His Wicked Mouth

by Jessica Mills

  “So, it turns out you were absolutely right when you called the emergency line,” the doctor said. “Your father did have a heart attack. It seemed to be a moderately serious one, so he was very lucky that you were there to react as quickly as you did. If you weren’t, it’s very unlikely we would be having this same conversation right now.”

  “I’m very glad I was there,” I said.

  “You should be. But you should also be aware that even though he survived this heart attack and I do believe he will recover completely, he is now at far higher risk to experience more in the future. I’ve looked through his chart and noticed that he is in treatment for heart problems.”

  “Yes,” I said. “He’s been dealing with several health issues. A few months ago, I moved back home so I could take care of him. I’ve been doing everything I could. I’m serving him a healthier diet, and I’m encouraging him to drink more water and exercise.”

  I was starting to get emotional and the doctor seemed to notice. He took a subtle step toward me. “You haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “All the care and attention you are giving your father is making a huge difference. I notice that he’s lost weight. That’s very good. That means the efforts you’ve made have been paying off. And they very well could have prevented far more serious consequences from this heart attack. You’ll just have to work together to keep making strides and prevent another heart attack.”

  “Absolutely,” I said. “I’ll do whatever I need to.”

  “And I will pay better attention and do what you say,” Dad said.

  The doctor smiled and patted his leg. “Well, I would ask you to stay here for a little bit and get some rest. I’ll go talk to the nurses about making sure you have what you need to be comfortable.”

  He walked out of the room and Sawyer rested his hand on my back. “Now that we know everything is okay, I’m going to head back to the ranch if you’re all right,” he said.

  I nodded. “Thank you so much for coming. I couldn’t have gotten through that wait without you.”

  He wrapped his arms around me in a tight, reassuring hug, then stepped up to my father’s bedside. Dad shook his hand.

  “You feel better, sir,” Sawyer said. “Don’t you go upsetting Annabelle like that again. She’s fussy when she’s worried.”

  Dad managed a laugh and nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

  Sawyer said goodbye and walked out. Even though it had been a tremendous relief to have him there with me, I was glad to have some time alone with my father. I pulled a chair closer and sat down. Tears slid down my cheeks when I reached for his hand and felt him squeeze back.

  “I was so scared,” I said. “You collapsed and I went over there, but you weren’t moving. Your eyes were closed and you wouldn’t even hold my hand.”

  “Don’t you worry about me,” he said. “There’s no need to get so upset.”

  I scoffed. “Of course, there is. I thought I’d lost you, Daddy.”

  “It’s going to take a whole lot more than a little heart attack to get me off this earth,” he said. “But when it comes time, that’s what it’ll be. My time. You know that. You’ve grown up on a farm, just like I did. We understand the circle of life better than most. And I want you to know, my life has been glorious because I had you.”

  I choked back more tears and held his hand tighter. We sat there together in loving silence as we faced the inevitable future ahead of us. It wouldn’t be easy. There would be stress and difficulty. There would probably be many more moments of fear and uncertainty. But just like I told the doctor, I would do anything I needed to do for him.

  Chapter 25

  Garrett

  It took longer than I expected for Cassidy to arrive, and by the time he had, Addison had come back in and sat down in the bullpen. I watched her as she came back in and sat somewhere at a distance from Roy, opening up her phone and seeming to become engrossed in something. Her eyes never flickered to me, and she seemed to be ignoring that I was even there. When the door opened, it did so with force, and Cassidy stormed inside.

  I sat up immediately at the sound and watched as Cassidy bounded past where the cells were, past where Addison sat on her phone, and directly up to the desk where Roy sat, tossing his newspaper to the side. I could tell by his body language that Cassidy was ready for a war if Roy wanted one, and I just hoped he would wait until the door was unlocked and I could join him before he hauled off and hit him.

  “Let him out of there right now, Roy Hayes,” Cassidy said, his voice thundering.

  “Excuse me?” Roy said, standing, putting his coffee down on the table as well. I watched his hand to see if it was going to go to his gun too, but it didn’t.

  For all the bluster and bile the Hayes family was capable of, and Roy in particular, they tended to stay clear of Cassidy. There was something about my brother that struck them with either fear or begrudging respect. Whatever it was, it tended to result in Roy keeping his trap shut and dragging his heels but eventually doing whatever it was Cassidy wanted. Cass was tougher than nails, and when push came to shove, he shoved hard. Roy was nothing if not a coward when it came to someone he thought might beat him.

  Unless of course he could hit low and use weaponry. As I could attest to. On more than one occasion.

  “I said let my brother out. Now.”

  “Your brother,” Roy said, referring to me as if I was the devil himself, “assaulted me.”

  Roy was opening his mouth to say something else when Cassidy spoke. “I don’t give a shit,” he said.

  “You started it,” I said from my cell. For the first time since he arrived, Cassidy looked over at me, and all the warmth he may have had on the phone was gone. There was fire in his eyes, and I couldn’t tell exactly who it was aimed at.

  “You pulled him over thinking he was me,” Cassidy said, his voice a low grumble. “You wanted to harass me. Which is what you do. You had no damn reason to pull him over. The truck is legal, all its inspections are good, and I’d put money on the fact that you have no proof he was speeding or anything else. You thought you were pulling me over because you wanted to give me hell, and you got him.”

  Cassidy pointed over my way, and Roy glanced over and then back at Cassidy.

  “He put his hands—” Roy began.

  “Because you hit him first. Don’t think I don’t know. This is how it always is with you, Roy. Someone says something you don’t like and you haul off on them and then hide behind your badge. But let me tell you something right now. I am going to tell you how this is going to go.”

  “Oh you will?” Roy sneered. “Please, by all means.”

  Cassidy looked like he was shaking as he spoke, and the rage he was containing could have powered a couple of towns if I could have harnessed it.

  “I am going to pay his bail. Then you are going to go over there and unlock his cell and you aren’t going to say a damned word. Then me and him are going to leave this place and I’ll send someone for my truck tomorrow morning. Which I won’t be paying for, since it shouldn’t have been towed since you shouldn’t have pulled him over.”

  “You shouldn’t have to pay bail either,” I chirped back. “He swung first.”

  “I don’t give a shit who swung first,” Cassidy said, raising his voice. “Here.” He pulled out a wad of cash. I was sure he knew exactly how much it was going to cost already. It wasn’t the first time he had bailed me out.

  Roy took the wad of cash and tossed it to the bailiff. He eyeballed Cassidy for a moment and then walked gingerly over to my cell. I must have done some damage to his hip because suddenly he was walking with a mild limp. Either that or he was trying to garner some sympathy and a cover story in case Cass decided he did want a fight and put Roy down for the count.

  I stared directly into Roy’s eyes as he unlocked the cell and couldn’t help but grin. I knew Cassidy was angry as a hornet, but at least at the moment, it was directed at Roy, and he had his tail between his legs. I was going t
o enjoy what small bit of happiness I could get out of this night where I found it. And I found it etched on Roy Hayes’s sad, swollen, scared face.

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” I said as I walked out of the cell. I made my way to Cassidy, who turned and shot a dark look at Addison before turning to me.

  “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing me by the back of my shirt and guiding me rather forcefully out of the station.

  “Hey, hey,” I said as I stumbled out of the door and Cassidy pushed me through before I could say anything else to Roy.

  “Get in the truck,” Cassidy said and got in the driver’s seat. I followed his order and got in the passenger’s side. Cassidy turned the ignition and slammed on the gas, kicking gravel up and jerking us into motion.

  The ride back to the ranch was long and quiet. I didn’t know quite what to say to smooth things over, but I knew that whatever I could say was probably not going to be effective anyway. Cassidy was pissed, and I seemed to be the subject.

  It was a little confusing, considering he didn’t sound that mad on the phone, but the way he had been acting since retrieving me, I didn’t really want to press my luck. I was lucky he wasn’t dropping me off on Main Street and letting me fend for myself. Not that I didn’t deserve it. My brothers had bailed me out of jail all too often in my life, and I had left them high and dry for a long time.

  Cassidy brooded the entire ride. I didn’t even dare try to turn on the radio to drown out the silence. After a few minutes of the ride, he reached down into the cooler he always seemed to have with him wherever he drove and pulled out an ice pack, tossing it into my lap. I mumbled thanks and pushed it against my lip.

  As we got onto the property, I relaxed a little. Once I got in, I could go take a shower, wash the day off, and get to bed. After a good night’s sleep, maybe I could laugh about this whole thing with my brothers in the morning. Before we got to the house, I figured I would at least try an apology.

  “Thanks for coming to get me, Cass,” I said. Cassidy didn’t respond, keeping his eyes on the long driveway leading to the house. I shuffled in my seat a bit and then smiled a little, hoping to lighten the mood a little. “You know I didn’t intend on coming home and immediately ending up in jail, you know?”

  There was no laughter, no response of any kind. Cassidy was staying silent, brooding as he drove.

  “Seriously,” I said, dropping my voice and trying to sound a bit more adult about the whole situation. “I really didn’t mean to come home and stir shit up. I am sorry about that. I am trying to stay away from that kind of shit, you know? But Roy is such a prick.”

  “I don’t want to hear about Roy,” Cassidy said, breaking his silence. I blinked at him a few times, not quite understanding. “I don’t want to hear about Roy or why you got into a fight or anything else. Today has not been a good day.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, suddenly curious.

  Cassidy tightened his grip on the steering wheel for a moment and then lessened the grip. “You’ll find out,” he said ominously.

  As we drove up to the house, I tried to figure out what it could be. I tried counting the vehicles, but I had been gone long enough that some of the brothers had switched out what they used to drive, and I wasn’t sure who was who anymore. Cassidy parked the truck and hopped out, not waiting for me as I struggled to get out myself.

  The bruises and aches and pains of the battle with Roy were starting to settle in, along with the time I spent lying on the metal bench in the cold cell. I groaned as I shut the door of the truck, heading toward the house. Cassidy was already inside, but I knew the door would still be unlocked. We never locked it anyway.

  As I made my way up the steps, I could hear muffled voices inside. Cassidy was speaking to someone. It sounded like Clayton. When I opened the door, I saw that it was indeed him, and I shut the door behind me, trying to read their faces. Whatever was going on, it was serious. I looked around the living room where my brothers were standing and sitting in various places. Suddenly, I realized one of them was missing.

  “Where’s Wade?” I asked.

  Clayton looked up at Cassidy and then brushed by him into the kitchen. No one seemed eager to answer me, and I followed him. Cassidy came in behind me and I watched as Clayton pulled down three small glasses and the whiskey bottle from the liquor cabinet.

  “That’s the cheap stuff,” I said, hoping to crack a smile out of one of them. Neither did. Instead, Clayton just looked back to Cassidy, who stared at the empty glasses.

  Clayton filled the glasses and we each took one. Cassidy downed his in one go and sat it down in front of Clayton.

  “Another,” he said.

  “Oh, come on,” I said. “What the hell is going on?”

  “He had to cover for Sawyer,” Cassidy said, downing the glass again and setting it in front of Clayton again. Clayton didn’t hesitate to fill it one more time. Cass wasn’t the biggest drinker in the world, but when he did, he had the alcohol tolerance of a brahma bull. It was going to take a liter of something to even get him tipsy.

  “Why would he have to do that?” I asked.

  “Because Sawyer is at the hospital,” Cassidy began.

  “Oh, Jesus, is he all right?” I asked, suddenly putting the drinks and the missing brothers together. “Did he get hurt? Why didn’t we go there?”

  “Pipe down,” Cassidy said, only drinking half his glass this time. Then he sat it down and looked at me, sadness in his eyes.

  “Cassidy, stop dicking around and tell me what happened,” I said. “Why is Sawyer at the hospital?”

  “Annabelle Dixon’s dad had a heart attack this afternoon. It doesn’t look good, and Sawyer is tore up about it.”

  My heart sank to my stomach. Mr. Dixon may not have been my biggest fan, but Annabelle thought the sun rose and set with him. She worked so hard to keep him healthy and do for him what he couldn’t do for himself. My heart broke for her, and I downed the glass of whiskey. I had too.

  Clayton refilled it without speaking.

  Chapter 26

  Annabelle

  I stayed there beside my father until he started to drift off. The sudden way his eyes were starting to droop as he fell asleep scared me and I called for the nurse. She came in a few moments later and checked on Dad. She smiled at me.

  “He’s fine,” she said. “Going through what he did is extremely taxing on the body. It’s exhausting, and he needs as much rest as he can get to recover. He’s also on some medications right now that make him sleepy.”

  I nodded, relieved to know this was an expected reaction even though it was still disconcerting to see him that way. I kept holding his hand, watching him to make sure he was breathing evenly and not in any distress. The nurse stayed in the room for a little while like she was waiting for me to ask more questions or say something, then slowly slipped out.

  She was only gone for a few seconds when the door opened again and Sawyer came in. He was holding a cup of coffee in either hand. I smiled at him gratefully.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Sawyer looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean? I got both of these for me. I’m in serious need of caffeine.” He paused for only a second before grinning. “Just kidding. Thought I’d go for a little bit of a bright spot for you.”

  He held the coffee out to me, and I accepted it eagerly. It wasn’t until then that I realized all the adrenaline had drained out of me and I was completely exhausted. The coffee wasn’t the best, but it was coffee. In the moment, that was plenty good enough for me.

  “Come on,” Sawyer said. “I’ll drive you home.”

  I looked up at him and shook my head. “That’s okay. I’m not ready to leave yet. I’m going to hang out here for a little while longer. I have my truck here, so I can drive home.”

  “You are in no condition to drive,” Sawyer said. “And you can’t just hang around here.”

  “Yes, I can,” I said. “My father is here, so I need to be here. I
could just sleep in the chair. And the doctor said he might be able to move Daddy up to another room soon. There will probably be a couch or something in there where I could stretch out more.”

  “Annabelle, you know that’s not what you should be doing. You need to get enough rest, and you won’t if you’re just staying here in the hospital. They’re going to take good care of him. He wouldn’t want you here fussing over him.”

  “Is that what you think I’m doing?” I asked, offended by not only him scolding me but him trying to get me away from my father when he needed me the most. “I need to be here with him to make sure he’s safe. If he needs me, I don’t want to be all the way out on the farm and have to try to get here.”

  “And who’s going to take care of the farm?” he asked. “Do you really think he would want the animals to not be taken care of or the house to be left empty just so you could sit by his hospital bed? Or you could sleep on some plastic couch in his room?”

  There was a slight edge to his voice, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. Sawyer was right. As much as I wanted to be there with my father to make sure that he was all right throughout the night, there were things that needed to be done at home.

  Just like with holidays, birthdays, and any number of other special occasions, the farm didn’t sleep for illness. The animals still needed to be fed. The chores still needed to be done. Everything continued on even when my father and I weren’t there. I couldn’t just leave it all and pretend it didn’t exist because Daddy was sick.

  He would be so upset with me if he found out I had pushed those responsibilities aside just to sit by his hospital bed and fret. Because that was exactly what I would be doing. He was in the hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses who would keep an eye on him at all times. If anything went wrong, they would be the ones who would know what to do. Not me. I could do CPR, but that was where my ability to handle a medical emergency ended.