Page 33 of The Hunt

Genny wrapped her fingers around Hudson’s until he looked at her. Aubrey kept talking. “Ryan has a fractured leg. The leg does need surgically reduced—put back into place, but it’s a common procedure. He’ll be out of a cast in about six weeks or so.”

Aubrey kept talking, and they got the necessary signatures. Genny slipped out; she was going to head upstairs and check on Hala herself. See if her friend needed Genny to call anyone for her.

She found Hala in the surgical waiting room, pacing. Genny’s heart melted for the younger woman. This was her sister’s bestie, after all. She could see the fear and memories in Hala’s eyes. Hala had been in the car with her family when they had been sideswiped by a drunk driver going over one hundred miles an hour. Hala had been hurt, too, but she had survived. Genny wouldn’t ever forget how dark those days had been. “Hala, do you want me to call someone for you? Greer?”

“I’ve called her already. She can come sit with Hudson, help me keep him in line. I need to stay with Ryan. He’s going to be so scared. He’s so little.” And there were so many memories in Hala’s eyes. “He’s so little, Gen. And he’s going to be so afraid. I mean, I know Aub is his doctor and she’s the best, too. And…but he’s so little.”

And Hala was remembering. Genny’s heart broke at the pain.

“He’s going to be okay. He has an excellent surgeon, I promise. He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.” Genny guided her into a chair and just talked to her. As another gurney went down the hall—with Hudson on it. His arm fracture was more complicated than his son’s condition. Hala almost panicked, seeing her brother like that. “They’ll be okay, Hala. I’m not going anywhere until they are both out. I promise.”

She was still sitting there when her sisters arrived. Greer immediately hugged Hala, while Giavonna demanded to know how they were. She and Hudson Hanan battled every single weekday in the Barratt County court system. Hudson was Giavonna’s boss at the county attorney’s office. And their issues with each other were legendary. It made it awkward. But Giavonna dealt. And she and Hala were very close friends, too.

“They are in surgery now. To have some broken bones set,” Hala told them, in a shaky voice. “I am starting to calm down. I’m sorry. I’m being a wimp, aren’t I?”

Giavonna hugged her next. Hala just clung to the older woman. “Not at all. I’d be screeching at the top of my lungs if it was one of my doofus brothers, Hal. Don’t get me started on what I’d do if it were Greer or Genny. And if it was Calvin or one of George’s girls…I would be completely insane. Beyond. They’d be pulling me down from the ceiling. I was an utter mess when Chantal and Gene were missing. I’d utterly lose it. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’re here now; we’ll stay with you, okay?”

They did. Genny and her sisters basically surrounded Hala. Aubrey joined them after her shift, too. To Genny’s surprise, Chantal showed up about forty-five minutes later, with Genny’s own mother and Aubrey’s little sister in tow.

Aubrey was surprised, but Ayla put it distinctly. “We’re here for Hala. We don’t want her to be afraid. She’s not alonetonight. Or…at least, she doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to be biological to be family.”

There wasn’t really anything else to say. Ayla had pretty much nailed it on the head. Genny stayed there with her sisters and her mom, and her friends, until word came. Hudson and Ryan were going to be okay.

Genny’s mother just held Hala tightly while she cried.

26

By the timeChad was free to leave the hospital he was beyond exhausted. He had known Ryan Hanan since the kid had been two days old. He had been there for every check-up, and half the kid’s birthdays. He and Hudson had been good friends for years. Working in a small-town hospital meant he would see—and even lose—people he knew and cared about at some point or another. He was just damned glad things would work out for the Hanans.

But he was exhausted when he made it back to the ED—he had been searching for Genny. His plans to talk her into going home with him for dinner were long gone. Now he just needed to see her for a moment before he drove to his condo in Barrattville.

He just needed to see her now.

He found her in the ED, with Aubrey and Aubrey’s younger sister next to her. And her sisters and her mother. Chad stepped up to them, putting one hand on Genny’s small shoulder. She just turned and looked up at him, with red-rimmed, tired eyes that broke his heart. “Hey…”

“Chad, how is Ryan?” Giavonna asked, quietly. “Is he okay?”

“He’s sleeping in recovery now. Things went well, he’s going to be okay. How’s his father?” He looked at Aubrey, assuming she had had care of Hudson.

“He was Dr. Michaels’s patient, but I’ve heard he’s doing well,” she said.

“I’ll check on him in a minute, before I go.” He didn’t want to drive the thirty minutes to Barrattville. He considered heading back to his own parents’ house and crashing there. He could ride with Chantal, if she was still around. But…he didn’t see his sister anywhere. “Where’s Chan?”

“We sent her home. She wasn’t feeling well and needed to rest,” Genny’s mother Gayle said. “Gunn and Gene had stopped by to check on Hudson, and Gene insisted on driving her home.”

Chad looked at Genny. “I was going to bum a ride with her, but…I’ll just crash in the break room. I’m too tired to drive. Especially…after this.”

“Nonsense, young man, you’ll go home with my girls. They’re heading out now. George’s room is still right there, and empty. You’ve spent enough nights there, you know you are welcome any time. And it’s only ten minutes away.”

Here Genny’s mother was, offering a way into Genny’s inner sanctum. And Chad was too tired to use that to his advantage. “I thank you for the offer. I’ll gladly take you up on that.”

“I just bet you will,” he could have sworn he heard Genny mutter behind him.

He would definitely be taking advantage of the opportunity—as soon as he got some sleep.

Chad was too exhausted to do anything else tonight.

27