Page 9 of With You Forever

“We can make an appointment for next—”

“No,” Sal interrupts, her gaze hard and determined as she meets Mayr’s eyes. Her posture ramrod stiff. “We do it today. I don’t want my sister to wait.”

Lacey does a double take. Her big sister sounds so fierce she half expects Sal to take off her earrings and start pulling up her hair.

After a beat, Mayr nods. “I’ll set something up in radiology. It might be a few hours’ wait, but we’ll squeeze it in today.”

Sal nods, visibly relaxing. “Thank you.”

As soon as Dr. Mayr exits the room, Lacey looks at her sister. “Sal.”

“I know,” Sal breathes, a hand to her heart.

But she doesn’t know. Can’t know what Lacey is feeling right now. Pure dread.

A wave of loneliness, one she hasn’t felt since LA, since she lived with Vivian, crashes over her.

Blinking back tears, Lacey squeezes her sister’s hand. Before she can allow herself to be scared, she says, “I want Seth.”

She needs him.

Now.

“Joe Turner.”

“Cut.”

Luke sighs. “Seth.”

“Hell no,” Seth grumbles, staring into the last dregs of his beer. Griff and Jace have long since gone home and it’s just him and Luke, waiting on the girls to get here. “Luke, I swear to Christ, we ain’t invitin’ Dad’s old huntin’ buddy. I mean, we last saw the guy, what, twenty years ago?”

Seth frowns down at the list he has on his phone. Hell, if Lacey ain’t here yet, then the least he can do is work on the guest list. Trimming the hell out of it, that is. “And take off Mason Vick because that bastard gave us three stars on our last album.”

He squints at the names. Ain’t that hard to figure out who to cut. Rich execs in suits Seth’s barely said hello to at an event, let alone at his own damn wedding.

Luke drags a tan hand through his hair. “We invite Bobby, we have to invite all of Six String.”

“Yeah, I know it,” Seth drawls. “Fine with me. I really just want to see the guy do the drunken cha-cha.”

Luke chuckles. “Don’t know how you roped me into this.”

“Roped you into it because it’s half your damn list, man.”

Luke’s phone buzzes.

Seth grins at the relief on Luke’s face as he brings the phone to his ear.

“Hey, darlin’,” Luke drawls. “How’s it goin’? Everything okay?”

On his own phone, Seth unlocks his screen, preparing to send a text to Lacey when there’s a sharp intake of breath from Luke. Seth looks over.

His brother’s face has gone serious. His knuckles wrapped white around his phone. Grooves furrow his brow.

Seth’s stomach drops.

Fuck no.

Not Luke and Sal. His brother and sister-in-law have had their fair share of heartache the last few years. Fate’s gotta cut ’em a fucking break. Just once, Christ, please.

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