Chapter Twenty
Everly blinked her eyes open, her head a little fuzzy and something sticky coating her hands, but she could breathe, and she could feel. And once she focused, she could see.
Everything.
Something had hit their car. Something had made them crash.
Her boys.
“Mommy!” James was crying, and Nathan was doing the same. She turned, ignoring the ache in her head to see that her boys were still in their car seats and from what she could tell, didn’t have a cut or bruise on them. That could all change though in an instant.
“Everything’s fine, babies. Someone will come and help us soon. Are you hurt? Tell Mommy where it hurts.”
“I’m scared,” Nathan said with a cry.
“I want hugs,” James cried with him.
She tried to soothe them, but she couldn’t reach her boys. They had to be okay. They had to be.
She pressed her hand to her head and winced, knowing she had to have a cut there. People were screaming around her, but it was like they were in a vacuum. She needed to make sure her family was safe.
Storm.
She turned to him in the front seat, and he sat still. His eyes were closed, and his breath came in labored pants. Tears streamed down her face, and she tried to reach for him but couldn’t as her seatbelt stopped her. She couldn’t get her hands to work right to undo the buckle, and she winced with each movement.
“Storm,” she gasped.
He opened his eyes slowly, his gaze dark with pain. “Hey, baby, are you okay? The kids?”
“I’m fine,” she lied. She wasn’t fine, and wouldn’t be until she had her family in her arms. “Can you move? Can you help me get the boys out?”
“Storm?” Nathan cried. “I want Storm.”
“Mommy!” James cried.
Her body shook as sobs took over, and she tried to be strong, but she was so tired. No, she reminded herself, her exhaustion didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was her kids and Storm. Once they were safe and healed, then she could break down. Not now. Not anytime soon.”
“I’m right here, boys,” Storm said calmly, though she knew he had to be anything but calm. He looked directly at Everly and lowered his voice. “I can’t reach the boys.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I can’t feel my legs right now, baby, but we’ll get out. Everything will be fine. I love you, Everly. I love you so fucking much.”
Tears fell in earnest, and she choked back a sob. He couldn’t feel his legs? Oh, God, his back. “I love you, too.”
With the way the truck had been crushed on Storm’s side, she was just far enough away from him that she couldn’t reach anyone. She’d never felt so helpless.
“We’ll get out of this,” she promised, her hands shaking, and bile filling her throat as her head throbbed. “We will.”
“I know, baby. I know.”
The sirens came closer, and she looked back at her boys, doing her best to keep awake. People were coming to help. They wouldn’t be alone.
She wouldn’t lose everything.
Again.
She had a partial concussion but not a full one, and the boys were perfectly fine. So fine, in fact, they were cuddling on Marie’s and Harry’s laps after having cuddled on Nancy’s and Peter’s. Her in-laws had shown up at the hospital after Marie had called them—somehow finding their number—and had not only wanted to ensure their grandsons were okay, but Everly and Storm, as well. Nancy had gone so far as to hug her softly and cry on her shoulder.
Apparently, almost losing the last of Nancy’s family after everything had changed had altered her thinking. Everly wasn’t sure what to think about that because she had more important things to worry about just then, though she would keep that in the back of her mind.
“He’s going to be fine,” Jillian whispered from Everly’s side. The other woman had shown up with the rest of the Montgomerys—minus the few that had stayed home to take care of the children—and she hadn’t left Everly’s side since. They held hands tightly and would every once in a while hug even if they didn’t speak.
“I know.” She put force behind her words, willing them to be true. “He’s just been in surgery for so long.”
“And he’ll make it out when the doctors are done,” Wes said, his voice hollow. “Because he doesn’t get a choice. He’s going to be grumpy and growly when he gets out, but he’s going to be fine.”
“Surgeries take time,” Austin said from Sierra’s side. “But I’m fucking tired of our family having to constantly figure that out in a waiting room that looks just like this.” He winced and looked over at Jackson’s parents as well as the boys.
Peter waved him off, and the twins were asleep. If Everly had had any left over energy in her body, she’d have probably smiled. But she couldn’t find a way to smile at all, not when she didn’t know if Storm was going to be okay or not.
Because of the size of the Montgomery family, they had the entire waiting room to themselves. There were a few others on the surgical floor, so she knew others were taken care of, but she was still trying to get over the fact that she wasn’t alone in this. This entire family had not only dropped everything for Storm but for her, as well.
How her life had become this, she didn’t know, but she’d focus on it later and even say her thanks for that blessing. For now, she could only worry and try not to think about the throbbing in her head. Her doctors had only let her out of bed because the entire Montgomery clan had said they’d make sure she didn’t overdo it, but if she looked like she was in pain, she knew all of them would push her back into the hospital bed where she wouldn’t be around to hear what happened with Storm. She couldn’t let that happen.
The doors opened, and everyone stood, only to see two detectives walk in, not the doctor. “Mrs. Law?” the older one asked. “May we have a moment?”
Everly looked around at the people in the room and knew everyone was exactly where they should be. “They can stay. If that’s all right. How can I help you?”
The detectives looked around again before giving her a nod. “We’ve ID’d the other driver. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it.”
Everly’s breath caught. “They died? What happened?”
“From what we can tell, she hit you head-on without hitting the brakes on purpose. And, as it turns out, she’s connected to another ongoing investigation you’re involved in. It seems the same woman who sent your deceased husband that note to your shop that you gave us, was also the one who hit you tonight. The same woman who set fire to your bookstore. The arson investigator will be in touch shortly, but based on fingerprint analysis, we know that she sent Mr. Jackson Law the letter. We assume it was to get you to open it and scare you, as Mr. Law didn’t own the shop with you, though we haven’t pieced together what she meant by the message. We also found a burner phone in her vehicle that only called one number over the past few weeks. Yours. And now that we know it was her DNA found in the shop at the time of the fire, we know that it’s all connected.”
She blinked, her head throbbing. “Rachel? Rachel did this?” And now, she was dead. The first thing Everly thought of was Rachel’s children, the second…the second thought filled her with rage, which only made her head hurt more. Why had she done this? For money? How could she gain anything by taking away Everly’s livelihood or trying to kill her and her family? None of it added up. There was no logic to any of it. What… What was wrong with that woman? No, what had been wrong with that woman? She had to be crazy. It was the only reasonable explanation.
“Rachel did this,” she said again.
“Yes, ma’am. We have a few questions for you.”
“Can they wait?” Wes asked. His voice sounded a bit stronger this time, and for that, she was grateful. “She’s hurt, and we’re still waiting on news about Storm. Plus, her kids might be sleeping, but they’re still in the room. Rachel isn’t going anywhere,” he growled, not kindly.
The detectives nodded and explained to Everly that they’d be seeing her soon before leaving the waiting room. Everyone let out a collective breath, and Everly just wanted to curl into herself and cry. Instead, she shoved down the emotions, stood up slowly, waved off Jillian’s glare, and went to where her babies slept.
“Thank you for holding them,” she whispered to the elder Montgomerys as well as Jackson’s parents. “Just…thank you.”
Marie patted the seat next to her, and Everly sank down with a sigh. “You need to rest, honey. And don’t tell me you can’t because I know that. Once we know Storm is fine and out of surgery, then you will rest and heal.” There was a firmness in the other woman’s tone that told Everly that Storm’s mom was just as scared as she was, but not showing it because of her children. The woman was so tough, and Everly wanted to be her when she grew up.
She just needed to make sure Storm was okay first.
As soon as that thought slid through her mind, the doors opened again, and this time, Storm’s doctor came through. The room went quiet, and she stood up on shaky legs.
“The Montgomery family?”
“That would be all of us,” Griffin said dryly, though she heard the worry in his tone.
“Okay, then,” the doctor said as he ran a hand through his hair.
“How is he?” Everly asked, surprised at how strong her voice sounded.
“He’s going to be fine. He has a few cuts and lacerations as well as a concussion, but he’ll be okay. Before this accident, his L1 and L2 vertebra were fused, and now there is a hairline fracture on his L1. His spinal cord is intact, and he’ll have to be off his feet for a decent time period, but with physical therapy and time, he will walk again and be just fine.”
Everly didn’t even know she was crying until Wes pulled her into his arms and she soaked his shirt. The others asked questions, and she vaguely heard the answers. She was aware her boys were up and talking, asking why their mommy was crying, but she couldn’t stop almost hyperventilating to tell them she’d be okay.
And she would be okay.
Because Storm would be fine.
He was alive. Hurt, but alive.
With that relief crushing her chest, she knew they could face everything else. She had her Montgomery and her family. Her boys and Storm.
Life would move on because finally, she’d found her future…with her architect.