He opened the front door and saw the ambulance and the sheriff’s patrol car pull up in the driveway.
“Michael and Harry took bullets for me.”
“They are heroes in my eyes, baby.”
“Yes, and so are you and Chuck in mine.”
They told the EMTs where Harry and Michael were just as Austin ran in.
“Danielle, I just got word from Justin,” the sheriff said. “He found your mother. She’s alive.”
* * * *
Holding the book Pauline had given her, Danielle stared at the door with the big red sign that read “Surgery-Hospital Staff Only.” Chuck and Lance sat on either side of her in the waiting room.
They weren’t alone. Michael’s injury wasn’t life threatening, but Harry’s was. The room was packed with people concerned for Harry.
Carlotta and Deuce had come to give their support. Mackenzie and her two husbands, Wyatt and Wade, walked in carrying coffee for everyone.
Austin held his eight-month-old daughter, Carol, who was asleep in his arms. His four brothers sat around the room, too.
The Wilde brothers’ wife, Jessie, was in Michael’s room. No wonder, since Jessie had known him since they were children. Although Michael had been sedated, the medication wasn’t working well. The nurse had told them that his anxiety about Harry was impeding the shot from working fully. Jessie had decided to remain with him until Dr. Champion came out of surgery with news.
“Quite a crowd,” Lance said.
“That’s why I love this place.” Wilde had taken her in. She’d been nothing more than a castaway, a lost soul. This was her town now. “People here genuinely care about one another.”
“I’m glad this wing was completed earlier than expected.” Charly, whose baby was due to arrive in less than a month, was the driving force behind Wilde getting the new hospital. “The trip to Elko would’ve been too far and too long.”
The Strong brothers, all six of them married to Charly, sat with her.
Sitting next to Brandon, Shelby looked up from the magazine she’d been reading. “Charly, you might consider speeding it up on the maternity wing, too. With our luck, your baby will come late and mine will come early. Our due dates are only three days apart as it is.”
“Yeah, I hear our men have a wager on who will deliver first.”
“Actually the whole town heard about the bet, and everyone has gotten in on it. The Champions have an advantage,” Tobias said. “They’ve got Alex on their side.”
“Justin and I have just as good a chance as our brother does in guessing the exact time our baby will come.” Brandon grinned.
Sheriff Champion held his wife’s hand. “We’re going to be grandparents.”
She, Lance, and Chuck had given their statements about the events at Michael’s house to him moments ago.
“Alex is going to deliver both babies?” Austin asked.
Both mothers-to-be nodded.
Danielle knew all the small talk was just an attempt to keep everyone’s mind from worrying about what was going on in the surgery room. But it wasn’t working. They were all concerned about Harry.
Her mind was still whirling from everything that had happened. “Sheriff, is Justin still with my mother?”
“He is. She’s giving her statement to him at my office.”
“Do you want to go see her?” Chuck asked. “Who knows how long the surgery will last. We could run over there and be back in no time at all.”
“No. I’m not leaving until I know Harry is okay.”
Alex came through the doors with a smile on his face. “I just left Michael’s room where I gave him the good news. The surgery was a success. Harry is doing fine.”