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CHAPTER 17

His hand stung and throbbed; and he knew it was broken. He’d broken it before, wrestling with his two older brothers, Boston and Mike. But he’d survive.

Brooke was trying to fuss over him. Houston would admit it to himself; he liked her attention. He probably could spend the rest of his life with her fussing over him.

And getting to fuss over her in return. But he wasn’t stupid enough to tell a woman that.

There was definitely a soft side to the woman next to him that he hadn’t ever expected to find. It had him slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer as they walked through the debris and damage.

Neither spoke. The enormity of the storm’s destruction made words too insignificant to ever hope to capture what they were seeing.

People were hard at work, cleaning up the roads. Others were crying as they studied the destruction. Houston would never forget what he saw along the walk.

Or the two people they’d stopped to help move debris off their dog, who was trapped beneath.

It was just a dog, insignificant compared to the loss of life that had been inevitable with a storm of that magnitude, but when they moved the debris, and Brooke was able to reach in and grab the little dog and pull him to safety—it took every bit of strength Houston had not to cry.

The dog didn’t even have a scratch on him. And his nine-year-old owner got him back, when everything else that had mattered to him but his family was gone.

That dog signified hope .

He pulled Brooke closer as they continued on.

Finally, they made it to County. He swore, seeing the portico above the ambulance bay. It had been ripped off and blown halfway across the parking lot. The front doors were caved in. Glass was everywhere.

He focused on guiding Brooke through the debris, though there were people in scrubs and maintenance uniforms around the parking lot with brooms trying to clear pathways. There were crude signs made from cardboard and markers guiding people to the side entrance.

There was a crowd bottlenecking the entrance to the emergency department where his father had worked as long as Houston could remember. Houston automatically looked for his father.

There.

His dad would always stand out in the crowd to him.

His dad was at the registration desk. He came over to Houston immediately. Then his dad was hugging him for a moment.

He was as tall as Houston’s own six-four. His hair was the same color. Houston had always favored his father strongly. Physically. And he had tried to act like his father, one of the kindest, most compassionate, most honorable men Houston had ever known.

This was the man he respected more than any other in the world. When he’d heard a hospital had been hit…

His own hold tightened on his father’s shoulders.

“Dad,” he wasn’t embarrassed that his voice broke at all. “I’m so damned glad to see you.”

“Same.”

“How is A.J.? Mike?” He’d wanted to see his brother and sister for himself, but hadn’t been able to. The terror and worry he’d felt in the moments he’d realized the TSP had taken a hit, that people were trapped, that A.J. was missing…

It made a man appreciate the ones who mattered even more.

“A.J. has a few cuts and bruises. Minor. She was trapped with Sean. He grabbed her and rolled them both under a table in time, but they were trapped under two floors of debris. He has a slight concussion, and that’s it. They were so damned lucky, angels had to be watching over them. Mike did a bit of damage to his leg, but he oversaw the rescue efforts. Your brother saved lives tonight, too. As did you. I heard…several people told me…they heard your warnings in the nick of time. And I’m so damned proud of what he did tonight. What you did. Boston’s place took some damage, and his housekeeper was trapped. But he dug her out. Your mother, that reckless woman I adore, was outside when the storm first started, getting patients inside. She…got lucky. Dante, Latham, Caspian and Nolan are out at our place now. They’ve all lost power and water to their places. A.J. went home with Sean. And Mike went home with the woman he’s dating, or will be dating soon, I believe.”

“Everyone is ok.”

“Everyone will be.” His dad hugged him again. “I am proud of you, son. I listened to you tonight as much as I was able. You kept this city going, just as much as anyone else did. Calm and reassuring the whole way.”

His dad looked around him, at the sweet little redhead almost hiding behind him.

Houston understood her now. Brooke was shy. Houston pulled her closer. “Dad, meet Brooke Jacobs. Technically, she’s my boss at the station. But I’m hoping to convince her to let me be so much more.”