Luckily the hospital wasn’t far and Todd pulled up just after the ambulance.
Before he even had the truck in park, Jessie had opened the door and ran for the entrance to the emergency room. She’d wanted to be with him. At least she could start giving his information to the doctors.
Hans, who had been on the court with them, had called his son and ex-wife. But aside from them, his friends were his only family.
“They’re working on him. Can I get you anything?” The lady at the desk asked as she handed Jessie a clip board with paperwork to fill out.
“I’d like to see him.”
“They’re getting his situation under control. I will let them know you’re here.”
That wasn’t what Jessie wanted at all. She wanted to be holding the big oaf’s hand. She wanted to tell him that she couldn’t do it without him. She needed him to know that she was sorry for all the times they’d collided, or bumped, or tripped over each other.
The tears had begun to well in her eyes enough she couldn’t read the forms.
A hand came to her shoulder, and she turned to see a fuzzy image of Todd standing over her.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He sat down next to her. “What do we have here?” He took the board from her.
“His papers,” she began to sob. “I can at least help fill out his papers.”
Todd pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Do you know all of this stuff?”
She nodded and handed him her phone. It was open to an email Finn had once sent her after an emergency visit for a twisted ankle. “He thought maybe, since I was always with him when he fell down, I should know everything.” She looked up at Todd. “God, do you think he knew something like this was going to happen?”
Todd lifted a hand to her wet cheek and held it there for a moment. “He seems like the kind of guy who wants to cover all his basis.” Todd took the phone and held it next to the clipboard. “Would you like me to help you with this?”
What she wanted was to be with Finn. Instead, she nodded, grateful for Todd’s help.
They filled out the paperwork, the best they could, and when Todd walked back to the desk to return it, a nurse came from the back and moved directly to Jessie.
“Are you the one who came in with Finnegan McBride?”
It took her a moment to connect his full name, but Jessie nodded. “Yes. Is he okay? I want to see him.”
The nurse smiled. “He’s stable. Are you family?”
Jessie shook her head. “No. Dear friends. His family isn’t here yet.”
“I’ll take you back. But when his family arrives...”
“I get it,” she said following the nurse back through the forbidden doors.
It took everything she had inside of her not to crack again the moment she saw him. The larger-than-life man looked tiny in the bed, covered in wires and blankets. A monitor beeped to the side of him, and his eyes were closed.
“He’ll be in and out, but we’re keeping him calm. They’re going to admit him and, keep him for observation, and run some tests.”
“It was a heart attack, right?”
“Yes.”
Jessie kept her purse hugged to her front, as if it were a comforting blanket from childhood. Her eyes were fixed on Finn, and she wondered how much pain could fill one’s chest before it was critical, because hers ached horribly.
There was comfort in hearing the constant beep next to her. He’d survived.
“Hey,” his raspy voice broke the otherwise silent air in the room.
“Hey, big guy. Jesus, you’ve given me a scare.”
A small smile pushed up one corner of his mouth. “Were you the one kissing me, or beating me?”
Jessie wiped away the tears that stained her cheeks and let out a small laugh. “Beating you.”
He nodded slightly and let his eyes close again.
At least his humor was still intact, she thought as he drifted to sleep, the rhythm of his heart keeping her company.
Thirty minutes after she’d been escorted back to him, the curtain pushed to the side and his ex-wife and son walked through.
His ex-wife gasped when she saw him, and that seemed to wake him enough to look up at her.
“Hey, lover,” he said to her, and she shook her head. “Wanna dance?”
That caused the woman to laugh, covering her mouth as she did so while tears streamed down her cheeks. “Seriously? You’re joking?”
Finn managed a shrug before he looked up at his son. “Junior, you’re looking mighty big.”
The boy, now thirteen, if Jessie remembered correctly, stared at his father with wide eyes.
“Jessie, remember Finn?” he asked.
Jessie nodded. “You’re taller than I remember.”
The boy looked at her and nodded, but otherwise was silent, still in shock from seeing his father laying there.
“Roster him for my next game,” Big Finn joked weakly.
“I’ll do,” she promised as she stood. “It looks like you’re in good hands now, Finn. I’ll see you when they’ve sprung you. Maybe you could be a quiet spectator for a bit.”
He had enough energy to roll his eyes at her. “I owe you a beer.”
Jessie chuckled as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Damn straight you do. Take care of you,” she said softly in his ear.
“I’m in good hands. She’ll dote on me,” he said looking up at his ex-wife who clearly still loved the oaf.
Todd paced the waiting area while Jessie’s parents worked on a crossword puzzle from a three-year-old magazine.
A few others had come after the game to check up on Finn, and they waited, scattered around the room.
When Jessie emerged he went to her, enveloping her in his arms.
“Well? How is he?”
She laid her hand gently on his chest. “Ornery,” she joked. “I think he’s going to be fine. His ex-wife and son are back there now.”
“You talked to him?”
Jessie nodded. “He owes me a beer.”
Todd pulled her to him and held tightly as she let the rest of her tears fall. As she sobbed, he breathed her in. God, he loved this woman who could be tough enough to sport a black eye with humor, and soft enough to crumble when her heart ached.