She, however, seemed thrilled with how things had worked out. She’d chatted away with him while she ate some dinner,all but ignoring her parents to focus her attention on him. Once she’d eaten, it’d taken some persuasion to convince her to lie down in bed, close her eyes, and try to go back to sleep. Eventually, she’d complied and had fallen asleep almost instantaneously.
As soon as Taylor fell asleep, he said a quick goodnight to her family and made a hasty retreat. Fin was uncomfortable with Taylor’s attachment to him. They were strangers, although she’d told him her entire life story along with every like and dislike that she had so he felt like he had known her forever. He was trying to do the right thing, but it was still awkward.
“Can't you stay?” Taylor’s large green eyes begged.
“No, I need to go home, and I have some errands to run.” Being firm was important. He couldn’t give in to Taylor’s every demand. She had to accept the idea that he wasn't a part of her life. He was just the guy who found her. He wasn't going to be around forever.
“Well, could you just stay until I fall asleep?” she tried. She was certainly persistent.
“Dr. Patrick has things to do, honey,” Taylor’s mother said gently.
Taylor ignored her. “Please,” she wheedled. “I'm afraid to go to sleep. What if I have nightmares again?”
“Your family is here if you need them,” he reminded her.
“But—”
Taylor was interrupted when Eric Abbott threw the door open. “Fin, I need to talk to you. Now.”
Something was wrong.
Verywrong.
Fin could see it on his friend’s face.
Fear flowed through him, just as it had the day of Chloe’s accident. He’d just arrived at the hospital when some cop who had been the first to arrive at the scene of the car crash hadcalled him—on Chloe’s instruction—to tell him that she had been hurt. He had wanted to go running straight to the scene, but the cop had said an ambulance was already coming and would bring Chloe to the hospital.
Seeing her, with blood streaking one side of her face, her arm splinted, and bruises already appearing all over her body, had virtually stopped his heart. He hadn’t known until he helped pull her stretcher out of the back of the ambulance that she was already in labor.
Then his hearthadstopped.
He had known immediately that there was no way the baby could survive. He had just prayed that Chloe would.
That day had been the worst of his life.
That feeling of helplessness, and pain—the kind of pain that no amount of morphine or painkillers could take away—still lingered. He doubted it would ever go away.
Without saying goodbye to Taylor, he hurried from the room. “What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as Eric closed the door behind them.
“Don’t panic,” Eric started.
“Don’t panic,” he repeated. The only time someone ever said that was when they had really horrible news. “How bad is it?”
“It’s Chloe.”
It felt like the world stopped. Everything froze.
His heart stopped beating; his lungs stopped breathing; his blood stopped flowing through his veins.
Something had happened to Chloe?
Something couldn’t happen to Chloe.
It was impossible.
Was she dead?
The thought ripped out his soul.