“You’ll have to make an appointment with the pediatrician, but his receptionist will tell you when he wants to see you when you call. That’s his number here,” she pointed at another number on the paper.
“I think that’s about it. Do you have any questions?”
I’d just listened to thirty minutes of instructions from her, so I doubted there were any questions left to be asked.
Shaking my head, I glanced over at Lena, who was engrossed in Hendrix.
“I really want to thank all of you for what you did for us. Without you, I might not have both of my sons, so—” my voice cracked, and I had to take a breath in to steady my emotions. “Thank you.”
“Honey, it’s what we do here. But I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been a pleasure watching your boys get stronger and show everyone how it’s done, faster than I’ve seen in thirteen years of doing this.
“They’ve become the rock stars of premature babies, so you need to prepare and brace for all the curveballs they’re gonna throw at you from now on,” she warned me, grinning widely.
“Now, take them home, and show them all of the beautiful things you’ve got waiting for them.”
Giving her one last smile, I walked to the door and opened it up, almost bursting into tears when I saw a large group of the guys from the Club waiting for us, including Dad and Hunter.
“Let’s ride, brothers,” Dad instructed, putting his arm around my shoulders. “My grand babies got time deducted from their sentences for good behavior. Let’s get them home before they change their minds.”
There were a couple of chuckles as we moved toward the elevators, then some of the men split away at the last minute and took the exit for the stairs instead.
Glancing over at Lena, I frowned when I noticed Hunter standing behind her, with his hands on her hips as he whispered in her ear. She hadn’t said anything about him yet, but her expression when she’d seen him and the one she had now was full of pain.
I was just about to call out to her when there was a ping as the elevator reached us, and her expression changed to relief as the doors opened, and she quickly moved inside. I stood as close to her as possible, and watched my dad frown at my brother as they both joined us.
It wasn’t a long ride down to the ground floor, but it was long enough for the excitement over the boys coming home to grow. I’d be lying if I said part of my mind wasn’t on how Lena knew Hunter, though. I didn’t like my best friend being upset, and the fact my brother had caused it somehow made it worse.
“So, how did you guys meet?” Dad asked as we walked out toward where the SUV was waiting for us, making it clear he was talking about Lena and me.
“She’s my friend Bella’s cousin, Dad. I went to Florida a couple of years ago to stay with Bella, remember?” When he nodded, I continued, “I met Lena, and we became good friends, so when I needed a place to go—” I stopped, not wanting to relive that painful time yet again.
Fortunately, Lena was ready for it. “She came to stay with me to have fun and be naughty. We partied like bikers every night, and beached it during the day like high schoolers.”
Dad burst out laughing as we reached the car. Yakov was already standing next to it, and he opened the door so that we could clip the boys' seats in place.
Putting Walker inside, Dad stepped back while I leaned in to secure the seat. “Sounds like you had a great time together. You shoulda come back with her, Lena. Seeing you and Sniper today was fucking phenomenal.”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw her smile drop as Hunter took Hendrix off her, his hand skimming down her arm as he did it.
“If I’d known she needed me, I’d have come with. But she assured me she was good.”
The door on the opposite side of the vehicle opened, and Hunter leaned in with the other car seat.
Taking the opportunity while he was close to me, I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on, but he shook his head, cutting me off. “Don’t okay, Nell. Just fucking don’t.”
Simeon was sitting in the driver’s seat through it all, so I glanced over at him, and watched as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Once Walker was secure, I moved around to the other side and did the same with Hendrix, before climbing awkwardly into the seat between them.
After the news had broken that they could come home, Simeon had changed the SUV we’d arrived in for one that had two rows of seats in the back, meaning that Lena could still travel with us. Climbing in, she moved to the end, and then leaned forward to check on Hendrix.