Page 138 of Fought and Freed

This was the last time she’d see Grant, and she wasn’t sure if she could do this. At the same time, she wished she’d had a chance to say goodbye to Ryan all those years ago.

She took the seat while Ryder stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Grant, but I hope you can.” She sniffled. “I want to thank you for everything you did for me. Without you, I’m not sure how I would have made it through rehab. You helped me through the roughest time of my life, and I’ll never forget you for that. Now, you’re going to help save people’s lives with your organs. You’re going to become the hero you tried to be.”

She grabbed his hand. “I promise you, Grant, I will find Kelly, and if we can’t find any of your extended family, then I’ll adopt her.”

Maddy peered over her shoulder at Ryder to check his reaction. She’d been thinking about this since she learned of Kelly, but she hadn’t talked to the guys about it.

Ryder smiled. “We’d love for her to join our family.”

Tears once again blurred Maddy’s vision. Man, she loved these guys.

She stood and leaned down to kiss Grant’s head. “Don’t raise too much Hell up there in Heaven. I’m going to miss you.”

The nurse came in. “We need to keep him plugged in until we alert the recipients. Then, we’ll notify you when you can come to collect his remains.”

“Do you know what organs he’ll be donating?” Maddy asked.

The nurse nodded. “His eyes are going to a ten-year-old. His heart was in surprisingly good condition for someone who used drugs. Same with his liver and kidneys. We should be able to donate all of those.”

“Good.” Maddy turned back to Grant and blew out a breath. “Go be a hero. And don’t worry about your sister. I’ll tell her how you did your best to save her. I love you, Grant. Goodbye.”

She hurried out of the room but stopped right outside the door.

When the nurse came out, Maddy touched her arm. “Thank you for eveerything you’ve done for us. You’re one of the most compassionate people I have ever met.”

The nurse’s hand rose to her mouth, and her lips wobbled a bit. “Thank you. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

Maddy and Ryder returned to the waiting room, where the rest were waiting for her, and they each gave her a hug and a kiss.

“Let’s go. I’ve had enough of hospitals for now.” Maddy hugged her arms around herself as she looked around. “They’ll call us when we can come to get Grant.”

Cody wrapped his arm around her shoulders while Skylar held her hand as they left the hospital.

On the way home, she rode with Cody in his truck, just staring out the window.

Cody glanced over at her. “Are you excited about starting your cooking class?”

Maddy tried to drum up her enthusiasm. “Yeah, I’ll be learning all those desserts from around the world. Janet can teach me so much.”

“Great. So, how soon can you make us some?” he joked.

Thankful for his attempt at distracting her, she reached over to squeeze his arm. “Soon, I promise.”

* * *

Three days later, the hospital called to inform Maddy that Grant was ready.

Once she hung up, she called Lucca, and he told her he’d call the funeral director to go collect Grant.

Maddy decided there was no reason to have a viewing, so they would just meet up at the cemetery.

On the day of his burial, her guys, along with Harry, Lucca, and Torr, went to the cemetery.

Lucca had arranged for a priest, and he performed the final prayers as they laid flowers at the gravesite.

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