not.
Markus continued. “What I’m saying is, Mikey will understand if you get to his hospital bed at midnight instead of eight. What’s the difference?” He frowned and reached for his phone. “I’ll find someone to go be with him.”
I yanked his phone out of his hand and was about to throw it on the floor when I had an idea. “Not necessary. There’s nothing you can say to stop me from going to see Mikey right now.” I tried to say it in a calm voice, but I didn’t feel one speck of calm on the inside. I felt terrified and angry. Terrified for Mikey and so damned angry that his parents wouldn’t feel the same sense of urgency to get to him.
I hoped he never found out. My heart broke for him. He thought my dad placed too much emphasis on football, but it was nothing like this.
I made eye contact with Markus as I handed him back his phone. “You need to do whatever it takes to get me on a private jet from Buffalo to Aster Valley, Colorado, ASAP. If you do this for me, I will forgive you for telling me not to do this.”
His jaw ticked for a beat before he nodded and took the phone.
I bolted out of the stadium while arranging for a ride on an app. As soon as that was done, I dialed Winter Waites.
“Hey, Tiller. I hope this means they’re not playing you tonight.” He sounded happy and relaxed which meant he didn’t know what had happened.
“I need your help. Mike—” My voice cracked. I swallowed and banged the phone against my forehead before trying again. “Mikey was in some kind of accident in front of Truman’s shop. He’s being taken to the hospital. Can you… can—” I sucked in a breath.
His voice was all business when he cut in. “Yes. I’m on my way there right now. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what’s going on.”
“Thank you.”
“Hang in there, okay? He’ll be in good hands. It’s a regional hospital, but it’s top-notch. And they have a helicopter if he needs to go somewhere else.”
I nodded and hung up before dialing my mom. Meanwhile, my car pulled up and I hopped in, grateful the app already told the driver where to take me.
“Honey, I thought you were playing in the game tonight?” Mom asked when she answered. “Your father’s all set up in the den already, watching the pregame.”
“Something’s happened. Can you go to Aster Valley? Mikey’s been in some kind of accident.”
“Oh no, what kind of accident?” She called out to my father in the background, and within seconds, he was on the line. “Tiller? Where is he? We’ll head there straightaway.”
I blew out a breath of bittersweet relief. If only Mikey’s own parents would react the same way. “Thank you. I needed to hear that. Thank you.”
When I got off the phone with them, I tried Sam. There was no answer, so I left him a detailed voice message. I bolted out of the car with a shouted thanks to the driver and raced inside to discover Markus had worked his magic. I practically walked right onto a small jet, and within twenty minutes, we were hauling ass down the runway.
The flight seemed to take days, but when we finally landed, I was grateful to see it was at a little private airstrip just outside of Aster Valley. Gentry stood on the tarmac by the small terminal building in a familiar moss-green parka. As soon as he saw me step off the plane, he jogged out to greet me.
“He’s okay,” he called as soon as he was within shouting distance.
I almost stumbled over my feet in relief. Gent gave me a strong hug and told me again. “He’s okay. Just a broken arm and some bumps and scrapes. Winter is with him right now. Let’s go.”
We hopped in his SUV and made our way through the dark night to the small, well-lit emergency room at Aster Valley Med. On the short drive, Gent explained that a drunk driver had careened off the road onto the sidewalk right where Truman was standing. Pim and Mikey saw it coming and jumped forward to grab Truman out of the way. The car hit Pim and Mikey as they shielded Truman.
“Jesus, is Pim alright?”
Gent nodded. “Yeah, Bill’s with him. Pim’s bruised up from the fall, so they’re keeping him overnight to keep an eye on him. Same with