Delayed Call Read online

  She scrambled to put them on as she cried, “Okay, I’m coming.”

  “Okay. I’ll meet you here.”

  Throwing the phone down, she pulled her shirt on and covered her face, but then she was in Vaughn’s arms, his lips at her head. “Come on, let’s get to the airport.”

  They didn’t talk to the whole time. She sensed he knew what was going on because he had come so quickly. She was grateful he had a key to her room. He’d probably heard from Trish, but all she could do was think the worst as they made the short trip to the airport from the hotel. Vaughn made calls while she held her phone, waiting for a call from anyone after she had sent a text to Russell that she wouldn’t be there, that her brother had been rushed to the hospital. He’d wished her well, but she couldn’t even appreciate that. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but as always, the guilt was overwhelming. Very overpowering, and as she tried to regulate her breathing, Vaughn held her hand, tightly.

  Hanging up the phone as he pulled into the airport, he said, “I got you a ticket, but it doesn’t leave for another hour. Sorry, it was the soonest. I called Jensen, told him what was going on. He’s going to cover for me until I know you’re good.”

  “But don’t you have to be at the rink in two hours?”

  “An hour and half, but it’s fine. I’ll miss warm-ups and that’s okay. I’ll deal with it.”

  She let her head fall back, and her tears ran down her face as he parked. “What if I get there and he’s dead?”

  “Stop it right fucking now, Brie. Right now,” he demanded as he threw open his door, but she couldn’t move. Why was this so hard? She had been through it twice before, Rodney’s heart acting up. But this, combined the fact that she hadn’t spoken to him last night, had her in knots. Her tears were quickly rolling down her face as her door opened and Vaughn pulled her out of the car. Wrapping his arms around her, he tipped her face up and looked deep in her eyes. “You’ll get there, and he’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Dawn jumped into action, Trish was there, and Marl met the ambulance at the end of the road to let them in. This isn’t like before. I promise you, Brie, it’s not. He will be okay.”

  She could only nod. Her gut was a mess, and she knew it wasn’t from throwing up but from the dread that was circling in it. She felt like she was suffocating, but she could breathe. It was the oddest feeling. Taking her hand, he held her suitcase in the other as they rushed inside to get her ticket. But of course, the line was out of this world.

  “Fuck, I should have had it sent to my phone,” he groaned as they moved up in the line. She was shaking as she stood by him, checking her phone every second for even a bit of news. When it suddenly started to ring, she answered it without looking who it was.

  “Brie.”

  “Dawn?”

  “His pacemaker is malfunctioning, badly. They are admitting him to the hospital.”

  Brie’s face scrunched up, her lip wobbling as she slowly inhaled. “Can he talk?”

  “Honey, pull the phone away from your ear, we’re on FaceTime.”

  “Oh!” she hollered out, and when she pulled her phone back, Rodney was there, looking at her with Dawn beside him. A sob left Brie’s lips as her own heart stopped in her chest. “Rodney.”

  “Hey, B. I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

  “I didn’t feel good last night, and I didn’t tell Dawn.”

  “Rodney,” she cried. “Why?”

  “’Cause I wanted to be okay. I didn’t want to leave.”

  “Rodney, honey, you’re killing my heart here,” she cried as Vaughn’s hand stroked up and down her back. “I’m coming. I’ll be there when you wake up, okay?”

  He nodded. “Okay. Are you mad at me?”

  “No,” she said, her voice breaking as she shook her head hard. “I’m just glad you’re okay and they’re gonna fix you up quickly.”

  “Okay, I love you, B.”

  “Oh, Rodney, I love you more.”

  She covered her mouth to hold in the sob that wanted to escape, and Dawn took the phone and held it out to look at Brie. “They want to get him in now, but they aren’t sure if they’ll be able to. They’re monitoring him, but the damn thing keeps timing out almost. They’re getting ahold of his doctor. The cardiologist on the floor is ready to perform, but Rodney wants Dr. Miller, so they’re seeing if they can wait for him or if they need to go back now.”

  Brie could only nod. Taking the phone, Vaughn said, “She’s getting on the plane in like thirty minutes. She’ll be there in about three hours. Call me if you need to, and make sure Marl is at the airport to get her.”

  “I’ll tell him,” Brie heard Dawn say, and then he hung up, tucking her phone into her pocket as they reached the desk, finally. Once they got her ticket, they rushed to security, and her heart caught. She wanted so badly for him to go with her. To be there. But she knew he couldn’t. She looked up at him, and her lips wobbled as their eyes met.

  Cupping her face, he leaned his head toward hers and nodded. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  “Okay.”

  “Don’t worry, don’t stress, and text me as soon as you land and know something. I might not answer, but I’ll call you back as soon as the game is over.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He kissed her lips, and his eyes fell shut, as did hers. “I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could go, be there with you. I’m sorry, Brie. Really.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she whispered as she clung to him. “But I do wish you could go.”

  “I’ll tell Marl to bring some whiskey with him.”

  She smiled against his lips as she moved her nose to his. “Okay.”

  “I wish I had something on me. When I used to sit in the hospital with my mom during Nathan’s treatments, I would have this coin, but I buried it with Nathan so that he had a piece of me. I didn’t think I would ever need it again.”

  She opened her eyes, and her tears streamed down her face as she met his gaze. That was the sweetest thing she had ever heard, and the words were there. She wanted to say them so badly, but she couldn’t. If he rejected her right there, she would be crushed. And if he said them, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t believe him. Swallowing hard, she smiled. “A kiss.”

  “A kiss?”

  “Give me a kiss, and I’ll take that.”

  A smile covered his lips before he wrapped her up tight in his arms. “That’s a given.”

  She tried to smile, but then his mouth was devouring hers in a kiss that had her toes curling and her heart fluttering in her chest. He held her like nothing could ever touch her, and in his arms, she felt that way. His heart was pounding against hers, and as his kiss grew hungrier, she didn’t want to face the harsh reality that was her life. As his tongue swept along hers, she melted into him, and she knew she would never love anyone like she loved Vaughn Johansson.

  She just wished she knew if he loved her too.

  Brie found herself in the dimly lit ICU room by Rodney’s bed with her leg bouncing and her stomach in knots. Covering her face with one hand, she cried into it as her other rested on his. His surgery had gone well, and their hopes were high. But then Rodney started having seizures, and no one could explain why. Which was why her baby brother was in a medically induced coma. As she watched his chest rise and fall thanks to the breathing tube they hadn’t removed, her heart ached.

  She was in hell.

  She had gotten to the hospital just as the seizures had started. He hadn’t been out of recovery yet, but when she walked in, Dr. Miller was talking to Dawn, letting her know what was going on and that they had to keep him under until further notice. When Brie asked how long that would be, he couldn’t give her an answer. They had to run some tests, is all he would tell her. Dawn and Marl tried to be supportive, and any other day, she would have gone to them with open arms. But what she wanted, or better yet, what she needed was Vaughn.

  Glancing at her phone,