But the door to the police car didn’t open. Noah pushed through the door to his house and scanned the front seat of the car. The person in the driver’s seat had long, dark hair.
Josie?
“What the hell?” With the faded blue towel keeping his private parts out of view, he walked out onto the porch. “Stay here,” he called to Caroline.
“Shoes would have been a good idea,” he muttered as he crossed the gravel to the car. He headed for the driver’s side window and knocked.
Josie turned to look up at him. Her fingers maintained a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. And her eyes . . . red and overflowing with tears. Her cheeks were wet. Even though her hands maintained a tight hold on the wheel, her arms trembled as sobs shook her body.
“Josie!” He pulled opened the driver’s side door and took a knee right there in the gravel. He didn’t care if the rocks tore his skin to pieces because one look at her face, a mask of pain and anguish covering her go-to defiant expression, and he knew. Someone had died.
Dominic.
He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek. He didn’t trust himself to pull her from the car. Even kneeling on the ground, his legs felt like Jell-O. As soon as she said the words—the ones that he fucking knew were coming—then he would need to turn away from the truck and throw up.
Gently, he turned her face toward his. “What is it, Josie?” he whispered.
“Dad got a call early this morning.” She hiccupped as the tears trickled faster and faster, rushing over her cheeks and his hand. “Dominic was injured.”
“Injured. Not dead?”
She nodded and he placed his free hand on her leg to keep from falling forward with relief.
“Not dead,” she said, her voice still trembling. “But it’s bad. They didn’t provide details. I don’t know how it happened, where he’s hurt, or where he was. Just that they’re moving him to Germany and he’ll need surgery.”
Noah squeezed her thigh. “He’s strong. Your brother will make it through surgery.”
“But the thought of him in a hospital alone.” She closed her eyes. “I’ve counted on him being the best, the strongest, the smartest ever since he left. He wanted to serve. And I trusted him to always be the one out of the two of us who would succeed. He’s the star. I know he’s fighting, going to dangerous places, but I always thought he’d be all right.”
“He’s not dead yet,” Noah said. But he knew that thought wasn’t high on the comfort meter.
“I know.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I also know all about sitting and waiting for it to happen.”
Ah hell.
“You’re not alone this time,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “And, sweetheart, you can’t give up on Dominic. He’s going to pull through.”
I need him to make it out of surgery and get his ass back here.
“I hope so,” she said, her words hollow. And yeah, he’d bet there was a fifty-fifty chance she believed them.
“Where’s your dad?” he asked. “He must be upset.” Wasn’t that a fucking understatement? This might break the police chief.
“My dad left for the airport. He packed a bag and climbed into the truck after we got the call. I don’t think he stopped to book a flight. He just planned to show up at the terminal and find a way to get to Germany. He left his patrol car behind. I was supposed to take it to the station, but I came here first.”
Suddenly aware of the gravel digging into his knee, and the fact that he was wearing a towel, which wasn’t covering much with him kneeling like this, he released her face and withdrew his hand from her leg. But before he could stand, she reached for him and grabbed ahold of his wrist.
“I’m not ready for this, Noah. I’m not tough enough to see my dad cry, or, or any of it.” She glanced around the sedan. “Right now, I don’t even think I could drive this car back to the station. It’s a miracle I made it here.”
“You should go to Germany,” he said, the words out before he’d thought them through. He wanted her here, with him. But she’d be safe in Germany. And she’d be with Dominic just in case Noah’s faith in his friend’s ability to pull through didn’t hold.
She let out a harsh, dry laugh. “I can’t afford it.”
“If the army hasn’t offered to cover your travel and lodging that’s a good sign,” Noah said. Part of him wanted to quiz her on every little detail from the early-morning call. But he didn’t want to scare her.