“What?” Evelyn squawked, now sounding utterly terrified. “What—”
“Grandma Cougar, he’s okay, I promise,” Rose spoke up. “He’s just a little unconscious right now.”
“What?!”
Another tentative squeeze even though Marshall remained otherwise motionless. Almost like he was trying to convey that he trulywasokay the only way he could.
If he needed me to be his translator, then that was a job I would happily accept.
“Keep talking, Evelyn,” I said, tightening my grip to let him know I understood what he was doing. “He’s reacting to your voice.”
“Marshall” came her shaky response mixed in with a flurry of ambient noise. “It’s Mom.”
“Ev?” an older male voice said in the background. “What’s wrong?”
The softest squeeze yet. He was flagging. “Okay, baby. Rest now. We’ll tell them everything.” I leaned forward enough topress my lips softly to his forehead and was thrilled when he rallied enough to grip my hand one last time.
“It’s Marshall. They’re saying he’s in the hospital.”
“Is this Marshall’s dad?” I asked, sitting back down and relaxing as much as I could into the seat. “This is Daniel. My daughter and I are hosting your son here in Rockdale while they fix his Jeep.”
Crap. We were supposed to drop by Kajir’s to sign some paperwork. He wouldn’t be happy, but if he didn’t understand these were extenuating circumstances, I’d punch him. Even if hedidtower over me and was built like a tank, I could definitely take him if it meant looking after Marshall’s best interests.
“Marshall was badly injured in a tornado earlier today—” I paused for a moment when I heard multiple gasps on the other side of the line. “—which knocked him out and gave him a severe concussion, but the doctors have told us that he’ll wake up when his body is ready to. He’s not hooked up to anything other than a heart rate monitor, and apart from a small cut to the back of his head, he’s okay.”
“Oh God….” Evelyn’s voice wavered.
“Where’s the hospital?” Marshall’s dad’s voice came through clearly and firmly. “We’re on our way.”
Oh, thank fuck. His parents were good people. I’d suspected that to be true, especially after talking to his mom, but his dad had been an unknown.
“I’ll text you the details on this line,” I promised. “Also, this is the best way to contact Rose and me. My phone was destroyed in the twister, and I don’t know where Marshall’s phone is yet.”
Jackson made a quiet, disgruntled noise. “This is Jackson again. Here’s my number, just in case you can’t get hold of Daniel for whatever reason.” He reeled off his digits before shrugging at my quizzical look. “I don’t see a charger, and we don’t know how long Rose’s battery will last.”
That was fair. I nodded in thanks.
“Thanks, Jackson,” Marshall’s dad said.
I closed my eyes and swallowed nervously, knowing that I needed to let Marshall’s parents know one last thing before I let them go. “Um, one thing…. You should know, Marshall was admitted under the name MarshallPorter, not MarshallBradford.”
An eerie silence filled the line.
I exhaled and said as quickly as I could, “The hospital is currently under the impression that Marshall is my husband.”
More silence.
“It was the only way they’d let anyone sit with him. They’ve been… difficult….” I opened my eyes and glanced at Jackson uncertainly.
Thankfully, he had my back. “It’s true. The staff here struggle with people who don’t identify as straight. I’ve known Daniel for over a decade. He wouldn’t have fibbed like this unless it was absolutely necessary to do so.”
He nodded when I mouthedthank youat him, and then I waited somewhat impatiently for their judgement, whichever way it fell.
After an anxiety-riddled and fraught silence, Marshall’s dad broke the silence. “I’m glad my son has you in his corner, Daniel. Thank you for looking after him.”
The tension leached from my body as I let out a long breath of relief.
“I agree,” Evelyn said softly. “This wasn’t quite how I thought it would go, but you honor us, Daniel. I’m proud to be able to call you our son-in-law. We’ll see you soon.”
