“You and Trace need to get to the hospital.”
She picked up on the alarm in his voice immediately. “What’s wrong?”
There was a slight pause and then, “It’s Jake.”
Emma’s stomach dropped. “We’re on our way.”
Ending the call, she hopped out of bed and started to get dressed.
“What’s the matter?” Trace jumped up and did the same.
“I don’t know. Sean just said we need to get to the hospital now. Something’s going on with Jake.
The look on Trace’s face broke Emma’s heart. The two men had been friends for years, and she knew he wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
None of them were.
Sliding on a pair of sandals, she went to him and took his hands in hers. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through it. Together.”
Minutes later, they were pulling into the secured hospital parking lot. Emma’s stomach churned with dread, but she did her best to think positive thoughts as they found a spot and got out of her car.
With their fingers linked together, the two entered the hospital and sped to the nearest elevator. Stepping onto his floor, Emma gave Trace’s hand a squeeze as they made their way to Jake’s room.
The door was open, and there were several low, muffled voices coming from within the room.
They called everyone in.
Doing her best not to burst into tears, Emma stood by Trace as they entered the room, shocked by what she saw before her.
Rather than tears of sorrow, the faces of everyone there were filled with smiles and tears of joy. The best part of all?
Jake was sitting up in bed...and smiling back at them.
“Hey, man.” He tipped his chin to Trace. “Good to see you again, brother.”
“Jake?” Emma blurted the man’s name. “You’re...you’re awake!”
“So they tell me.”’
Standing beside him, Olivia was beaming from ear to ear. “He came to a couple of hours ago. The doctors wanted to run some tests before we let everyone know, just to be on the safe side.”
“So?” Trace looked at them anxiously. “What did they say?”
“They want to keep me for another few days, but so far, everything’s come back normal.”
Thank you, God!
“Do you...” Trace started. “I mean, do you remember what happened?”
“It’s pretty miraculous, actually,” Jake commented. “I remember everything up to the moment of the explosion. After that, it’s like a jumble of crazy dreams after a really long nap.”
“Unbelievable.” Emma shook her head in awe.
“It really is.” Olivia grinned.
“Yeah, man.” Trace took a step forward. “That’s great news.”
“Jake was just saying once he’s out of here, he’ll reschedule the meeting.”