Page 76 of By the Letter

I pressed my palm to his chest. “I’d like to come with you if that’s okay.”

He yanked me into him, his face falling to the top of my head. “I’d like that, Goldie.”

“Then I’m there. Let’s go.”

Ben had suffered a head injury and lost consciousness for a worrisome amount of time. He was undergoing testing, so all we could do was wait. The Wells brothers did not do well sitting in the small waiting room. The three of them were taking turns wearing a path into the floor. When they weren’t pacing, they were either staring blankly at their phones or the wall.

Hospitals were familiar to me in a way that filled me with dread. I’d spent hours and hours in one with my mother andmonths in another with Frank. I had to remind my brain that wasn’t what this was. Ben was injured, but he’d walk out of here.

I hated to leave the room in case the doctor came back, but I couldn’t ignore my bladder another second. As unobtrusively as possible, I started for the door.

“Shira,” Roman called. “Are you leaving?”

I whirled around, alarmed by the panic in his voice. “I have to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

He exhaled harshly and bobbed his head. “Okay.” Then he came to me and cupped my face, his tired eyes darting between mine before pulling me into a hug. He curled around me, engulfing me in his scent and warmth, and I circled my arms around his waist, embracing him as fiercely as I could.

“Shira.Fucking Ben. What the fuck?”

“It’s okay,” I whispered into his chest. “He’s going to be okay.”

The strangled sound he made broke my heart. “Gotta believe that.”

“He’s tough,” I reminded him. “With a big, hard head—just like you.”

“That’s right.” He stepped back, running his hands down my arms and over my belly. “Don’t…you know, take too long.”

“I won’t,” I promised.

I caught Adrian’s eye before I turned toward the door. He sneered, then he shook his head and went back to looking at his phone.

If he were anyone else, I would have let his opinion of me roll off my back, but I didn’t want Roman’s brothers to dislike me. We’d be around each other for at least the next eighteen years. I wouldn’t be able to bear snarls and headshakes for almost two decades. I’d have to find a way to fix this. If he wasn’t willing to make an effort, I would just have to kill him with kindness.

Not tonight, though. I wasn’t up for it, and it wasn’t the time. If it made coping with what was happening with Ben easier, Adrian could hang onto his foul mood. I could handle it for one night.

Chapter Twenty-six

Roman

I squeezed my brother’shand. The motherfucker. Where the hell did he get off giving us a scare like that? Unconscious for seven minutes…what was that about?

Ben winked at Shira, who had been huddled by the wall, trying to make herself as invisible as possible, until he’d insisted she come stand by his bed. “Sorry I cut your first rugby match short. I’ll make it up to you.”

She let out a mix between a sob and a laugh. “I think you’ve cured me of rugby, Ben.”

“Nooo.” He lifted his free hand to his chest. “Say it isn’t so. I promise they don’t all end in bloodshed.”

“Your blood wasn’t shed,” Adrian intoned. “Your brain was scrambled.”

Ben snapped. “That’s right. My scrambled brain forgot why I was in this bed. Think they’ll let me keep the snazzy gown?”

Ben was fucking terrible at reading the room. Nate, Ade, and I were beside ourselves, and good ol’ Benny was cracking jokes. I knew it was his defense mechanism, his way of handling the situation. So he didn’t have to worry about how bad of a hit he took or what that meant for his season, but he needed to give it a rest. Ade looked about two jokes away from exploding, and Nate and I weren’t far behind.

His doctor came in, taking time to show us the images of Ben’s brain and neck. He was concussed and his neck strained. Since it wasn’t his first of the year, they’d have to do follow-up tests. But there were no immediate signs of bleeding or swelling, which made us all release a collective sigh of relief.

“He’ll need to stay with someone for at least tonight, ideally two or three nights.” The doctor scanned the room. “I see he has no shortage of family. I’ll let you all decide who will be responsible for Mr. Wells once he leaves.”

As soon as the doctor exited the room, I declared, “Ben’ll come home with me.”

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