They made it to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika in record time. Grayson drove Emily’s SUV with everyone else packed into the seats, Aria included. There had been no time to think. Someone, Emily and maybe Grayson, had grabbed all their handbags and ushered them out the door.

Savannah had known where to go and what to do. Everyone else just followed. Danielle was in a daze. The men from the FAA had said Noah was alive, but that they needed to get to the hospital.

They hadn’t said anything about Samuel.

Noah was in surgery, so the whole family was sent to a waiting area to sit. And pace.

Her father had to be alright. Though she’d dogged Savannah’s heels and listened to every conversation, no one had indicated that he was very bad off.

And no one mentioned Samuel.

Danielle paced across the waiting room floor a couple of times. Emily had gotten Aria to sleep. Savannah was on the edge of her seat. Claire sat with Grayson, their attention on his iPad.

Without a word, Danielle went out to the nurse’s station. “Can you tell me where Samuel Johnson is?”

The nurse looked at her over her glasses, typed on the computer, and shook her head. “We don’t have anyone by that name.”

“Maybe he came in without a name. He was with Noah Worthington. In the crash.”

The nurse shook her head. “The ambulance only brought in one person.”

“That can’t be,” Danielle said, turning on her heel and running back to the waiting room.

“Savannah, are you certain Samuel was with Dad? The nurse said he isn’t here.” Her words came out in a rush. What if he hadn’t survived?

Savannah’s brows furrowed. “Yeah. When I talked to Noah this morning, he said they were both coming. He said Samuel was excited to see you.”

“He knows we broke up.”

“Well, either way, he was bringing Samuel with him to graduation and to the party.”

“The ambulance only brought in one person. Where is he?”

Savannah frowned. “That airplane is rated for two pilots. There was another pilot on that plane.” She was out of her chair and on her way to the nurse’s station.

“Danielle,” Claire called.

Danielle stopped in her plan to follow Savannah and instead went to sit next to her mother.

“Are you okay?” Claire asked, placing a hand on Danielle’s arm.

Danielle shook her head, feeling the tears gathering in her eyes. “No one knows where Samuel is. He was on the plane with Noah.”

Claire glanced at Grayson. “How can that be?” Her voice trailed off with an unspoken realization.

Grayson shook his head. “Not necessarily,” he muttered.

Danielle stood up, took a step, and came back to stand in front of them. “I have to find him.”

Savannah rushed back. “They took him to Birmingham - UAB.”

“Oh no!” Danielle said. That could only mean the worst. “How is he?” She bit her lip even as she asked.

“She didn’t know,” Savannah said. “But they flew him straight to UAB by Lifeflight.”

Danielle felt the bottom fall out of her stomach. No. No. Not Samuel. Not sweet, kind, loving Samuel. “I have to go. I have to go to him.” She turned to Claire and held out her hand. “I need the car.”

“Danielle, honey, we flew. We don’t have our car.”

Danielle put a palm on her forehead. “Right.” She couldn’t think straight. She needed a car.

Emily stepped forward and held out her keys. “Take mine,” she said.

“Mom! How will we get home?” Savannah asked.

Emily raised her eyebrows at her daughter as Danielle took the keys from her hand. “We’ll figure it out.”

Keys in hand, Danielle raced from the room toward the front of the hospital. Did she even know which car belonged to Emily? It was an SUV. I’ll find it.

She dashed out into the cold and looked around the parking lot for an SUV. Fortunately, there was only one in sight.

Getting into the driver’s seat, she put her head on the steering wheel and took deep breaths. She had no idea which way to go.

“I’m the daughter of a pilot,” she told herself. “I’ve lived in L.A. and Houston. Surely, I can drive to Atlanta.”

If only I had an airplane. I could navigate myself there.

GPS.

With sudden inspiration, she used her phone to map her way to the hospital in Atlanta.

The SUV felt huge in her hands. She knew how to drive. She just didn’t like to drive.

Within minutes, she was on Highway 280, and it looked like a straight shot from here.

She relaxed her hands on the wheel for the first time since she’d put the vehicle into drive.

Maybe she should have waited to see how her father came through his surgery. But surely, he was going to be okay, since they’d kept him there in Auburn. Or maybe he was too critical to leave.

No. Samuel’s words came back to her. Take a deep breath, Danielle. Everything is going to work out.

Remembering how Samuel had held her hair while she threw up, her eyes teared up, and the road in front of her blurred. She blinked back the tears to be able to see better.

He’d been there for her every step of the way. He’d known she was pregnant before she was, and had taken her to the doctor.

He’d even offered to be there for her and to help raise the baby.

When Joey had shown up, her ex had left with a black eye and wounded pride.

And she’d walked away from him without even a word; without giving him a chance to redeem himself.

With the perfect man standing right in front of her, declaring his love.

She’d been afraid. Afraid of being hurt. Again.

It was stupid. Being apart from him hurt like hell.

They’d been attached at the hip from the moment they met.

Now, for nearly a month, she’d been nothing but miserable. And for what reason? He was lying in a hospital – perhaps even fighting for his life. She may never even get to see him again. To talk to him. To hold his hand. To kiss him.

What she wouldn’t give to have just one more day with him. One more day to have things back the way they were before.

I was wrong. It hurts more to be without him than to be with him.

There was nothing wrong with being like her father. Noah Worthington was a good man, and Samuel didn’t even have her daddy’s bad quality of not staying in touch.

Samuel wasn’t Noah. And he certainly wasn’t Joey. Or Richard. Samuel hadn’t cheated on her. In her heart, she knew that he’d been telling the truth about his passenger.

As she got into the city traffic, she forced herself to focus and not to think about Samuel, a nearly impossible task.

When her phone rang, she hit speaker. It was her mother.

“Noah is out of surgery and is doing fine.”

“Thank God,” Danielle said. “I have to go, Mom. I’m hitting traffic.”

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive? You don’t even know where you’re going.”

Danielle laughed a humorless laugh. It sounded like something between a laugh and a croak. “It’s a little late to be worried now. I’m fifteen minutes out. I’ll call you when I know something.”

She got off the phone and sat forward in the seat.

I have to make this right. When I see Samuel, I’ll tell him.

I’ll tell him I love him.