Chapter 4
Indiana
“I like the direction this cover is going, but there’s something missing,” I tell my marketing team.
“Since this is the third book of the series, and we know it’s supposed to be seductive if the last book was any indication, then it should allude to such,” I explain as I look at the illustration in front of me.
Even though I’m the editor-in-chief I have a bit of an eye for design.
Plus, having intimate knowledge of the stories can give me a unique perspective on how the aesthetic can attract the right reader.
So, I like to give input on the cover design when I can.
The team is quickly jotting down notes as I look over the design. “This is our most popular series since we opened in Boston and I want to make sure we get this cover right. Maybe add a little more color over here”—I point to a spot to the right—“to make it pop, you know?”
“I’ll send these notes over to the cover designer and I should have a new mockup to you by end-of-day,” one of them says.
“Sounds good. And make sure—” I’m interrupted by a knock on the door when my assistant, Angela, walks in.
“Ms. Ranton, I apologize for interrupting, but Noah’s school just called and there’s an emergency.” Her nervousness is unmistakable in her tone.
I can’t help the way my pulse spikes at her words.
“Did they say what the emergency is?” I can’t help the way my voice hitches. I’m usually calm, but when it comes to Noah, there’s always an extra layer of caution reserved for him.
“He was stung by a bee and he’s having an allergic reaction. That’s all they said. They asked that you head over there right away,” she says and I’m already moving toward the conference room door with my purse in hand.
We discovered Noah is severely allergic to bees on a trip to visit my parents last summer. Since then, I’ve become well versed in allergic reactions, carrying an Epi-Pen everywhere I go.
Moving quickly, Angela is updating me that she will cancel my afternoon and reach out if anything urgent comes up.
I hate to admit, I’m barely listening to anything she’s saying.
I’m furiously pounding on the elevator button, hoping it will quicken its arrival, knowing it’s making no difference whatsoever.
Once the metal doors open, we jump in. I inform Angela I might need her help grabbing items from my office to drop off at my house if I end up working from home tomorrow, but I’ll keep her updated on Noah’s status when I know more.
I shoot a text off to Kalli regarding what happened, in case she hears it through office chatter.
The moment we get to the garage level, Angela keeps up with my fast pace until I reach my car and she bids me goodbye.
The school isn’t far from the building, luckily keeping my drive short.
I pull up to a parking spot and hurry into the school.
When I see the firetruck, my anxiety kicks up a notch, my steps taking on a quickened pace along the concrete.
I’ve had my cell in my hand, worried they would leave without me from the school. I’m kicking myself for having my phone on silent when I was in my meeting earlier; that’s why Angela got the call from the school instead of me.
I walk through the front office, and someone is waiting for me as soon as I open the door.
“Ms. Ranton, let me walk with you to the nurse’s office. The EMTs arrived and are caring for Noah. He’s in good hands. He received Benadryl and the Epi-Pen you provided us, but he is still having a reaction to the bee sting,” she’s explaining as we move.
I keep my gaze forward, my jaw clenched. He must be so scared and all I want to do is wrap my arms around him. I see commotion in front of us as we near the nurse’s office. From what I can see, Noah is already on a gurney, and I speed up.
“I’m here. Noah, Mommy’s here. Baby, I’m so sorry!” I call out as I approach. The minute I reach him, I take hold of his hand; but when I see his face, I hold in my gasp. He’s completely swollen, his eyes nearly fully shut.
I’m stunned by his appearance. I knew he was having an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting, but I assumed it was on an extremity. This reaction is more severe than the last time he was stung.
“Noah, sweetie, I’m here. I’m so sorry,” I say, moving my hand through his hair. “Does it hurt?” I ask.
He nods his head, his eyes welled with tears. I assume the swelling is uncomfortable. I see his chin wobbling, but then he whispers, “I get to ride in an ambulance.” I can tell he’s doing everything possible to sound brave, but his voice is shaking.
“Yes, you do. I’ll be right there with you, okay?” I tell him, unsure if he can see me with all the swelling around his eyes. “I’ll make sure I’m right there with you.” I squeeze his hand reassuringly.
I look around, hoping someone will tell me what the hell happened that he looks the way he does. The gurney is being packed up with supplies and I’m hopeful we’ll start getting him loaded into the ambulance.
It isn’t until I sweep my gaze over to my right that I see blue-gray eyes staring back at me. I’ve only ever seen that exact shade once in my life.
“Ty?” I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. This day is already draining me emotionally and now the last person I expected to see is standing in front of me.
“Indy…”
I feel my body go numb. I don’t know why I had convinced myself I would never hear his voice again.
It’s silly, really, because eventually we’d have to meet up.
We have a history and a mess to clean up.
Yet, if the goosebumps forming on my arm are any indication, he’s throwing me off balance by simply saying my name.
My brain and my body aren’t on the same damn page. I’m supposed to hate him, remember?
I look him up and down, trying to compose myself.
It’s obvious from his attire he’s one of the firefighters helping Noah.
How the hell is this happening right now?
He’s in my world, in a way I never expected.
For years, I compartmentalized him; being so far away, never expecting him to stand so close to me again.
Now he’s here, close enough I could touch him, although he feels so much further than ever before.
I don’t want little ears hearing this conversation, so I quickly whisper to Noah, “Mommy is going to find out what’s going on, but I’ll be close by.” He nods while another paramedic is caring for him.
I walk over and stare at Ty, looking him up and down, still wondering if I’m conjuring him from my imagination. This can’t be possible that after so much time, Tyler Hunter is standing before me at my son’s school.
“Do you two know each other?” I’m startled from my thoughts by another gentleman from Tyler’s unit.
“Um, yeah, we, uh—” But I’m cut off when Ty decides to speak for us both.
“Yeah. She’s my wife,” Tyler says to his colleague. Luckily, he isn’t loud and I don’t think Noah heard him.
Tyler’s confession seems to stun his coworker, confirming that he must keep it as close to his chest as I do.
“Always full of surprises, huh, Hunter?” the firefighter says, more with a look of amusement than disappointment. I wish I could share the sentiment, meanwhile, I feel like I might see my breakfast resurface.
“River, let’s not make a big deal of this right now,” Ty says under his breath. I can see Tyler’s face is stoic, likely grinding his teeth like he did in high school. I guess some things never change.
“Hey, your secret is safe with me,” his coworker, River, says as he walks away.
I stand there for a brief moment longer, staring back at a man I thought I once knew, feeling completely exposed, but I finally snap out of it and remember where my focus belongs.
“Indy, I—” Tyler begins.
“I can’t do this right now.” There’s more bite to my words than I usually use as I straighten my spine. My thoughts float back to the past and the harshness Tyler had the last time he chose to interact with me. Too bad he never let me communicate back. Ties were severed after that.
I can see my coldness surprises him. The last time we saw each other, the Indy he remembers was light and free. It was one of the last times I felt like a person that truly lived in a world where my shoulders weren’t weighed down by grief. The world was bright and full of possibilities.
My eyes stare back at the man I once loved.
There’s a rigidity that begins to snake down my spine, filling me with icy strength as a way of protecting myself around Tyler Hunter.
Noah is my only concern, and he needs me to be whole for him.
I cannot stretch myself thin for a man who tossed me aside like the next day’s trash.
I turn around and walk toward the person who matters most in my life and grab his hand.
It feels like everything starts moving at lightning speed in that moment.
The gurney is pushed toward the ambulance and we hop inside.
I keep giving Noah reassuring words to calm him down, hoping my own words will settle the uptick in my heart rate after seeing Tyler.
Once we’re settled, I expect the doors to close for us to head out, but Noah’s small voice whispers, “Where’s Hunter?”
“Oh, um, I think he’s going in the firetruck, sweetie.”
Before my words have time to register, Tyler calls out, “I’m right here, buddy.”
He’s making his way into the patient compartment, which is confined as it is. I can’t help the way my body goes still at the sound of his voice. I keep my back to him as he addresses Noah and the woman taking vitals by his side.
“Polly, sorry to make it even more cramped back here. I got it approved with the captain to tag along,” Tyler says.