Everyone pressed around the newly engaged couple, congratulating and embracing them, and wishing them well. Sky shuffled along the edge of the dessert table to make some room. At the edge of the group, near the dessert table, Iolana stood gripping the back of a patio chair. Something was off about her. She held onto the back of that chair like her life depended on it, and a second later, Sky was sure the woman swayed slightly.
“Iolana?” Sky asked. “Are you okay?”
The small, dark haired woman seemed not to hear the question. She took a step away from the chair and collapsed, falling into Sky’s arms. Someone nearby shrieked and in a split second Brock was there, lifting his mom into his arms to get her inside.
“Mom?” he cried, distraught and in a panic. He lowered her into the living room sofa and kneeled in front of her, and Brianna rushed over beside them. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes were closed and her skin much paler than it should have been. The group gathered around her, their focus instantly shifted from Jax and Joleen’s great news to the potentially urgent medical emergency taking place in front of their eyes. Toby was the only one with the presence of mind to pull out his phone and call 9-1-1 while he shouted out for Abby or Andrew to come check on Iolana. Abby was a nurse, and her boyfriend Andrew was a doctor. They were the best suited of everyone in attendance to providing some help. Andrew hurried forward and checked her pulse.
“What’s happening to her?” Brock demanded again, his eyes wide. Sky had never seen him afraid before. Never. That terror in his eyes made her heart clench with fear.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Carrington responded. “Her pulse is weak.”
The living room became a flurry of activity. Lily talked into Toby’s phone, frantically giving the ambulance dispatcher the address. Abby stepped forward with a pillow from one of the other chairs. The group seemed to surge all around, worried and probably confused by the surprise turn the day had taken.
Sky stood stock still, her eyes fixed on Brock’s face. He stared down at his mother, his gaze unwavering. Everyone knew how close he and his sister and mother were.
If anything were to happen to her...
Sky couldn’t bring herself to think about what it would do to Brock.
Shutting her eyes hard, she said a little prayer.
Sometimes there was nothing else you could do.
12
“Are you worried?”
Sky straightened up in the driver seat and looked over at Joleen riding shotgun, her long earrings brushing against her shoulders. She didn’t want to admit how terrified she was for Brock’s mother, especially not when Joleen sat there with pale cheeks and eyes wide as saucers.
“It’ll be fine,” Sky replied soothingly. “People faint all the time. It’s not always because of something serious.”
“God, I hope so,” Joleen murmured, leaning back into her seat.
They were both working at the Saloon this evening, and had to be there by six p.m., so Joleen had driven in with Sky. Jax and Joleen had come to the barbecue together, but with Iolana’s emergency, Brianna stayed at her mother’s side when the ambulance arrived to get her to hospital. Jax drove Brock over to the emergency room, and Toby, Nash and Lily drove in another car to be there for Brock.
The party had dispersed pretty quickly, with most of the guests following Jax over to the hospital while Joleen and Sky headed into work. Now she kept looking at her phone to see if it would buzz with any updates from him.
“Check your phone and see if anyone called, hun. I can’t while I’m driving.”
“Good idea. God, what a crazy day,” Joleen muttered, shaking her head as she reached into her purse.
“Tell me about it. What a crazy five minutes.”
“I feel bad.”
“You mean about being happy over getting engaged just before Iolana passed out and is now at the hospital?”
Joleen grimaced. “Yes. That has to make me a bad person.”
“Not at all. You being depressed won’t help Iolana get any better. I know you’re worried about her too. You might as well be happy. Besides, you deserve it. Jax is amazing. I never thought I’d see the day where Jax would settle down, and I can’t tell you how happy I am it’s with you. He’s a good man.”
Joleen’s lips pursed in a self-conscious smile. “Awww. He really is, isn’t he?”
Sky signaled and made a right turn into the Steak and Ale Saloon parking lot. “Absolutely. Enjoy what you’ve got, girl.”
“Thank you.”
Sky grinned. “Of course.”