Page 14 of Day of the Storm

She’d bring him cookies ever so often. He’d reminded her of her own grandfather.

Grief was a sharp knife. And it wasn’t over yet.

Mike and Daryn were still coordinating rescue efforts.

The woman had pulled the chief of the TSP free before she’d pulled A. J. and Sean out.

The chief had gotten lucky, too.

The ER was exactly as A. J. had expected it to be. And right there in the center of it, tall and handsome and in charge, was the man who had always loved her. Who had made her world safe for her from the moment she’d taken her first breath.

He’d delivered her in their family living room during an emergency home birth during a storm much like tonight’s.

Her father looked up when she stepped up to his side.

There was a pinched, worried look in the eyes the same color as her own.

The worry cleared when he recognized her. “Autumn, sweetheart. We were so worried. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Sean and I were trapped under a table for a while, but we’re good. He was struck in the head, though. He was unconscious for a few minutes.”

And she had been terrified he’d been gone. Just taken from the world by the storm.

She shivered.

Shock would set in tonight. Soon.

“Sign him in. We’ll get you looked at as soon as we can. But it’s going to be several hours.”

“I’m good, Dr. Evers,” Sean said stubbornly. “We can wait.”

Her father nodded, studying both of them closely. His gaze lingered on the hand Sean still had wrapped around hers.

A. J. had been in no hurry to let him go herself.

She wasn’t certain she ever would be.

It tookhours at the hospital before they were able to get Sean in for an exam. Her mother oversaw it herself.

There was a bandage over her mother’s left eye. A. J. would ask later.

Her mother gave her some borrowed scrubs and wet wipes. “It’s about all we’re sparing now, honey.”

“I get it. I’ll clean up a bit. Then once Sean’s cleared, I’m going to go home.” If she had a home. Her apartment was right in the path of the storm.

“You can head to our place. Some of your brothers will be there.”

A. J. just nodded. “I’ll probably stay pretty close to Sean. He needs someone to take care of him, and Mike will be busy for a long while.”

“Of course, honey. You stick with him. He needs you.”

She had the feeling her mother knew exactly how A. J. felt.

17

A. J. satin the waiting room, listening to the news playing on the TV in the corner while she waited for Sean.

They’d taken him back for tests two hours earlier. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, a slightly cleaner Sean reappeared.