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“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. How is Ren?”

“They’re loading him up now.”

“Sorry for making you wait. I can take you to the hospital if you’re ready.”

Jax reached out to touch her shoulder, but she dodged it. “Are you sure? I’m okay to drive now.”

“Um, maybe that would be best then. I, uh, missed a call from the motor suppliers, and they’re closed for the day. They called Maggie instead. Coincidentally, at the same time Caitlyn showed up at her house looking for me and Maggie didn’t know who she was.”

“You … you didn’t say anything about the internship yet? I thought at dinner last night—”

“I was going to, but she fell asleep halfway through dessert. Anyway, I should stick around and help Maggie sort this. The stress isn’t good for her pregnancy.”

“I’m sorry, Jill. What can I do?”

“Nothing. It’s my mistake, and I have to fix it.”

Jax opened his mouth to reply, but Bobby waved him over.

“We’ve got room if you want to hop in.” Jax nodded and started jogging backward toward the rig.

“Go, be with Ren. I’ll swing by the hospital when I’m done and check in on you both.”

Jax hated the way her arms crossed tight over her chest and how the creases around her eyes were born of stress, not delight like they’d been during the nights they’d spent together. In a perfect world, he’d do his best to calm her worry, but the sound of the ambulance doors shutting and the sirens blaring his pain for the whole town to hear also meant shutting Jill out of his mind and heart.

Maybe a perfect world didn’t exist for him. Maybe he should just be grateful he had his son and the possibility of a new life outside Deer Creek.

He hopped in the passenger seat of the ambulance, everything he loved behind him. His heart might not find this enough. Not when he’d known the love of a woman like Jill. How would losing something like her ever be okay?

Chapter Twelve

Jax paced the sterile linoleum of the hospital waiting room. If it’d been made of dirt, he’d have worn a path right through to bedrock by now. Not a single nurse or doc had come to update him. And where was his family? His mom had been in San Antonio when he’d called to tell her the news. All he asked was for her to come home so she didn’t spend two hours worrying. She’d hopped in the car right away, but she should have been here by now. He’d texted both Bennett and Maggie but hadn’t gotten a response.

The odor of antiseptic and stale air bombarded his senses. This place was awful for so many reasons. Being here alone was torture, but he didn’t want anyone else to have to endure this with him, either.

You wouldn’t be alone if you hadn’t shoved Jill out of your life while you were both moving at warp speed.

The doors hissed open behind him, and he spun around. It wasn’t anyone he knew. Just a couple with their arms wrapped around each other. Even though grief was etched in their tight lips, their eyes rimmed red with worry, they held each other up. The man rubbed his wife’s arm, and Jax turned away.

Every one of his limbs hurt from scrambling up the hill, but his heart ached the most. He’d messed up with Jill. His go-to was to run like a wild stallion for the hills when things got hard. And they’d gotten … maybe not hard but complicated with Jill. So, of course, he’d done what was familiar and pushed her away instead of admitting he needed her. Wanted her.

Loved her.

Movement from the ER doors caught his eye. Please let this doctor be for me and please, please let the news be good.

But it wasn’t a doctor. It was Bennett.

“What’re you doing here?”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you get my text?”

“No. I’ve been here all day. Maggie lost a huge sum of money with the motors for her company—well, Jill did with Maggie’s company—and the stress gave Maggie chest and abdominal pain, so we came straight here.”

“Damn. How’s she doing?” Worry bloomed fresh in Jax’s heart. His brother had waited so long for this—the career, the kid on the way, the loving wife. Losing any of that would be heartbreaking to him.

“Yeah, she’ll stay a couple days to monitor the baby’s heart rate, but they should both be good.”