“Yeah, but we also ended up in the hospital both times.”
“Remember the way Deenie screamed at us?” Breck asked. “She scared the hell out of me.”
Jack shook his head. “And now she’s almost your mother-in-law. How’s that working out for you?”
Autumn turned to stare out of the window, letting their conversation wash over her like a cool balm. They weren’t panicking, and neither should she. He’d be okay. He had to be. She couldn’t live with it if he wasn’t.
She couldn’t live without him. The thought hit her like a wrecking ball.
She was still thinking about it when Aiden pulled up in the hospital parking lot, and the four of them hurried over to the main entrance, the glass doors opening silently to let them inside. One of Lucas’s fire fighters was waiting for them in the lobby, and he walked across the grey tiled floor when he saw them.
“They’re on the third floor,” he told them. “Lucas just went up. Take the elevator over there.”
The sound of their footsteps echoed through the mostly-empty waiting area, none of them saying a word as Breck pressed the button to call the elevator. The silence accompanied them into the elevator, the only sound their shallow breaths as the car slowly accelerated to the third floor, then made a loud ding as the doors opened, ready for them to step out.
“He’s there,” Jackson said, his voice loud and full of relief as he turned left down the hallway. “He’s okay. He’s all right.”
Autumn looked over his shoulder, her mouth dry. Then she saw Griff standing by the wall, wearing green scrubs, his hair wet, his face and bare arms covered in bruises and cuts. He was talking to Lucas, who was nodding and answering his questions. But then Jackson ran over and threw his arms around him, hugging him tight.
“Damn it, man. You scared the hell out of us. I thought you were dead.”
Griff hugged him back. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Then Breck was there, too, hugging them both and laughing. “You okay? Where did all those cuts come from.”
“I got a little battered swimming to shore. I had to drag Sam with me.”
“Is he okay?”
“They’re looking him over as we speak. They’re going to admit him to keep an eye on him. He swallowed a lot of water, so they need to check on his lungs.”
“I need to make some phone calls,” Aiden said in a low voice to Autumn. “Call off the helicopters. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, standing in the middle of the hallway, her hands curled into balls as she watched Griff standing with his friends.
He slowly turned his head, his eyes widening as he took her in. “Why didn’t you assholes tell me my girl was here?” he muttered.
“I figured you could still see,” Jackson told him.
Griff walked over to her, reaching out to stroke her cheek as though he couldn’t quite believe she was there.
“Hi,” he said softly, his thumb tracing her jaw.
“Hi.” Her voice trembled.
Close up she could see a bruise forming on his right cheek, along with two lacerations that had been closed up with sutures. There were deep scratches on his arms, too. Livid red ones that made her wince. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
“I am now.” He tipped her head up with his thumb, his eyes soft as he gazed down at her. “Thank you for coming.”
“I was scared to death,” she admitted. “What happened to you?”
“The boat hit a rock as we headed out. We thought it was containable, and they’d be able to repair it at the yard when we got it there. But the wood pretty much crumpled under the pressure. We had no choice but to abandon ship. Problem was, we were two miles off shore.”
“Didn’t you have life jackets?”
Griff pressed his lips together. “They should have been on board. They weren’t.”
“I heard you say you had to swim Sam back to shore with you.”