He gave me a sad grin. “For Zeke? It won’t be easy, but yeah.”
I closed my eyes and rested my head back on the headrest. I needed to be more careful. First Zeke, then Ethan, and now Asher. “I’m sorry.”
“Ally, there’s no reason to be,” he said. “I’m glad I kissed you, even if it was just once.”
“Me too.” I really was. It was something I’d never regret. Something I could hold to my heart.
He put the truck in gear and drove up the dirt road.
We were silent the entire drive back to my house. He pulled up to the curb and parked the car. I hesitated to get out of the truck. “Ash—”
My phone rang. So did Asher’s.
It was Zeke.
“Hey,” I said as Asher answered his phone.
“Are you driving?” he asked. I rolled my eyes.
“No, I’m at my house in Asher’s truck.” I didn’t bother to ask why he wanted to know. It was Zeke. “What’s up?”
“Baby… Miles is in the emergency room.”
Chapter 10
I slammed the Blazer door shut and ran across the emergency room parking lot while Asher was just pulling into the lot behind me. I didn’t care if I was acting nuts or if I looked insane. Miles was in the emergency room!
Zeke came out of the automated glass door in time to stop me from going in. His hands grabbed my arms and forced me to stop.
“Lexie, stop!” he snapped. I tried to break his hold, but he only pulled me closer. “Miles is fine! He has a broken arm that needs surgery and he banged his head, but that is it!” I stopped trying to break his hold. My eyes burned as I met his gaze.
“That’s it?” I asked, my voice small.
His face softened. “That’s it, Baby,” he said in a soft voice. Well, as soft as Zeke’s voice got. His eyes ran over my face and then back to my eyes. “So calm down, or they won’t let you in the ER to see them.”
My heart dropped. “Them?”
He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and cursed.
“What do you mean ‘them?’” I asked very clearly.
He cursed again and met my eyes. “Ethan was also in the car. A truck ran a red light and hit the car on Miles’ side.” My lungs seized. Both of them? No... “Lexie, they’re fine. Ethan didn’t even want you to know until you got back there. He’s got some stitches and he’s a little banged up, but he’s fine.”
“What about his back?” I demanded.
His eyes grew shadowed. “They gave him some painkillers, so he’s fine for now.”
“That’s not an answer,” I pointed out.
He clenched his jaw. “His doctor ordered an MRI.” My heart sank, Ethan’s back…
“Fuck,” I breathed. My gaze moved to his chest as I took deep breaths. His hands dropped from me.
“What’s wrong?” Asher asked as he reached us.
“I told her about Ethan,” Zeke grumbled.
“Damn it, Zeke,” Asher muttered.
I turned around and looked up at Asher. “You knew?”
Asher started rubbing his neck. “Yeah. The only reason I didn’t tell you was because Ethan asked me not to.”
My temper sparked, but I kept it on a leash. “Okay, I’m not going to yell. But both of you are in deep shit.”
“Let’s go inside and you can see for yourself,” Zeke suggested before turning and leading us through the ER waiting room. He went straight to the doors and knocked on the window to the right. “Huntington, bed eight.”
The woman eyed us. “Only two visitors per patient,” she announced.
“One of them is for Turner, bed seven,” Zeke growled. The woman checked her computer then hit a button. A buzzer sounded. Zeke opened the door and led us in. He walked us down a hall to a larger room. Beds were lined up on the right wall behind blue curtains. We stopped at one with the number eight hanging from the ceiling. “Miles, you good?”
“He is, but I’m enjoying the air on my junk,” Ethan responded. I rolled my eyes.
“Lexie’s here,” Zeke informed him.
“Cool, she can join the pants-less party,” Ethan countered.
Zeke opened the curtain only enough for him to peek in. Ethan chuckled as Zeke flung opened the curtain the rest of the way. Ethan was in the left bed, half sitting up. The curtain between his section and Miles’ was pulled all the way back. He had stitches over one eyebrow, and a few bruises, but seemed fine, if out of it.
Ethan smiled and waved. “Hola, linda!”
I eyed him. “You’re loopy.”
He smiled a big smile. “Yep. They’re gonna take me to get an MRI in a few minutes.” He pointed at Miles. “You might want to come in. He’s blind right now.” I slid past Zeke to stand between the beds. Miles was half sitting up; his left arm was covered in blood-soaked bandages while resting on a table. His glasses were gone. Half his forehead was black and blue. The bruising ran down the side of his face. I didn’t know who to go to first. I just wanted to hug both of them and hold on tight.
“Lexie, can you shut him up? My head is killing me,” Miles asked, his voice slurred.
“Miles?” I asked softly. Worry filled my heart. That didn’t sound like Miles.
“They’ll be taking him into surgery soon,” Zeke informed me, “so he’s drugged too.”
“Oh.” I moved around Ethan’s bed to the other side and sat on the edge.
“Mujer que es due?a de mi corazón,” he said with a wide smile.
“Hey, Snoopy, can you lower your voice? Miles hit his head, hon,” I reminded him. His eyes grew wide, he covered his mouth.
“Oops,” he stage whispered. He dropped his hand and took mine. “Don’t worry, we’re going to be fine.”
I squeezed his fingers. “I hope so.”
Ethan winked at me. Then he turned to Asher. “Did you call Isaac and Ma?”
Asher nodded. “Maria is on her way. Isaac’s phone went to voicemail. He’s probably training right now.”
Someone pushed back the curtain. A man in scrubs stepped in and eyed all of us. “Ethan Turner?”
Ethan raised his hand enthusiastically. “Present!”
I snorted.
The man chuckled as he pulled the curtain open all the way. “We’re taking you to get your MRI.”
I moved to get off the bed, but Ethan’s hand pulled me closer. His glazed eyes met mine. “I’ll be right back, Beautiful. Don’t worry.”
I smiled. “Okay, I’ll see you when you get back.” I leaned down to kiss his cheek and he turned his head so his lips were there instead. I barely pulled back in time. He snickered. I held his chin, and then leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“Worth a shot,” he muttered. I was shaking my head as I got off the bed and moved out of the way.
Soon Ethan was gone. The guys grabbed the chairs from the other side of where Ethan’s bed had been. I moved to Miles’ non-injured side.
“Hey,” I said softly. “It’s me.”
He grinned. “I know; I see a red blur and smell rosemary.”
I chewed on the corner of my lower lip as I looked at him in the hospital bed. Miles lifted his hand from his chest and held it out to me. I took it. Relief filled me as I felt his warm skin. His thumb moved over my knuckles slowly.
“I’m okay. I just need some pins and plates in my arm,” he explained.
“We’ll push back the climbing trip,” Asher offered. “How much recovery time will you need?”
Miles made his thinking face, the one that made a small wrinkle in between his eyebrows. “I… can’t think right now.”
My eyebrows went up. “Well, that’s a first.”
His lips twitched. His fingers squeezed my hand. “I hate to ask, but will you please go get my extra pair of glasses?”
“Of course. Where are they?” I asked, grateful there was something I could do.
“I’ll go get ‘em.” Zeke stood up.
Miles turned his head. “No, you won’t. I don’t trust any of you in my room after last time.”
Asher chuckled.
“What happened last time?” I asked, curious now.
“I came home and my room was a disaster,” Miles explained, his voice slurring.
“We moved his books around on his shelves,” Asher countered.
“Isaac moved his clothes from drawer to drawer,” Zeke added. I shook my head. Yeah, that would drive Miles crazy.
He turned back to me. “Which is why I’m asking you to get my glasses.”
“Where are they?” I grinned down at him.
“Right nightstand, top drawer,” he said.