The Single Dad (The Dalton Brothers 3)

Voices.

More than one.

“Is everyone all right?”

“Does anyone besides the little girl need help?”

“I think your arm is broken, buddy.”

I ignored them and rubbed Everly’s cheek, up to her forehead, whispering, “You’re going to be okay.” I then looked at Ford and added, “She’s going to be okay.”

Her little sounds were what bothered me.

The whimpers of pain.

The way she appeared so delirious.

And the way Ford’s arm was angled, the way his hand was hanging.

“Paramedics here. Can you let us in?”

Paramedics?

I turned around, and there were two men at the base of the door, dressed in black.

“Sydney, let them in!” Ford shouted. He then addressed the paramedics and said, “Help my daughter right now!”

I slid off the seat and backed up as one of the men reached inside the SUV.

“She’s going to be okay, honey.”

I turned toward the voice.

It was a woman.

Was it the one from before?

I didn’t know.

But she continued, “The paramedics are going to fix her right up,” she said.

She was holding my shoulders.

She was staring me in the eyes.

“She’s not good,” I whispered. “Her skin …” I swallowed. “She’s so pale.”

“Don’t you worry.” She nodded behind me. “Look, they’ve got her now, and they’re going to help her.”

I turned around, and Everly was being carried out of the SUV and placed on a stretcher.

“Daddy,” Everly cried. “I want my daddy!”

I didn’t know if the tears had been in my eyes this whole time or if seeing Everly on a stretcher had caused them, but they were streaming, and they wouldn’t stop.

“Be careful with her!” I shouted.

As they started to wheel her away, Ford climbed into the backseat and came out the door.

I threw my arm around his back. “Are you okay?”

“I just need to be with her.”

“Your arm—”

“It’s fine, Sydney.”

“It’s not fine,” a woman said, stopping us before we even took a step. Her uniform told me she was also a paramedic. She held his arm with gloved hands. “It’s definitely broken.”

He pulled his arm away from her and said, “I need to be with my daughter.”

“Then, I’ll look at it when we get in the ambulance.” Her gaze moved over to me. “Were you in the car with them?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Do you need to get checked out as well?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“You two, follow me,” she said.