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was falling hopelessly in love with beat the odds?
Chapter Twelve
I woke up in my least favorite place a hospital room. Without moving, I took quick stock of
the situation. I wasn't intubated and my chest didn't hurt so I figured I hadn't gone into surgery yet.
Flashes of the night raced through my mind. Dancing with Finn. Talking to Dom. Making love to Finn.
The phantom elephant crushing my chest. The medication that made my heart stop. The exhaustion that
dragged me down as my father held my hand.
My gaze moved around the room. My parents were curled up together on the long couch along
the far wall of my room. Daddy was still in his tuxedo, and Mama's beautiful dress was a rumpled
mess. I glanced to my right and found Finn sitting in the chair next to my bed, his tired eyes watching
me. He hadn't spoken yet, and I sensed he had been waiting for me to find him.
With the stealth that had served him so well in war, Finn rose from the chair and stood next to
my bed. He clasped my hand and leaned down to press a tender kiss to my forehead. I was sure my
makeup had smeared and my hair was a mess, but Finn gazed down at me as if I were the most
beautiful woman in the whole wild world.
His voice barely a whisper, he said, "You scared the shit out of me last night."
I smiled at his crude description. Voice scratchy, I whispered, "I scared the shit out of myself."
"Don t ever do that again."
"I'll try." He lowered his head as if he meant to kiss me, but I turned my face. "Finn, I have
morning breath."
He turned my face. "I don't care."
Our lips touched, and I felt so alive. My heart monitor audibly recorded my response to Finn's
kiss, the beats bleeping faster. We broke apart smiling.
A cleared throat alerted me to the fact that my mother was wide awake and watching us. Finn
and I exchanged embarrassed glances, but it was my father's sleepy voice that made us laugh.
"At least if they get carried away like they did last night, we've got a full staff of cardiologists
down the hall."
"Eddie!" My mother playfully smacked his leg. "Don't encourage them!"
His eyes closed and his arm thrown across his face, my father laughed. "Of all of our kids,
Silly, I think Hadley is the least of our worries." He groaned as he sat up. "God, Silly girl, I'm getting
too old for sleeping on couches."
"Silly?" Finn mouthed the nickname my father had for my mother. I shrugged and wondered
what name my brothers or father would pick for him once he was fully welcomed into the fold.
A timid knock at the door announced Coby and Tres. I didn t miss the excited look my mother
exchanged with my father upon seeing the pair together. In the last year, she had gotten it into her head
that they would make a perfect couple. Unfortunately, those two hadn't gotten the message. No matter
how many times she tried to drag me into setting them up, I steadfastly refused.
Coby looked relieved to see me. She held up a drink holder containing steaming coffees and a
box of donuts. "We grabbed a quick breakfast for everyone."
"And clothes and toiletries for Hadley," Tres said, lifting a pair of bags. His gaze shifted to
Finn. "I would have run by your place to grab something for you, but I didn't know where you lived.
There wasn't anything of yours at Hadley's either."
It might have been my imagination, but my mother seemed to relax upon learning that we
weren t straight-up shacking up yet. Mama thanked Tres and Coby for being so kind and sorted out the
coffees and donuts. She hesitated before letting me have anything. "We should probably wait until the
doctors do rounds before you eat."
"I'm fine." I was starving actually, but I understood her concern. "Could someone ask one of the
nurses if I can have something to drink? Even ice chips would be better than nothing."
"I'll go," Coby offered and disappeared from the room. A short time later, she returned with a
small cup and a pitcher and Dom hot on her heels. "They said you can drink. You aren't on the surgery
schedule so they're pretty sure you're okay to eat."
"I'll wait." Mix-ups happened all the times in hospitals. I didn't want to be one of them.
My parents and Finn were halfway through their cups of coffee and donuts when a team of
surgeons and cardiologists led by Dr. Rae entered my room. She came in with her usual sunny
disposition, but I could see the concern tightening the corners of her mouth. Coming to stand next to
me, she patted my hand. "I hear you gave everyone quite a scare last night."
"It's a gift," I murmured.
She laughed softly and then gestured to the team that came with her. "My colleagues and I have
discussed your case. What happened last night was very serious and, frankly, unexpected after you've
reported only mild episodes. We're concerned that delaying surgery too long puts you at a greater risk
of developing complications."
"Like death?" I said what everyone was thinking but no one was brave enough to voice. Cutting
right to the chase, I asked, "When do you want to operate?"
"Tomorrow morning," she said. "You'll be the first case. We'll take you in around seven and
hopefully have you out by one or two in the afternoon. You'll spend ten to fourteen days in the
hospital."
As Dr. Rae began to discuss the pros and cons of the different valves and pacemakers available
to me, I started to zone out. Everyone was talking around me while I silently sat there and clung to
Finn's hand. Whether I chose pacemaker A or the cow valve over the pig valve, this surgery was
happening. Feeling powerless, I accepted that what I really wanted to be healthy and normal was
never going to happen.
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