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“Shit,” I said. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Dalton asked.

Cassie shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. They left already and the hospital is less than five miles away. My dad wanted to follow them there but Deck told him they’d call right away with any news.” She craned her neck around. “I’m going to track down the rest of the family to let them know. Dalton, do you think you could pull Cami aside? She’ll definitely want to hear this.”

“I’m on it,” Dalton said and immediately started navigating the wedding crowd.

“Tell me what to do,” I said to Cassie, my stomach clenching as I thought about Deck Gentry and everything he’d done for me, for my brothers, for everyone who was lucky enough to call him friend or family. He loved his only daughter beyond words and he had to be worried sick right now. “I’ll make sure it happens. Anything anyone needs.”

Cassie gave me a small smile. “Izzy made us promise we wouldn’t cut the reception short. So let’s just keep the party going and stay positive.”

I nodded. “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” I said. “She’s Deck’s daughter so she’s made of tough stuff.”

“Damn right,” Cassie said.

She reached up to plant a quick kiss on my lips then paid a visit to a table where some other Gentry relations were laughing together. Stone and Conway Gentry were the owners of three local garages, although they were once small town Emblem boys who came from a shitty home situation. Like so many of us who had climbed out of bad circumstances, they’d gotten their start with a boost from Deck. Now they were fathers and husbands and successful businessmen. Stone’s pretty, petite wife Evie saw Cassie approaching first and rose from her chair with a smile on her face but the smile quickly fell away as soon as Cassie started talking.

I couldn’t really stand around staring at everyone helplessly. Plus my bladder was bursting. The closest restrooms were down the corridor where I’d escorted that nice old lady who I’d since learned was an ancient great aunt on Cami’s side. She’d made the trip up here from Emblem with Saylor’s dad.

After taking care of business I decided to look around for Cord since I hadn’t seen him return to the ballroom with Cassie. I just wanted him to know that I was around and glad to help.

Cord wasn’t anywhere in sight but I did run into someone else. Derek Gentry was seated on a stone bench in a half hidden alcove with no company but a half empty bottle of Schnapps as he stared out a picture window into the darkness.

“Derek?” I prodded because he didn’t seem to notice I was there.

He jerked, annoyance and a touch of guilt on his face, but relaxed when he saw it was just me.

“Hey, man,” he said, quickly tucking the bottle away as if I didn’t have eyes.

“Have you been sitting out here long?” I asked, curious why Derek, who always seemed like he ranked high on the sociability scale, would be draining a bottle in a quiet corner all by himself. It was possible he had a reason. A guy might look for a quiet moment like this if he was having a really crappy day. Or if he didn’t want anyone to know just how badly he needed a drink.

Derek shifted and coughed, obviously embarrassed. “Not too long,” he said.

It was none of my business but nonetheless I felt sort of big brotherly in this situation. Even though Derek wasn’t a kid he was Chase’s son and Chase had always gone out of his way to be good to Brecken, tutoring him in school subjects, including him in trips to major league ball games and other events with his own sons.

I crossed my arms. “Can I ask you something?”

He shrugged. “Shoot.”

“Are you old enough to be hanging out with that bottle?”

“Not quite. Does it really matter?”

From a legal standpoint Derek was technically a man even if he wasn’t old enough to drink. Anyway, I didn’t have the authority to throw much shade, not when a few years ago I was doing much worse than sneaking some drinks at a family function.

“You should go check in with your folks,” I said, avoiding his question.

Now he was curious. “Why?”

“Your cousin Izzy was taken to the hospital. She had some stomach problems and her parents wanted to get it checked out right away.”

He frowned. “Is she okay?”

“I hope so. Deck said he’d call if there was anything to worry about.”

“That sucks,” he said with a wince but he got to his feet. I noticed the way he was still holding onto the bottle and the way he looked at it. There was something in his expression that made me uneasy. I’d known plenty of addicts in my time and I knew that look, the thirsty look. I didn’t like seeing that look on Derek’s face and made a mental note to mention it to Cassie later.

“Let me take care of that for you,” I said, trying to sound casual and extending my hand to take the bottle.

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