Are You Ready? (Everlasting Ink #3)

Chapter 20

Briar

I’m just finishing up for the day when there’s a knock at the door. The girls are sitting on the couch with their bears Forrest won them at the county fair last month. They’ve got them wrapped up in blankets, and they are pretending to feed them with bottles from their baby dolls. I smile because they love those bears and refuse to go to sleep at night without them.

Moving toward the door, I pull it open, expecting to see Forrest, but it’s Roman standing there. “Hey, Roman. What can I do for you?”

“Are the girls here?” he asks.

“They are,” I answer him cautiously.

“Okay, we’ll take your car.”

“Take my car where?” I’m confused, and Roman is being evasive, which puts me on edge.

He sighs. “Forrest was in an accident.”

“What?” My heart drops to the floor. Fear and panic wash over me. “What do you mean? Where is he? Is he okay?” I ramble off questions, not giving him time to answer .

“I don’t know much. I know he was awake and talking to the man who hit him. He asked him to call the shop to let us know.”

The man who hit him!

“Where is he?” Fear slides over me. I can’t lose him. I can’t. Before Roman can answer, I call out, “Girls, I need you to put on your shoes and grab your coats.” I rush around, pulling open the closet door, removing our coats, and sliding into mine.

“Where are we going?” River asks.

“Oh, hi, Rome,” Rayne says.

“Girls, we’re going to take a ride. Everyone will be there when we get there. But I need you to listen to your mom, and let’s get your shoes and coat on,” Roman explains.

“Can we take our bears?” River asks.

“You bet you can.” He gets to work helping the girls into their shoes and coats while I race to get my phone and purse.

“Keys?” Roman holds his hand out, and I don’t try to argue. I’m too emotional to drive.

“Come on, girls.” I usher them out to the car, barely holding on to my tears, and get them strapped into their seats.

Once they’re safe, I hop into the passenger seat and try to buckle myself, but my hands are shaking. Roman reaches over and does it for me. He places his hand over mine.

“He’s going to be okay.”

“He has to be,” I say, my voice cracking as I lose my battle with my tears.

“Mommy, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” River asks.

“Mommy, I don’t like it when you cry,” Rayne says. Her voice quivers, and I know I need to hold it together for them, but I just can’t do that right now. I’m scared out of my mind.

Roman glances over at me, and I shake my head. I can’t tell them.

“Can I?” he asks, and all I can do is nod again. “Girls, there’s been an accident. Forrest has a boo-boo, and we’re going to go visit him.”

“Is hims hurt bad?” River asks .

“He’s talking, and I know he wants to see you.” He evades the question.

“I’m scared,” Rayne says.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Roman assures her. “Everything is going to be okay.” His voice is calm and soothing, but I can hear it. There’s some worry and fear of his own laced into his words.

I can hear the girls sniffling in the back seat, but I can’t turn to comfort them. I know as soon as I do, I’ll upset them even more, which will upset me even more. So, instead, I keep facing forward, while I send up a silent prayer to keep him safe.

Please let him be okay.

The drive to the local county hospital is the longest ride of my life. In reality, it didn’t take us more than fifteen minutes, but my heart and my head are in disagreement about the length of time. My head knows the distance, and my heart feels a lifetime of fear.

Taking a deep breath, I wipe at my cheeks and turn to face my daughters. “We have to be sure to use our inside voices in the building, okay? There are people who are sick and trying to sleep.”

“Like Forrest?” Rayne asks.

“Yeah, sweetie. Like Forrest.”

“Let’s get inside. Everyone is waiting for us.” Roman steps out of the car, and I do the same. We each help the girls out of the car and hold their hands on the way inside the emergency department. As soon as we’re through the automatic doors, I see a small crowd of people.

Our people.

Emerson comes rushing over, and I think she’s going for Roman, but she bypasses him and comes straight to me. She wraps me in a hug and whispers in my ear, “He’s okay. He’s going to be okay.”

I break. I don’t know if it’s her arms that are locked around me in a caring embrace or if it’s the overwhelming relief after such intense fear that he’s going to be okay, but I sob into her shoulder. It’s only the scared voices of my daughters that finally has me pulling away .

“Where is Forrest?”

“I want Forrest.”

“Briar.”

I turn to find Brogan, with Maggie on her heels, rushing into the ER. “We came as soon as we heard. How is he?”

“He’s going to be okay. He’s asking for Briar and the girls,” Lachlan explains.

“We want to go,” River demands, crossing her little arms over her chest.

“I want to go too.” Rayne mocks her sister's stance.

“You heard the lady,” Lachlan teases. “Come on. I’ll take you all back.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“I’ve been back already, and so have Lachlan, Legend, and Maddox. He’s going to want to see you three before the rest of us. Trust me on that,” Emerson explains.

I nod, take one of the girls’ hands in each of mine, and follow Lachlan down the hall. “I’m just showing them to his room, and I’ll be right back out,” he tells the nurse. “I know there is a two-person limit, but two little humans count as one, right?” He winks.

The nurse smiles and glances down at the girls. “I only see two, with one leading the way that’s going to come right back out.” She tosses back her own wink and goes right back to typing on her computer. She must be in her early sixties, and the wink, well, it suits her. I’m sure she’s used to dealing with all kinds of personalities in her line of work.

“Thank you,” I mumble.

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Lachlan stops at the end of the hall. “Go on in,” he tells me as he holds the door open for us.

Quietly, we step into the room. Fresh tears are already coating my cheeks, and I’m certain I’m holding the girls’ hands too tightly.

Forrest is lying in the bed with a bandage on his forehead. His eyes are closed, and it gives me a few minutes to take him in. His face is bruised, and there are a few scrapes .

“Forty,” Rayne whispers.

His eyes pop open, and he smiles. “There’s my girls.”

My daughters pull out of my hold, probably due to my sweaty palms, and rush to his side of the bed. “You gots a boo-boo,” Rayne says softly.

“I do, but I’m going to be just fine.”

“You got hurted,” River adds.

“I was in an accident, but I’m okay. Just a bad boo-boo.”

“Mommy cried, and we did too,” River says, trying to climb up on the bed.

“River, be careful. Forrest is hurt.” I rush to stop her, but he grunts as he lifts her up on the bed, and she wraps her arms around his neck.

“I’m fine, baby,” he assures me. “Dazzle, did you come here to give me some love?” he asks Rayne.

Her reply is to start to climb, and with another grunt, he lifts her up to the bed, and she, too, hugs him as if her life depends on it.

That leaves me.

“Girls, climb over here so we can make room for your momma.” Rayne carefully climbs over and settles next to River. “Come here, Momma.” Forrest pats the side of the bed.

Cautiously, I sit so that I’m facing him. I try to speak, but the words won’t come. Instead, all I can do is cry. “Baby, I’m okay.”

“Mommy, Forty is better,” River says, trying to console me.

“I was scared,” I finally say, more for the girls’ benefit than my own.

“I can’t imagine what you went through when you got the news, but I’m fine. I have a bump on my head that needed a couple of stitches, whiplash, and I’ll be sore for a few days, and the bruising will get worse, but I’m okay.”

“All I could think about was our lives without you in it. It’s not a vision I ever want to have in my head again,” I say, wiping at my cheeks.

“Knock, knock,” Brogan says. “Hey, Forrest, I’m glad to hear you’re going to be okay. ”

“Yeah, me too. Thanks,” he says.

“Girls, guess what?”

“What?” they ask.

“They have this cool machine that dispenses hot chocolate, and you get to watch. Want to come get one with me?”

“We love hot chocolate,” Rayne says.

Brogan chuckles. “I know you do. Come on, let your mom and Forrest talk, and we’ll see about a hot chocolate and some snacks. You know what else?”

“What?” they ask.

“Maddox and Lachlan are out in the waiting room, and they’re lonely. We better go keep them company.”

“Oh, no!” Forrest gasps. “Girls, you better go keep them company. Those two might get into trouble if they get too lonely.”

“Let’s go, sissy!” Rayne says.

“Wait. I need another hug.”

They oblige and give him another hug before Brogan helps them off the bed. “Thanks, Brogan,” I call after my sister. She turns around and nods. She knew I’d need some time. Time to express my feelings without scaring the girls.

I love my sister.

Once the door closes, I turn back to Forrest. The tears start to fall again. No matter how many times I blink them away, they still fall.

“I’m okay,” Forrest says soothingly.

“You’re not okay. You’re in the emergency room with a bandage on your head and bruises all over your face. That’s not okay.”

“I’m just fine. Nothing that won’t heal.”

“You can’t leave us. You can’t. I—I can’t think about a life without you in it.”

Forrest tilts his head to the side and raises his hand to cradle my cheek. He studies me for far too long before he gruffly asks, “Are you ready? ”

I don’t even have to think about my answer. I’ve known for a while now that I was ready, but I was letting lingering fears hold me back. I realized today that my fear could have kept him from knowing how I feel. I promised myself that if he made it through this, I would never hold back again.

“Yes.”

A slow, sexy smile crosses his face. “Briar Pearce, you are the love of my life. I’m madly in love with you. I want to spend forever with you, raising our daughters and any future children we might have. I love you.”

More tears. This time they’re accompanied with a smile. “I love you, too, Forrest Huntley. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you.”

“I could feel it, Briar. I could feel your love in every look, every touch, every smile.” He traces his thumb over my lips. “I could feel it. I didn’t need your words, baby.”

“I—me too. Every single day.”

“And forever,” he says. “Now come here and kiss me.”

“You’re hurt.”

“I’ll hurt worse if I don’t get your lips on mine. Come here, baby.”

Needing to feel his lips on mine, I do as he says and lean in close. I kiss him softly as he murmurs, “I love you.” My heart is full, so full it could crack from how happy I am.

“I needed you. There was a reason I was compelled to raise the girls here in Ashby. It was more than just the connection to my dad. It was you. The universe knew I needed your kind heart, your strong hands, and your patience. You brought me back to life, Forrest.”

“I could say the same. I needed you too. I had this big old house, and it was lonely. It was made for a family, and I wanted one of my own desperately. Then I found you and our girls. I can’t wait until you move in with me.”

“You want us to move in with you?”

“I do. I have the space for all of us, and any more kids we should have. My sister is next door, and Monroe and Legend are right across the street. ”

“I don’t know if I can leave Brogan.”

He nods. “I’m sure that’s something the two of you will need to talk about, but I’m ready when you are. If you really want to live somewhere else, we can. I just assumed you’d move in with me.”

“I love your house.” I hate to think of leaving Brogan alone, but she’s not alone anymore. We have a huge group of friends and a support system, and I’ll just be on the other side of town. I know what Brogan would tell me. I can also hear my therapist telling me to fight for myself and what I want. I want us to be a family. I want to go to sleep and wake up with him every day. I want to have dinner together, and help the girls with their homework, and yeah, more kids when we get to that point. “Okay.”

“Okay? Okay, you’ll move in with me?”

I nod. “Me and the girls.”

“Really?” I don’t think I’ve ever seen his eyes this bright. Even with the swelling and bruising, it's easy to see.

“Yes. I’m ready.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Lie with me. I need to hold you.”

I do as he asks and lie with him until the nurse comes into the room to tell us that he can go home. I help him get dressed into clothes that someone brought for him. It doesn’t matter who, because I know they all were willing, no matter who it was lying in this bed from our family.

“Where are we headed?” Legend asks when he sees the nurse wheeling him into the lobby.

Forrest looks up at me. “Home. Take me and my girls home.”

“Our home?” River asks. My nosey girl.

“How would you feel about you, your momma, and your sister moving in with me? You would live at my house?” Forrest asks her.

The girls gasp. “What about Aunt Brogan?” Rayne questions.

“Rayne, sweetheart, I’m a big girl,” Brogan tells her. “I’ll still see you all the time, and we can have sleepovers at my place. ”

“Won’t you be lonely?”

“Nah, we won’t let her be lonely,” Maddox says, dropping his arm around my sister's shoulder.

River looks at Rayne, and something passes between them.

“You can bring all of your things and share a room or have your own rooms. Whatever you want,” Forrest tells them.

Another look passes, and then they cheer. “Okay!”

Everyone laughs, including the nurse who is still pushing the wheelchair. Forrest pulls the girls up on his lap, and Roman takes over pushing duties as we all follow them out of the emergency room.

Brogan links her arm with mine. “And they lived happily ever after,” she whispers.

“Your day is coming, Brogan. I can feel it.”

“Well, at least I won’t have to sneak him in the house past the girls.”

We both toss our heads back in laughter.

This is our new life, and we’re more than ready for what’s yet to come.