Page 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

H ope stood waiting with Remi, Sarah, Jesse, Winnie, and what seemed like half of Bluff Creek. The room was full. Locks had been in surgery for hours. They’d received two updates that he was still being worked on. She couldn’t sit down right now. She’d paced for a while and was now just leaning against the wall.

Roland had died at the scene. When he’d fired his gun, Dex had just been getting situated with his sniper rifle on the roof of the building across the street. He’d taken the shot, and Roland had died. Two of the others with him were taken out by bikers attending the celebration. The last two with him were taken by ambulance to the hospital. She didn’t have an update on that, and frankly, she couldn’t find any mercy in her heart to care about them at all. They’d come with the intent to rob the MC and kill her all because of her son.

Remi had made the decision to bring the RV to the hospital along with the SUV used to transport everyone to Wichita. It provided a place for them to get away, and they were taking turns keeping the kids in it. Clara and Faith were on shift for now.

It was a relief to get to hug Benji but not have him in the waiting room with her. Hope was petrified they’d walk out in a little bit and say he hadn’t made it through. Stella kept telling her to have faith, but all she kept seeing was all the blood he’d lost. Every time she started to beat herself up by blaming herself, she’d hear Locks’ voice in her head telling her he cared for her. He wouldn’t want her to blame herself.

She glanced at the clock, and only fifteen minutes had passed since the last time she looked. Why did time in a hospital pass so slowly? She needed to see his face and feel his chest rising with his breath.

Maureen came over beside her and leaned against the wall. She held up a granola bar, a muffin, and a candy bar. The thought of food made Hope nauseous, and she shook her head.

“You’ve only had the breakfast you had with Locks at eleven this morning. It’s after five. You need the fuel so you don’t crash. You don’t want to end up in the hospital too,” Maureen said.

“Anybody tell you that you’re annoying?” Hope asked, grabbing the chocolate muffin and taking a bite.

“Lexi does all the time,” Maureen replied.

After she ate the muffin, she was starving and ate the granola bar followed by the candy bar. When she looked around for a drink, Maureen held up an electrolyte drink and a bottle of water. Hope took the bottle of water and drank it.

She finished and bumped Maureen’s shoulder. “Thanks,” she said.

“No problem. You need anything else, just ask,” Maureen said.

What she wanted, Maureen couldn’t give her—Locks, healthy, whole, and awake.

The doors opening had her turning. At the sight of the doctor, she tried to read his expression. The doctor walked toward Remi and the girls. Remi held up her hand at the doctor to wait.

“Hope, get over here,” Remi called.

Hope walked over and stood by Remi. Remi slid her arm around her.

“Your father is a lucky man. He received excellent care on the way here, but his heart still stopped twice on the table. The first time, he came back quickly. The second time it took us a little longer, but his blood pressure is good, along with his heart rate. He had significant blood loss and damage. We’ve repaired everything, and now it’s up to him. The next twenty-four hours are important. He’s not going to be awake tonight, so I suggest you all get some sleep. He’ll be in ICU for at least twenty-four hours,” he said.

“Can I sit with him?” Hope asked.

“One of you may,” he said. “Once he’s settled, you can go in two at a time if you’d like to see him.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Remi and the girls echoed.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief. He’d made it through this hurdle, and she could be in his room tonight.

Sarah’s arm wrapped around her, “He’s strong, Hope. In fact, when he gets home and is doing stuff too soon, you’ll be amazed at how fast he gets well.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Hope said.

Hope sipped the hot tea she’d went and made for herself. It was close to six in the morning. She’d dozed in the chair a couple of times, but it wasn’t the most comfortable. But even if it were the softest bed, she couldn’t shut her mind off enough to sleep with Locks lying in the hospital bed, with all the monitors and tubes hooked up to him. His skin had pinked up a little in the last couple of hours. He'd looked so pale the first time she’d seen him after surgery. The nurse had said it was due to his extreme blood loss.

“Hey,” a voice whispered. Hope turned, and Beth was standing in the doorway, an unsure look on her face.

“You can come in and touch him. They said talking to him and rubbing his hands is good for him,” Hope said.

Beth walked over and kissed Locks’ forehead. “You’re not supposed to do this stuff when I’m not around. I love you, Daddy,” Beth whispered through her tears.

Hope stood up and slid her arm around Beth. “Honey, we’ll get through this.”

Beth leaned her head against Hope. “I appreciate you not promising everything would be perfect. What have the doctors said?”

“That they are giving him fluids and his output is good. Kidneys are working well. Blood pressure is normal. They repaired the damage the bullet did. If you want the particulars, you’ll have to ask the nurse because I wasn’t listening well. All I heard was he was alive, though they lost him twice on the table,” Hope said.

“Dad’s tough. He’s going to get through this. Do they know when he will wake up?” Beth asked.

“They’ve started tapering off the medicine they were giving him, and the nurse indicated maybe in the next couple hours, he might start showing signs of waking up.”

“Do you want to take a little break, and I’ll sit with him? I’ll call you if he starts to wake up,” Beth said.

Beth watched Hope leave the room. Hope only wanted to be gone about twenty minutes.

Beth rubbed his fingers and the top of his hand. These hands had taught her about cars, about going after a skip, and about how to carve her own path. When she’d shown a preference for surveillance instead of the other parts of the job, he hadn’t kicked up a fuss. He looked at the business and found a way they could use her skills, then gave her a huge budget to get started on her disguises.

Beth had been blessed with parents who didn’t want cookie-cutter kids that were all the same. Her mom and dad had both nurtured her abilities and strengths. She was grateful to them, and she missed her mom.

She’d been around Hope a little, and if she could have picked the woman to be with her dad in the coming years, she would have picked someone like Hope. Hope was loving but strong and wouldn’t take any crap. With Hope and Benji around, she could see her dad being around longer. Hope and Benji would help keep him young at heart.

She couldn’t stay long. She’d left Della helping Flick, along with their Cider Creek Chapter. The back of her neck was itching, and she was positive they’d get a break soon. There were just so many threads that needed to be pulled together. Once they had them all, they’d act swiftly. Rose had wanted to help but couldn’t be seen. Beth had her helping at the clubhouse, going through the paper trail to see if they’d missed anything.

Hope walked back in. Beth didn’t think it had been that long, but Hope probably couldn’t stand to be away from Locks.

Beth stood up and let Hope take the chair. Maybe she could get her dad to wake up a little sooner. She leaned over close to his ear.

“Dad, Remi is taking Ginger to be painted. She wants to change the color to pink,” Beth said softly. Her dad loved the Monte Carlo he’d taught all the girls to drive with. Ginger was his baby, and although he let the girls use her sometimes, he would have a fit if anyone hurt or changed his baby.

Hope grinned and chuckled.

Beth turned, “Has he introduced you to Ginger?”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard the story, and he talked about us taking Ginger on a date to Nelson’s sometime because she needs to know she’s still loved. I’ve only ridden on his motorcycle so far, though.”

Beth stood there waiting. She was positive her dad was close to waking up because his fingers had moved, and he wasn’t breathing quite as deeply. Maybe she’d try something else.

“Dad, some guys beat up Hope,” Beth said.

“Beth,” Hope chastised.

Beth didn’t care. Locks shifted in bed, and then his eyelids moved—opening a little and then closing. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear.

“What, Locks?” Hope asked.

“Who did it? She okay?” he asked.

Beth chuckled and then hugged Hope.

“She’s fine. I just needed you to quit with the beauty rest after the shooting,” Beth said.

Locks’ eyes opened, and Beth was so glad to see he was waking up. He turned toward Hope.

“Marry me. Can’t wait,” Locks said.

Beth waited to see if Hope was going to answer him. Hope sniffed and leaned over Locks, laying her hand against his cheek and kissing his lips. She pulled away and whispered yes.

Beth patted her dad’s hand and went out to tell her sisters and the family that he was awake and okay. She’d let Hope tell about the proposal. Now, she could go back to Texas and do her job: find the perpetrators and make sure they met justice, one way or another.

She walked down the hall. She had a five-hour drive to consider some other things about Flick. A lot could be decided on a long car ride with the music providing inspiration.