Page 91 of Bad Girls Don't Marry Marines (Rock Canyon, Idaho 3)

“St. Luke’s in Twin Falls.”

“Okay, just stay in one place. I’ll be there soon.”

Val hung up the phone and frantically pulled at her clothes, but her vision kept blurring. “Damn it,” she yelled when she couldn’t get her shoes on fast enough.

She heard Justin get up and the rustle of his own clothes. They didn’t say anything for several minutes, but when they were both dressed, Justin said, “Come on, I’ll drive you.”

“You don’t have to—”

His hands came down to rest on her arms and he squeezed them gently. “You’re shaking so hard, you’re about to come out of your skin. I’ll drive.”

Val didn’t argue because she knew he was right. She was about to lose it.

Despite being finished with Edward Willis and everything he had done, he was still her dad.

Chapter Twenty-Three

* * *

AN HOUR LATER, despite a nurse hollering at her, Val was practically running through the hospital halls, searching for her sister.

“Val!” Ellie yelled. When Val saw her, Ellie stood up with a sob. Ellie’s normally made-up face was bare, likely from crying as her bloodshot, puffy eyes indicated.

Pulling her sister into her arms, Val heard the rapid approach of Justin’s boots behind her.

“Have you heard anything?”

Ellie shook her head. “He’s out of surgery, but that’s all they’ve told me so far.”

Val helped her sister sit in one of the chairs, her eyes burning and her stomach roiling with nausea. Surgery meant something big.

“Can I get you some coffee or something?” Justin asked, standing over them helplessly.

Ellie sniffled. “Yes, please.”

Val looked up into Justin’s face, catching the worry and sympathy there, and she grabbed his hand, mouthing thank you.

He squeezed her hand before turning, and she caught her sister watching him walk away.

“Is it inappropriate to mention what a sweet ass your boyfriend has?”

Laughing, she pulled her sister in for another hug, before Ellie laid her head in her lap, just like she’d done when they were kids. Stroking her sister’s long strands of hair, she pulled out her phone and started dialing.

“Who are you calling?” Ellie asked.

“Caroline,” Val said, waiting.

“I tried, but she didn’t pick up.”

But then her sister’s voice came over the line, tired and muffled. “Hey, Val, can I call you—”

“You need to come home. Dad’s collapsed, and I think it’s bad, Car. We’re at St. Luke’s in Twin Falls and they said he’s had surgery.”

Silence stretched over the line, and then Caroline said, “I’ll be there soon.”

Val hung up and leaned her head against the wall. Life had a funny way of screwing you over, that was for sure. She’d just told her dad off a few hours ago and he’d collapsed soon after. Guilt ate at her; it was her fault he was here. No matter what he had done, he couldn’t die now. Not with this rift between them.

“The Willis family?” a loud voice called, startling her.