Page 59 of Saving His Heart

Everyone on the plane is hovering around as Emory does what she does best. When she’s finished, she looks around to the astonished expressions of everyone on board.

“Ah, okay. So, she’s all set,” she tells Lanie. “Her chin is numb from the Novocaine, but it’ll wear off in about an hour. Children’s Tylenol should be enough to take the edge off if she is in pain. I’ll check on her tomorrow, too, though, if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” Lanie says, wrapping Emory in an enormous hug. “We have a lot to talk about, I guess,” I hear Lanie whisper.

“Right. I’m-I’m just going to go get cleaned up.”

Before Emory can make her escape, Harper launches herself at her legs. “Tank yoos, Em-wee.”

“You’re welcome, sweety. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” She doesn’t wait for anyone to respond as she makes a mad dash for the back of the plane.

I’m turning to follow her when the questions start.

“She’s a doctor?”

“Why isn’t she practicing?”

“What kind of surgeon?”

Everyone has a question. Everyone but Ash, and now I know he’s onto me.

“It’s not my story to tell, okay? Please don’t make her uncomfortable. Someday, when she’s ready, she will tell you. If she’s never ready, that’s her choice, too. Excuse me.”

As I make my way toward Emory, I hear the hushed conversations in the background but do my best to ignore them. As I pass GG, she grabs my arm.

“Miss Fixem, Broken-heart. She’s the one you’ve been waiting for. You wait and see.”

“Okay? GG. Thanks? I’m just going to check on her.”

“Mhm, that girl could give Lanie’s childhood a run for her money, but she’s a good one, Broken-heart. Trust in her.”

“I do, GG. More than I thought possible.”

With a grin and a nod, GG speaks in riddles again. “Then you, my broken heart, will be just fine. You just wait n’see.”

When I finally reach the cabin, I knock softly then let myself in to find Emory sitting on the bed with her head hanging low.

When she hears the door shut, she speaks without looking up. “I’m so sorry, Preston. I hope I didn’t just ruin everything for you. I-I just, when we hit that little pocket of turbulence, and she came up with that cut, I couldn’t focus on anything else. I knew I could fix it easily and everything else went out the window. I just—”

“Dr. Camden?” I catch her off guard, and she finally looks at me. “You did good. I’m proud of you. You just took care of my family out there knowing you’d have to tell something deeply painful about yourself.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Goldie, I don’t think I could ever be mad at you,” I tell her honestly. “They do have a lot of questions, but hopefully, I bought you plenty of time. You tell them when and if you’re ready, and I’ll always support you. This,” I say, waving my hand between the two of us, “isn’t just about me anymore. Those people out there love you and will always be there for you, even when I can no longer be.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Because that’s what family, chosen or by blood, do for one another, and you have just become part of our messed up family.”

I’m suddenly flooded with my mother’s comments about life support and Dr. Terry’s warnings about choosing a medical power of attorney, and my brain forms a plan right before my eyes. I’m going to marry Emory.

“Preston? Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m good. What were my moronic brothers fighting about out there?” I ask, trying to distract her. I know getting Emory to marry me will take some finesse, so I need to buy myself a little more time.

“Well, we hit a little bit of turbulence, but it was enough to knock Harper off balance. She was closest to Easton when she fell. Colton … Wait, can we just talk about the ton names?”

I laugh as she gets sidetracked. “Yeah, there are a ‘ton’ of Westbrooks. So, why were they fighting?”