Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jace
Minutes pass as I pace the waiting room floor. I held Zoe until the ambulance came and retrieved her, but now, they won’t let Daisy or me into the ER to sit with her. My stomach is tied in knots, and it’s only been five minutes.
“Jace.” Daisy grabs my arm and motions to the mom and son, who’re staring at me like I’m an animal at the zoo. The little boy is plastered to his mom’s side, and her hand is clutching her phone. “Why don’t you sit down? You’re freaking people out.”
“Fine.” I slip onto the closest chair with Daisy dropping down beside me.
“She’s going to be fine. She’s healthy and strong. This is a fluke due to stress, and everything is alright.” Her voice is soft and soothing as she tries to talk some sense into me, but it barely penetrates the fear in my head.
“What if it’s something serious?” I scrub my palms on the knees of my jeans.
“It’s not.” This time, her voice is sharp. “So cut it out.”
“Okay.” I inhale and let out a deep breath. “This sucks.”
“I know it does.”
I shake my head. “Her father is going to show up and be able to go straight back because he’s a relative, and we can’t even go back to see her.” I even resorted to telling them I’m her uncle, and they still wouldn’t let me through.
She laces her fingers through mine and slumps against the chair. “I know. Let’s give it a minute, and then I’ll bug the nurse again. What did Carly and Landon say?”
“They’re out of town and can’t get back today.” My knee bounces up and down with nervous energy. “I should have come sooner.”
“Zayden is in there with her. It’s going to be fine. He’ll keep their dad away.”
A few minutes later, a nurse opens the locked ER door and glances through the waiting room. “Jace?”
“Yes.” I jump out of my seat so fast that the chair tips sideways and clanks back onto its feet.
She smiles and holds the door open. Her yellow scrubs are in contrast to the starkness of the hospital. “Zoe has asked for you.”
“Thank God.”
Her eyes drift to Daisy. “Daisy?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but right now, she can only have two people. When her brother comes out, you can switch with him.”
“That’s fine.” She pats my back. “Make sure she’s alright. And if Zayden doesn’t want to come out yet, text me.”
“I will.” I give her a quick hug and follow the nurse through the waiting area, past the nurses’ check-in station, and by several glassed-in rooms.
Kameron Willoughby, the firefighter that happened to be in the building next to Anderson Records when Zoe went down, claps my shoulder after coming out of Zoe’s room. “She’s doing great. Everything will be fine.”
“Thank you.” I shake his hand. “I appreciate you showing up as fast as you did. I….” I clear my throat. “I wasn’t in good headspace at the time.”
“It’s fine. She’s lucky to have you.” He winks, strides through the ER, and out the sliding glass doors.
“Here we go.” The nurse slides the door open to find Zoe awake and Zayden sitting with one leg on the hospital bed by her feet.
“Hey.” I give her a weak smile, and she straightens the blanket.
“I’m going to go out and talk to Daisy.” Zayden brushes past me, patting me on the back. “She’s going to be fine.”
All the air rushes out of my lungs as my knees buckle. Shit. Stay upright. The door shuts behind him as I stay rooted in front of the door. My vision of sweeping her off her feet went awry, and now, I’m not sure what happens. Is she happy to see me? Does she not want to see me?
The second the door closes, tears fill her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” I step closer to her.
“Yes, I do.” Her bottom lip quivers. “My father ruined your life.”
“Please.” I sit at the end of her bed and rest my hand on her lower leg. I don’t want to add more pain to the situation, but not touching her is out of the question. “My life isn’t ruined.” I chuckle in self-depreciation. “Okay. There’s been some shitty things happen, but none of them were your fault.”
She launches upright and grabs my shoulders. “Yes, it was. If I hadn’t gone on and on about you to Dad four years ago, you’d be out on world tours at this point. He refused to sign you and made sure no one else would either.”
I’m not surprised by her revelation, but it’s still not her fault. I arch my eyebrows. “It wasn’t meant to be.”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t see what a jerk he was sooner. If I would’ve….” She sighs, “None of what happened in Saint Lucia would’ve occurred.”
“None of it?”
Her face turns from a pale, pasty shade to a beautiful pink in a fraction of a second. “Okay. I wouldn’t change any of it until the last few hours with my dad. The rest was wonderful.”
I smile and pull her to me. “I’m glad you think so.” I hold her, inhaling her scent, and relax for the first time since she was last in my arms. “I’m sorry I let you believe I’d used you, but at the time, I didn’t feel like there was any other choice. I didn’t think you’d believe a word I said with everything he had stacked against me, and I didn’t see the benefit of spending years in a Saint Lucia prison.”
She shudders against me and wraps her arm around my waist. The one with the IV attached remains at her side.
“Then later, when I got back to the States….” I shrug. “You wouldn’t have believed me then either, and you hated me.”
She glances up. “I would’ve believed you. If you’d told me.”
I cup her face and stare into her eyes. “Zoe, I love you. I don’t care what stands in our way. I want to be with you. I know it’s a lot to ask for you to risk your relationship with people you care about, but I hope they see how much I care about you and wouldn’t intentionally choose to hurt you. And with that, hopefully, they’ll be okay with us being together.” I lick my lips and swallow hard. “If that’s what you want.”
The corners of her mouth curve upward. “Thank you for catching me when I passed out.”
“Anytime.” I kiss her lips gently and pull back so as not to give her any additional stress.
Her eyes narrow. “That wasn’t a very, I’m happy to see you and want to ravish you six ways to Sunday kind of kiss.”
I laugh at her pouting face and pull her close again, nuzzling her neck. “I’m trying to be good here. You’re hooked up to a bunch of monitors, and I don’t want the doctors and nurses to think you’re having a heart attack.”
“Good idea.” She shivers as my lips graze her skin. “Because I’m fairly certain my blood pressure will be up the next time it’s taken.” She pulls back, and tears fill her eyes.
“Are you okay? Did they tell you what’s wrong?” My heart beats wildly in my chest. I hate seeing her cry.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Not yet. But I’m not crying because of that. Those songs you wrote were beautiful.” She runs her thumb over my cheekbone. “No one could ever do anything sweeter than that for me. I love you so much. Thank you for being the most amazing person in the world.”
“I think you’re exaggerating.”
“No. I’m not. You’re gorgeous. Your voice is beautiful. And you wrote the most raw, vulnerable songs about me. About us. I don’t even know what to say.” She inhales and bites her bottom lip. “I’m the luckiest woman in the world to have you in my life.” One side of her mouth arches upward. “Finally.”
I groan and roll my eyes. “There you go, stabbing me in the heart. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I honestly didn’t think I was worthy of you and didn’t want to upset everyone in the family. Especially if you weren’t sure I was what you wanted. And even if you did….” I shrug again as I study her face. “I didn’t want to ruin your life.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I might be. Zayden said they all planned it.”
“They all planned what?” She frowns and lays her hand back into her lap. I lace my fingers through hers, too afraid to lose this connection with her, as I finally begin to accept that what I’ve dreamed about for years is within my grasp. Hell, it is in my grasp. Zoe. Music. Concerts. Sobriety. Happily ever afters with marriage and children. It can’t get much better than this.
“The resort was their way of forcing us to spend time together.”
Her mouth drops open as she stares at the wall behind me. When she snaps her lips back together, she shakes her head. “Now it all makes sense. The shared bungalow. The marriage boot camp. Being partnered with you. The won prizes. The bonfire at the beach.” She wrinkles her nose. “I think I owe them a new car or something.”
Moments later, the door slides open, and the doctor joins us. After a quick introduction, the older man with white hair takes off the stethoscope from around his neck and listens to Zoe’s heart while waiting for the blood pressure machine to take her vitals. My chest hurts from the pressure of waiting. Zoe reaches out and grasps my hand with her cold fingers.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He smiles reassuringly. “You’re doing great. You were dehydrated, and getting these fluids through you will have you feeling great. Once the remaining IV solution has been administered, we’ll get you out of here.”
Thank God. The tension in my body eases until it feels like I have Jello in my veins.
He tilts his head. “You need to take better care of yourself. Drink plenty of fluids. Eat. Rest. Avoid stress. And see your primary care physician in a few days.”
“Thank you.” She sags into the pillow. “I was worried.”
“There’s nothing to be worried about.” He slips the stethoscope back around his neck. “You’re a healthy young woman.” He glances. “Which is a good thing because this man seems pretty taken with you.”
Her eyes light up. “He is.”
Once the doctor leaves, I kiss her forehead. “You’ve got to take care of yourself.”
“I will. It was a stressful few weeks. I don’t anticipate that will happen again.”
“You’re right.” The door slides open, but my attention remains glued to her. “I’m here to take care of you.”
“Zoe!”
I jump off the bed at Fletcher’s voice behind me and spin to face him. My hands ball into fists as my gaze sweeps over him. His hair is flipped in all directions, his tie is loose around his neck, and the wildness in his eyes has me standing between him and Zoe.
“Dad, I don’t want you here.”
“That’s nonsense.” He takes a step toward the bed, and I dodge in front of him, thrusting my hand into his chest.
“You need to go. The lady said her wishes nicely. I won’t be so kind.” Anger and resentment rush through me as all the years of suffering I’ve gone through at this man’s hands.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Dad, you need to go. Now.” She sits upright, and I shove him backward.
“You heard her. You need to go.”
“She’s my daughter. I have the right to be here. You don’t.”
I fist his tie and yank him forward until his face is next to mine. “Get the fuck out before I make you. The only reason you’re not behind bars is because I love Zoe, and I’m going to let her decide what happens to you. Now go before I decide for her.”
“Asshole.”
“Dad.” Zayden grabs his arm and yanks him outside the door. “You heard Zoe and Jace. You need to go.” His gaze drifts to me and then to Zoe. “I’m sorry he made it through. Daisy and I were talking, and he snuck past us.”
“You don’t understand.” Fletcher shifts his attention to Zayden.
“Sadly, I do.” Zayden forcefully moves him through the ER. “I understand too well.”