Page 50 of Ever After All

“I’m assuming you know the whole story about me and Rosie?” I prompted.

“That you and Rosie secretly got married in Vegas and didn’t tell anybody, but Rhys suspected all along, and then you started a spouses-with-benefits arrangement,” Hazel said succinctly.

“And then, you found out Rosie’s brother was in recovery by accident. He asked you to give him a chance to tell Rosie himself, which is an honorable thing to do. I give him lots of credit for being in recovery, but wow, dumb move on his part. He should’ve told her that same day. When he finally told her, Rosie felt that everybody had been hiding it from her. Are we up to speed?” Phyllis asked.

“Wow.” I shook my head slowly. “I always figured you knew just about everything going on, but you really do stay on top of it.”

“We don’t gossip. People just tell us things. Like we’re talking to you about this.” Hazel angled her head to the side. “But we’re not talking about this to anybody else.”

“I’m sure we don’t know the whole story,” Phyllis added.

“You know, Rosie’s had to deal with some difficult things in life,” I said.

“Of course, she has.” Hazel’s tone softened. “Her mother died when she was a little girl. Her dad did the best he could, but no matter what, that was a huge loss. The way her brother looks up to her is just…” Hazel pressed her hand to her heart. “It’s the sweetest thing, and I’m sure he was afraid he’d let her down. We’re so proud of him.”

“Did you know Rosie’s mom?” I asked.

“Of course we knew her! She was a sweet woman,” Hazel said.

“I know you understand loss,” Phyllis offered. “When you lost your dad, you know what it does to a person.”

So I did. Dad dying had sent our mom into a spiral of grief. To this day, I knew that she wished she could go back and change the way things played out in the years that followed. Our parents had wanted a big family. The downside to that was our mom was pretty overwhelmed after our dad died. On the upside, we all had each other, and I wouldn’t trade that for a minute. Our father’s death had set into motion a chain of events that led to a lot of pain in our family.

All of this passed through my thoughts before I replied, “I do understand. I’m just trying to figure out what to do now.”

I ended up summarizing Griffin's suggestion. Phyllis and Hazel seemed to agree I should reach out in some way. “You could consider a big gesture, but that might be pushy since she wanted space,” Hazel said.

“Think of something small that would mean a lot to her,” Phyllis suggested.

After my conversation with them, I took my coffee and walked down the street to the brewery. Before I could overthink it, I slipped my phone out of my pocket. With coffee in one hand and my phone in the other, I began typing a text to Rosie.

Me: I want to give you space because you asked for it. But I also want you to know I love you. That’s it.

I didn’t even know if I had hit send before I heard a loud, screeching sound, and everything went black.

Chapter Thirty-One

Rosie

I reread Wyatt’s message with tears welling in my eyes. On the heels of a shaky breath, I tapped out a reply.

Me: I did ask for space, and you gave me plenty. Honestly, I owe you an apology. The whole thing hurt that day, and it was a lot. I know my brother put you in a bad spot. I love you, and I miss you. Let’s make this official-official. ??

I found the wedding ring emoticon and smiled to myself when I hit send. I had just arrived at work when his text came in. I set my phone in my locker and quickly changed into my scrubs, then checked it once more before I hopped into the shift. I tried not to be let down that he hadn’t responded yet.

I was heading down the hallway to the nurses’ station. It was a big circular desk with hallways branching off. I heard the sound of a siren departing the hospital as I pushed through the swinging door into the desk area. “What’s our status?”

The last ER supervisor quickly updated me on the status of the most recent patients who’d been admitted. One had come in with chest pains, and another after a severe asthma attack when they ran out of inhalers because their insurance wouldn’t pay for them.

I met Linda’s gaze. “In the next life, can we have some type of gladiator ring where we all get to put the insurance company people in the middle?” I let out a sharp sigh. “This is life and death for her. She’s had asthma since she was a little girl.”

Linda pressed her lips together. “I know. Sign me up. Onto the next, we have a new kid, just diagnosed with type one diabetes. He’s fighting his parents on his insulin shots. He should be ready for discharge soon. That call we just heard? Somebody got hit by a motorcycle on Main Street. Both the motorcyclist and the pedestrian were injured. I’m gonna get the hell out of here before they get back with that one. We have a full crew, and Dr. Jackson is on duty today, so you are in the best hands.”

I waved her off. I knew I only had a short window before the ambulance got back, so I zipped around to check on everyone. For a brief few minutes, it was quiet. That never lasted in an emergency room, but you took the moments when you got them. I was walking back down the hallway when I heard the doors to the emergency bay opening. The EMT crew came in, racing down the hallway with two stretchers.

I was checking on the guy driving the motorcycle when I glanced over my shoulder and realized the man he’d hit was Wyatt. My stomach plummeted to my feet, and my heart felt like it might literally fall out of my chest. I froze, just as I had been about to move to put the IV needle in the man’s wrist.

“Rosie!” one of the EMTs said.

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