“Sweetie, Kyle knows you’re sorry, and it’s all going to be okay.”
But she was shaking her head. “You don’t understand, Aunt Syd. And I want you to know I’m sorry—I’m sorry I made you break up with him and for all the rotten things I said and did.”
“Hales, we don’t have to talk about this right now. You need to rest.”
Yawning again, her eyes drifted closed. “But I need to tell you…”
Holding her hand, Sydney sat quietly as Haley fell asleep. Her mind was racing with the need to know the specifics about what happened and how it happened that Kyle and Hunter were on the boat that found her, but there was no way she was leaving her niece’s side right now.
An hour later, Haley was settled in a room and sound asleep when Sydney stepped out into the hallway. Leaning against the wall, she turned and saw Violet and Hunter walking toward her.
“Hey,” Violet said softly. “We just wanted to check and see how the two of you are doing.”
“We’re good,” Sydney replied before simply going up to Hunter and hugging him. “Thank you. I don’t know how you did what you did, but I will forever be thankful to you.”
He hugged her back, but once he released her, he looked at her oddly. “Thanks, but…all I did was drive the truck and make some calls. The rest was all Kyle.”
“Um…what?”
He nodded. “I went to tell him what was going on, and then we heard the call about someone finding Haley’s bike, and he took it from there.” He smiled at her and then at Violet. “It was seriously impressive how he seemed to know exactly what to do.”
Sydney looked beyond where they were all standing. “Is he here? I’d really like to thank him. I had no idea all that happened. The whole ride over here, I just couldn’t seem to think beyond just getting to Haley.” Then she looked at Violet. “I don’t even know if I thanked you for driving me here.”
“You did,” Violet said and reached out to hug her.
Sydney took a step back. “So is Kyle still here? Haley said they didn’t have room in the ambulance for him and that he went in the other one but…that just seemed odd. I figured she was just confused.”
“He’s downstairs,” Hunter explained. “He got a pretty big gash on his head from the boat so they’re running some tests to make sure he’s alright before they release him. I have a feeling it’s just a concussion, but the doctors want to make sure.”
Her knees felt like they were about to give out, and suddenly Hunter’s arm was around her. After a minute, he released her.
“You okay?”
“Um…yeah. Sorry.” She paused and took a few calming breaths. “Can I go down and see him?”
Usually Hunter seemed like a pretty easygoing guy, but when Sydney looked up at him, she saw his expression harden a little.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said after a moment. “They need him to stay calm and I don’t think that will happen if you show up.”
“Hunter…” Violet interrupted, her hand on his arm seeming to warn him.
He seemed to consider his words before he spoke again. “I get that this situation hasn’t been easy for you—you’ve had to take on a lot since losing your sister. But it hasn’t been easy for Kyle either. You can’t mess with him anymore, Sydney.”
“I haven’t been messing with him!” she cried and immediately put her hand over her mouth.
“It messed with him years ago when the two of you broke up, but that was nothing compared to how he’s been this last week. It damn near killed him to lose you and Haley. And watching how frantic he was today and what he was willing to do to make sure he got to Haley was nothing short of heroic.” He raked a hand through his hair and took a step away before turning back. “He loves you and he loves her. He did what he did today because of that. Don’t go down there and give him hope if there is none.” Another pause. “Just…think about it.”
Violet looked mildly uncomfortable, but asked, “Can we see Haley?”
“Uh, sure. She was asleep when I stepped out here, but…she could be awake. I’ll wait out here.” Stepping aside, she watched them go into her niece’s room while a war waged within her. The urge to go and make sure Kyle was okay was so strong, but…what Hunter said made sense. Seeing her was the last thing Kyle needed right now, so rather than making matters worse, she’d keep her distance.
And maybe someday they’d be able to see each other without it hurting so much.
14
His head was pounding, his body ached, and he was in a shitty mood.
Still, it was hard to be too much of a grouch when he was staring at a box of baked goods from Henderson’s. Opening it, he grinned at the assortment and immediately grabbed a cinnamon roll.
“Damn, I was hoping you weren’t going to take that one,” Violet said as she reached in and snagged a blueberry muffin. With a head shake, she added, “This is just a poor substitute for a cupcake.”
Carefully, he sat down and took a bite of his breakfast. “Thanks for bringing these. I need to eat with the pain pills, but nothing I had was as good as this.”
“Don’t thank me. I went in to get some cupcakes, but all everyone’s talking about is what a hero you are. Mrs. Henderson demanded I bring these to you.” Grinning, she took a bite of the muffin. “I’m simply the courier.”
He had gotten home from the hospital late last night, and even though Hunter had invited him to come and stay with them, Kyle declined. He was physically and emotionally drained and really just wanted to be alone.
His father, however, had come and spent the night.
Due to the concussion, he didn’t want Kyle to be alone. And just when he had left for work and he thought he’d finally get to be by himself, Violet showed up.
At least she had baked goods.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“Like my head is ready to split in two.” Standing, he walked over to make himself a cup of coffee. “You want one?”
“No, thanks. Unless it’s decaf…?”
“Sorry, no. Just the full-throttle stuff.”
“Well damn. How about some milk?”
“Sure.”
She jumped up and helped herself. “Sorry. You don’t need to be waiting on me. I’m supposed to be doing that for you.”
“Honestly, Vi, Dad woke me up every two hours and I’d really just kill for some uninterrupted sleep. I appreciate you stopping by and all, but…”
“I promise to leave you alone once you eat your breakfast and keep it down.” When he looked at her like she was crazy, she shrugged. “Sorry. Those are the rules. I promised Hunter I’d stop by, and he said if you give me grief, he’ll show up here with the entire squad to check on you.”
Groaning, he simply admitted defeat and sat down to finish his breakfast.
They talked about nonsense stuff and he knew she was letting him take the lead on what they discussed. Unfortunately, there were things he simply had to know.
“Have you heard any updates on Haley today?”