by Vivian Wood
He had used every trick in the book on the drive over.
Colt knew had probably scared to death some of the slow, local drivers. It was a small town. Drivers here still waved at each other when they came to a four-way stop. They were probably wondering what the hell had gotten into that Roman boy, but Colt didn’t care about that right now. All he could think about was getting to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Rose and Emmy were on their way in a separate car. As luck would have it, Rose had been out with Emmy at a grocery store close to the hospital when Colt called her to tell her the news.
“I’ll meet you there, Colt. I’ll get there in 5 minutes.”
With that, she had abandoned her cart full of groceries with an apology to the store manager, strapped Emmy into her car seat, and rushed to the hospital.
Rose was good in a crisis, both sympathetic and organized. She had the rare ability to focus on the situation at hand, while also envisioning various outcomes and options. It was a product of her training as a veterinarian, and from years of coping with her difficult past, which had made Rose far more mature than her youthful appearance would let on.
Colt had seen her calm down angry bulls with gouge wounds and hysterical dog owners in waiting rooms with equal skill. That calm, collected manner was something Cold had admired about Rose from the moment he met her. Right now, he was more grateful for it than ever.
He pulled into the parking lot, jumped out of his car, and scanned the lot with trained eyes, then picked out Rose, who was carrying Emmy, about 200 feet away. He could tell that she had not spotted him yet, so he called out to her and waved his hand. He began walking toward her, limping only slightly despite his prosthetic leg.
Rose rushed up to Colt. Her big blue eyes were shadowed with worry, but she threw her free arm around him for a hug and a kiss, almost knocking him off balance in her enthusiasm.
Emmy, unaware of the adults’ distress, squealed happily to see her daddy.
Colt kissed them both.
“Are you okay?” Rose asked him when they separated. “You must have driven like a bat out of hell to get over here as quickly as you did.”
“I’m fine,” he replied, giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, “but I might have shocked a few of the old biddies on the road by going over 25. Anyway, it’s Arlo we should be worried about.”
“I know, honey,” she said, “I’m worried about him too.”
“Let’s just get inside and see what the doctors are saying,” Colt replied as they walked into the hospital lobby.
“Excuse me,” Rose said to the woman seated behind the information desk who was thumbing through a gossip magazine. “I’m looking for the cardiac ward.”
“It’s on the third floor, ma’am,” she replied, barely glancing up from her magazine.
“I’d like to roll that up and pop her over the head with it,” Rose muttered in a low tone. Colt chuckled.
They headed over to the elevators. Colt jammed his thumb impatiently at the elevator button several times.
“I don’t think stabbing at it will make the elevator come faster, honey,” Rose said, nudging him.
“We don’t know that for sure,” he replied with a tight smile.
They took the elevator to the third floor as instructed. The rest of the Roman family was waiting there. Remy and Ashleigh were clustered around Marilee, who was sobbing quietly in an overstuffed hospital chair.
Marilee was a hot mess. She had a flip-flop on one foot and a sneaker on the other, her hair was standing on end from her running her hands through it every few seconds, and tear-streaked makeup was running down her face, giving her the appearance of a disheveled, and very distressed, raccoon.
Ashleigh was standing behind Marilee, patting her shoulder helplessly. Marilee was high-strung at the best of times. It could be hard to know just how to react when she got hysterical like this. Once again, Colt thanked the powers that be for Rose’s cool and collected ways. She would know how to comfort Marilee.
At least here, though, in the waiting room of the cardiac ward, her distress wasn’t entirely out of place. Several other people in the room looked similarly freaked out. One woman was pacing the room in workout clothes, muttering to anyone who would pay attention that she’d just thought her friend was dehydrated, that was all.
Rose caught Ashleigh’s eye and pointed to her own face, then made a wiping motion. Ashleigh got the message, pulled a tissue from her purse and gently wiped the smudged makeup off Marilee’s face.
Marilee responded by weeping even harder, sending a fresh cascade of mascara down her cheeks.
Rose shrugged at Ashleigh, whose eyes rolled up almost imperceptibly. Rose walked over to Marilee, took her hand, and began to talk to her in a calm, low voice - what Colt had come to think of as her ‘waiting room voice.’
Walker and Sawyer were standing by a window, looking out and talking to each other in low tones. Tall, muscled, with rigid military postures, they stood out easily in the waiting room full of distressed, rumpled people. They hadn’t appeared to hear the chime of the elevator, so Colt walked over to them and patted his brothers on their backs.
“How’s he doing?” Colt asked Sawyer.
“We’re waiting on the doctors to come out and give us some news,” Sawyer replied. “Thankfully they got him here real quick - the ambulance blasted through so many red lights, I couldn’t believe it. I thought we were gonna actually die just getting here! Marilee wanted to ride with him in the ambulance, but they made her stay with us because they said if she did, they’d end up with two patients, not one...so she rode with me, which was an ordeal on its own because you know how she is...”
“You’re rambling, man,” Colt said, patting his brother on the back again.
“Yeah, I know.” Sawyer replied. “I don’t know...it looked pretty bad, Colt.” He fell silent.
Emmy, oblivious to the depressed atmosphere of the grownups, had spotted Marilee. She was squealing eagerly, trying to get her attention, but Marilee was in another world.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s not okay,” she sobbed, continuing, “And the way he looked, earlier, too! Like every drop of blood had drained from him! I can’t bear to lose him. I just can’t! There are things I have to tell him! What if I don’t get to now? He just has to get through this!”
Remy’s eyes filled with tears. She knew all too well the anguish of those kind of regrets, after all she’d gone through with Sawyer. She squeezed Marilee’s hand and kissed it gently. At this small kindness, Marilee sobbed even harder.
Ashleigh tried to pull Marilee to her, but her pregnant belly got in the way of the hug and Marilee let out a small ‘oomph,’ making all three of them laugh unexpectedly.
“That belly of yours is getting bigger every day,” Remy said affectionately to Ashleigh.
“Don’t I know it!” Ashleigh replied. “Pretty soon I’m gonna need to send out a search party just to find my feet.”
Marilee exclaimed, “God! See now, that’s another reason Arlo just has to live! He has to see that baby born!” Then she dissolved into a fresh set of tears. Remy and Ashleigh exchanged looks, then moved closer to Marilee, while Rose murmured comforting things to her.
The brothers huddled together and traded worried glances. Arlo could be a real sonofabitch, but he was still their father.
A petite, dark-haired doctor in bright blue scrubs came through the swinging doors. She looked down at her clipboard, then scanned the waiting room. Every person in the room looked at her expectantly.
She shook her head apologetically at another family and said, “Not yet,” then walked briskly over to Arlo’s family.
“Hello everyone. I’m Doctor Stenersen. I can tell this is Mr. Roman’s family because you gentleman all look just like my patient,” she said cheerfully, prompting three identical smiles from the brothers.
The doctor’s soft brown eyes crinkled around the corners with amusement, offsetting the fat
igue lines that ran across her forehead and next to her mouth. Colt, recognizing that expression from seeing it on Rose after a long day at the veterinary practice, trusted her immediately.
“We managed to stabilize him,” the doctor continued, “but Arlo has had a very serious cardiac event. I had to run a stent up through his femoral artery and into the heart to clear the blockage. In addition, we’ve put him on some anti-coagulants and medicines to help with the plaques built up in that area. We haven’t ruled out the need for future surgery, but for right now, he’s stable.”
Everyone breathed audible, relieved sighs. Marilee sank back into the chair with her hand over her own heart.
“He’s stable,” she repeated, “but the strain this kind of event puts on the body is enormous. He’s very weak and he needs to rest. Arlo has a very long recovery process in front of him. So, I’m sorry to be a hardass, but I’m only going to let visitors in one at a time, and you have to do your best not to wake him up, okay?”
Everyone nodded obediently, spellbound by this tiny woman’s authority.
“She would have done great in the military,” Colt whispered to Sawyer.
“That’s the truth,” Sawyer whispered back.
Dr. Stenerson walked over to where Marilee was sitting in the chair, still crying, and gently took her hand.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is good news, ok? Here, let me take you to see your husband. You’ll feel better once you see him, I promise. You just have to stop sobbing, or else you’ll wake him and everyone else in the ward!”
Marilee laughed and wiped her eyes.
“Just take a few deep breaths,” Dr. Stenerson instructed, putting two fingers on the pulse point on Marilee’s wrist. “Really deep, and hold it for a few seconds before you release it.” The doctor inhaled and held her breath in to demonstrate.
Marilee obediently began to breathe deeply, her eyes locked on the doctor’s, who was nodding encouragingly as she counted her pulse. Slowly, her crying faded, and she seemed to regain some sense of calm - calm for Marilee, anyway.
“There now, that’s better. I was worried I’d have another cardiac patient on my hands for a moment there!” Dr. Stenerson said cheerfully.
“I’m sorry. I felt like I couldn’t even breathe,” Marilee said.
“Panic attacks can be nasty things, but you got through it like a champ. Are you ready to go see Arlo now?”
Marilee nodded meekly. The doctor led Marilee from the room, talking to her in a low, soothing tone.
Ashleigh stared after the doctor with an astonished look on her face. She looked at Remy and Rose with wide eyes.
“Did you see that?” she asked incredulously.
Remy snorted. “I know, it was like the Marilee Whisperer. I wonder if she gives lessons?”
Ashleigh laughed. “I’d pay for those!”
Rose nodded. “She’s got the touch.”
Walker, Colt, and Sawyer were all still standing by the window, lost in their thoughts.
Colt thought of what the doctor had said about them all looking like Arlo. That was true. It was also true that they all looked like each other. Sometimes it startled Colt to look at one of his brothers and see a human mirror reflecting back his own looks, gestures, and even way of speaking. If they got into arguments, he’d see his own stubborn look on his brothers’ faces. They were, undeniably, family.
“Well,” Walker said, breaking the contemplative mood, “I’m glad the old bastard isn’t dead.”
They all laughed.
For what felt like the first time hours, Colt took a deep breath and felt his heart rate slow down to normal. Damn. He’d felt adrenaline before all right, but this was another thing entirely; fear, cold and crushing, had been pressing down on him from the minute he’d gotten the phone call. It had surprised him how strongly he felt.
Maybe it was because he had so much to lose now. They all did. More now than ever before.
Colt looked at Rose, Ashleigh, and Remy - these incredible women who loved Roman men so well - and he felt his heart squeeze with happiness. He loved Rose and Emmy so much, even more than he thought he ever could love anyone. When he woke up each morning, he couldn’t wait to see what the day would bring with them.
Colt also loved Ashleigh and Remy, too, for who they were, of course, but above all for the joy they brought his brothers. It was nice to see everyone settled down and in love. He knew they took care of his brothers, knew they were always cheering for them, pushing them to be more, and kicking their asses when they needed it, too.
Arlo’s heart attack had only highlighted how much they all loved each other.
Colt walked up to Rose and pulled her into his arms.They stood like that for a few minutes, not talking, just holding each other and enjoying the familiar feeling of their bodies being together. Emmy cooed happily as they included her in the embrace, and Colt felt another surge of love.
After today, Colt vowed, he’d never take that feeling for granted again.
3
Sawyer was already wide awake when dawn broke the next morning. Normally, he’d be grouchy that he’d needlessly woken up so early. Since becoming a parent, sleep had become a precious commodity, something to never be wasted. A chance to sleep in was something he fantasized about.
However, after Arlo’s heart attack yesterday, he had a new perspective. This morning, Sawyer was just glad to wake up at all, and he was glad to wake up next to Remy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this good.
Although he had been in many dangerous situations before, Sawyer had to admit he hadn’t really thought about his own mortality. Not truly. Maybe that was what allowed him to take so many risks, what kept him going for so long as a SEAL. Most of his adult life had been him moving from one high-risk situation to the next, with no thought beyond the next mission or the next woman he wanted to sleep with.
Yesterday had changed that. As he’d stood next to his brothers in the hospital waiting room, he’d looked around at the whole clan, gathered to keep watch over Arlo. Sawyer had realized for the first time how much he had in life - and how much he could lose.
He was suddenly very aware of how valuable his life was, and afraid to die. Not so much for himself, but for all he’d miss if he did.
Before, when he’d risked his life, he’d done if for his country. He was supported by the idea that he would be sacrificing it for something noble. Over time, though, Sawyer had become addicted to that adrenaline. He needed to feel its surge again and again, so he kept going, always looking for more action, never slowing down to ask himself if there was something more he needed.
He fucked and fought his way through life. He had thought that was happiness, until he came back to town and saw Remy again.
Sawyer looked over at Remy, who was still sleeping soundly next to him. He watched as the soft light of dawn washed over her beautiful form, illuminating her blonde tresses and golden skin. She gorgeous even now, fast asleep and without a trace of makeup on.
It didn’t hurt that she was wearing a filmy, peach satin nightgown, which perfectly displayed the curves of her body. Sawyer felt his heartbeat quicken. He had to stop himself from pulling her close to him, reminding himself that she deserved sleep after the day they had yesterday. Still, the urge was there.
Sawyer knew almost everything about this woman. He knew what position she slept in, knew her favorite colors and foods, knew her history and her dreams. He could tell, without her saying a word, when she was upset by the almost invisible lines that appeared on her forehead. She had fought her way through family conflict to be by his side and mothered two of his children.
After all they’d been through, and all he knew of her, Remy still took his breath away.
It was all the little things. Like how Remy went to bed wearing satin nightgowns or matching pajamas, not just any old t-shirt and shorts. How, each morning, he could still smell the green tea-scented moisturizer she put on every night right before bed. How patient and gentle sh
e was with their children. The way she smiled at him when she first woke up, even, still squeezed his heart.
She wasn’t afraid to tell him off, either, if she was angry or if he’d done something she didn’t agree with. Her fierce attitude, take-it-or-leave-it attitude was one reason he’d fallen in love with her to begin with. She didn’t let him roll over her or paint her into a corner.
Sawyer had been with a lot of women, but not many women had slammed a door in his face like Remy had once. He had to admit, that spark of hers was a big turn on.
Sawyer thought how lucky he was to have not just one, but two chances with Remy. He hadn’t appreciated her the first time they’d been together, too caught up in his life of hunting down bad guys and fast women.
A settled life in a small town had been the farthest thing from his mind, and by the time Sawyer had realized how much he wanted Remy, how much he needed her, it had almost been too late. She had been raising their son without him even knowing it, and she wasn’t ready to let Sawyer back into their lives. She told him later how hard it had been to fight her attraction to him, but at the time, he’d only seen her flaming anger and hurt.
Then there had been the whole thing with his family...they had threatened to ruin her life if she told him about Shiloh. Remy was tough, though - tougher even than the Romans, Sawyer thought.
It was a minor miracle that they had ended up together, considering all the circumstances. But they had, and it was incredible. Now, after Arlo’s heart attack, it felt like Sawyer was getting a new, fresh perspective; he was lucky in love, and lucky to know it. He knew not many people had the luck or good sense to have the first, or to realize the last.
He felt a surge of love so strong that he couldn’t resist gently kissing on her neck. He buried his head in her hair, smelling the intoxicating scent of her, needing to feel her body against his for just a second or two.
In response, Remy moaned softly and rolled over, pulling the covers over her face.
