Page 71 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

He blinked three times like he had a few seconds ago, but that wasn’t all—Cord squeezed my fingers.

“Do it again,” I whispered, and hedid.

“Be right back,” said Buck, racing from the room. He returned a minute later with the nurse who’d said Cord was agitated.

“I heard you moved your hand,” she said to him.

He blinked twice.

“Can you show me?”

This time, the pressure of his fingers was stronger than before.

“Dr. Oldham will want an update,” she said, hurrying from the room like Beau had.

“Thank you, Juni,” he said, resting his hand on my shoulder.

I wanted to tell him I hadn’t done anything; Cord had.

It was after nine by the time Cord fell asleep for more than a few minutes at a time.

“Go get some rest,” Buck said when he saw me struggling to keep my eyes open too. “If he wakes up, I’ll explain why you aren’t here. After the fuss he made about you not eating, my guess is if he could, he’d tell you to go home too.”

“I don’t want him to get agitated again.” I stood and brushed the hair from his forehead.

“I promise I won’t leave,” said Buck.

I’d sent a message to my brother earlier, telling him I planned to stay longer than I’d originally said. He’d responded he’d let everyone know. Now, I texted again and asked to be picked up. A few minutes later, I received a message from my mom instead, saying she was downstairs, but they wouldn’t let her come up.

I responded I’d be right down. Before leaving, I knelt down and kissed Cord’s forehead. “I’ll be back in the morning,” I said more quietly than a whisper.

When I made eye contact with Buck, he nodded once, raised his hand, and waved.

Instead of just meeting my mom when I exited the elevator, I saw my dad and Gray with her. Until they enveloped me in a group hug, I hadn’t realized how much I needed it.

“Come on, June-bug. Let’s get you home,” said my dad, who linked his arm through mine. My mom did the same thing on the opposite side.

“Hey, what about me?” Grayson teased.

“You can read your sister a bedtime story,” my dad joked back.

As we walked, I rested my head on my mom’s shoulder.

“We’ll talk once we’re home,” she whispered.

I nodded and wiped my tears on her jacket.

“Can I have pancakes?” I asked.

She smiled. “Gray, can you make your sister pancakes?” she said over her opposite shoulder.

“Plain or blueberry?” he asked.

“I think we’re out of blueberries,” my mom told him.

“I picked some up this morning,” said my dad.

The conversation was as mundane as they came, but like the group hug, it was exactly what I needed.

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