“I know.” She yawns. “Love you.”
I hang up, feeling guilty as fuck for not being at home with her. I don’t like that she’s having cramps. Even if her doctor says it’s normal, it doesn’t sound good at all. I send Mia a quick text and ask her to look in on Cami for me, then turn my ringer off and return to the meeting.
“Everything okay?” Ringo asks.
“I think so,” I reply, and sit across from him. “How much more do we have to discuss?”
“We should be able to wrap things up here in a few hours, and you can be on a flight home this evening.”
“That would be great.” I nod and open my laptop. “Cami’s not feeling great.”
“Civilian life sure is different, isn’t it?”
“Man, that’s the truth.” I nod and look over at my old friend and former wingman. “Priorities change so much. Two years ago, all I could think about was getting in the air and maybe getting laid once in a while.”
“And now you just want to stay home and be with your girl,” Ringo says with a grin. He mindlessly fiddles with the ring on his left hand. “I understand. I loved the Navy. I loved the travel and the rush of the flying, the thrill of it all. But then I met Suzanne, and the thrill changed.”
“Exactly.” It occurs to me that I haven’t picked my ring up from the jeweler yet and mentally put it on my calendar for this week. It seems there’s a lot to do before we get married in less than a week, but I can’t wait. “I was so pissed after the wreck,” I say quietly. “I didn’t want my flying career to end. Not like that.”
“Like I said before, you got a shitty deal.”
“I didn’t even really want to come home. I felt so lost when I was still in the hospital and they told me that I couldn’t fly anymore. But there was nothing else to do. So I came home, and worked with my dad. I’m thankful that he gave me the work, but it didn’t drive me. It was Cami that really healed me. I may have been fine physically when I first got home, but she’s the one that helped me get my head on straight.”
“Well, let’s wrap this up so we can get you home to her.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We dig in for several hours, going over potential employees, looking through résumés, and deciding who I’ll call in for interviews next week when Linda, Ringo’s assistant, pokes her head in the door.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but, Landon, you have an urgent call from a Mia.”
I frown and my gaze immediately meets Ringo’s.
“You can take it on this phone,” he says, and hands me the receiver, punching the button for the correct line.
“Mia?”
“Landon, I’m sorry to call like this, but your cell kept sending me to voice mail.”
“It’s fine, what’s up?”
“First, I don’t want to freak you out. I went to Cami’s to check on her like you asked, and she looked horrible. She started throwing up and couldn’t stop, and kept complaining about her shoulder. I finally talked her into going to the ER, and she’s been admitted. I really think you should come home as soon as possible.”
Ringo, who can hear everything, says, “I can fly you up.”
“I’m on my way. Is she okay now?”
“They’re still assessing,” she says. “Just come home.”
“Can I talk to her?”
There’s silence for a minute, then Mia returns. “No, she’s talking to the doctor.”
“Mia, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing. Just get here.”
“Tell her I love her.” I hang up and immediately gather my things. “How fast can you have me up there?”
“Three hours, max.”
“That’s too long.”
“Sorry, man, I can’t control geography, and I’m flying a Cessna, not a Navy jet.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, and rush behind him out of the building. “She didn’t sound good when I spoke to her.”
“Beating yourself up won’t solve anything.” Ringo pulls out his phone. “I need the Cessna ready to go in fifteen minutes. I don’t give a shit, make it happen. There’s an emergency.”
He clicks off and leads me to his car.
“I appreciate you doing this.”
“You’re my friend, Landon. This is the least I can do. We’ll get there.”
I nod and stare at my phone, praying Cami’s okay.
BECAUSE OF THE fucking weather, it took us almost four hours to get to Portland, then it was another thirty minutes of finding my car and busting ass to get to the hospital.
When I finally find Mia and the others, I’m going crazy with worry.
“Landon!”
Mia jumps out of her chair and rushes to me, hugging me tight.
“Where is she?”
“She’s in surgery,” Riley says. Her eyes look tired. Steven is sitting with Addie and Jake, and Kat is on her phone.
“Your mom and dad are on their way down,” she says to Steven, who nods wearily.
“What the fuck is happening?” I demand.
“They won’t tell us much,” Mia says. “But there really wasn’t time.”
“Why?”
“Right after I hung up with you, the doctor told me that they needed to take Cami in for emergency surgery, and then everything happened so fast, before I knew it, they all rushed off, and I was escorted in here. I called the others, and that’s really all I know.”