Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,17

will guide me.

I startle out of sleep when the phone rings and my first reaction is that it’s the home calling to tell me there’s been an incident with my mother, but then I remember—she’s gone. Panic makes my adrenaline fire up so that I probably sound like I wasn’t even sleeping when I pick up.

I don’t recognize the number on my phone, but I pick up anyway. “Hello?”

“Hey Reagan, it’s Liam.”

I sit up in bed. Why would he be calling me at… I glance over to the clock… almost one a.m.?

“Hey, is everything okay?” I ask, clutching the sheet to my chest.

“I just wanted you to know that I got a call from Poppy’s owner. I guess Moose had to be rushed to the hospital a little bit ago.”

My hand flies to my mouth. “What?”

“Something about pain in his side. I only got the call so I can bring his bike back to his place in the morning.”

I swallow back the bile rising up my throat.

“What hospital did they take him to?” I pull the sheets off me and get out of bed.

“Lake Starlight, I’m pretty sure. I just figured you’d want to know.”

“Absolutely. Thanks for calling.” I hang up and toss my phone on the mattress, hurrying around the room to grab clothes.

In record time I’m dressed, my hair is pulled up into a messy top knot and I’m in my car racing to the hospital.

What if something is seriously wrong with him? What if the hospital can’t help him? Lake Starlight isn’t a huge trauma hospital or anything.

It doesn’t take long to drive there. Lake Starlight isn’t known for its traffic, especially in the middle of the night. By the time I park and run up to the emergency room doors, then straight to the nurse at the desk, I’m out of breath.

“Malcolm Tanner. He was brought in by ambulance. Is he okay?”

Her head rears back for a second like I’ve caught her off guard with my entrance, but then she types something in her computer and looks back to me. “And you are?”

“Reagan Hastings. His girlfriend.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize how right they feel. How stupid I’ve been.

“Well, if you’re not family then I’m sorry I can’t give you any information.” She purses her lips.

“I should be in there from when he broke his finger. Please check.”

Back when we were off and on, Moose broke his finger and at the time he told me that he put me as his emergency contact since he has no family here in Lake Starlight. I’m crossing my fingers he hasn’t deleted me over time.

She types some more and then nods. “Oh yes, I see you here. Okay, let me have a look at what’s going on.” Her eyes move back and forth while she reads something on the screen, and then she looks up at me. “He’s been moved into emergency surgery to have his appendix removed.”

My stomach clenches. “Will he be okay?”

“It’s a pretty routine surgery.”

“Will you keep me updated?”

She nods. “I’ll have the doctor come see you when the surgery is complete.”

I nod a bunch of times and walk over to one of the waiting room chairs and take a seat, rocking back and forth. Panic wells up in my chest, but I do some slow breathing like I used to do when I’d get overwhelmed with my mom’s health issues, in order to push the fear back.

He has to be okay. He has to. I can’t lose him.

I still.

It’s too late, I realize. I’m already in love with him and whether I push him away or not, I’m going to care what happens to him.

I vow to myself then and there that if, no when, he makes it out of this, I’ll be the woman he needs me to be and open myself up to him, no longer pushing him away.

A few hours later, a man in his early sixties wearing scrubs comes out and calls my name.

I rush over to him. “Is he okay?”

He nods. “He’ll be fine. We were able to remove the appendix before it ruptured. He’ll be sore for a few weeks, but should make a full recovery otherwise.”

My hand goes to my chest. “Oh thank God. Can I see him?”

“I’ll have someone come get you once he’s been moved out of recovery and into a room.”

I nod. “Thanks.”

He walks away and I sit in the closest chair. All I want is to see Moose. I