“I promised Ryan I would stay with Nova.” Her soft voice came from inside the room, but I couldn’t see her over Jet’s shoulders.
His lips tilted up in a grim smile. “I think he will understand if I take over guard duty.” He shifted, and I finally got to see my girl. She was leaning on the exam table beside her cousin, who was lying down w
ith her injured arm stretched out while Doc and Flick bent over it.
My eyes ate up the sight of River. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were wrinkled. There were dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were pale, but she looked as beautiful as ever to me. When she lifted her gaze from Nova, it locked with mine and she smiled.
“Hi,” she mouthed.
“Hey,” I said with a wink. “How about I take you home, beautiful?”
I could tell she wanted to go, but she glanced back at Nova as guilt filled her eyes.
Nova reached out with her free hand and squeezed River’s arm. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. You should go to work.”
Pressing her lips into a hard line, River finally nodded and bent to kiss her cousin’s cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Love you,” Nova murmured softly. “Thanks for staying with me.”
“Love you too,” my girl said as they hugged. As she stepped out of the triage room, her eyes skirted over to her parents, and I felt her stiffen when she spotted her father. She reached for my hand, and I entwined our fingers. “I forgot my backpack at school. I need to get it so I can finish all my homework and study for a test I missed.”
Ben walked over to us. “School will be closed tomorrow, but I’ll have one of my deputies get your bag and drop it off to you.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks, Ben. It was by my locker.”
“No problem, honey.” He shifted his gaze to me. “She’s had a rough day. Don’t let her do too much this evening.”
“I’m fine,” River argued. “It’s Nova who had a nightmare of a time.”
I tucked her against me, pressing my lips to her forehead. “I’ll make sure she takes it easy,” I promised.
“I’ll be here and then at Raven’s,” Dad told me. “Cancel all my appointments.”
I nodded. “Keep me informed.”
“Will do.” He pulled River away from me to hug her. “Glad you’re okay, honey.” To me, he growled, “Be safe.” What he meant was, keep her safe. But he didn’t have to tell me that. I’d die before I let anything happen to River.
As we started for the exit, her dad stepped into our path, while Aunt Kelli and Raven muttered for him not to cause trouble.
“I want you to go home,” Colt told her, a hard edge to his voice that warned River not to argue. “I’ll be there as soon as I finish up here.”
“I’m going to work,” River informed him pointedly, the same tone in her voice that was in his. “And then I’m going home. With Maverick. That’s where I live now, Dad.”
“Your home is with your mother and me.”
She sighed heavily, her shoulders drooping. “I’m too tired to argue with you about this.”
“Which is why you should get home and rest,” he snapped.
“Look, you might still be my father, but you no longer have the right to tell me what to do. I’m eighteen now. That means I get to make my own decisions.” She leaned into me, and I stroked my hand down her back, offering her my support. “And I choose Maverick. When you stop acting like a five-year-old who had his toy snatched away, give me a call. Maybe we can have dinner together as a family or something.”
“You are not—”
Aunt Kelli cut off his harsh retort. “That sounds like a great plan,” she said with a tight smile. “I’ll call you later, sweetheart. Love you.”
“Love you, Mom,” she murmured with a sad smile then tugged me out the door.
Sixteen