by Jenna Jacob
Not me.
Yeah, leaving Vegas was the smartest move he could have ever made. While he wasn’t the least bit in love with Ivy, she’d definitely rattled him. Noble had never felt such a bizarre and powerful connection with any woman before.
Unwilling to ponder the meaning of his strange attraction to the woman, Noble shook off the prickly sensations assaulting him and focused on the frightening unknown unfolding back home. While both his mom and Sawyer had assured him that Nate would be fine, their confidence did little to quell the ball-shrinking fear unfurling inside him.
The flight to Dallas and the subsequent hour layover were blessedly uneventful. As promised, Sawyer had left him an update via voice mail. Nate was still in surgery. The fact that they hadn’t been able to patch him up quickly only sent the teeth of fear and worry sinking deeper into his soul.
As he finally landed in Abilene, Noble checked his phone, but there was nothing. Not a fucking word. Crawling out of his skin, he grabbed another cab and raced to the hospital.
With duffle bag in hand, he followed the signs to the surgery waiting room. When he turned the corner and saw his grim-faced family and Gina, seated in a semicircle, Noble’s gut churned. The tension in the air was strung as tight as a bow and as thick as molasses.
“Is Nate still in surgery?” His tone was ripe with fear.
Everyone turned their heads and gaped at him for a split second before his mom, with tears in her eyes, ran straight into his arms and hugged him tight.
“What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay in Vegas.” Instead of anger, Sawyer’s voice was slathered in relief.
“I couldn’t stay. I had to—” A lump of emotion clogged his throat. Noble swallowed tightly. “Be with my family.”
“I’m glad you’re here, son.” A ghost of a smile slid over his dad’s face as he ate up the distance between them.
“Me, too,” he replied as his dad enveloped both Noble and Nola in his arms.
“How’d you get out of best man duty?” Ned asked.
He shrugged and took a big bite of crow. “Y’all were right. Harvey is an obnoxious little bitch.”
Sawyer chuckled as, one by one, his brother’s and sisters-in-law lined up to hug and welcome Noble home. All except Gina, who remained in her seat and merely sent Noble a weak smile before dropping her gaze back to the well-worn carpet.
She’s hurting something fierce.
“Did you get something to eat on the plane?” his mom asked.
“A couple bags of pretzels.”
“Oh, dear. That won’t do. I’m sure the cafeteria is closed by now, but there’s some vending machines down the hall. What can I get you, sweetheart?”
“A soda would be great. Thanks, Ma.”
As she left the room, the taut undercurrent of tension dropped about a billion levels. Gina’s shoulders slumped as she relaxed and stood before announcing she was going across the hall to the restroom.
“We’ll be right here, honey.” Norman nodded.
When Gina left the room, his brothers let out a collective sigh, telling Noble what he’d already suspected; the friction was between Gina and his mom.
“Okay, somebody tell me what’s going on between those two,” he demanded, jerking a nod toward the doorway.
Sawyer shot a furtive look at their dad, who simply nodded.
“When your mom saw Nate on the ground and all his injuries, she freaked out and ripped into Gina,” Ned supplied.
“She was nasty, rude, and insulting. It was damn ugly,” Sawyer added.
“I’m not defending my wife, but she was caught up in the fright of seeing her child hurt so badly. I don’t think she truly harbors any ill—”
“Oh, yes, she does,” Sawyer spat. “We all saw how she reacted the other night at dinner.”
“Your mom will come around. Just give her some time. She’s just worried that Nate will get hurt.” Norman heaved a heavy sigh.
“I have no idea what she said, but someone”—Noble stared pointedly at his dad—“needs to make her understand that we’re grown men, not little boys. We’ve lived through scrapes, bruises, and stitches. We’re more than capable of surviving a broken heart or two if we have to.”
“I know, son…I know.”
“I mean it. Gina doesn’t need Mom’s shit on top of what LaCroix did to her and her worry over Nate. It’s got to stop.” Noble scrubbed a hand through his hair.
A minute later, Gina returned and sat back down in her chair.
Upset and embarrassed that his mother was being such a shrew, Noble dropped down into the chair beside Gina and draped his arm around her shoulders. “How you holding up, buttercup?”
She answered in a soft scoff. “I’ve been better. I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if I hadn’t found him. He’d still be there…dying on the cold, hard ground.” Her voice cracked and her chin quivered.
Noble pulled her in close. Gina dropped her head to his shoulder as he gave her a gentle squeeze and pressed a platonic kiss on the top of her head. “The important thing is that you did find him, and he’s getting fixed up. That’s all that matters. Right?”
Gina didn’t answer, simply jerked her head as her body shook in silent sobs. He didn’t shush her or try to turn the tide of her tears. He simply held her as she fell apart and pinned his brothers with a critical glare. None of them had been consoling Gina. They’d left her sitting alone like a piranha.
His mom returned, narrowing her eyes when she saw the woman wrapped in Noble’s arms. Fury lined Nola’s face and Noble realized then the reason his brothers had opted to leave Gina alone for fear of getting on their mom’s bad side.
Pussies.
Nola’s lips thinned to a tight line as she shoved the can of soda at him. Noble was damn glad Gina’s head was bent, sparing her the disapproval written all over his mom’s face.
“I doubt your brother would be happy with you pawing his…woman.”
A rage he’d never felt toward his mother before erupted like a geyser inside him.
If she had been a man, fists would be flying.
Noble didn’t give two shits about staying on his mom’s good side. The woman was totally out of line.
He lifted his chin and sent her an icy smile. “He’d be a whole lot more pissed if he knew his entire family chose to ignore her. It’s disgraceful that a family that bestows compassion for a living can’t manage to show even an ounce and is forcing Gina to deal with this nightmare alone.”
Gina’s whole body tensed. “Don’t,” she whispered so softly he barely heard her.
Ignoring her and letting his tongue fly free, Noble skimmed a scowl over his entire family. “How proud do you think Nate would be of the Grayson clan right now?”
Duly chastised, his brothers lowered their heads. Nola’s face burst crimson red and she opened her mouth but quickly snapped it shut. She was dying to lash out at him or take a switch to his backside like she’d done when he was a child. But there wasn’t any punishment she could hand down, because he’d only spoken the truth.
Instead, she inhaled a deep breath and turned to his dad, who was wearing a grim expression. Norman opened his arms. “Come and sit beside me, Momma.”
“I’m tried of sitting,” she snapped like a petulant child. “When is that doctor going to come out and tell us something?”
Norman stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug. “When they’re done fixing him up. Why don’t we take a short walk, maybe step outside for a breath of fresh air?”
“No,” she barked as she wiggled from his grasp. “I want to be here when the doctor comes out and tells me that I can see my boy. It’s this waiting that’s driving me crazy.”
“Me, too,” Gina whispered.
Twenty interminable minutes later, a balding, gray-haired doctor dressed in green scrubs entered the room.
“Y’all must be the Grayson family?” The physician had a thick southern drawl.
“Yes.” His
dad stood and extended his hand. “Norman Grayson. I’m Nate’s father.”
“Pleasure to meet you, sir. Ronald Cason,” the doctor announced. “I head up the orthopedic team here.”
“It’s taken so long. Is Nate…?” Nola’s voice cracked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry for your wait. The surgery took longer than we expected. But Nate did just fine all through the lengthy procedure,” the doctor began as he sat down and made eye contact with the whole family. “Aside from the visible broken bones I know y’all saw when you found him, X-rays showed he has a couple of fractured ribs as well, but no punctured lungs and no internal bleeding of any kind. We patched up his ulna with a basic bone realignment and sutured up the laceration. But the damage to his tibia was a bit more involved. Somehow Nate managed to break the bone in two places. He’s got a few plates and screws in him now, but I was able to connect both breaks. There was some interruption of blood flow to his foot because of the breaks, but when we discovered a weak pulse in his ankle, I quickly called in a consult from the head of our vascular team before we performed any amputation.”
“Amputation?” Gina gasped, trembling like a leaf.
Noble’s heart sputtered before slamming against his ribs.
“Oh, dear Lord,” Norman whispered as he turned a deathly shade of white. He swallowed tightly and cleared his throat. “W-were you able to save my son’s foot?”
“Yes. Yes, sir, we did,” the doctor assured with an understanding expression. “Dr. Terrell performed an angioplasty. Basically, he inserted several tiny balloons into Nate’s blood vessels and opened them up, returning the blood flow to your son’s ankle. It’s like a Roto-Rooter for veins.”
A ripple of soft, relieved chuckles rolled through the room, knocking the oppressive tension down a notch or two.
“Thank god and thank you.” Nola sniffed quickly wiping at her tears.
“You’re welcome, ma’am.” Doctor Carson smiled. “Before I came out to talk to y’all, I checked on Nate. His foot is nice and pink now.”
While his mom and dad pelted the doctor with questions, Noble melted back against his chair as fear bled from his veins. When he gave Gina a tight hug, she glanced up at him with a watery smile. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and gave her a wink.
“We’re going to keep Nate here with us in recovery with us a few more hours. After that, he’ll be moved upstairs to the critical care unit for a couple of days. We stitched up the cut above his eye, but neurology will want to do a full evaluation on him once he wakes up.”
“Evaluation for what?” Sawyer asked, worry etching his face.
“Just standard procedure. It’s my understanding that Nate was unconscious for quite some time, is that right?”
“Yes,” Gina softly replied. “When I told him we’d been looking for him all night and all day, he was shocked. He had no idea he’d been knocked out and lying on the ground for that long.”
Dr. Cason nodded. “Well, I’m not an expert when it comes to brains, but I suspect he’s got a significant concussion. Lying on the ground, huh? That explains why we had to clean out so much dirt and debris when he first got here. I’ll order some additional antibiotics for his IV…”
Noble knew the doctor was referring to an intravenous tube, but his mere mention of IV sent images of Ivy to hijack his brain. Memories of the vocal and responsive ball-churning strawberry-blonde with soulful eyes, and lush lips charged through his head. Both heads, in fact; his cock began to stir and grow. His hands itched to glide over her silky, smooth flesh…to grip her waist and slide her up and down his dick again. A shiver slid through him and he inwardly cursed his tenacious testosterone before forcing visuals of the sexy vixen aside.
“When can we see him?” Nola anxiously asked.
“Y’all can go back and take a peek at him now if you’d like. But please, only a couple of you at a time, and keep your visits brief.”
His parents anxiously followed the doctor out of the waiting room.
“Thank fuck.” Sawyer exhaled deeply, snaking a hand to Brea’s nape and drawing her to his lips. Instead of sharing a kiss, Ned squeezed his April’s hand as a tight smile passed between them.
Noble didn’t know what had caused such an awkward chasm to form between the couple, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to ask.
“Will you go back with me to see Nate after the rest of family is done?” Gina asked quietly.
“Of course I will, but we’re not waiting. You and I are going back next,” Noble announced loudly enough for his siblings to hear.
He was prepared for an avalanche of blowback, but none of his brothers even batted an eye. They simply nodded in approval. A grim but grateful smile tugged Noble’s mouth.
Several long minutes later, his dad—who looked disturbingly shaken—ushered his sobbing mother back into the waiting room.
“Jesus, is Nate in that bad of shape?” Norris asked in a hushed tone.
“He’s hooked up to a bunch of tubes and beeping machines, son. We’re not used to Nate being so…fragile.” Norman cleared his throat. “He’s always been like all the rest of you boys, robust and larger than life.”
“As soon as he heals, he’ll be that way again, Dad. Don’t you worry,” Sawyer assured.
Norman nodded. “You and Brea can go back and see him for a minute.”
Sawyer shook his head, declining the man’s offer. “Gina and Noble are going next.”
Nola scowled but kept her mouth shut. Cordoning off his irritation, Noble cupped Gina’s elbow and escorted her from the waiting room.
“Gretchen running the bar for you tonight?” Noble asked as they made their way to a set of double doors.
“No. When Nash came running in last night saying Nate’s horse had returned but he wasn’t on it, I kicked out all the customers, locked up tight, and headed to the ranch to help look for him. I haven’t been back since.”
The fact that Gina had closed the doors on her only source of income to help find Nate spoke volumes. She loved him…loved him a lot.
“I sure hope my knuckleheaded brother knows how lucky he is.”
“I’m the lucky one. I just hope he’ll forgive me.”
“Forgive you for what?”
“We…we had another fight. I-I told him I needed some space.”
Noble’s feet came to a stuttering halt. “I’m confused. You don’t love him?”
“No. I do,” she hastily assured. “I-I’m having a little trouble dealing with everything that happened with LaCroix.”
“Then you need to talk to someone, darlin’. Someone who can help you heal from all the shit that prick did to you, so you can put it behind you and live a happy life.”
“That’s what Nate said I needed to do and…what our fight was about.”
“You think you’re above talking to a professional about your problems?”
Gina shook her head. A pensive expression lined her face. “It’s not that. I-I… It’s a long story.”
“You’ll have to share it with me then.” Her eyes grew wide with fear. “Sometime when you’re ready.”
Her head moved in a barely perceptible nod. “I need to see Nate.”
“Me, too,” Noble concurred and began walking again.
Though he’d tried to prepare himself, nothing readied him for the sight of Nate hooked up to so many tubes and wires. His strong limbs were covered in heavy white plaster, and his leg was suspended in a sling, attached to a pulley system bolted into the bed.
Noble’s gut pitched.
A strangled sob slid from Gina’s lips. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gently combed her fingers through Nate’s dark hair. Bending, she pressed her face to the pillow next to his ear. “I’m here, my love.”
Noble blinked back the tears stinging his eyes and choked down the lump in his throat. After making his way to the other side of the bed, he threaded his fingers through Nate’s undamaged hand.
He didn’t bother to use his voice. Inst
ead, Noble relied on their telepathic twin line.
We’re all here with you, Nate. Rest and heal for the family, and for Gina. She loves you, bro…loves you more than you’ll ever know. We’ll watch over her until you’re back on your feet. As always, we’ve got your back. You just focus on getting well. I love you, man.
The need to fill Nate with enough strength and encouragement to battle his way back from his injuries outweighed the mystery of whether the drugs they’d given him interfered with their twin bond. Hopefully, Nate had received his message.
“Rest and get well, baby…I love you…love you with all my heart,” Gina whispered.
Told you so, Noble mentally taunted.
A fragment of a tiny smile curled a corner of Nate’s mouth.
“I think he can hear you, darlin’.”
He’d barely uttered the words when Nate feebly squeezed Noble’s hand.
His heart soared. Grinning, he wiped the tears from his eyes. I’m glad you can hear me. I heard you all the way out in Vegas. That’s why I’m here, brother…here to help you fight your way back to us.
Gina pressed a gentle kiss to Nate’s cheek and nuzzled her face against his neck.
“I love you,” Noble choked out in an emotional whisper. Nate exhaled heavily as he squeezed Noble’s hand once more. “Rest now. We’ll come back to see you as soon as we can.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean the things I said. I do love you, Nate. I’m so sorry. I’ll never make you doubt that again.” Gina sobbed as she kissed his cheek once more before lifting her head and wiping her tears.
Though his brother was a mess, tendrils of hope melted the icy smoke of worry from Noble’s soul.
As he escorted Gina back to the waiting room, he sensed her spirits had lifted as well.
“Are you going back to Haven tonight with the others?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not leaving until Nate opens his eyes. I need him to hear my apology and pray I’ll have the chance to feel his lips on mine again.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll be all over you like a pair of new boots at a thrift store, darlin’.” Noble chuckled. “Sawyer said Mom and Dad have a hotel room already booked. Are you going to be staying at the same place they are?”