Swept Away (Wildfire Lake #3) - Skye Jordan Page 0,69

her to a room. Grab food or coffee and call your loved ones. Someone will come out to tell you where she’s being moved.”

Karen and I thank the doctor, and as soon as she disappears behind the double doors, Karen pulls out her phone. “I have to call Henry. He’s going to be worried.” She wanders away and crosses one arm over her middle. “Hi, honey. Yes, she’s okay.”

Honey? Henry? I have no idea who she’s talking to. Last I heard, she was dating a guy named Glen, which was less than three months ago.

I’m suddenly exhausted. I lean my ass against the windowsill and try to soak in the relief. I need to call Chloe. I’m not sure if she’s going to be angry or hurt, but I shouldn’t have been the person to cause those emotions.

“She’ll have to stay in the hospital a few days,” Karen says, “but I can probably get back to work once she can go home.”

Anger creeps up my spine. Since Keith died, I’ve had countless conversations with Karen, all but begging her to put Piper closer to the top of her priority list. It’s been nothing but an uphill battle.

And I’m so done.

I push off the windowsill and stalk toward Karen, pulling up just short of running into her. Startled, she looks up.

“If you don’t make some significant changes,” I tell her while she’s still on the phone, “I’m going to not only report you to children’s services as a neglectful mother, I’ll sue for custody of Piper.”

Karen sputters. “Wha—what? Xavier—”

“I mean it.” I walk away from her and take the stairs to the bottom floor. In the lobby, I find Sergeant Lucero sitting in the lobby reading a magazine.

I wander that direction and sink into a chair across a table from him.

“News?” he asks.

“She’s out of surgery, did well, staying a few days, then home. Expected to make a full recovery.”

Lucero tilts his head. “Then why do you look like you just lost your best friend?”

The cliché hurts. “I might have.”

“Chloe flew out of here. I’m used to seeing you draw women, not repel them.”

I rub my face with both hands. “Fuck.”

Lucero makes a sound in his throat. “I think you’re about to get your ass handed to you by a different woman.”

Confused, I look up and find KT standing in front of me. I’ve never been afraid of a woman, but KT is fucking formidable.

“Drop that duty belt so I can kick your ass.”

“That’s a cue for me to head out.” Lucero pushes to his feet and faces KT. “KT.”

“Carl,” she returns the greeting.

Lucero glances over his shoulder at me before leaving. “Might want to take this outside. Just a suggestion.”

“I agree,” KT tells me.

I sigh. “Why are you mad at me?”

“How can you even ask?”

Well, shit. My family, who isn’t really my family, has all but disintegrated, and now my circle of friends, one of the only places I’ve felt like I might actually belong, is threatening to eject me.

“I’m exhausted,” I tell KT. “If you want to kick my ass, just do it. Otherwise, sit down so we can talk.”

“Fucking coward,” she mutters. But instead of sitting down, she paces back and forth in front of me. “How could you blame Chloe for what happened to Piper? She cares more about that kid than her own mother does. She’s open and loving and gives Piper a place to vent. If you want to blame someone for Piper slipping through the cracks, look in the mirror.

“You’re so fucking rigid, Piper can’t talk to you about the really important shit, and her mother is worthless. Chloe made Piper feel special. Chloe listened and guided. Chloe accepted and supported. So, let’s see,” KT says, gesturing with her hands. “A warm, loving woman, or a critical, rigid godfather? Understanding or judgment? Options or limitations?” She tosses her hands in the air. “If you were a fifteen-year-old girl, which would you choose? Piper did what any kid would do—she hid things from people who judged her and found a place where she’d be accepted. Nothing about that is Chloe’s fault.”

Someone comes up to us, and I glance that direction. It’s Ben, wearing blue scrubs under a white lab jacket. “Whoa, whoa,” he says to KT as if he’s trying to calm a spooked horse. “Take it down a notch, Tiger.” He slides his arm around KT’s shoulders, and I expect her to push him away, but she turns into him and lets him hold