Page 12 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

But Nan…she’d never faltered.

Not once.

And what had happened to Nan was no joke.

But even as she tried to focus on Nan, she couldn’t help but shiver at the way Ben had just held her. And while Asher was a fine lover and respectful of her boundaries, never in their most intimate moments had she felt with him like she had in Ben’s arms just then.

Every part of her was alive, as if her blood vibrated rather than pulsed through her veins.

When she walked back to the band with Ben’s mum, Pat, ten minutes later, so many of them looked at her expectantly. And the news wasn’t great. She was still absorbing it, running through the implications. Struggling to come up with the words to help them understand the severity without worrying them unnecessarily, which was a totally impossible task.

Pat, as next of kin, had talked to the doctor with Chaya present so she could hear everything Pat was told. Dr. Fields has been in charge of her rotation in the casualty department, and he’d seemed relieved to see her. She knew first-hand it was always easier if there was a doctor in the family to help the rest navigate their way through the diagnosis they were presented with.

Now she wished she didn’t have to translate what it all meant.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Jase asked, as the band blocked the corridor to hear her.

Chaya took a deep breath. “It’s not great. But, Nan’s a fighter and she has been triaged quickly.”

Matt stood. “What did they say?”

Ben stepped back out of the cubicle to join everyone else.

“The current thinking is that Nan had a stroke. It’s too early to say whether it was an ischemic stroke, which is more common, or a haemorrhagic stroke, which is more uncommon. Ischemic means there’s a blockage. Haemorrhagic means there’s been a bleed. They’re reviewing her CT scan now. Nan has hypertension and this can often be linked to strokes, but it’s too early to decide the cause. The key is fast treatment.”

“But she’d been making all those changes, to her diet and things, right?” Alex said.

Chaya nodded. “She was. And she had really stepped up her walking. But that still doesn’t make her immune from a stroke. She’ll be eighty in a couple of years.” She’d even helped Nan write out the health plan last year. One that shifted her diet away from the cakes and pastries she loved to eat and loved to make for the boys. It had included a step counter app on her phone so she could keep track of how far she was going. But guilt settled in her stomach when she realised that she hadn’t checked how Nan had been doing with it since the end of February.

Six weeks had passed because she’d been busy at the hospital, dating Asher, and planning her wedding. Herrushedwedding that needed all of her focus.

“What happens now?” Ben asked, reaching for her hand. She took it, then looked around to see if Asher was still there. Would he care? Would he think this was her giving Ben too much of her attention?

She couldn’t worry about that now. Not when Nan was lying on a hospital bed not six feet away.

“The good news, Ben, is that you got her here fast. It’s either get rid of the blockage or stem the bleeding. There are some vital things they can do within the first few hours of a stroke to position Nan for success in her recovery.”

He squeezed her hand and let out a whoosh of air. His shoulders slumped forward as he looked down at the ground.

“Nan’s being moved now, and we’ll get information to you as soon as possible. I know you all want to help, but it’s best you all just move out of the way. You’re getting in the staff’s way, who need to help her.” Chaya ushered them down the corridor while Nan was taken away. Pat went with her. “The hospital can’t cope with so many of you. Also, you won’t be any use to Nan if you all exhaust yourselves today. Start a rota, at least half of you go home. Even if anything does happen to her in the next three hours, which are the most crucial, you won’t all be allowed to go into surgery or recovery and be with her. Just Pat will be.”

Alex looked at his brother. “You and I should split it. Mum isn’t going to leave, and one of us should be here with her. You want to go first or second?”

“I’ll take first,” Ben said. “You guys go home and get some rest.”

Jase had his head in his hands, seated on the chair. “I’ll rotate with Matt and be here with Alex.” He stood and offered his hand out to Cerys. “Come on, Sunshine.”

Matt nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Luke stepped forward. “I’ll drop Willow at home, then I’ll go grab everyone who is staying some food and coffee. It’s going to be a long few days.”

“It is,” Chaya agreed. “Whatever happens from here on out, Nan has a fight on her hands. Even if she recovers.”

Action happened around her. People said goodbye. Matt and Iz followed after Pat.

Zoe stood in front of her. “It’s good to see you,” she signed. “We’ve missed you.”

She rubbed her hand over her heart, letting Zoe know she was sorry.

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