“You belong here,” Rick said in her ear. “With them. You’re part of their family too.”
She wanted to believe him. Large, fat snowflakes were falling, dusting his shoulders, and he looked so cute in the Santa costume, Lana wrapped her arms around his waist.
“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Lana told him. “I know it’s two days away, but still…”
Those hazel eyes had lightened to a shade of green she’d only seen last night.
Taking her face in his hands, Rick kissed her, a long, slow kiss that made Ash start gagging in the background. He kissed her again, mouth lingering. “You’re gorgeous.”
Lana started to reply she had nothing on his Santa-ed self, but he added, “You are, inside and out, and braver than anyone I’ve ever met. You’ve taken on the Santa Moose.”
“The Santa Moose isn’t that scary. Elusive but not scary. I’ve completely failed at catching it so far.”
“The Santa Moose is terrifying.” He pressed the softest of kisses behind her ear. “And I know you’ll catch it.”
Lips curving, he drew her deeper into his arms. Lana really didn’t care when her phone started to chirp in her back pocket, but when it went to voicemail, she checked the caller ID.
“It’s my parents’ home,” she told him. “My mother’s office line. They have to be the only people still living with more than one landline.”
Lana answered when her phone started to ring again. “This is about the worst time possible,” she said as Rick pressed another kiss to her neck, then her collarbone. “I promise to call you tomorrow on Christmas Eve, Mom. But I decided to stay in Moose Springs for Christmas this year.”
“Lana, you need to come home.” Jessica’s voice was sharp with the kind of tension she never let anyone see. “It’s Killian. There’s been an accident.”
Chapter 15
Flying wasn’t new to Rick. He’d travelled plenty in his semipro days and more than a couple of trips to see his parents. Flying in a chartered jet from Anchorage to Chicago on a moment’s notice? That was definitely new.
Rick had packed a bag without even asking if she wanted him to go with her. He knew how much she loved her cousin, and from what Rick could tell, Killian was in bad shape.
Like…really bad.
He’d gone through this before, and Rick’s heart was breaking for Lana. He didn’t want her to lose someone she loved. But if she did, she wasn’t going to go through the trauma alone. So he had boarded the plane with her, holding her hand as they flew directly to O’Hare. He kept her hand on the ride to the hospital.
Only when they stepped into the lobby did she let go, shifting the slightest bit away from his shoulder.
Lana kept her head held high as they walked through the hospital, her face a mask of dispassionate professionalism that didn’t match the caring, passionate woman he knew at all. The clicking of her heels on the floor seemed louder than normal, grating on Rick’s senses if only for the fact that she had changed into them on the plane. As if Lana felt she had to wear heels to the hospital.
“Are you sure you want to come in?” Lana asked him as they reached the elevators. “My aunt says that Killian’s hard to look at.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Rick said, respecting the extra inch she’d put between them. The instant she needed him, he’d close that distance faster than she could blink. “Are you sure we’re allowed in ICU? I thought only one family member at a time.”
At least that was how it had been after Diego barely survived his own family’s car crash as a teenager.
“The Montgomery name is on the side of the building. They’ve been letting us back in pairs.”
Two people were in the hall outside the hospital room, a man and a woman familiar to Rick from the pool hall, but he didn’t know them personally.
“Those are Killian’s best friends. My mother said they were there when he crashed,” Lana explained before stepping up to the pair. “Enzo, Haleigh. How is he?”
“Killian woke up finally.” Haleigh’s eyes were red rimmed, and her mascara had smeared from tears. “He’s upset.”
“What do you expect?” Enzo snapped at her. “He’s paralyzed.”
“They don’t know that. And at least he’s not dead.”
The two began to argue about whether or not Killian would survive his crash, their voices rising and falling, pulling glares from the nurse’s station.
“I don’t know what he sees in either of you,” Lana said with unusual sharpness. “If you’re intent on making a scene, please do so somewhere else.”
Ignoring their offended expressions, Lana brushed past them and entered the room. Rick didn’t know where he would be most helpful—tossing these two out of the hospital for her or following her.
He chose to follow her.
The astringent scent of chemicals hit his nostrils, combined with sweat and urine. Rick tried to ignore all the wires and the IV running from the machines behind him into Killian’s arms and torso, and the plastic tube leading to a catheter bag hanging on the edge of the bed. If the substantial bruising and lacerations on Killian’s face and arms didn’t clue him in to how hurt Lana’s cousin was, the blood in his urine was a bad sign.
Rick had known Killian was badly hurt. It wasn’t until that moment that it occurred to Rick that Killian might die.
One eye was swollen closed, the other opened a slit. Killian’s voice was so hoarse, Rick wouldn’t have recognized him. “I know. I look great, don’t I? A real Harrison Ford.”
“Nonsense,” Lana said calmly, sitting at his side. “Harrison Ford never had anything on you.”
His right eye opened a little more at Lana’s voice. “I was hoping I would get to see you.”
“Nothing could have stopped me.” Lana took his hand. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story.” Killian shifted, an expression of pain creasing his features. “The morphine isn’t doing much anymore. They won’t give me more.”
“I’ll talk to them.” Lana started to rise, but Killian grasped her hand tighter, holding on.
“Don’t leave. Please.”
Sinking back into her seat, Lana nodded, her eyes watery. “I’m not going anywhere. Is your mother here?”
“They sedated her. She’s very upset.”
“We’re all upset, dearest,” Lana said. “But stay positive. You’re too strong for some silly car crash to take you down.”