His voice broke then, as sheer overwhelming helplessness swamped him, weighing down his arms and legs when all he wanted to do was explode from this chair and go pound on someone until they fixed his precious little bundle of pink.
“Oh, no.” Grace’s free hand flew to her mouth in anguish. “That’s the one thing we were hoping wouldn’t happen.”
He nodded, swallowing rapidly so he could speak.
“Thanks,” he said. “For coming.”
He wouldn’t have called her. But now that she was here Grace was exactly what he’d needed, and he never would have taken steps to make it happen. What if she’d said no? But she hadn’t, and he didn’t care about anything other than sitting here waiting on news about his daughter with the woman he loved. Still. In spite of everything.
If only it made a difference.
Eleven
Grace normally loved being at Royal Memorial because 99 percent of the time, she was there because someone was giving birth. That was a joyous event worthy of celebration. Waiting on news about the health and well-being of Kyle’s baby was hands down one of the most stressful things she’d ever done.
At the same time, it was turning into a community event, the kind that strengthened ties and bonded people together. And she hadn’t let go of Kyle’s hand once. People seemed unsurprised to see them together. Not that they were “together.” But they were easy with each other in a way that probably looked natural to others.
Inside, she was a bit of a mess.
How many times had she replayed that last conversation with Kyle in her head, wondering if she’d been too harsh, too unforgiving? If her standards were too high? She’d finally had to shut it down, telling herself ten times a day that she’d stood up for what she wanted for a reason. Kyle wasn’t a safe bet for her heart. He’d proven that over and over.
But being here with him in his time of need brought all the questions back in a rush. Because it didn’t feel as if they were through. It felt as if they were exactly where they were supposed to be—together.
It was all very confusing. She just hoped that supporting him during this crisis didn’t give him the wrong idea—that she might be willing to forget her standards. Forget that he’d stomped on her heart again the moment she’d let her guard down.
Grace had lost track of the hour and only glanced at the clock when Kyle’s stomach grumbled. Just as she was about to offer to get him something to eat, Dr. Reese appeared at the entrance to the waiting room, looking worn but smiling.
The entire room ceased to talk. Move. Breathe.
She and Kyle both tightened their grip on each other’s hands simultaneously. When he rose, she followed him to the edge of the waiting room, where Dr. Reese was waiting to talk to Kyle privately. She stepped closer to Kyle in silent support, just in case the news wasn’t as good as the expression on Dr. Reese’s face might indicate.
“I’m Dr. Reese.” Parker held out his hand for Kyle to shake. “Your daughter is stable. I was able to bring the fever down, which is a good sign, but I don’t know if it adversely affected her heart yet. I need to keep her overnight for observation and run some more tests in the morning after we’ve both had some sleep. She’s a fighter, and I have high hopes that this is only a minor setback with no long-term effects. But I’ll know more in the morning.”
“Call me Kyle. Formality is for strangers,” Kyle said, and his relieved exhale mirrored Grace’s. “And any man who saved Maddie’s life is a friend of mine. Can I see her?”
Parker nodded instantly. “Sure, of course. She’s asleep right now, but there’s no reason you can’t stay with her, if you want—”
“Yes,” Kyle broke in fiercely. “I’ll be there until you kick me out.”
That meant Grace wasn’t going anywhere, either. If there were rules about that sort of thing, someone could complain to the hospital board, the mayor and Sheriff Battle. Tomorrow. No one was going to stand between her and the man who needed her.
Unless Kyle didn’t want her there.
Would be weird to spend the night in the hospital with a man she’d told to get lost?
But then he turned to her, his expression flickering between cautious optimism and fatigue. “I’m glad you’re here.”
And that decided it. It still might be weird for her to stay, but he needed her, and she could no sooner ignore that than she could magically fix Maddie’s frightening health problems.
They gave the others a rundown of the situation and implored them to spend the night in comfort at their homes with a promise to call or text everyone with more news in the morning. With hugs and more murmured encouragement, one by one, the full waiting room emptied out. Kyle smiled, shaking hands and accepting hugs from the women, while Grace watched him out of the corner of her eye to ensure he was doing okay.