Page 43 of Wild Hearts

“Hey Mom,” I say.

“Hey baby, are you almost there?”

“I am.”

“Good,” she sighs. “I don’t understand why you insisted on doing the drive in one day. You could have broken it into two.”

“It’s a thirteen-hour drive, Mom. Trust me, I can handle it.”

“I know, I know. ‘I’m a SEAL, Mom, I don’t need sleep,’” she mocks, making us both laugh.

“Are you excited to see Shane?”

“You have no idea,” I sigh, rubbing my face. “Don’t get me wrong, phone calls and texts are great, but I’m ready to just be with her.” I hear Mom sniffle. “You alright, Mom?”

“I just love hearing you talk about her. Seeing you together,” she sighs. “Just made me so happy. Now if only your brother would find someone to settle down with.”

“You might be waiting a while,” I tease, making us both laugh again.

The truck alerts me to someone else trying to call.

“Hey Mom, I need to let you go. A Colorado number is beeping through.”

“Okay, drive safe. Let me know when you get in.”

“Will do.”

“Bye baby.”

“Bye, Mom.” I switch over to the other call. “Hello?”

“Hey, Mick.”

“Jake?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he sighs.

“Did I give you my number?” I frown, trying to remember.

“I got it from Josh.” He pauses. “Where are you?”

I look at the GPS. “About two hours out.”

“Look, don’t freak out.” He pauses again. “But I just brought Shane into the hospital.”

I squeeze the wheel, trying not to freak out.

“You there?” Jake asks.

“What happened? Is she okay?” I rasp.

“She’ll be fine, but I think she either broke her ankle or foot. She’s in with the doctor now.”

“Why aren’t you back there with her?” I grind out.

“Because I thought you would like to know so you can head straight to the hospital instead of heading to the house.”

I take a deep breath. “Thank you.”

---