Just as Trace was about to demand that his mom get the fuck out of that room before he helped her out, Pauly spoke up.
“Actually, since she has a lawyer now, the police can’t actually take her statement until Mr. Ludlow gets here.”
Before Trace’s mom could argue any further, a nurse entered the room and shooed them all out so she could get Rae’s vitals. A doctor came in as they were leaving.
Trace really wanted to stick around and hear what they had to say, but Claire Ann assured him they’d get briefed after the exam was completed.
He stepped out into the hall where Kylie was fighting to keep her head up on a bench in the hallway. Next to her sat several muffins and juice boxes.
“They hire you to work here yet, Kylie Lou?”
She smiled weakly up at him. “Something like that. I snagged some stuff for Rae and anyone else who wants it. Everything okay?”
Trace lowered himself down onto the bench next to her. “It will be.”
She let her head drop onto his shoulder. “Good. I knew it would be.”
For a moment they just sat there together, enjoying the comfort, both of them breathing easier since Rae was out of the woods.
But then Trace’s phone buzzed.
“You been blowing up, too?” Kylie nodded toward the pocket his phone was lighting up.
“Yeah. You?”
She pulled hers out and sat it on the bench beside her. The battery was nearly dead. “Mmhm. I’m probably banned from the state of Oklahoma for life.”
Guilt crashed into him. They’d been halfway to the show in her home state when all hell had broken loose.
“Baby, go to the house and rest. Then contact your PR lady and tell her I had a family emergency and we canceled the show out of respect for my family situation. See what she can do about rescheduling. They can get someone to replace me on the last leg of the tour.”
She shook her head. “It can wait. It can all wait. I don’t want to leave you.”
“Kylie, I promise, everything will be fine. And honestly, the longer you’re gone, the more suspicion it will raise and the more people will start sniffing around. The last thing I want is for Rae to get caught in a media shitstorm because she’s my sister.” He didn’t add the part about the alcohol. He was still partially in denial about that fact and he knew if it got out, even from a member of the hospital staff, then Rae would get dragged through the mud and she could forget her fresh start in college.
He watched as she folded into herself. Her body began to quiver against him as she fought off tears.
“But—”
“Listen to me. I want you here more than anything. But right now, you need to do everything you can to get back on the road so no one comes to see what’s such a big deal we both left the tour. It’s what’s best for all of us.”
She nodded. “Okay. If that’s what you want. But will you please give Rae my new number and tell her to text me if she needs anything?”
“If you’re sure about that. You know she’ll probably be texting you with a nail polish-related emergency five seconds after I give it to her.”
Kylie smiled at him and it was the first tinge of happiness he’d felt in three days. “I’m okay with that. Tell her I’m on standby.”
He looked into the eyes he loved and pressed his forehead to hers. “I have no idea how we got here, and I would do anything to make this better for Rae, but I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have you back in my life, to have you here. To have you…”
Those gorgeous blues widened, and she brushed her lips against his right there in the hospital hallway. “Remember what you said about the farm? About how I was always there, even when I wasn’t?”
“Mmhm,” he mumbled against her mouth.
“Well, I think it’s the same way for having me in your life. And having you in mine. You’re a part of me. What we have will always be a part of our lives.”
“Amen for that,” he said, just before he claimed her mouth as his. And tonight, he had every intention of claiming the rest of her.
“IF WE keep this up, we’ll have to find a supply closet soon.”
She was kidding, but Trace pulled back from their kiss. “Good point. And not altogether a bad idea.”
As thoroughly exhausted as she was, her pulse began to race. An overwhelming and all encompassing truth began forcing its way to the forefront of her mind.
What they had—it was so much more powerful than each of them as individuals. Together they could try and survive it, stand together and welcome the pleasure and the pain of the ups and downs that would fill their lives for as long as they were together.