Chapter 54 #2
Hayes turned to look at a lady approaching, one who had a kind smile on her face as she made her way up to us.
“This is a friend of mine, Griffin. And she just happens to be a doctor. Would it be okay if she checked you out so we can get you back to your mom?”
My son studied the woman. I guessed there was a war waging in his head.
A woman had just kidnapped him, and yet he wanted to get home to his momma, so he was struggling.
Then the young doctor—she seemed young anyway for already being a doctor—spoke, and my son let out another giggle that had my heart thrumming.
“Hey there, buddy.” The woman gave my boy a soft smile. “My name is Rainey.”
When his giggles stopped, he said, “My Auntie River and Auntie Lake would like your name.”
The Rainey woman flashed him a bright smile. “Well, I like their names too.”
Everyone watched their exchange with smiles on their faces, including me.
My son was strong, smart, happy, and caring.
After everything that had happened to him, I prayed it hadn’t dimmed an ounce of his remarkable personality.
Seeing him interact with the good doctor gave me hope he would get through the emotional trauma that may be lurking in his head after the ordeal, even if it took time.
“My mom’s name is Patience,” he told the woman. “When I get hurt, she is super patient and really gentle. Are you that way too?”
Some emotion I couldn’t quite decipher—maybe sadness—flashed across Rainey’s face before she took a small step forward, careful not to crowd my son. “I promise I will be all of those things and take good care of you so you can get out of here really fast, okay?”
Griffin turned his head to look at me, and we stared at one another. “Will you stay with me, Daddy?”
“Not leaving you for a second, Champ. I will be right by you the whole time.”
He let out a soft sigh, then turned back to the doctor. Griffin squirmed a bit to get down, and I let him slide to the ground. Keeping one hand in mine, he put his other out for Rainey, and she took it, a medical bag in her other one.
“You can check me out,” he told her. “I really want to see my mom and check on my baby brother or sister.”
Her gaze came to mine in question.
“My wife is pregnant, but we don’t know the gender yet,” I told her.
“Aww, that’s exciting,” she commented, but her attention was back on my son.
She began asking him questions as we walked to the back of her vehicle, where she pulled up the hatch, and my son began to come into himself—a chatterbox. By the time he’d been checked out and cleared for travel with only the bruises on his arm, I was sure my son had made a new friend.
Making friends wherever he went, whether you were a baby or aging like Gramps, was one of his most amazing qualities. He got his friendly ways from his momma for sure.
“We can come back, right, Dad? I told Rainey we would.”
God, he was something else. Hayes and the guys had kept close, and they wandered the rest of the way toward us, seeing we had finished up. My son carried on as everyone listened, but I saw Gyth on the phone, and my eyes met his in question.
“Everyone is good,” he said, giving me a nod.
I’d wondered if he’d been on the phone with Braxton or someone at the hospital.
He’d know exactly what I was seeking, and his information was also exactly what I needed to hear.
But I also knew that until I saw her with my own eyes and those same words came from her sweet mouth, I wouldn’t fully relax.
It was a start, though.
“I want to see the waterfall and show it to Momma,” my son went on, grabbing my full attention once again. He glanced over at the cabin, a small shudder shaking his tiny frame. “And we can stay in a cabin, but not that one,” he pointed at where he’d been held captive, “or we can stay at the lodge.”
“The lodge sounds nice,” I told him as he sat in the back of Rainey’s rig, his legs dangling over the side.
“Rainey said a celeb…” he huffed, frustrated, and looked to the doctor.
“Celebrity,” she told him, smiling. “Luna Vale owns the lodge,” she added, looking at me.
I wondered if that was where Harland would be if he took the job. It would be interesting to see how that one turned out and I had no doubt our ladies would keep an eye on that situation from afar, the romantic group of meddlers they were.
“I see, that’s very cool.” I looked at my son, and he met my eyes. “Luna is a singer, Champ.”
He smiled big, looking not at me now, but at Rainey once again. “My momma is a singer too. Even my daddy sings, and he is teaching me a song to sing with him to play at the wedding.”
Ruffling his hair, I laughed. “That was a secret, dude.”
Griffin covered his mouth with his hand for a second, then dropped it. “Oops, sorry.”
“A wedding, huh? That sounds exciting,” Rainey told him.
He nodded quickly. “Yup, they are already married but doing it again for everyone.”
All the guys chuckled.
“That’s nice,” she told him, but once again something akin to sadness lurked in her gaze.
She was just good at covering up and brushing it off because the woman kept on going.
Then she made a motion with her fingers as if zipping her lips.
“And your secret is safe with me; I won’t tell anyone about your plans. ”
“Thank you.” Griffin looked back at me. “Can we go see Mommy now, but come back for the waterfall?”
That was when it finally sunk in how peaceful the place could be under different circumstances, and I wondered why, having only lived a few hours away all my life, I’d never been to Teardrop Falls.
I could hear the big trees swaying a bit in the summer breeze, the birds' last tweets as they readied for bed, the frogs croaking, and the crickets chiming in. I could also hear the trickling sound of water somewhere.
“We definitely need to bring your mom back here,” I told him.
His smile brightened, but his eyes were beyond tired now. It was time to go, and we both needed to set our sights on Patience—sooner, rather than later.
“Thank you for coming out,” I told Rainey. “I really appreciate it, and you made Griffin feel comfortable. That means a lot.”
“You’re welcome. You guys have a safe trip back,” she told me, shaking the hand I extended to her. Then she looked at Griffin. “I look forward to seeing you again.”
Letting go of my hand, she placed hers gently on his arm.
“You can hug me if you want,” he told her.
“He’s a hugger,” Lyric said from beside me, smiling at his nephew.
Rainey leaned in and gave my son that hug. I heard her sigh and wondered if I’d ever know her story because I was sure there was one to be told. When she pulled back, she looked at him. “Hugs are good, right, little man?”
“Yup. My mom says they can make a lot of things better.”
“Your mom sounds like a smart lady,” she told him.
He nodded his head. “She’s super-duper smart.”
That got another bout of laughter from the men. I turned to Hayes and thrust out my hand. I’d worried about him coming around at all, but the dude was a good guy.
“Thanks for all your help.”
He shook my hand. “You bet. You take good care of your family and come back to see us,” he said.
“I plan to do both.”
Lyric clasped me on the shoulder. “You ready to go see your wife?”
The ache still sat heavy in my gut, a longing so sharp it bordered on pain. I needed to see my girl, to hold her in my arms again… and if we were lucky, to hear my baby’s heartbeat.
“More than ever,” I told my brother, picking Griffin up in my arms.
Gyth and Kace led the way toward our vehicle after saying their goodbyes as well; Lyric followed suit, and with one last goodbye to the sheriff and the nice doctor, we headed to the car that would take us to the woman I loved with all my heart.
We drove, and we drove. Griffin slept the whole way—having been out for the count the second we got going. I wasn’t sure I’d taken my eyes off him for more than a few seconds at a time in the few hours it took us to get to our destination.
By the time the hospital came into view, my son was awake in my arms again. And as we made our way to Patience’s room, I was buzzing like a live wire.
The anticipation built, the need to be with her grew stronger, and the determination to always protect my family was cemented deep within me.
When I pushed open her hospital room door and she turned her tired, beautiful brown eyes on me, a gasp seeping from her lush pink lips, my world righted itself in a way I’d never known it could again.
Setting Griffin down, he ran to his mom’s side, and I followed. It didn’t matter if some of the ladies were still there, or the guys were outside in the hall; I only had eyes for Patience.
Her hand lay protectively over her belly, a soft smile forming on her gorgeous face.
I picked our son up, and gently set him next to his mother, who reached one arm up and pulled him down next to her. I watched as they cried together; she kissed his head, and breathed him in.
Then her gaze focused on me, and I didn’t wait another second to round to the other side of the bed. I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then to her lips. Laying my palm on top of her hand, where she rested it on her tummy, a huge sigh burst from deep inside me.
“Our family is together,” she whispered.
We’re going to be okay.
“We’ll always be together,” I whispered back.