Chapter 27 Linc
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Linc
My hand slips off the wrench, and my hand collides with my forehead. “Motherfucker,” I groan, rubbing my grease-covered hand over my face.
I have been trying to loosen this one nut for ten minutes, and it doesn’t want to budge.
It’s a rare day when none of us are working at the bar until later in the day. Kane disappeared on his bike shortly after dropping Oliver off at school. Wyatt is in the house doing who knows what.
I retreated out here to the garage to work on the old bike I’ve been trying to fix for almost a year now. This is far from the first bike I’ve remodeled, but this one is proving to be quite the challenge.
My main bike was my first fixer-upper project. Kane’s dad bought it for me, and we worked on it together. It took us years to get it to a place where it was drivable.
I think he knew I needed something to focus on those last few years while we were all in high school. He wanted me to escape from my home life into this project rather than alcohol or drugs.
I’m not saying I never drank during that time, but it didn’t become something dangerous. That time with David meant far too much to me to jeopardize it in any way.
The thought of disappointing him still makes me sick to my stomach. He’s the dad life gave me when the one I was given by blood let me down at every turn.
I’ve had many opportunities in the years since then to purchase a newer bike, but I’ve never been able to go through with it.
That first bike I worked on with David will always hold a special place in my heart. No other motorcycle could fit me the way that one does.
I don’t get the chance to work with him on the bikes I buy very often anymore, but the times we do are always special.
My phone shakes against the workbench. It’s probably a spam call, but I move to stand anyway.
My eyebrows scrunch together when I see Abby’s name on the screen. I do my best to wipe the grease off on my jeans before answering the call.
“Hello,” I answer with a bit of hesitation. I want to hear her voice. Seeing her would be even better. But I have no idea why she would be calling me.
“Linc.” That’s all it takes, the heartbreak laced in the way she exhales my name. I know something’s wrong.
“Abby,” I say, trying to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest. I don’t even know what’s going on yet. I need to take a damn breath. “What’s happened?”
“Kane was in an accident on his motorcycle.” I can tell she’s fighting to hold her emotions in check, but she’s starting to lose the battle.
My heart was thundering before. Now, it feels like it’s screeched to an abrupt halt.
The grip I have on the phone would be painful if I had the ability to process such feelings. The shock of what she just said is clouding everything else, though.
I’m about to demand more information from her when she continues.
“He’s okay. Well… not okay, but he will be.” She pulls in a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. I’m really fucking this up right now. I shouldn’t even be telling you any of this over the phone, but…”
“Abby,” I say sternly. “I need you to take a deep breath for me.”
There’s a moment of silence, and then I hear her slowly inhaling and exhaling. “Okay,” she whispers.
“Again.” The sounds repeat. “Better?”
“A little.”
I’ll take it for now. “Now, tell me what’s going on with Kane.” Somehow, my voice portrays far more calm than I feel inside.
I make my way into the house as she runs through what she knows about his accident and his injuries. I let out a relieved breath, hearing that he is okay. It sucks how badly he’s hurt, but it could have been so much worse.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I tell her.
“But Oliver,” she says, some of the tentative control she found starting to slip away.
“Wyatt will get him from school.”
“Are you okay with Cole picking him up instead? He’ll be there getting Mav, and I could ask him to watch Oliver for a while, too.”
I don’t usually step in with parenting decisions. I know I have an important role in Oliver’s life, but I’m not his parent. This is one time, though, when things don’t fit the typical mold.
Wyatt will want to go to the hospital just as badly as I do as soon as I tell him what happened. If Abby trusts Cole with her son, then we can trust him with Oliver, too.
“Thank you. If he wouldn’t mind…”
She cuts me off. “He won’t mind at all. I know Mav has been wanting the rest of his family to meet Oliver, too.”
I let out a relieved exhale, glancing down at my greasy clothes. “I’m going to change, and I’ll be on my way. Just keep taking deep breaths for me. Okay, angel?”
“I will.”
“Good girl. I’ll see you soon.” The words slip out so seamlessly.
There’s so much going on right now. I don’t even have time to contemplate everything that slipped out during this conversation.
I’ll worry about that later, after I’m able to set eyes on my best friend and see for myself that he really is alive and well.
I hang up just as I step into the kitchen. Wyatt’s head whips in my direction. His face drops as soon as he sees me.
“What…” is all he gets out before I start talking over him.
“We need to get dressed and head to the hospital.” He follows me down the hallway to our rooms as I explain everything Abby just told me.
In less than five minutes, we’re both changed and jumping into Wyatt’s SUV. Neither of us says anything during the short drive to the hospital, but the worry and fear floating between us makes it hard to breathe.
After checking in at the front desk, we sit in the waiting room until someone comes to escort us to Kane’s room. I was hoping Abby would be the one to get us, but I know she’s working. I just want to see Kane.
And Abby… my brain reminds me, unhelpfully.
My eyes widen with my first step into the room. His eyes are closed, and he doesn’t stir with mine and Wyatt’s entrance.
His right arm is in a cast and secured to his chest with a sling. White bandages cover some areas on his neck and forehead.
I can’t see much of his body between the hospital gown and blankets, but his face and neck are covered in scrapes and bruises that already look awful. I’m sure they will be even worse tomorrow.
“Fuck,” Wyatt mutters at my side, running his hand over his face.
That about sums it up.
Both of us turn our heads to the left when the door opens. Abby lets out a relieved sigh, setting eyes on us. The door clicks shut behind her as she steps in.
“You’re here,” she says, shoulders falling. It’s like the weight of the world has been lifted from them, now that she’s not the only one here to watch over Kane.
“Yeah, we’re here,” Wyatt says.
Tears glisten in her eyes as she stares at Wyatt and me.
“Come here,” I say, holding my arms out toward her. She falls into me, her head landing against my chest. My arms band around her. “Shh… It’s okay. He’s going to be okay.”
I have to assume that’s true. The only information I have to go off of at this point is what she told me over the phone and what I can see with my own eyes. But it seems like this is what she needs to hear right now.
She doesn’t say anything for several long minutes as she cries quietly against my chest. I keep her held tight against me, while Wyatt runs a hand up and down her back.
She pulls in a few deep breaths, taking a step back. Her tears are wiped away, and she straightens her shoulders.
“I should be the one comforting you guys right now, not the other way around.”
“Not true,” Wyatt says. “You care about him, too.”
“I do,” she says, turning to look at Kane. There’s a softness in her eyes I’ve only seen when she looks at her son.
Most people would probably be jealous in this situation with a woman they liked, but I’ve never been the jealous type.
Relationships are fluid and can take many different shapes and forms. What works for one person is not necessarily what will work for someone else.
Maybe it’s strange, but it makes me happy to see someone I care about caring about Kane in that way.
Like he can sense her attention on him, Kane’s eyes flutter open. He slowly takes in all three of us.
“Why are you crying?” he asks Abby. Then his gaze migrates to Wyatt and me. “Did you guys make her cry?”
“No,” Abby laughs. She steps closer to his side. “I was just worried about you. They were making sure I was okay.”
He reaches for her with his good arm and leans around Abby to glare at my twin and me. “They’d better not make you cry, or I’ll beat the crap out of them… brothers or not.”
Abby laughs again. “Okay, tough guy. I think I’m good for now, but if I need you to defend me against them, you’ll be the first person I call.”
He tugs on her arm, pulling her closer. “I want to hug you.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she says.
“I won’t tell anyone my nurse hugged me,” he says, a hint of playfulness in his tone that no doubt is spurred on by whatever meds are flowing through his IV.
They must have given him the good drugs because this version of Kane is pretty funny. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Wyatt biting his lip. He’s fighting for his life to keep from laughing hysterically.
Abby shakes her head, laughing quietly. “No, because of all that.” She motions to the opposite side of his body.
He glances down. He looks shocked when he sees his casted arm. “Oh… right. I kind of forgot.”
“How the fuck do you forget that?” Wyatt whispers.
“Drugs,” I whisper back.
Abby glances at us over her shoulder, clearly overhearing us. Kane is too lost in la-la-land to piece together what we said.
“This side of me is good. You can hug this side,” he says, holding up his left arm. He says it so earnestly, I can’t keep the smile from spreading across my face.
“Fine,” Abby grumbles.
Sensing his window of opportunity, Kane tugs her down to the bed beside him.
“Fuck,” she grunts, trying to brace herself from colliding with his broken body.
She maneuvers around his IV, so it doesn’t get ripped out of his arm.
He pulls her down until her head rests against his shoulder, with little regard for his own well-being at this point.
She fights it for a minute, but eventually her whole body relaxes against him.
“Are you in pain?” she asks, tilting her head up to look at him.
“Not anymore.”
“Good. This last round of meds seems to…”
He cuts her off. “Because you’re here.”
I want to give him shit because that was cheesy as fuck, but the way he’s looking at her makes me keep my words in my damn mouth. The look in his eyes seems like she really is the cure to everything plaguing him.
“The meds have made you a real charmer, huh?” Abby says.
He shrugs, and the movement makes him wince.
“Don’t move that arm if you don’t have to, at least for a bit,” she says.
“You’re so pretty,” Kane says dreamily.
I swear, this guy is going to give me whiplash with the way he’s bouncing around from one topic to the next. It’s very un-Kane-like.
“Ever the charmer,” Abby says.
“It’s true,” Kane says. His forehead bunches with concentration as he stares down at her.
“He isn’t wrong,” Wyatt says.
“Agreed,” I add.
She’s mostly facing away from me, but I can still see the pink hue creep over her cheek.
Kane’s eyes widen in panic. He looks from left to right, searching for something he can’t find. “Oliver,” he croaks.
Abby runs a soothing hand over the uninjured part of his face. “He’s safe. I promise. Cole picked him up with Mav. They’re going to go get ice cream and everything.”
Kane lets out a heavy breath. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Her breath stutters. “You really scared me.”
His hand moves up to cup the back of her head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m okay. I promise.”
She buries her face in his neck. We all stay silent as she pulls herself together.
Her head tilts. “I should get back to work.” She gently pats the uninjured side of Kane’s chest.
Kane’s arm tightens around her. “No, I don’t want you to go.”
“I have to go finish my shift. You aren’t the only one here today,” she says, smiling up at him from where he has her caged against him.
“And after your shift?” he asks, hope dripping from each word.
She looks over at Wyatt and me.
“Maverick’s with Cole this week, right?” Wyatt asks.
She nods.
“Are they going to keep him overnight?” I ask Abby, pointing to Kane.
“No…” Kane groans, pressing his head further into the pillow.
I shake my head. Apparently, pain meds make him a drama queen, too.
“I think he’ll be able to go home tonight,” Abby says.
“Fuck yes,” the drama queen sighs.
Wyatt and I both shake our heads and exchange a look.
This is one of those moments that make me grateful for our ability to communicate without saying a word. I know we’re on the same page.
“You could come stay at our place for a few nights,” I say.
“To help keep an eye on him,” Wyatt adds.
I know that isn’t the only reason either of us is thinking, but that’s the rationale we’re going to go with. If that’s what it takes to get her under our roof for a few nights, then so be it.
Abby bites her lip. Her eyes roam over Kane’s injuries, and she deflates. “Okay.”