Just One Dare (The Kingston Family 5)
And he was a good two and a half, no three-hour flight away, as well as the time it would take him to get to the hospital. “Are you sure you’re not holding anything back because I’m not there?” he asked.
Her sigh echoed in his ear. “I swear, Nick. They’ve got her on a saline nebulizer treatment and put in an IV for steroids once they move her to a room.”
IV? They were sticking a needle in his kid’s arm and he’d been eating a steak dinner. Fuck. “Okay,” he said, forcing himself to remain calm, at least to Aurora. Inside, his stomach was churning because he should have been there.
He finally forced himself to walk to the nearest window overlooking the street and stop pacing.
“How is everything at the hotel?” she asked.
“Fine. I handled all I could. The manager will take over from there. I’ll be on an eleven a.m. flight tomorrow.”
Her silence spoke volumes about how she was feeling about his trip. “Look, I’d take the jet home now but Asher needed it and it’s no longer in Miami.” There wouldn’t be a normal flight this late, so he’d have to travel on the one he’d already booked.
“I understand,” she said.
He hoped so. “Can I talk to Leah?”
“I’m sorry. She’s asleep,” Aurora said.
Disappointment hit him hard. “Hey, what about you? How are you holding up?”
“I’m running on adrenaline. There’s a couch in her room and I can stretch out there, but I doubt I’ll sleep. I’m just glad they let me stay over.”
He leaned against the tempered glass. “Me too.”
“Yes, come on in,” she said. “Nick? The nurse just came in to check Leah’s vitals. I need to go.”
“Okay. I hate that I’m not there with you but I’m a phone call away if you need anything.” And he’d get home as soon as possible.
He hung up, emptiness and frustration consuming him. Then he walked into the elevator and up to his room. He wanted to be with Aurora so she’d know she wasn’t alone. Dammit. He wished he’d listened to his gut and stayed home.
And there it was. The man who had no permanent address now thought of Aurora’s house in New York as home.
Chapter Ten
Aurora opened her eyes and immediately looked over at Leah. She was still propped up on pillows, asleep. Between the nebulizer saline treatments and the steroids in the IV, they’d calmed the spasms in her airways and eased her cough. She had no doubt those same steroids would have her hopped up and anxious later, but she’d worry about one thing at a time.
She sat up and discovered she had a crick in her neck from sleeping on the small couch. She stood, stretching her back and rolling her head from side to side. She’d have to ask a nurse for ibuprofen to ease the discomfort, but first she needed a cup of coffee to get herself moving.
She walked to the bathroom located in Leah’s private room and did her best to clean herself up with the small toiletry bag the hospital had provided. She didn’t want to go all the way to the cafeteria and leave Leah alone. Luckily, after talking to the morning nurse, the lovely woman brought her a cup of coffee.
Leah had woken up and was fussy this morning, but Aurora didn’t blame her. Everything hurt from the coughing to the IV, and she’d been awakened during the night to have her vitals taken. Even Aurora was cranky, though a second cup of coffee was helping.
She stood by Leah’s bed, sipping her drink when a knock sounded on the door. Expecting a nurse, she looked up to see Mark walk in.
“Hi, Mr. Wheeler,” Leah said.
“Hi, Leah. How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.
She put on her best pouty face. “I don’t feel good.”
Mark nodded in understanding. “I bet you don’t. Mimi said to say hi,” he told her.
“I miss Mimi.”
“You’ll see her soon,” Aurora said. She picked up the TV remote and turned on a show for Leah, then glanced at Mark and tipped her head, indicating she wanted to talk.
She walked a few steps into the hall and turned to face him. “I really appreciate your help last night, but you didn’t need to drive all the way back here.”
“I wanted to see how you both were doing,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She nodded, and decided against telling him he could have called or sent a text. She didn’t want to be rude, and after all, they were neighbors. She wanted to keep things positive between them. After all, she’d definitely needed his help last night. “That was kind of you. We’re fine, as you can see.”
She glanced over at Leah who was immersed in television, fascinated by how the voice came out over the remote control. “How did you get up here? Hospital policy is family only.”