business smile and continued up the hall. She turned to watch him walk away appreciatively.
I was happy for him. He’d always hated his red hair, that his eyes were green instead of the Duprees’ trademark light blue-gray, and he’d despised his ‘gangly’ body that refused to gain weight no matter what he did. But now? He was owning every piece of himself.
Looked like I hadn’t been a stumbling block for him after all. I’d simply been a stepping stone. The question was whether he’d figured it out yet.
Abilene yanked me along. “Let’s go. He’s getting away.”
I dug in my heels, fear gripping my chest.
“Maggie,” she power-whispered as Griffin turned right and vanished from our view. “Come on. I want to see the reunion.” She lifted the bags she was carrying. “And my arms hurt.”
“Yeah, okay.” I made myself put one foot in front of the other. But the closer we got to the waiting room, the more my instincts screamed to run the other way. The only thing waiting for me up ahead was rejection.
I was the last person Griffin wanted to see right now.
But even more terrifying than facing the man whose heart I’d destroyed was facing the man who always destroyed me whenever Griffin was around.
Bowen said he’d choose me over Griff. It’s easy to say what you would do in the face of a non-threatening, hypothetical situation.
Now that Griffin was actually here and James’s life was hanging in the balance?
I couldn’t be a wedge between them. Not again.
If they wanted to repair their relationship, I had to get out of their way. If the Duprees ever needed peace, it was right now.
Just before Abbie and I rounded the corner, shouts of excitement rent the air, ramping my nerves even higher. As we stepped into the waiting room, in one single inhale, my lungs expanded, filling my entire chest cavity with overwhelming happiness.
Griffin was dead center in the biggest group hug I’d ever seen.
The Duprees were probably breaking a world record at that very moment.
Griff was sandwiched between Lemon, Silas, and Sophie.
But right outside of that was Granny and Gramps, Christy and Holden, Ashton and Tally, Anna and Blue, Ford and Peyton, along with every child and grandchild—each leaning in, trying to touch Griff.
The only two not in on it? Liam, who was scowling, arms folded, eyes narrowed at his ex-bestie, and Bowen, who looked like he was about to pass out from shock, hands fisted in his hair. My heart hurt that he felt like he couldn’t be a part of the hug.
Sage’s parents stood off to the side, loving on Willow, determined to be happy for the Duprees even as their own hearts bled out onto the floor.
“You did this, didn’t you?” Silas asked Ford, chuckling through his tears.
“It was nothing.” Ford shrugged humbly. “Griff needed to be here ASAP and all the flights were sold out.”
“Thank you,” Lemon whispered in a reverent hush. I didn’t know how her eyes could be full of pain and joy at the same time, but they were. It was probably the most bittersweet moment of her life.
Griffin scanned the group, his smile fading. I ducked behind Abilene, using her as a shield. “Where’s…” Then his gaze snagged on Bowen, hovering by the couch. Griff’s expression shifted—serious but fierce. He took a step toward Bowen, and the group broke apart, letting him through.
Stomach knotted with nerves, I rested my chin on my bestie’s shoulder, scared to watch, but needing to see.
Griff stopped in front of Bowen. They stared at each other, no words.
I couldn’t see Griff’s face anymore; his back was to us.
But Bowen looked more apprehensive than I’d ever seen him.
The room went nervously quiet. Then Griffin’s shoulders shuddered, and he released a pain-filled sob.
He tugged Bowen against him, crushing him in a hug.
All the fear rushed out of me in one large exhale, right along with everyone else.
Arms pinned to his side, Bowen’s eyes flew open, even more surprised than before.
“I’m so sorry,” Griffin cried. “I’ve been stubborn and prideful and…” Another shudder. “Can you forgive me?”
But Bowen was looking over Griff’s shoulder, at me. I’d never seen him more conflicted. Or confused. Either way, it was clear he thought hugging Griff meant betraying me.
As my eyes welled and Bowen went blurry, I smiled, pressed a hand to my heart, nodded, and mouthed our code, Wah-hoo-wah. Then I blew him a kiss.
Wah-hoo-wah, he said back, letting himself smile. With that done, he pulled his arms free and wound them around Griffin’s back, hugging him so tight. The relief on his face was something I knew I’d never forget. “We’re good. I love you, brother. Always.”
Griffin didn’t reply—he just curled around Bowen, crying without reservation, the dam of old wounds splitting wide open.
I set my bags at Abbie’s feet, feeling somehow heavier without their weight. Then I reached into my pocket and handed her the credit card. “Give this to Ford, please,” I whispered.
Her head cocked sideways, eyes down-turned. “Maggie,” was all she said, but I could see that she understood.
“Thanks.” I smiled to show I was okay. In actuality, I was anything but.
I gave Bowen a longing glance, but he was talking to Griff, wearing a huge grin. Then I turned and walked back the way I’d come.
I held back the tears until I was outside. But once they started, I couldn’t make them stop. My phone vibrated in my pocket all the way up Lee Street, over to University Avenue, and across The Lawn. It vibrated one more time as I collapsed onto the bench of the Whispering Wall.
I stared up at the sky, the sunrise just beginning to break through the darkness and welcome in a new day.
Then I whispered, hoping this parabolic arc would carry my words all the way to heaven, “I wish you were here, Mom. I could really use a hug right now.” I felt nothing.
Not a nearness, no peaceful feeling telling me it would be okay. But it didn’t matter.
I knew what I had to do.
I pulled out my cell, but I didn’t read Bowen’s texts. They would only make this harder. I simply sent him one of my own.
Then I powered down my phone.