What She Wanted Read Online Free PDF Page A

with him. I know things look scary right now, but your granddad is tougher than anyone I know.” She pushed me away by my shoulders. “I’ll ride with him in the bus. Dean will drive you, okay? I’ll meet you at the hospital.” She looked over my shoulder, presumably at her son. “No speeding. Obey every traffic law. Stop at the lights. Got it?”
    She climbed into the ambulance with a lifeless version of Mark and an EMT working to set up an IV. One of the officers shut the doors behind them.
    “Katy?” Joshua appeared beside me. “I’m Joshua Lowe.”
    I stared at the hand he extended my way. “I know who you are. I have to go.” I turned to Dean with pleading eyes. No one could’ve convinced me three hours ago that any of this would happen. Least of all that Dean Wells would be my savior, but there wasn’t enough strength left in me to deal with both problems at once, and I needed him.
    “Katy,” Joshua reached for me.
    I deflected his hand. “Don’t.”
    Dean dipped his chin in understanding and turned his face to Joshua. “Not now, man. I don’t know what’s going on here, but she doesn’t want to talk to you, and her grandpa’s on his way to the hospital. Whatever this is”—he motioned between us—“can wait.” He swept gentle eyes over me. “Ready?”
    Not even a little .
    * * * *
    Dean drove too fast, rolled through intersections with stop signs, and gunned it at yellow lights.
    I braced a palm against the dash and sorted my most selfish thoughts into degrees of awful. What happens to me if Mark dies? I’d be eighteen in a minute, but besides that, what happened to me? I didn’t have any other family. Joshua isn’t family . Heidi was leaving for college at the end of the summer, along with everyone else I knew. There was legal stuff to deal with when someone died. How could I handle that? When Grandma died, Mark fought with attorneys for months. Did I need an attorney? I didn’t have money for an attorney. I couldn’t even sign a contract for another ten days. Could it wait ten days?
    I ran the pads of my thumbs under both eyes and covered my mouth before I said anything stupid. What kind of person worried about herself when her grandpa could be dead?
    The truck rocked to a stop in the drop-off zone outside the emergency room. “I’ll park and meet you inside. Mom’s already in there. Can I call your friend Heidi for you?”
    I cracked the door open and stretched my feet to the ground. “No. I’ll call her.” I tapped my phone to life and sent a text instead.
    Her response came before I made it to the automatic doors. “On my way. Mom too.”
    A tear fell onto the screen. I rubbed my phone against my shirt and batted the heavy drops from my eyes. Deep breaths. This was going to be fine.
    The emergency room doors parted and a flood of icy air poured down my back. I slipped inside and wrapped trembling arms around my middle before ghosting to the desk. “I’m here for Mark Reese.”
    The warble in my voice made it sound like a question. Like I wasn’t sure why I was there.
    The nurse raised her frazzled face to mine. “Who?”
    “Mark Reese. He’s my grandpa.”
    “Give me just a quick minute.” She typed something into the computer on her desk. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I don’t have a Mark Reese registered here. Could he have been discharged? When did he get here?”
    I rubbed sweaty palms up and down my goose-pimpled arms. “I’m not sure. Maybe five minutes ago.” I checked over both shoulders and down the busy corridor. “I don’t know.”
    She lifted her brows into an expression I recognized. Pity. “Why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll let you know the minute I get his information.”
    “Thanks.”
    The waiting room bustled with sick children, injured people, and their loved ones. I took a seat near the window and watched for Heidi’s mom’s car to enter the lot.
    “Katy?” Mrs. Wells rushed through the room and fell onto the seat beside me. “I’m