Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
BOWEN
As my family chowed down on the food Magnolia had brought, I glanced around, a pit in my stomach. Where was she?
We hadn’t been a couple long enough to face something this big, and yet, here we were.
I was torn—worried about what would happen if she came back and Griff saw her.
But I was even more terrified of what would happen if she didn’t come back.
Magnolia had always been the type to set herself on fire just to keep everyone else warm.
And I could already smell the smoke.
I would’ve asked Abilene where Magnolia was, but she’d disappeared after dropping off the food and was probably already back at their apartment sleeping. Wherever that was. I hadn’t even added Magnolia to Find My Friends yet.
I studied Griff out of my peripheral, wedged between me and Cash on the couch.
He seemed different. Aside from spending at least three hours at the gym every day, getting a slick haircut, and growing some scruff, he was…
calm, even with the tenseness of the situation.
He watched the family eating, eyes soft, looking grateful to be here.
But then he glanced at Liam, who was eyeing him like a villain about to twirl a mustache and tie him to the train tracks. Griff snorted as he chewed his omelet.
Cash leaned his knee against Griff’s. “Y’all need to fix…whatever this is.”
Griff snorted again. “I can’t deal with Liam and his insecurities right now. My brother is…” He didn’t finish. Just blew out his breath like it was painful to think about James.
“How was Vegas?” Cash asked him.
For once, it didn’t hurt that Cash knew things about Griff that I wasn’t privy to.
Griff grinned conspiratorially, his eyes flicking to Cash and then to me like there had never been a rift between us. Whatever he was about to tell us was juicy. “About that--”
The double doors swung open, and a doctor walked into the room, still in scrubs. A short, super buff Indian guy who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was wearing an unreadable expression.
Everyone shot to their feet.
“James is a fighter,” he said in a solid American accent. Is. Present tense.
The collective exhale we released would’ve been funny if the situation weren’t so tenuous.
“I’m Dr. Farouk. I repaired James’s lung and ribs, performed the splenectomy, and assisted with the femur stabilization.
He came through the procedures and is now in recovery.
He’ll be transferred to the ICU in the next half hour.
” His voice was clinical, deliberate, too careful—as if each word had to be weighed before speaking them.
“So we can see him then?” Mom asked, so much hope in her voice.
“See, yes,” Farouk said. “But we’re going to keep him in a medically induced coma for at least twenty-four hours. With all the injuries and the news he’ll receive when he wakes up—” He paused, like he was giving Sage a moment of respect. “—we need to make sure he can handle what’s coming.”
Sage’s mom, Heidi, stifled a sob. Her husband, Scott, held Willow while he watched his wife helplessly. Sage was their only child—an IVF baby after years and years of trying. And now she was gone.
Mom walked over and wrapped Heidi in a hug. “You’re a part of our family. Always. For every event, every holiday, Sunday dinners, all of it. James will want you there.”
Heidi sniffled. “I know.” But then she was crying again.
Dr. Farouk and the rest of us were quiet, giving her some time. Then, finally, Farouk’s eyes warmed. “The baby is going to be a very good thing. It’ll give James something to live for. He’s going to need that.”
Dad nodded. “James will be an excellent father.”
We all murmured our agreement. James was excellent at everything he did. It’s just who he was. If a girl had to grow up without her mom, James was the right dad for the job.
“We’ll help too,” I said.
Everyone spoke up after that.
“We’ll babysit,” Belle said, arm hooked around Jane’s shoulder.
“Me too,” Cash’s sister, Addie, said.
“Not me,” Tristan huffed.
“Tris,” Aunt Tally said.
He held his hands up. “Just being honest. You don’t want me babysitting. Cate got her leg broken on my watch.”
“What?” Griffin laughed.
“True story,” I said. “He put her in a box and pushed her down the stairs like it was a roller coaster.”
Tristan slumped onto the couch. “How many times do I have to tell y’all, she wanted me to?”
“She was eighteen months old,” Ashton barked. “When she saw you and Emily doing it, of course, she wanted a turn.”
“Whatever,” Tristan grumbled.
Ashton pointed his finger at Tristan. “Whatever me again. You’ll be mucking out Gramps’s barn for the next six months.”
Ford grinned, and Peyton and Christy fell against each other laughing, always up for everyone else’s drama.
“Don’t bring me into it.” Gramps chuckled. “I’m not going to be the bad guy.”
I flinched when my phone vibrated in my pocket. The hope that it was Magnolia made my pulse stutter, and I was dying to check. But I could feel Griffin watching me out of the corner of his eye.
He leaned over and whispered, “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll teach Willow to curl her hair,” Emily said eagerly.
Jane bounced on her toes. “Bells and I have makeup, eyebrows, eyelashes, and nails.”
Belle fist-bumped her. “No cap.”
“And we’ll teach her how to sing and play guitar,” Charlie said, leaning her head on Cash’s shoulder. He kissed the top of her hair.
“Ash and I have her covered for all things creative writing and grammar.” Tally raised her hands to the roof.
“I’ve got computers and calculus,” Theo said.
“Yoga, barre, and how to do a perfect British accent,” Aunt Peyton chimed in.
Granny raised her hand. “How to bake.”
“And to castrate a cow,” Gramps added.
“She’ll love that.” Ford snickered.
Holden shrugged. “It’s a rite of passage.”
“How to sew,” Sage’s mom said. “And all the hugs and cookies after school.”
“Woodworking,” Sage’s dad said quietly, barely able to speak as he looked down at his granddaughter.
“Dirt biking.” Bronco puffed his chest. “Get ready for her to be 1st place, A class. She might even go pro.”
Anna scrubbed him on the head. “If you teach her, there’s no doubt.”
“I’ve got how to throw a football,” Blaze offered.
“Yes, because that’s a skill every little girl is dying to have,” Belle said with a huff.
Blaze laughed. “You did.”
“Yeah.” Belle swung her glare on Blue. “And a fat lot of good it did me.”
“What is happening right now?” Griff chuckled.
“I’ll catch you up,” Cash said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Belle tried out for the football team this year, and her own father cut her.”
Blue shook his head at Cash. “Traitor.”
“At least he’s not a dictator,” Belle seethed.
Anna straightened, about to censure her.
But Liam beat her to it. “I think you mean loving father, who adores his little girl very much and doesn’t want to watch her get crushed to death.”
Belle’s mouth fell open. “You’re taking his side? You were my trainer, and you were as mad as I was when he cut me. Why are you defending him now?”
“Because this isn’t the time,” Liam said softly, as if we’d all forgotten where we were and why.
I hadn’t forgotten, not for a second, and I doubted anyone else had either. But the momentary distraction had been nice.
Dr. Farouk chuckled. “It’s fun to see the Dupree family in real life. Y’all are spicy,” he said, like it was a good thing. “Reminds me of my family. I can see why James is so strong.” But then he went serious again. “Unfortunately, only immediate family will be allowed to see him in the ICU.”
None of the adults seemed surprised. Disappointed but not surprised. But the kids started whining.
“Stop,” Holden silenced them. “There are reasons why, and he’s about to tell us if we’ll let him.” He cocked a brow at Farouk. “Right?”
Dr. Farouk nodded. “Infection is the big one. We have to reduce the number of germs James is exposed to.”
“What about the baby?” Sophie asked. “James will want to see Willow.”
Farouk’s lips pressed together. “It’ll be a few days.”
Sophie looked at Dad for help, but he just shook his head. She wanted to argue. It was in the stiffness of her shoulders and her clenched fists.
“James is going to be okay, though,” Griffin said, reminding her to keep things in perspective. “That’s the important thing.”
“You heard the man,” Ford said to the group. “Everyone but immediate family needs to go.”
No one argued, but no one looked happy either. Well, except for the younger kids, who could barely keep their eyes open. As everyone began their goodbye hugs, I edged away from the group and slid my phone out just enough to check the notification.
Magnolia
I’m so happy that Griffin wants to reconcile. I truly mean that. My greatest regret for the past two years was that I was the catalyst that finally broke you two in half. This restoration, this wholeness, is exactly what your family needs right now—and there’s no way I’m getting in the way of that.
I love you, Bowen. So much. I always will. I wish you all the happiness. You deserve it.
I will continue to pray for James. I’m turning my phone off now so you can focus on your family —Magnolia
My heart jackknifed hard enough that I had to bend over, hands on my thighs, to catch my breath. Because that was a breakup text if I’d ever seen one. She didn’t even end it with love or wah-hoo-wah. “Setting herself on fire then,” I muttered.
Panic set in, and it gave me a shot of adrenaline. I casually strolled over to Charlie, put my arm around her neck, and guided her away from Jane and Belle.
“Do you know where Magnolia went?” I whispered.
She turned to face me, her big brown eyes hooking mine. “No. I texted, but she’s not responding.”
“You don’t have her location on Find My Friends?”
Her eyes flashed past me and she blanched.
“Are you all looking for Maggie?” Griffin asked, suddenly behind us.
I flinched, and my fingernails cut into my palms. Welp. That reconciliation lasted a whole half hour. I slowly turned, dreading what was coming.
He shook his phone, expression completely unreadable. “Got your girlfriend right here on Find My Friends.”