These were his brothers, the people he’d grown up with. With their mom’s condition in question, it was clear that they needed to pull together, that his distancing was stupid.

Or maybe he was over-fucking-exhausted. Delirious.

The TV mounted up high in the corner of the room was off, and when his brothers weren’t talking, it was eerily quiet in the alcove that was removed from the main hallway. As footsteps approached their waiting room, the likelihood that someone was coming to address them was high, and Gabe and Mason both straightened on their separate vinyl-upholstered couches. Drake opened his eyes and raised his recliner a few degrees as a willowy woman in green scrubs entered the waiting room.

Cole searched her face for a sign of what news she brought, but her expression gave nothing away.

“Faye North’s family?”

“That’s us.” Mason stood, took a couple of steps toward her, looking intense as always with his suit jacket still on, eyes direct, business face intact. His only concessions to the hour and situation were the tie he’d taken off and tossed on a side table and the uncharacteristic five o’clock shadow. “How is she?”

“I’m Dr. Beacham. Let’s sit down.”

Cole’s alertness doubled and he watched her face to see if her refusal to answer that question meant there was bad news. The doctor still gave nothing away as she lowered herself to the coffee table in front of Gabe’s couch. The four of them gathered around her, the tension in the room stretching taut for the few seconds it took them.

“The surgery was a success,” the doctor finally said, and there was an audible collective exhale in the room. “Faye is holding her own.”

Cole was fairly certain he remained sitting at attention between Gabe and Drake, but inside he went limp with relief and heard only a fraction of the rest of the doctor’s report—it’d take their mom a while to wake up, they could see her in a couple of hours, she’d likely be in ICU for two days…

He stared at the doctor’s face as she spoke but was lost in his own thoughts, knowing Mason was paying full attention and could fill him in later if necessary. All that mattered right now was that she was okay and her heart was fixed.

After the doctor had answered a dozen questions from Mason, Gabe, and Drake, she left them alone again.