Dylan glanced around the room, his gaze taking in the entire family. “I’m really grateful you’re all here, but I think you can go home and wait for a call. If they stop the contractions, there’s no baby tonight, but we could still be here for the duration. At least until she’s stable.”
“Thank you, Dylan.” Emma kissed him on the cheek. “Go back to my daughter and tell her I’m with her in spirit.”
“Thank you,” he said in a gruff voice. He inclined his head and walked out.
“I’m not leaving,” Emma immediately said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Michael, her fiancé, a man Tyler and all of his siblings had come to respect, took her hand. “You need to rest. What good will you be to Olivia if she needs you if you’re too exhausted to stand?”
“He’s right,” Ian added. “I’m taking Riley home too. Rainey’s got a cold and we want to check on her.”
“I’ll stay,” Tyler said, knowing he wouldn’t stop worrying just because he went home.
“I’ll stay with you,” Ella said, her tone indicating she wasn’t going to let him argue.
She’d be surprised to know he hadn’t planned on it. Not only did he not want to be alone, he wanted her by his side.
“Okay, then you call me no matter what time of night it is,” his mother said. “Good news, bad news, I want to be the first to know.”
“I promise,” Tyler told her.
As everyone gathered their things, the door to the waiting room opened once more.
Tyler glanced up, shocked to see his father walk in. Wearing his usual suit and tie, immaculately dressed, and not a hair out of place, he strode in like he owned the place.
Tyler made his way across the room in a heartbeat. “What are you doing here?” he asked, blocking his father from entering any farther.
He felt, rather than saw, Ian flank him on his left side. And though he appreciated his brother’s support, Tyler wanted, no, he needed to handle this on his own. After what he’d witnessed the other night and the way his father had treated him over the years, standing up for his sister, for his family, felt personal.
Robert narrowed his gaze. “My daughter’s here.”
Tyler ground his molars together in anger and frustration. The man’s gall knew no bounds. Each sibling had a reason for having pulled further and further away from their father in recent years, and no one wanted him around in a time of crisis.
“Who told you Olivia is here?” Ian asked.
“Excuse me?” Robert straightened his shoulders, his defenses up.
“Who told you Olivia is here?” Tyler repeated Ian’s question.
Because he knew for damned sure no one in this room had made that phone call. Robert Dare was the last thing his stressed-out family needed.
“Stuart Jameson called me.”
“A hospital trustee,” Ian muttered.
Robert rolled his shoulders back. “Word travels fast when a major beneficiary of the hospital has a relative admitted,” he said in an arrogant tone. “However, one of you should have informed me.”
“Why?” Tyler asked.
“Because I’m her father. I’m your father,” he said angrily.
“When it’s convenient,” Tyler spat. “Like when you needed bone marrow. Or you need to guilt one of us into doing your bidding.” He stepped closer and whispered so only his father heard, “Or you need us to keep your sordid secrets.”
“That’s uncalled for.” Robert raised his voice, causing Ian to place a hand on Tyler’s shoulder in a show of solidarity.
“I’m calling it like I see it, Dad. Without running down your sins against each of us individually, let’s focus on what’s important. Olivia is fighting to hold on to her baby. Olivia, whose last birthday party you didn’t bother showing up for. You couldn’t even be bothered to call. So if you’re here now, there’s a reason. One that benefits only you.”
“Tyler!” his mother said in a concerned voice from behind him.