Burn Down the Night (Everything I Left Unsaid #3)- Molly O'Keefe Page 0,114

over, bracing her hands on her knees, and I put my hand against her spine, lending her what I could of my strength.

My hand, I noticed, was shaking.

“Can we see her?” she asked, standing straight again.

“I’m afraid we only allow family.” The surgeon glanced my way.

“He’s her husband,” Jennifer said. The Matthews girls were convincing liars.

“In that case, yes.”

He gave her the room number and then left. “You coming?” Jennifer asked, already halfway out the door.

“I’ll be there in a second,” I said. I wanted to give Joan a minute with her sister and there was something I had to do first. I wasn’t sure if I could fix it, but I had to try.

Jennifer all but sprinted out the door and I collapsed back against the wall. The first time I tried to get my cellphone out of my pocket I dropped it. And while picking it up, I nearly fell over.

Fuck, I was a mess. Relief made me light-headed.

The number I called was Dylan’s.

“Hello?”

Dylan’s voice hit me in the chest like a fist.

“Max? Is that you?”

I cleared my throat but my voice still came out like gravel. “Yeah…it’s me.”

There was nothing from Dylan’s end but the sound of his breathing, hard and fast like something had hit him, too. Like we’d been running a race, side by side and didn’t know it.

The ache to see him, really see him, was vast and bottomless.

“You okay?” he finally asked.

“I’m alive.”

“Joan—?”

Her name is Olivia and she’s amazing. And brave. And smart. She’s funny and she’s holding my heart in the palm of her hand. I can’t wait for you two to meet. She has a sister, who is incredible. And I can’t wait for us to be a family again. A real one.

The one we always should have had.

“Max? You’re freaking me out. Has something happened?”

“Yeah. Something has. Everyone’s fine, but it’s…it’s a long story.”

“I got plenty of time.” It was an invitation and it was understanding. It was my brother offering me space in his life if I wanted it.

“I can’t right now. Joan just got out of surgery. We’re in a hospital outside of some town called Pickens. But…when I can, how about I come up to that fortress of yours on the mountain? I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Okay. That sounds real good.”

“I’ll be bringing Joan with me.”

“Yeah?” His voice implied all kinds of things.

“Yeah.”

I put my head against the wall and closed my eyes. Somehow I’d fallen for her. Hard. The kind of hard a guy never recovered from. Like Pops with Mom. Like Dylan with Annie.

“I love her.”

“Does she love you?” It twisted my heart how protective he sounded, like he would come charging down his mountain to defend me against Joan if that’s what was needed.

“If she doesn’t, she will.”

“You sound confident.”

“I am,” I said.

“You need money, or anything. A job. You can come work here with me if you want. There’s always a place for you here.”

“I got some money saved up. I’m thinking of buying a boat.”

That made Dylan laugh, and the sound of it coming over the phone was both agonizing and comforting.

“What do you know about boats?”

“Nothing. But I can learn. You want to go fishing sometime?”

Dylan sucked in a hard breath and my eyes burned. “Yeah,” he said, all gruff and beat up. “I’d like that.”

“Me too.”

“Max. I’m here. Everything…is here when you’re ready.”

“I love you,” I said. “And I’m sorry.”

“Max—”

“I gotta go. But I just…I wanted to tell you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung up and went to find Olivia.

—

She didn’t wake up the first day out of surgery. The doctor said not to worry, but I couldn’t help it. They seemed to understand that Jennifer and I wouldn’t be abiding by visiting hours and a very nice nurse rolled a cot into Olivia’s room. Jennifer slept there. I sat in the chair beside Olivia’s bed and watched my girl breathe. I watched her breathe and would have given everything I had to see her eyes open.

But they didn’t.

The next morning, they kicked me and Jennifer out of the room to run some tests. Jennifer went to the bathroom to clean up and I collapsed into the plastic chairs in the hallway outside Olivia’s room.

I felt tethered to her. Leashed.

If she didn’t wake up…I didn’t know what I would do.

“Hey.”

I lifted my head at the sound of a familiar voice. One I did not expect to hear here.

It was Dylan. And Annie. Hand in hand. Dylan was carrying a tray