Ram Remy (Providence Family Ties 4)

I was staring at the linoleum on the floor thinking about it when Remy nudged my side and nodded toward the hallway. Looking over Pawpaw’s shoulder, I had to blink when I realized it wasn’t Marcus walking toward us but his twin, Jackson, and his wife, Sasha. Behind them were two men looking around them as they spoke quietly together.

“What’s going on?” I asked Remy, standing and moving toward the door to open it for them all.

Sticking to my side, Hart reached for the door first. “Is that Marcus?”

“Jackson,” Remy corrected. “And that’s his wife, Sasha, and her dads, Adam and Sam.”

I watched them as they got closer, but it wasn’t until I caught sight of one of their arms that it made sense. Looking over my shoulder at Remy, I felt overwhelming gratitude for what he’d arranged for my family.

“Hey, Hart,” Jackson greeted as he got to the door.

I had a feeling Remy or Marcus had reminded him of my family’s names because there was no way he could have done it on memory alone. Sure, our families knew each other, but as kids, we’d always had shit to do and were busy when it came to family get togethers. Hart was ten years younger than me and eleven years younger than Jackson, and it just wouldn’t have been something he needed to remember.

Separating from her husband, Sasha came over and hugged me. We knew each other from Kissimmee because her dads were friends with Jackson’s mom, but again, it was more of a passing type of acquaintance. I’d also seen her when Marcus had proposed to Addy and had caught up with her. I’d just assumed that the next time we saw each other again, it’d be for a happy event, not this.

“Good to see you again, girl. I’m so sorry you’re all going through this.”

She was different from the quiet kid I vaguely remembered from parties. Then again, that’d be a memory from a few years after Mom had Hart because, after that, I’d always had things to do at the weekends. When I was a teenager, I’d started working with a veterinarian in Kissimmee, just assisting him with things and cleaning up in between patients, but I’d loved it. That job had meant I stopped going to things with my parents, though, so I’d likely missed out on a lot.

“You’re looking great, Sasha. Married life obviously suits you.”

Giving me a wry smile, she rolled her eyes. “It plays hell with my psyche, that’s for sure. You have to be wired differently to be married to Jackson.”

Joining us, Jackson raised an eyebrow. “I resemble that remark!” Then, turning to me, he gave me a similar hug to the one his wife had. “Hey, Santana. How are you holding on?”

It was a question I hadn’t been asked yet because everyone around me knew how I was feeling, given that they were feeling the same way. Addy and Sadie got regular updates and were focused on distracting me as much as possible, so they hadn’t asked me that either.

For some reason, tears welled up hearing it. “It’s Croix who’s holding on. I’m just here waiting for him to wake up.”

Sasha squeezed my arm just as Remy walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “He’ll be awake any day now, and then you can nag him or hug him all you want.” Releasing one arm from my waist, he shook Jackson’s hand. “Good to see you, man.”

Sasha took a step back and gestured to where her dads were now talking to Merrick and Mom. Dad was looking slightly lost in the corner, and it made my heart hurt for him. Out of all of us, he was the one who was by himself, and although we included him in everything and I was spending time with him back at the hotel, I was worried that he didn’t have anyone to lean on.

“We brought my dads because, as you know, Ryan had half of his arm removed after he was shot a few years ago. It’s hard to understand what goes through a person’s head when they lose a limb and the process they have to go through for their recovery, so he wanted to come and answer your questions and explain about it if that’s okay?”

I just knew Remy had set this up, and I was so fucking grateful.

Tapping his hand where it was resting on my abdomen, I walked over to Dad and crouched down in front of him.

“Dad?” He’d been staring out the window, but hearing my voice, his eyes slid to where I was. “Hey, you okay?”

“I’ve always hated living away from you guys, Tana, but I thought it was the right thing. I had a good job, and I could send y’all extra money when you needed stuff. I got to visit whenever you were on a break, and we went on vacations… But it wasn’t enough. I missed you guys the second I had to leave again, but I just—” He stopped talking suddenly and rubbed his face tiredly.