Page 91 of State of Suspense

“He suffered a gunshot wound to the upper chest that narrowly missed his aorta. We’re taking him to surgery to retrieve the bullet and clean up the damage.”

“So he… he’s going to be okay?”

“He should make a full recovery, but it’ll take some time.”

Full recovery were the only words she wanted to hear.

She turned to George and handed over the baby.

He seemed flustered for a second before he accepted the tiny bundle into his arms.

Shelby leaned over the bed rail to kiss her husband’s cheek and to brush the hair back from his forehead. “You need to do whatever they tell you to because we love you and need you. Noah and Maisie need their daddy, and I need my love.”

“We should go,” the doctor said.

Shelby kissed Avery’s cool lips and forced herself to pull back, to let him go so the doctors could do whatever was needed to return him to her healthy and whole.

After she stepped back, they whisked him away with urgency that shattered her nerves, even with the optimistic prognosis. She retrieved the baby from George.

“They said the surgery will take about three hours. Do you want to go home to wait?”

She thought about that for a second. “No, I’ll stay here so I can be there when he comes out.”

A nurse told them where the OR waiting room was.

“I’m going to move the SUV, and then I’ll find you there.”

“Thank you for everything, George.”

“No problem.”

Shelby walked to the elevators and found the waiting room. At the reception desk, she was given a number to watch for updates from the OR on a digital board.

Just as she settled into a chair, the baby woke with a gasp and a hungry cry.

As she took off her coat and worked to situate the baby to breastfeed, Shelby hoped that George remembered to bring the diaper bag she’d left in the back seat in her haste to get to Avery.

What was she doing in an OR waiting room anyway?

Her phone was vibrating in her coat pocket with one text after another from concerned family and friends. She’d texted Avery’s parents and her own sisters on the way to the hospital and would update them as soon as she got the baby fed and changed.

Juggling a newborn in a hospital waiting room would make for a very long day, but she wouldn’t be anywhere else while her love was in surgery.

“He’s going to be just fine,” she whispered to the baby, who was covered by the pink cashmere scarf Avery had given her for Christmas. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for us. He’ll fight so hard to come home.”

Tears slid down her cheeks despite her intense desire to hold it together.

She thought she was seeing things when her sister Ginger came rushing into the room and took the seat next to Shelby.

“I came as fast as I could. How is he?”

“He’s in surgery. They said he should make a full recovery, but it was a close call.”

Ginger put her arm around Shelby, who leaned into the support.

“Thank you for coming.”

“I’m here for as long as you need me.”

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