Page 81 of Brewer Family Collection, Part 1

Chloe

N ausea rises in my throat.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

I shiver against the rush of adrenaline blasting through my system. No one talks as Ripley closes the door behind them.

“ Answer me ,” I say, my throat so tight I can barely speak. “What kind of an accident?”

My mind shuffles through varied possibilities with his voice overlayed, telling me he loves me. I shake as I point at Tate.

“Answer me, dammit,” I say.

“I got a call that Jason’s plane went down just outside of Nashville,” Gannon says.

I scream inside my head, but nothing comes out. Tears pour down my face. Gannon’s lips move, but I can’t hear them over my internal cries.

Tate pulls me into a hug and then helps me sit back down. “It’s gonna be okay, Chloe. Just breathe.”

Ripley hands me a tissue, and then tends to Mimi.

“And I need to talk to you, too. But this isn’t the way to do it, Chloe.”

“Is he okay?” I ask, only able to make out his silhouette. “Where is he?”

Is he alive?

“We don’t know yet,” Gannon says. “He issued a mayday call and reported engine failure. He dropped off the radar shortly after.”

“ Oh, my God .” I shake so hard I think I might puke. “What do we do?” I spring to my feet. “We need to go look for him. Why aren’t we looking for him? Why are you here and not out there?”

“His plane had a transmitter that broadcasted his location when he went down. First responders are on their way there now.”

My cries fill the room. “How are you not panicking? How are you calm? He could be … dead out there. Or hurt. Or scared. Or hungry.”

“Hungry?” Ripley says.

I glare at him.

He holds his hands up. “Definitely worrying about him being hungry. Ignore me.”

Gannon crouches in front of me and looks me in the eye. He’s not as confident as Jason, and I don’t feel nearly as safe. But there’s enough resemblance to remind me that I’m in a room full of Brewers. They love harder than anyone, and this is their brother. If they’re calm, I should try to be, too.

“Listen to me,” Gannon says. “This is Jason. You could drop the man off in the middle of the ocean, and he’d find his way to shore. And if he was trying to get back to you, I’m sure he could return from the moon.”

My bottom lip quivers.

“I know he’s going to be fine. I feel it. And I need you to feel it, too. Wherever he is right now, he’s thinking about you. He might lose an arm, but he’ll just be pissed he can’t use it to hold you.”

Sobs wrack my body, and I try so hard to keep them in check.

“But you did marry me. And I fell in love with you. Hopelessly in love with you, Chloe. I’ve fallen so fucking hard for you that I can’t breathe.”

“What do we do? Just sit here?” I ask, feeling helpless.

“We sit tight and wait on a call,” Gannon says.

“And we pray,” Tate says, gazing out the window as if he expects Jason to pull up at any moment.

I look over my shoulder to see Ripley sitting on the floor beside Mimi, her hands in his. Tears streak her cheeks, too.

“Where’s your mother?” I ask, wondering how she’s holding up.

“She’s with Renn at the hospital,” Tate says. “A doctor there gave her something to keep her calm.”

“How’s Renn?” I ask.

“He was telling Arlo stories about Jason the last time I talked to Blakely. Jason’s going to be a living legend in that kid’s mind. I don’t know how we’re going to even the score,” Ripley says.

I laugh through my tears.

Tate turns to us. “Anyone want a cup of coffee?”

“Come help me up,” Mimi says. “I’ll put on a pot.”

It’s going to be a long, lonely, terrible night.

You have to come back to me, Jason Brewer. There is no other option here. You can’t leave me—you promised you’d always be here.

I need you.

I love you.

Always will.