Page 20 of Silver Sanctuary (The Silver Springs #3)

Twelve

L acy’s car was still in the fucking parking lot of the clinic when Nash pulled in after dropping Embrie off at school. She had handled everything like an absolute champ, only looking slightly worried when Lacy had given her a hug while still in bed, wincing at the contact.

He parked next to the vehicle, seeing clear as day why Lacy hadn’t driven home.

Her two back tires were shredded. Nash reined in his anger, already thinking about trading his truck in for something more family-oriented—maybe an SUV where Lacy could fit lots of arrangements in the back for her delivery schedule.

Something that would hold Embrie’s soccer gear, and his coaching stuff on the weekends.

That little, happy thought carried him through the moment. Until he made his way into the clinic.

“Hello, sir. If you’d just sign in here, please, we’ll be with you as soon as we can.” A woman in scrubs said from behind the reception desk.

“I don’t have an appointment.”

“That’s okay, we accept walk-ins.”

“No, I don’t think you understand. I need to speak with Dr. Rahni, and it needs to happen right now. It’s urgent,” Nash growled.

That finally seemed to get the woman’s attention. “Sir, you’re going to have to wait, just like everyone else. Please take a seat.”

Nash’s hand slammed down on the counter.

“I know Jake is here today and I want to speak to him. Right now. I don’t give a flying fuck that this waiting room has two people in it.

In fact, maybe they should hear what happened yesterday.

” He raised his voice. “How you left a woman, who was badly beaten, in a fucking supply closet for hours yesterday. How you didn’t check on her before you turned off the lights and went home.

How she had to basically crawl out of here when she regained consciousness and realized no one was going to help her.

Don’t you think they should know that’s the kind of service they can expect to get when they come here?

To be treated like trash instead of humans in need of help?

” Nash’s vision dimmed at the corners, his heart beating painfully in his chest as he thought about everything Lacy went through the day before.

“Nash?” Jake came around the corner and stood behind the receptionist’s desk. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? Fuck you.” Apparently he wasn’t going to approach this calmly after all.

“You left Lacy sitting in pain yesterday for hours after someone beat the shit out of her! She could have had internal bleeding, a collapsed lung. Not to mention the excruciating pain she was in. I had to take her to the hospital last night after I found her trying to walk home in the dark!”

Jake’s face went slack. “I’m going to ask you to come back to my office and tell me what you’re talking about.

I wasn’t here yesterday, it was just my Physician’s Assistant and a few nurses staffing the clinic.

I promise I had no idea any patient was here in such a severe condition yesterday, and I swear to you, I want to get to the bottom of things. ”

Nash nodded, not quite ready to breathe a sigh of relief that his friend hadn’t purposefully let the woman he loved suffer.

Whoa.

Sure, Lacy was the woman he cared about. The woman he wanted to provide for, and look after, and had already made plans to spend the rest of his life with—to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her or Embrie. He loved them both so much.

Yep. He finally let his mind admit what his heart had known for a long time. Lacy was the woman he loved.

Nash walked into the office after Jake, standing behind the chair as Jake sat behind his desk.

“Please, Nash, take a seat.” Jake sighed. “What happened yesterday?”

“Two guys got the drop on Lacy when she was putting orders in her car…” His voice hitched as he lowered himself into the chair.

“How bad did they hurt her?”

“She mentioned they kicked her in her sides, stomped on her stomach. The pain was so severe she blacked out before driving herself over here. One of the nurses made her sit in the waiting room for over an hour when there was only one other patient waiting to be seen. And when she was finally called back, they put her in your overflow room with a bunch of unopened inventory boxes and the lights turned off. She was in there for hours, Jake. She says she fell asleep, but I don’t know that it wasn’t her body shutting down on her.

When she woke up no one was here. It was dark, and everyone had just left her sitting in there!

Your staff could have cost her her life.

Embrie could have lost her mother. And while she was sitting here, in pain, someone was in your parking lot, slashing her tires, so she couldn’t even drive herself home at the end of everything. ”

Jake sat across from him, a look of horror filling every feature on his face.

“I don’t even have the words, Nash. I’m going to pull the security feed for yesterday.

I’ll comb over everything—every signature, every move my staff made.

I’ll get to the bottom of this and when we figure out who on my staff was negligent, not only will they lose their job, but I’ll turn all evidence over to both the sheriff’s department and the licensing board that oversees them. ”

A small thread of tension released in his chest. “I appreciate that.”

“Can I check in on Lacy? Was she prescribed adequate pain management at the hospital?”

“She’s at my place, resting right now. I’ll take you up on that if I think she’s in more pain than she’s letting on when she wakes up.”

Jake nodded, his hand running over his jaw as he turned to look out the window. “I’m so sorry this happened. I’ll apologize to her myself, but while she’s resting, please just let her know that what happened is not okay and is not something I’ll tolerate ever happening again.”

Nash sighed. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to come in here and kick your ass, Jake.”

“That makes two of us.” Jake stood from behind his desk, extending his arm out toward Nash. The two men shook hands, Nash still looking for any sign of deception from his friend, but there was nothing except deep remorse in his eyes.

Nash stopped in the hallway, pulling his phone from his pocket. No message from Mae, which meant Lacy was still asleep. Something prickled down the back of his neck. Was she just sleeping off what happened? Or was there something that the doctor missed the night before ?

As if she’d heard his worry, a text popped up from Mae in the group chat he’d started with her and Lily.

Mae:

Lacy just got up to go to the bathroom, but still seemed pretty out of it, and went right back to sleep. I’ll try and wake her up in a bit for some food if you’re not back by then.

Lily:

And don’t worry. Your credit card has been effectively utilized for loads of purchases.

Expect lots of deliveries starting tomorrow—clothes, shoes, comfort items. I’m heading out now with Gunner to the grocery store.

We’ll make sure you have stuff for school lunches and I’ll leave a few meals already prepped and ready to go in your fridge.

Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.

Fuck. He was nervous. The guys were going to shit a brick when he told them his plans, but with every step he took through Montgomery Defense, he felt it deeper and deeper in his bones that he was making the right decision.

Nash turned the corner to the kitchen just in time to catch Gunner pouring a cup of coffee.

“Reap.”

“Hey, Wings. How’s Lacy doing?” Gunner asked as he leaned against the counter.

“She’s resting. I’m fucking torn to hell, but she’s being so goddamn strong. Thanks for letting me borrow Lily today. ”

“Of course. We’re family. You need something, we’ve got your back.”

He nodded. “Look, I gotta ask you something.”

“Shoot.” Gunner lifted his mug up to his mouth and took a sip.

“Are you and Lily busy tomorrow?”

“I’d have to check with her, but I don’t think we have any plans. Why? What’s up?”

“Lacy and I are going to the courthouse?—”

“You’re getting married?” Gunner’s stare was ice cold as he all but slammed his mug on the counter. Leave it to the one guy who’s been in his exact shoes to go up in arms about it.

Nash nodded. “Tomorrow afternoon.”

“We barely know anything about her, Wings. What the fuck are you thinking?”

Nash pressed his molars together and tried his hardest to count to ten before responding.

He was proud of being someone his team could always count on to remain calm in situations, but in a twist that made him want to laugh, Lacy and Brie were clearly going to be the reason he lost his shit.

“That is so fucking rich coming from you, Reap. You married Lily and didn’t tell any of us for weeks. ”

“Keep my wife out of this. I’ve known Lil practically my whole goddamn life. Did you learn nothing with what happened to Sloane? How the fuck do you think this is going to make her feel? You know she’s still in hell from what happened. To bring someone into our group that none of us know?—”

“Sloane is the reason I’m coming to tell you guys before I even mention this to Lacy.”

Gunner’s eyes went wide. “You need to back the fuck up. Did you actually decide to marry a woman without even asking her if that was what she wanted?”

Nash closed his eyes and ran his hand down his face. Fuck. Yeah, he had. “She needs my protection—all of our protection. Embrie too. If they were home last night… that fire…” He swallowed against the emotion that painfully coated his throat.

“Whoa. You think it’s all connected?”

“Fuck yeah, I do. I think someone beat the fucking hell out of her and then thought she’d be home, unable to escape the fire because she was hurt so badly.”

“Look, Wings, I get it. I get wanting to protect her?—”

“Don’t you dare say ‘but.’ She’s a single mom whose business is fucking struggling because of a crime her mom committed nearly two decades ago.

This whole town is taking their hatred of her mom out on her, and Lacy and Embrie are suffering.

So excuse me if I want to step up and make sure she’s fucking okay.

I know Lily survived something awful in that cabin—I was there.

But you weren’t there last night when I found Lacy on the side of the road.

You didn’t hear the way she cried. The way the doctor said she was lucky that her ribs were only deeply bruised, not broken.

She needs someone to step up for her. Embrie needs someone, too.

And I’m going to be there for them. I’m going to keep them safe.

You can either get on board with that, or I can fucking move them back home to Montana with me and sell out my share of the business. ”

“Fuck. It’s that serious to you? She’s worth throwing away everything you have here with your brothers?”

“I won’t say it twice, Reap.”

Gunner nodded, his jaw cracking loud enough for Nash to hear as he shifted it back and forth. “Okay. I’ll back you on this with the guys. What else do you need?”

Before Nash could reply, Lily walked into the kitchen. She must have seen the questions that immediately flooded his mind as she walked into Gunner’s open arms, because she smiled at Nash and nodded.

“Lacy is still sleeping. Mae and I peeked in on her just before I left. There’s three casserole-type dinners in the fridge with instructions on how to reheat them right on the foil. And I left you a crock pot full of homemade chicken noodle soup for tonight.”

As much as Nash enjoyed cooking, it was a relief to know he didn't need to worry about it for the next few days. “Thank you again, for all your help.”

She nodded, pulling away from her husband. “Wait… why do you have your grumpy face on? What’s wrong?”

“Nash is getting married,” Gunner said, and Lily gasped, her eyes going wide. “Tomorrow afternoon.”

Half a heartbeat passed before she broke out in a giant smile and opened her arms to wrap Nash in a hug.

“Congratulations. Oh, I knew it the first time I saw you and Lacy together.” That’s when her eyes landed back on Gunner. “Wait. Is everything okay?”

“Gunner doesn’t want me to marry her,” Nash admitted, knowing Lily was likely to be on his side, and he’d get a point up on the grumpy bastard.

“Well, it’s a good thing he doesn’t get a say in the end now, isn’t it?”

“Lily Kate!” Gunner grumbled.

“Don’t you dare middle name me.” Her hands landed on her hips and Nash stifled a laugh as she pressed her finger into her husband’s chest. “How many days had you been back home before you were demanding that I marry you? All of a day and a half.”

“That’s different. I’m not… I get why Nash wants to, so I’ll support it. But he hasn’t even asked her if it’s what she wants.”

“Nash!” Lily laughed. “What are we going to do with you boys? Gage is the only sane one so far.”

“It worked out great for you and Gunner,” Nash pointed out.

“And I’m sure it’s going to work out great for you and Lacy, too.

Just maybe make sure you ask her first before you tell everyone.

” She patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, husband. Gage and Sloane offered to watch Sage this afternoon, and now that I know Lacy is going to be just fine, we have business to attend to.”

Nash chuckled as Gunner wrapped his arms around Lily and scooped her up, all but running toward the elevators.

Lily was right. He needed to ask Lacy before he told anyone else.

The small box in his left pocket felt like it held the weight of every decision he’d made in life to get to that moment.

And he really fucking hoped she’d say yes.