They made it into Joe’s room with surprising ease.
One nurse glanced up from her charting as they stepped off the elevator, eyes flicking briefly over Abby’s hooded head and Rudy’s hunched frame. She gave Norah a tired nod and went back to her screen. Abby exhaled silently, counting it as a small mercy that Joe’s room was only a few doors down from the employee elevators.
The moment they crossed the threshold, Abby froze.
Joe’s cedarwood scent hit her like a physical blow, sharp and familiar, tightening her chest until it hurt to breathe.
Goddess. She’d missed him so much.
He lay motionless on the bed, IV lines threaded into both arms, his skin pale to the point of translucence. The stubble along his jaw made his cheeks look more hollow than she remembered, his lips faintly blue at th
