Forever After All by Kaylee Ryan
Chapter 17
Rip
As we approach the entrance to the hospital, my hand on her thigh gives a soft tap, letting her know I’m here for her. Guiding our rental into the parking lot, I rush to grab the keys and my phone and catch up with her as she power walks her way to the main entrance. When we landed, we called to check on Harold. Agnes had informed us that the surgery went well, and they were admitting him to the cardiac floor.
Catching up to McKenna, I entwine my fingers with hers just as we’re entering the hospital. I wish there was something else I could do other than hold her hand and drive her to the hospital. I know her heart is aching at the thought of losing her grandfather. Her dream has always been to work side by side with him before he retires. She’s busted her ass to finish college early, only to be faced with the uncertainty of her grandfather’s future.
“Harold Dawson,” she says when we reach the reception desk.
“Are you family?” the lady behind the desk asks.
“She’s his granddaughter,” I answer for McKenna.
“And you are?”
“Her husband.” There’s no way I’m letting her go back there alone, and if they don’t think I’m family, they won’t let me. Boyfriend isn’t a good enough title in these kinds of situations.
“He’s on the fifth floor, the cardiac until. I’m not sure if he’s been assigned a room yet. Take that elevator”—she points to our right—“and the nurse at the desk will be able to help you.”
“Thank you,” I say, my feet already moving, guiding McKenna to the elevators. Once the doors close, I hit the number five on the wall and wrap her in my arms. She feels right.
“I’m so scared,” she murmurs into my neck.
“I know, I am too, but I’m going to be right beside you the entire time. Your gram said the surgery went well. He’s going to be okay.” She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she snuggles closer to me, soaking up the comfort I’m so desperately trying to give her.
We exit the elevator hand in hand, and when we approach the desk, I speak for her… for us. “Hi, we’re looking for Harold Dawson.”
“Are you family?”
“Yes, my wife is his granddaughter.” I can feel McKenna’s eyes on me when I once again refer to her as my wife. That’s something that I could definitely get used to.
“They just brought him up. I need to check on him again. Why don’t I show you to his room?” she offers. “Follow me? We have a two-visitor rule, but as long as you don’t upset him and let him rest, it will be fine.” She gives me a flirty wink. I’m ready to chastise her for flirting with me in front of my wife when McKenna demands her attention.
“Thank you,” McKenna says, pulling the nurse's attention.
“Of course.” The nurse must see the look on McKenna’s face because all hints of flirtation are gone as she leads us to Harold’s room.
“Mr. Dawson, you have visitors,” the nurse says after knocking lightly on the door.
“Mac.” Harold holds his hand out for McKenna, and she drops mine, racing to him.
“Hey, Gramps,” she whispers through her tears.
I make my way to them and place my palm on the small of her back, letting her silently know I’m here for her. “You gave us a scare,” I tell Harold.
“Oh, I’m fine now. Right as rain, in fact. The doc fixed up my ticker, and Agnes is already talking about taking all the good food away from me. I’m going to be just fine.” He chuckles, and although he’s a little pale, he sounds like himself.
McKenna’s lip quivers. “I was so scared,” she tells him, her voice cracking.
“My sweet girl,” he says but stops and looks at where her other hand is clasped tightly in mine. “What’s this?” He looks up, and the grin on his ashen face is not something I expected.
“Oh my word, is that what I think it is?” Agnes says from her post on the opposite side of the bed. “Rip?” she asks since McKenna seems to be struck speechless.
“I’m working on convincing McKenna to be my girlfriend,” I tell them.
“Congratulations, you two.” Harold smiles at us.
“Gram, Gramps, this is a mis—” McKenna starts, but Harold talks over her.
“I couldn’t think of a better man for you,” he tells her. There’s nothing but honesty and acceptance in his gaze. “I’d say this news turned a bad day into a great day.” He looks at his wife.
“Yes,” Agnes says, wiping at her eyes. “I’m so happy for both of you. I always hoped this would be how the two of you ended up. Come here.” She walks to our side of the bed, wrapping us both in a hug.
“Grams—” McKenna starts. This time it’s me who’s talking over her.
“Thank you. I’ll make her happy. I promise you.”
“Oh, Rip, we know that you will.”
Bending, I place a kiss on McKenna’s temple. She stares up at me like I’ve lost my mind. That’s okay. We’ve yet to really talk about us and our night together, other than me telling her I wanted her to be mine. We will. I needed her to see her family. I needed her to be able to see with her own eyes that Harold was going to be okay. At least, I hoped that was the outcome we would find when we arrived. Luck happened to be on our side, and he’s going to be fine. He’ll struggle through some diet modifications, but I know for a fact he’ll do whatever Agnes tells him. That’s what you do for the woman you love, no matter if it’s to save your life or not.
“Tell us about your trip,” Agnes insists. The heaviness and sadness that was in her eyes when we walked in are now masked by her happiness for us.
“It was fun,” McKenna says, glancing up at me.
“Best trip I’ve ever taken,” I say, keeping my eyes on McKenna. I need her to know that my words are true. I might not remember every detail of our night together, but I do remember going back to her room and her asking me to stay. I remember us falling into bed, and after that, it’s a fog, but the condom wrapper on the floor and the condom in the bathroom trash tell me the ending of our night at least. I hate that I can’t remember, but that’s okay. I plan to repeat that night, sans alcohol, very soon.
“We’re going to have to celebrate. Dinner,” Harold says, looking at his wife.
“As long as they have heart-healthy options on the menu. Or I could make us a family dinner at the house,” she offers.
“As long as we get to celebrate these kids and their future, I’m fine with it,” Harold tells her. I’d expected him to be at least grumpy from being in the hospital, but he’s always been a happy guy.
“He was whining about staying here, so this news comes at a great time. It gave me a break from all the fussing.” Agnes rubs her hands over her husband’s affectionately.
We spend the next thirty minutes or so catching up. Agnes tells us about the ride here in the ambulance. Apparently, they didn’t want her to ride along, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer. McKenna gets so much of her fire from her, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When Harold yawns, McKenna tells him that we’re going so he can get some rest but promises to come back in a few hours before visiting hours are over.
“Can you stay with Rip tonight? I know you two are an item now, and well, I’d feel better if you weren’t staying at the house alone,” Harold says.
“Gramps, I’m a big girl.”
“I know you are, sweetheart, but let your boyfriend take care of you. That’s his job.” He reaches for Agnes’s hand.
“She’s staying with me,” I tell Harold. I can feel McKenna’s stare, but I don’t meet it. I’m not having this conversation with her here. She gives both of her grandparents a hug goodbye, and we’re back on the elevator. I tug her back into my arms, and she comes willingly, which I take as a good sign.
“Are you hungry?” I ask once we’re on the road.
“Starving,” she says, turning her head that’s resting against the back of the seat to look at me.
“How’s a drive-through sound? We can take it back to your grandparents’ and eat while we grab some of your things.”
“Food, sleep, and then we can deal with everything else. We’ve made a mess.”
“What mess?” I ask, knowing damn well what she’s talking about.
“This.” She holds up her hand, motioning between the two of us. “They think we’re together now.”
“We are together now.”
“Rip,” she sighs. “You’re off the hook.”
“We are,” I insist. At least I hope we are. I’ll do everything in my power to make her mine.
“This is crazy. Do you hear yourself right now?”
I pull up to the drive-through speaker and order my meal and then hers before turning to look at her. “Want to add anything else?”
“How did you—? No.” She shakes her head. “That’s good.”
“That will be all,” I tell the speaker. The server gives me my total, and I pull forward.
“How did you know what I wanted?”
“I pay attention, McKenna. This isn’t something new for me. I’ve been attracted to you for years, but I refused to hold you back. I was afraid if we started something, you wouldn’t follow through with school. I wanted to make sure you followed your dreams.” Grabbing my wallet out of my back pocket, I pass my card through the window. When the girl hands it back, I hand McKenna my card and my wallet. “You mind putting that back in for me?” I ask, pulling up to grab our food.
“What-What is this?” she asks.
I set the bag of food on the back seat floorboard and pull forward so I don’t clog up the line. Glancing over, I see a picture of McKenna at the lake. It was the summer she graduated from high school, about a week or so before she left for college. “A picture,” I reply, looking both ways before pulling out onto the road.
“It’s a picture of me.”
“I know.”
“Why do you have it?”
“I missed you.” Never again will I hide what I want with her. I’ve waited long enough. A picture of her is the last thing she expected to find. I know that she’s battling with her feelings, and it’s taking her a little longer to be on board with us, but we’ve crossed that line, and going backward seems silly when I know there will never be anyone else like McKenna in my life. She’s it.
“Are you feeling okay? Are you still hungover from last night? Should you be driving?” she rattles off.
“I’m feeling great, happy about us, sad about Harold. I’m not still hungover, and I’m fine to drive.”
“Rip, I’ve been home for a few weeks, we spend one night together, and suddenly we’re in a relationship, and you want us to stay that way? Do you not hear how crazy that sounds?”
“It sounds crazier to me not to be.”
“I need sleep,” she mutters.
“Why don’t we go straight to myplace so you can eat and take a nap? We’ll go to yours after.”
“Your place is fine,” she says with a sigh.
Glancing over, her eyes are closed. I know today has been a lot, waking up to hear that her grandfather was in the hospital, finding out that we slept together last night, and cutting our trip short… it’s a lot to process. I just hope I can convince her to give this a shot. To give us a shot.
At the house, I grab the food and follow her up the steps to the front door. She kicks off her shoes and goes straight to the kitchen island, where we eat in silence. This is the first thing we’ve had other than some snacks on the plane, so we both devour our food. Standing, I don’t bother with the trash, leaving it on the counter. I offer her my hand, and to my surprise, she takes it. “Let’s go sleep.”
She follows me, exhaustion setting in as I guide her upstairs to my room. I quickly strip out of my clothes, offering her my T-shirt to sleep in. I watch as she disappears into the bathroom to change. Sliding under the covers, I wait for her. My arms itch to hold her. I just need to be able to show her this is what I want. I know she wants it too. I know she does. I see it in the way that she looks at me. The way her breathing accelerates whenever I’m close. She wants this, but she’s afraid to want it. I just need her to give me time to prove to her that we can go the distance. I need her to know that the two of us are going to be forever.
When she slides under the covers, I pull her into my arms, and she comes willingly. Her body shakes with silent tears, and it breaks me in two. I know our night together is putting pressure on her when she’s already stressed and worried about her grandfather.
I hold her tight, kissing the top of her head. “I’m right here,” I tell her. “I’ve got you, and I’m not going anywhere.” Eventually, her tears subside, and her breathing evens out. Once I know she’s resting peacefully, I allow myself to drift off to sleep.
