“Get Dr. Spence Whitman here fast!”
Those were the last words Keera remembered hearing after they arrived at the hospital and both Arden and Max had been rushed into rooms to be saved. She had no idea who Spence Whitman was, but she prayed he was the best, prayed this town loved Arden and Max enough to do all it took to save them.
Keera paced the waiting room for the next two hours as she impatiently waited for news. People came and went, and a crowd built up as the gossip chain spread and everyone heard what had happened.
Many tried talking to her, but she didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to explain anything. Declan didn’t let her out of his sight, and her heart grew a soft spot for the hard man. He wasn’t nearly as tough or uncaring as he wanted people to think. He also respected her enough to run interference, to tell the story again and again of what had happened so she didn’t have to.
Keera wasn’t normally a person to cry, but on this day it seemed she couldn’t stop crying. So many tears had fallen, she was sure she was dehydrated. None of that mattered. She couldn’t lose Arden or Max. The loss of either would be more than she could take.
Until this day, Keera had felt she could handle anything. There was so much she’d seen in her life, and she’d survived it all. But this was different. She’d thought she’d loved before, but now she realized she hadn’t known what love was. How could she have known when she’d never been shown before?
It wasn’t until she’d received the unconditional love from Arden, and yes, from a dog, that she truly understood what that word meant. Both Arden and Max had come back for her, something no one had ever done before. They hadn’t abandoned her, and she now knew they never would. But because they’d been trying to save her, their lives were in jeopardy.
She waited and waited for news.
Finally, the doors opened, and Doc Evan, another large man, and a small woman holding a colored scrub hat in her hands, walked out. Keera’s heart stopped as she waited to hear what they had to say.
Arden’s parents and siblings surrounded Keera as the doctors approached, and she was so grateful they weren’t going to leave her out of hearing the news.
“Hi, Juliana, Lucian.” The man greeted Arden’s parents before nodding at the rest of the group. He then zeroed his gaze in on Keera. “You must be Keera,” he added with a smile. She looked at him blankly for a heartbeat or two.
“Uh . . . y-yes, I am,” she finally said.
“He said your name a couple of times before he was put under,” the man said. Then he stopped. “I’m sorry. I’m Dr. Spence Whitman, and this is Dr. Sage Whitman.” He didn’t elaborate, and Keera was too worried to wonder if they were related or possibly married.
“My husband is taking too long,” Sage said, looking at Keera before turning to Juliana. “Arden pulled through perfectly. It wasn’t an easy surgery, and a bone in his shoulder splintered, and a piece stuck in his heart, but we got it, and he’s going to have a full recovery.”
“Oh, thank you,” Juliana said as she stepped forward and threw her arms around Sage and then Spence. “Thank you,” she repeated, tears streaming down her face.
“You did good, bro,” Kian said as he shook Spence’s hand and then kissed Sage’s hand. “When I knew I couldn’t get in there, I wanted you.”
“I think the hardest part of being a doctor is feeling so helpless as we stand by when it’s someone we love on that table,” Spence said, completely understanding what his colleague was saying.
“Yes, yes, it is,” Kian said with a sigh.
“Keera, he’ll be awake soon, and I think it’s your face he’s going to want to see,” Spence said, a kind smile on his lips.
Tears poured down Keera’s face. She was so grateful he was alive. “What about Max?” she asked as she turned her eyes to Doc Evan. She was so afraid they weren’t talking about the dog because it hadn’t ended well for him.
“I’m sorry,” Doc Evan said, and Keera’s heart sank. She was unbelievably happy to have Arden be okay, but the pain of losing Max overwhelmed her. Her face fell, and Evan grabbed her arm.
“No!” he said, shaking his head. “Max is fine.” It took a moment for the words to sink in. “I’m apologizing for not saying something sooner,” he assured Keera.
“Max is okay?” she asked, choking on her words. It was ridiculous how difficult talking had become this entire day.
“Yes, he’s just fine, and Arden demanded the dog stay in his room before he went under for surgery,” Evan said with a laugh. “He made sure to tell us Max is a hero, and a member of the police force, and should be treated as any other patient.” The big grin told Keera he agreed.
“Thank you so much,” Keera said. She threw her arms around Evan first, squeezing hard before giving a hug to Spence and Sage next. “Thank you,” she repeated. Those words weren’t enough, but it was almost more than she could manage to say with how tight her throat was.
Declan put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. The gesture shocked her as she looked up at the big man who had a suspicious sparkle in his eyes. He blinked and it was gone, and she wondered if she’d imagined it.
“My brother is lucky to have you,” he said. “So is Max.”
Keera tried her best to pull herself together as she wrapped an arm around Declan and squeezed. He was so large her arm barely fit around the back of him so her hand could rest on his side.
“I’m the lucky one. They saved me, and I don’t just mean tonight,” she said.
Declan nodded, and Keera faced the doctors again.
“I want to see them both. I need to,” she said. “But shouldn’t his family go in first?”
Spence looked to Lucian and Juliana, who took Keera’s hands and smiled. “You are a good girl,” Juliana said as she leaned in and kissed Keera’s cheek. The gesture was so motherly it sent more tears pouring from her eyes. No wonder Arden was such a wonderful man. He’d been raised by these parents who knew how to be parents, and he’d had siblings who would die for each other. She couldn’t imagine what that would have been like.
She then felt another first in her life as a bit of jealousy crept in. She wanted his family, wanted to be loved like he was loved. She had to remind herself how strong she was because of the life she’d led. She could be thankful for that.
Before Keera could say anything, Juliana squeezed her hand again and continued speaking. “I have a feeling you’re going to be family before too long. My son needs to see you. Go in and take care of him. We’ll be right behind you.”
Keera wasn’t about to argue any further. She needed to be with Arden and Max. She wasn’t going to feel better until she saw with her own eyes that they were both okay.
“Thank you,” Keera told her.
“This way,” Spence said as he held out his hand.
She took a step toward what she hoped was her future.