Series: Silver Spoon MC Series by Nichole Rose
Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 38632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 193(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 193(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Troian hops up from her seat beside Gage and hurries toward me.
She leads me toward a chair in the corner, gently urging me to sit.
I plop down, thrusting my hands into the pockets of Tate's oversized hoodie. I'm not sure if it's really freezing cold in here or if it's just me, but I feel like a block of ice sits on my chest. I close my eyes, imagining his arms around me instead of his hoodie. His heart beating beneath my ear, his hands running through my hair. Some ridiculous statement tumbling from his lips. He's probably a certified genius, but he says stupid stuff all the time, just to make me smile.
Even though he's in the operating room with Scout, I lean on him and his strength, letting him get me through this.
"Hi." Cash's wife, Hadley, slips into the seat beside me.
"Hey," I whisper, giving her the approximation of a smile. My leg bounces with nervous energy. It feels like it's been centuries since Jules called with the last update. I know it hasn't been that long, but time passes in dribbles, even with Tate's brothers here.
The sun rose hours ago, and then morning gave way to noon, which is slowly trickling by. The hands on the clock inch closer and closer to one. Tate's brothers haven't moved an inch. The waiting room is overrun with handsome men sprawled across uncomfortable chairs. Every single one of them looks like they're prepared to sit here as long as it takes. Trying not to cry in front of them is taking all of my concentration.
A giant crack opened up in my heart this morning. One side of it is crippled with worry. The other side though…seeing these men here now silently waiting for news about my niece…that side is stitching itself back together little by little.
Hadley is beautiful. Curvy, like me, with aqua eyes and freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her long blonde hair is up in a ponytail, keeping it out of her way. Like me, she's dressed in leggings and a hoodie. "Are you holding up okay?"
"Yes." I exhale a breath. "No."
She slips her hand into mine and squeezes. "It's terrifying, isn't it? Not knowing, I mean?"
"Yeah, it is," I say.
"I was in an accident a few weeks ago," she says, her voice soft so it doesn't carry. She lays her free hand on her stomach. "I'm pregnant with twins. We were afraid I was going to lose the babies. I still worry about it, but the twins are doing great so far." Her lips curve into a tiny smile. "Having Hands…um, Tate around helps. He's an amazing doctor. Your niece is in the best care possible with him."
"I know," I say, grateful to her for saying it because she's right. There isn't a single person in this world I trust more with Scout than I trust Tate. I just wish Jules would hurry and call with another update. It's been at least an hour and half, maybe longer.
"Cash told me what happened to your sister," Hadley says. "I'm so sorry, Samara."
"Thank you," I whisper.
"When Scout is better, if you'd like, we'd like to do something to honor her…I mean, if that's okay with you," she hurries to add. "What she did was really incredible, you know? I know you didn't really get a chance to celebrate her life the way you deserve to celebrate her. We want to help you do that. If it's okay?" She chews on her bottom lip like she's worried she may have overstepped and I'm going to freak out.
"I'd like that," I whisper around the lump in my throat as emotion courses through me. Siobhan's funeral was a sad, rushed affair. It was me, Troian, a preacher, and the detective assigned to her case. There was no time for the celebration she deserved, but I planned to do something more fitting after Scout was okay. If Hadley and Tate's brothers want to help, I'm not going to tell them no. It's a touching gesture. Aside from Tate, they're the first people I've met who haven't immediately assumed the worst about her.
That realization makes me squirm. For a week and a half, I've been so upset whenever doctors looked down their noses at me, silently judging Siobhan without knowing her story. They assumed the worst about her without even knowing what she went through, without knowing her. But I did the exact same thing to Tate and his brothers.
"I'm such a hypocrite," I say, feeling about two inches tall.
Hadley looks at me in question.
"I was…a jerk about MCs," I admit, staring at my hands. "I judged them so harshly after what happened to Siobhan. But you guys have been so good to me and Scout. Tate has been so good to us."