8. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

J esse sat in the chair closest to the hall in the surgical waiting room. Cannon had still been in surgery when they arrived. War's face had closed off when she'd walked in. Did he think she didn't deserve to be here?

From what she'd pieced together, because none of the guys were talking to her, was that Flick had flown in the medevac with Cannon. Then Roam had stayed in Bluff Creek, along with Scoop, to make sure everyone was safe.

Jesse hid her smirk, thinking of Scoop keeping people safe considering Beth had snuck in the house, taken Jesse out of the house and he hadn't woken up. She hoped Roam was keeping a better eye on the compound.

War and Bear walked over and stood in front of her. Both stared at her, not saying anything. Screw them. She'd played don't blink with her sisters for years. She cocked her eyebrow, letting them both know she'd wait for them to speak as long as she needed.

"We think you should head home. We'll let you know how Cannon is." War said.

"Oh you do?"

Jesse didn't say anything else because she was curious why they thought she should head home.

"We're worried this is the start of something. We're going on a lockdown, and you'd be safer at home," Bear said.

"We're standing in a hospital. I think if anything happens, then I'll be okay."

War sighed loudly. Honestly, she freaking wondered how Remi didn't stuff a sock in his mouth sometimes with his take-charge attitude. She got it. He was the MC President and all, but for Pete's sake, he wasn't going to tell her what to do. She needed to know that Cannon was injured but would survive. She might be angry with Cannon still, but she'd never forgive herself if he didn't make it.

"Are you going to be obstinate?" War asked.

Jesse rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Why is it when the word obstinate is used, it's usually in reference to a woman? If a man had said what I told you, you'd say he was strong, resolute, or even a badass. Perhaps, you, my lovely brothers-in-law, need to remember what family you married into. We don't run a decorating company. We run a freaking bail bonds company and, oh my! we even use guns."

"Well, you don't have to be so sarcastic about it," War grumbled.

Beth, who had been sitting quietly beside her, stood up. "Maybe you guys should go have a seat. Everybody is worried and emotions are high. It would be much better for everyone to wait to talk about stuff."

War shook his head, and Jesse knew he was spoiling for a fight.

"How could you not tell him? It's his baby, isn't it?" War questioned.

"Man, I really thought you had more brains. Say goodbye to your testicles," Beth said.

Jesse stood up because she was done with this and she was making it abundantly clear to her brothers-in-law. "Listen, War," Jesse poked her finger in his chest because Remi had mentioned War hated it. He also didn't appreciate anyone telling him to listen. "What Cannon and I have between us is between us . Not between you, Bear, and I. Not between Remi, Winnie, and Cannon. You can have an opinion, but it doesn't mean sugar or shit to me because guess what? You're not my daddy, my husband, or my boyfriend. Now you have a choice to make, back off or incur the wrath of a super hormonal sister-in-law who needs a target to take her anger and hurt out on. It can easily become you. Dad always told us to pick our battles. This one isn't yours. Choose wisely!"

War opened his mouth to answer her but stopped when Clara, Meg, and Rascal walked in.

"How is he?" Clara asked.

War turned toward her, and Jesse relaxed a little. War wouldn't do anything in front of Clara or Meg that he didn't want getting back to Regina. He'd back off at least for a little while.

"He's still in surgery."

Meg walked around War and Clara, opened her arms, and pulled Jesse close.

"How are you?" she whispered. Jesse relaxed into her arms, leaning against Meg's shoulder. Since she'd shared with Meg, Mrs. Hall and Stella about the pregnancy a couple weeks ago, the women had been checking on her. Dropping by healthy meals or texting her to see if anything sounded good when she was nauseous.

"I'm worried. I feel like the wreck is my fault," Jesse said softly.

Rascal's arms wrapped around Jesse and Meg. "Nope, no way was this your fault. It was an attack. I personally don't think it would have mattered if we were riding tonight or some other time. Someone wanted to hurt one of us or Cannon specifically. Now, do you need something to eat or drink? Meg packed snacks and drinks for everyone."

Jesse shook her head against Rascal. "No. After War and Bear tried to tell me I needed to go home, I feel a little nauseous."

Rascal didn't say a word but led her and Meg over to some chairs. Once Jesse was seated, Rascal grabbed the cooler and opened it, pulling out a ginger ale and opening it to hand to Jesse. He turned and opened the other pack they'd brought and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for.

"Meg said these help you," he said, holding out a package of vanilla wafers to her. She nodded and opened the package after sipping the cold drink. She shivered. Why were hospitals so cold?

Rascal reached back in the pack and then pulled out a small blanket and laid it over her.

"Thanks, Rascal."

He nodded, then glanced toward War and Bear. "I'll be back in a second."

Jesse felt Meg's arm slip around her. "Why don't you lean against me? If you drift off, I'll make sure to wake you when the doctor comes out."

Jesse was sure there was no way she'd sleep, but at least if her eyes were closed and if she was leaning against Meg, War and Bear wouldn't argue with her. Beth had sat down beside her and had patted Jesse's leg to let her know she was nearby.

Even though she was worried about Cannon, she didn't feel quite so alone now. Remi, Sarah, and Winnie hadn't been happy she hadn't shared but they understood Jesse's personality. Everyone knew when Remi was mad, but Jesse was different. Of the five of them, she was the most introverted. She could work for days in her garage and be perfectly content by herself. She adored her sisters, but she also needed her alone time.

At different points along the way, she'd debated telling Cannon and her sisters about the baby. The decision not to tell Cannon had come when she'd overheard him speaking to the guys about her. Well, they'd teased him, saying his eyes followed her. He'd basically said she was too immature for him and that he would never get married. It had hurt so much that she couldn't even face telling him about the baby that day.

Then one day turned into a week, then a couple more weeks. And suddenly, she'd been trying not to be too close to him at lunch and everything had blown up in her face. She drifted in and out. Not really sleeping but dozing.

"Family of Moss Adler?" a loud voice asked.

Jesse sat up and looked toward the voice. War walked closer to the doctor.

"It's all of us," War said, motioning to the room. The doctor walked closer to where most of them were sitting. Jesse stood even though she worried what would happen if he was here to tell them Cannon was gone.

"He's alive. We repaired the fractures. He's in a thigh to foot cast because of the multiple breaks he had. He's breathing better but he's not out of the woods yet. The major plus I can tell you is that his helmet did its job. He'll be in recovery, then moved to the surgical ICU floor. We'll be watching for infection, especially with his open wounds from sliding across the road. You all might get some sleep. We'll keep him pumped full of all of the good stuff because he's going to hurt with all the hardware we installed and the bruising from the wreck itself."

"Thank you, doctor. Do you know when he'll go home?" Clara asked.

"We'll take it day by day. Just the surgery alone would usually warrant one to two days in ICU. Other than that, I can't speculate."

The doctor nodded and left. Clara turned toward the group. "I'm staying here until that boy goes home. Is there a hotel close by to sleep tonight?"

War nodded. "Yep, Bear is going to take care of that. So who all is staying and who is going home or to the hotel? I think we need a schedule once they let people in the room because it sounds like we're in this for the long haul."

"I'll be with him unless Jesse wants to see him. He'll be confined to bed and have to listen to any wisdom I want to impart." Clara smiled at Jesse and Jesse grinned back. Jesse didn't think anything could make her smile this morning. Clara taking care of Cannon had done it.

Now, Jesse needed to get home and rest. At some point, she and Cannon would need to have a meeting of the minds and decide how they were going to do this but when he was in pain wouldn't be that time. Maybe they could shuffle people around. She and Cannon could have houses side by side. Beth came over and they walked out of the room after saying goodbye. It was a long drive back, but Jesse could relax. Cannon had made it through surgery. She would worry about tomorrow, later.