“What did they say about your mom’s condition?”
“I haven’t heard anything yet.”
“Would it be okay if I come there to stay with you while she’s in the hospital?”
“You would do that?”
Amanda closed her eyes against a wild rush of emotion. “Of course I would.” She didn’t add that the hospital might have to contact child services if Stella didn’t have anyone to care for her while her mother was in the hospital. “Text me the name of the hospital. I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“I… um, thank you, Amanda.”
“If anyone asks who’s taking care of you, let them know I’m on my way and that Kelly has made me your legal guardian if needed.” They’d taken care of that detail shortly after they first made contact.
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you very soon.”
“Text me when you get here.”
“I will.”
Amanda ended the call and looked around for Landon, finding him talking to Lucas, Dani, Hunter, Megan, Hannah and Nolan. She walked over to join them. “Stella called.”
“Excuse me,” Landon said to the others as he took her aside. “What’s up?”
Amanda filled him in. “I need to go to her.”
“Yes, you do. Let me tell my family we’re leaving, and I’ll see about getting a car.”
“You don’t have to come, Landon. This is a big day for your family, between the wedding and the baby coming. I’d understand if you wanted to stay.”
“Is it okay if I want to go with you?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. We’re in this together. I’ll be right back.” He went over to have a word with his parents, and when he returned, Molly came with him.
She hugged Amanda. “I’ll be thinking of you.”
“Thank you, Molly.”
“Keep us posted on how you are and how they are.”
“We will. I’m sorry to steal Landon from a family event.”
“It’s fine. You need him more than we do right now.”
Landon hugged his mother. “You’ll tell Wade and Mia where we went?”
“I will.”
“I’ll check in later.”
“Drive carefully.”
Before they could get waylaid by the entire family, Landon and Amanda left the ballroom and took the elevator to their room to pack.
She went through the motions of putting belongings in the suitcase she’d borrowed from Landon after hers had been lost in the fire. While she changed and packed, she tried to compartmentalize the day’s events.
Focus on packing, checking out of the hotel, getting a car, driving to New York.
Don’t think about how you’re going to meet your daughter for the first time ever in a few short hours, or you might lose your shit.
I’m going to meet my daughter. Today.
Like a tidal wave coming over her, the realization bent her in half, hands flat against the marble vanity in the bathroom.
And then Landon was there, gathering her into his arms and holding on tight. “I’ve got you, honey. I’ve got you.”
Thank God for him, she thought, and not for the first time. At some point in the last few weeks, he’d become her rock as well as her best friend. “I can’t believe I’m going to meet her today.”
“I know. You have to be reeling.”
She pulled back from him and took tissues from the box on the counter. “I don’t have time to reel right now. She needs me, and I’ve got to get to her before someone thinks they should call child services or something.”
“I called down to the concierge. The hotel is arranging for a car for us. It’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
“How’d you do that so fast?”
“I told them it was an emergency.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed her forehead. “Anything for you. What else can I do?”
“How do you feel about driving to New York? I’d be afraid of driving off the road again because I’m a hot mess.”
“I’ll drive, and you’re not a hot mess. You’re a beautiful mom about to be reunited with her beloved child under less-than-ideal circumstances.”
Amanda’s chin quivered as she tried desperately to hang on to her composure.
“You’re doing the right thing stepping up for her, and it’ll matter to her that you came running when she needed you.”
“Keep telling me that, okay?”
“As many times as you need to hear it.”
Over the next few hours, she repeatedly needed to hear it as they faced traffic delays and a monsoon-like rainstorm that turned a drive of two hours and forty-five minutes into nearly four hours of hell. They received frequent text updates on Amanda’s phone from Lucy about Cameron’s condition. The last report had been that she was hoping to be able to push soon.
Amanda’s nerves were shredded by the time they reached the hospital and parked. It was nearly eight o’clock by then, and even though she’d been in constant contact with Stella during the ride, she was still as stressed out as she’d ever been.
“Are you ready for this?” Landon asked.
“No,” she said, sounding slightly hysterical, even to her own ears. “Not even kinda.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell.”
―Edna St. Vincent Millay
Landon covered her cold hand with his warm one, infusing her with heat and confidence she badly needed. “It’s going to be fine, Amanda. You’ve already met by FaceTime. This is just a formality.”
She nodded. “Thank you again for being here. I’m not sure I could’ve done this by myself.”
“Yes, you could have if you had to. No question. Nothing could’ve kept you from her when she needed you. But I’m glad I could be here.”
Amanda glanced at the hospital entrance, steeling herself to give Stella the support she needed. This was about Stella, not her. Sure, keep telling yourself that. She sent Stella a text to let her know they’d arrived and were on the way in. “Let’s go.”
They got out of the car, went in through the main entrance and followed the signs to the elevators. The doors opened on the sixth floor, and there she was, waiting for them. Like they’d known each other forever, Stella stepped into Amanda’s outstretched arms and held on for dear life.
Despite the circumstances and the location, it would go down as one of the best moments of Amanda’s life. Stella fit snuggly in her arms, her head tucked under Amanda’s chin. Her hair smelled of strawberries and cookies and sweetness. Amanda breathed her in, feeling the agitation she’d lived with for twelve long years finally settle.
“Thank you so much for coming.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Somehow I doubt that, but I’m thankful anyway.”
Amanda reluctantly released her. “This is Landon.” She watched as he hugged Stella, too.