Page 73 of Roaring Fork Rockstar

Her pleading voice nearly shattered me. “Of course I can.” I climbed beside her into the narrow hospital bed, careful not to disturb the IV line, and held my daughter as close as I could.

Holt kissed each of our foreheads. “I have to make a couple of phone calls, but I’m not leaving.”

“Promise?” Luna whispered.

“I promise.” He reached for her tiny hand and wrapped his pinky around hers.

20

HOLT

Istepped into the hallway outside the room, determined to make the calls I needed without disturbing Keltie or Luna. After rounding a corner, I pulled my phone from my pocket. As I’d told Keltie, Ben Rice would have more sway over Remi Gilbert than I would. Most likely, the asshole wouldn’t even take my call. I scrolled to Ben’s number, but after several rings, his voicemail picked up.

“Ben, it’s Holt. I need your help with something important involving Luna—Keltie’s daughter. Call me as soon as you can. It’s about Remi.”

I hung up and stared at the phone for a moment. This shouldn’t be so complicated. All we needed was for the guy to get tested. But given how he’d denied Luna was even his and abandoned Keltie when she was pregnant, I couldn’t imagine him agreeing that easily.

The worst part was watching Keltie wrestle with the knowledge that she’d have to reach out to the man who’d hurt her so badly. I’d seen the flash of panic in her eyes that she’d quickly masked. It was the same expression she wore the day she’d seen me talking to him in the street in front of her house.

I needed a plan B if Ben couldn’t help. I dialed Buck’s number, grateful when he answered quickly.

“Everything okay?” Buck’s voice came through clearly even though I could hear Buckaroo having a meltdown in the background.

“Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.”

“Nah, TJ says sometimes we have to let him cry. No matter how much it rips our hearts out to do.” I heard a door open and close, then silence. “How’re you doin’, Holt?”

“I’m okay. It’s Keltie and Luna I’m worried about. She started treatments this morning,” I said, keeping my voice low. “And this is the harder part; the doctors are recommending a bone marrow transplant. They want to test as many potential donors as possible, including her biological father.”

“How’s Keltie handling it?” Buck asked.

“Better than I would in her position.” I leaned against the wall. “Buck, I can’t walk away from them.”

“And you don’t have to,” he assured me. “It’s all taken care of with Six-pack. You have permission to stay in Denver as long as needed.”

A nurse walked past, making quick eye contact before continuing down the hall. I lowered my voice further.

“Anyway, there’s another reason I called. A couple, actually.”

“What’s up?” Buck asked.

“A woman from the Miracles of Hope charity—Echo West—was here, meeting with Keltie yesterday. Get this, she’s Bridger’s mother.”

“Small world.”

“Anyway, that’s not the important part. I’ve been trying my damnedest to figure out why this charity is important enough that if one of us screws up, everything will go to them.”

“And?”

“I’m not there yet, but she mentioned something that’s been bothering me. The charity used to have a different name.”

“Oh?” Buck’s tone sharpened with interest.

“Scarlett’s Hope,” I said. “Named after the founder’s daughter who died of leukemia. After the founder passed away, they changed it to Miracles of Hope.”

The silence on the other end of the line stretched for several seconds.

“Scarlett,” Buck finally said. “That’s not a common name.”

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