Page 31 of Grayson's Angel

Chapter 13

Kara staredat the white double doors in the hospital waiting room.

Hank had carried her to his truck after she collapsed. On the way to the hospital, she tried calling Noah, Grayson’s brother, numerous times. She left him messages to call her back. When they arrived at the hospital, the shift nurse informed them that Grayson was in surgery and they would get an update when he was out. Taz and Bear had stayed back at the ranch to work with the sheriff and give their statements.

She was still numb from losing her dad, but the thought of Grayson dying ripped out her heart.

Bozeman Health Hospital’s waiting room was quiet. She and Hank sat waiting for answers. The white clock on the wall made the only noise echoing through the room. The constant ticking reminded her how much time had passed by.

Noise from the nurses’ station caught Kara’s attention. She saw a man about Grayson’s height with a similar muscular build. Unlike Grayson’s short hair, this man’s hair was long, and he wore dark-framed glasses, reminding her of a nerdy version of Grayson.

“Where is my brother?” the man demanded.

Hank stood up from the chair next to Kara. “Noah.”

The man whipped his head around and came their way. Kara noticed that he walked with a slight limp. When he reached them, she expected him to shake hands with Hank first. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Kara and pulled her into a hug.

With his touch, she found she couldn’t hold back the tears. She sobbed on his clean white shirt.

“Grayson is a fighter,” Noah whispered into her ear before releasing her from his hug.

Hank grabbed Noah’s hand and pulled him in for a one-arm hug.

“Hell, man. We’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

Something passed over Noah’s face. “I should’ve looked into Josiah more.” He let out a sigh. “I did more research once you guys headed to the ranch. That man was under suspicion for killing his wife. I tried calling Grayson back to let him know, but his phone kept going to voicemail.”

“We turned them off. We didn’t want them going off and ruining the rescue mission.”

Noah sat his large frame in the seat next to Kara. When he crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles bulged. “I caught the first flight out when he wouldn’t answer.” He let out another sigh. “Grayson always answers, and I can’t lose another brother.” There was so much sadness in his voice that Kara knew he was referring to the SEAL team that was lost on his last mission.

“Did you get a hold of your other brothers?” Kara felt bad. She hadn’t even thought about his other brothers. Grayson hadn’t talked about them much. They were both deployed overseas.

“I called and left a message. If they are off on a mission, they might not get the call for a few days.”

Kara glanced up at the clock on the wall. Grayson had been in surgery for over an hour. Sitting in the waiting room brought back memories of her mother. The last surgery her mom went through to remove a tumor took eight hours. By that time, Kara’s father had taken up drinking because he couldn’t deal with his wife’s impending death. Kara had spent eight hours in the waiting room, waiting for news. When the doctor walked out with a grim look on his face, she knew the news was going to be bad. The tumor had spread to a section of her spinal cord and couldn’t be removed.

“Kara, are you okay?”

Thinking about her mom had tears streaming down her face again. Luckily, the white double doors opened before she had time to answer. A doctor in his late forties came into the waiting room. “Steele family?”

Noah and Kara both rushed to where the doctor was standing. Hank stood back, letting them get the information from the doctor.

“How is he?” Noah and Kara asked at the same time.

The doctor glanced down at his sheet once more before answering. “He made it through surgery. It was touch-and-go for a while. The bullet ricocheted off his tenth rib and punctured his lung. He will need to take it easy for the next month, and someone will need to help him.”

“I will be there,” Kara answered.

Noah raised a brow, but she didn’t care what Noah thought. When Grayson had almost died in the ambulance, she made the decision to be by his side if he made it through. She knew she loved him and wanted to spend her life with him.

“When can we see him?”

“You can go back now.”

Kara followed a nurse down the white hallway. When the nurse pushed open the door to Grayson’s room, Kara hurried to his side. He looked so pale. She took his hand and squeezed it.

Noah pulled a chair to the other side of Grayson’s bed. They both sat in silence, waiting for him to wake up.

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