Free Roommating (Preston's Mill #1) by Samantha Chase, Noelle Adams

just…I’ve got a pain that just…well, it won’t go away.”
    “Okay…where? Abdominal? Head? Chest? Did you fall? Get hurt
on one of the sites?”
    Tom shook his head. “Chest pain. It’s been on and off for a
couple of hours now. I took some antacids, but it’s not helping. I was going to
call my doctor, but I got stuck on that call with my damn financial advisor and
just kept hoping the pain would go away.”
    Chris stood and looked down at the older man. “You need to
go to the emergency room. Now. When did this start?”
    “After lunch,” Tom said, his voice weak. “That’s why I
thought it was just something I ate, but now…”
    “Tom, I’m not joking here. You can either let me drive you,
or I’m calling an ambulance.”
    The two men stared at each other for several moments, and
Chris knew there was no way in hell that he wasn’t getting Tom to the hospital.
He was just about to play his ace in the hole and get Heather in here when Tom
stood up.
    “Okay,” he said with relief. “Come on. I’ll drive you.”
    “Thank you,” Tom replied. “Let me just—”
    It was the last thing he said before he collapsed.
    It was chaos after that. Chris screamed out for Heather while
he was already calling 911 on his cell phone. Everyone in the office came
running, and Chris thrust his phone at Jenny while he began to try to get Tom
to come around. Heather was beside him, frantically crying out to her father to
wake up, and all the while Chris silently prayed that they hadn’t waited too
long to do something.
    He started to try CPR, but Tom was breathing so that didn’t
seem to be what was needed. Tom just wouldn’t wake up. Finally, the rescue
squad came through the door. Stepping aside immediately, he gently helped
Heather to her feet and held her as they both watched helplessly as Tom was
placed on oxygen, put on a stretcher and wheeled out.
    They worked together to get Heather’s belongings so they
could follow the ambulance to the hospital. Chris called out over his shoulder
to Jenny to make calls and let people know where he was going to be and they
could reach him—and him only—on his cell. He didn’t want anyone bothering
Heather right now.
    It didn’t take long to get to the hospital, and Chris instinctively
took control of the situation—although he held Heather’s hand the entire time. The
ER receptionist noted that they were there and promised to call them as soon as
they had any information on Tom. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he also
knew it would be pointless to argue right now.
    He led Heather to a quiet corner of the waiting room and
they both sat down. “Do you want something to drink?”
    She shook her head.
    “Something to eat? Maybe a snack? Did you eat lunch today?”
    She shook her head, but her hand never left his.
    He was pretty sure she wasn’t aware of just how strong her
grip was, but he might have some serious bone fractures if he didn’t do
something.
    Soon.
    Casually, he pulled his hand away and put his arm around
her, tucking her head on his shoulder. It felt…nice. Kind of perfect, actually.
It was beyond inappropriate to be thinking like that right now, but he couldn’t
help it. He rested his head against hers and struggled with what to say. If
anything.
    And that’s when he felt it.
    A tear. Then another. And another. All landing on him. Her
slight frame trembled against him, and it almost gutted him.
    “He’s going to be all right,” he said softly, gruffly. “He’s
strong and healthy, and we got him here in record time.”
    “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” she whispered.
“He looked so pale and so helpless. It’s…he’s never…I’ve never…”
    “Shh…” he said, not wanting her to get herself worked up. “I’m
just glad we were all there and that he wasn’t alone.”
    She sat up and straightened, looking at him. “Was he all
right before he collapsed or…”
    Chris immediately told her about his