Lora looked up at Chad, trying to see censure or condemnation in his expression, but all she saw was sadness. And a tightness around his lips. Without saying anything to her, he jumped up the steps to follow Mercy.
That brushoff hurt more than anything. Even as subtle as it was, she could tell she'd disappointed him. She'd disappointed herself as well.
Taking a deep breath she climbed the shallow steps and crossed to the front door. Chad and Mercy were in the kitchen. Her daughter was washing her hands while Chad leaned his butt against the center island. Lora could tell that he was getting ready to speak to the girl.
Mercy didn't smile when she turned around, drying her hands on a tea-towel. "I did something wrong, didn't I?"
Chad reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Not wrong, exactly. I don't think you understand how serious that door alarm is. Even though it doesn't go off here, it does in other places. So even though you didn't hear anything, there were a lot of people that started running. Dean is a friend, so he responded to this call, but if he hadn't been on duty there would have been police cars in the driveway with lights and sirens on. John would have been here with a team. It hasn't been that long since everything happened in Texas, and people are still worried about us as a family."
Mercy nodded, her long blond hair hanging over her face. Lora didn't like to see her so despondent.
"It was my fault," she blurted. "I didn't even think when I left to go get you at school. The teacher in-service didn't even occur to me." She glanced at the fridge, feeling guilty. Now that she had remembered, she also remembered all the reminders Chad had left. Fridge, on her desk blotter. There was even a post-it note in her day planner.
Mercy glanced up at her. "It's okay, Mom. I know you were busy. I was trying to be extra quiet today."
Lora felt like roadkill. She was in the wrong but her daughter was trying to make her feel better. She drew her into her arms, running a hand through Mercy's knotted hair. "No worries, sweetheart. We both just have to pay more attention next time, right?"
Mercy nodded against her, her fist curled against her chest.
For the first time in an hour, Lora took a deep breath. Her daughter was fine in her arms and everything was right in the world.
Well, almost everything. Her gaze drifted to Chad, who had his arms crossed as he leaned against the island. Their gazes connected and she searched for that reassurance he always gave her, but it wasn't there right now. His icy blue eyes were remote as he watched them together.
The cell phone in her pocket went off, drawing her attention. Heaving a sigh, Mercy pulled away. She didn't know if it was the stress of the day making her focus, or what, but Lora took note of the movement. Suddenly, with total clarity, she realized that she had been interrupted the same way many times before, and Mercy pulled away the same way.
Before she disengaged completely, Lora snagged her hand. Mercy looked up at her in surprise. "I love you, sweetie."
"I know, Mom."
Chad ruffled her hair as she walked away toward the stairs and Lora realized it had been cut recently. It fell halfway down her daughter's back, cut straight across. It made her look taller.
Lora turned toward the sink, thinking about the time that had passed. It had been over a year since Derek had attacked them on Chad's family ranch.
"We need to talk, Lora."
With sigh, she turned around. Chad hadn't moved. He stood there in the shining light of her beautiful kitchen, outshining everything around him. He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, even with the damaged left hand. She didn't even notice it anymore. Or the scars on his face and neck. They had faded almost to nothing. And you couldn't even tell he was missing his lower left leg. He moved as if he didn't even have a prosthetic.
He was truly her hero. When she and Mercy had stood alone against the world, he had been there to support them. Maybe that was why it was so shocking to feel the anger he held in check rolling off him.
Before they could say anything, her phone rang again. True anger twisted Chad's face before he turned away. Stalking to the refrigerator, he jerked open the door, grabbing a bottle of water before he walked out of the room. He went through the French doors and into the back yard.
Lora felt like she was walking on quicksand. And it had only taken an hour to change everything.
She glanced at the screen. William in New York. Sighing, she took the call.
Chapter 4
Chad knew he needed to get a grip on the anger that was building, but he was so frustrated. Today could have been very bad. He trusted in Mercy's safety inside the house, and in general really. He didn't think there was any lingering danger from the long dead Derek Malone. But he knew how Lora would react at the slightest hiccup in routine. Yes, they'd dealt with Derek, but Lora still lived as if he were just around the corner. She was usually hyper vigilant around Mercy, treating the eight year old as if she couldn't think for herself.
But the girl was growing. She was already a brilliant kid, and the experiences she’d had made her more cautious than the average kid her age. But even she was beginning to feel stifled under Lora's drastic swings. They were living in a situation that was not good for Mercy. She was either clamped down on and restricted or ignored because her mother was overwhelmed by other things.
Handsome the bear now occupied a shelf in Mercy’s room. Chad was impressed that she’d had the gumption to let go of him herself. Actually, being around other kids her age had probably motivated that.
Mercy had come to him the other night and asked him if she thought her mother would let her attend a friend's birthday party. Not wanting to sugar-coat it, Chad had told her he wasn't sure, but that he would ask for her. He hadn't yet had a chance to do that, and after this incident he didn't know if he could right now. It might be one of those things that he needed to ask forgiveness for rather than permission.
Chad dropped down into one of the Adirondack chairs on the back patio, hoping that serenity would find him. He chuckled to himself. That wasn't likely right now.
His cell phone rang in his pocket, and he was surprised to see Cheyenne's name on the contact. "Hey, sis, what are you up to?"
"Chad, you might want to think about coming home. Daddy's in the hospital. He took a spill from his horse when he was roping a calf. Not sure about the details but Brock thinks he might have had a heart attack."
Chad was glad he was sitting down. "Wait, what? A heart attack?"
"Yes," she sighed. "I'm sorry to call you like this, but I can't get a hold of Emily. Brock is on his way to be in Amarillo with Mama and Daddy now, but with the girls I can't just leave. Payton is on duty with the squad right now, but as soon as she goes off shift she’ll come stay with my girls. Then I’ll drive down."
"Okay, I'll call Duncan and get time off. What happened to him?"
"I'm not sure," she said. "Brock was with him when it happened and I think he may have done CPR on him. He was on the range so they took him by Lifestar helicopter straight to Amarillo. Brock is still driving mom up but he should get there any time."
Chad's heart was racing with them, hoping they got there as soon as possible. "It'll take me at least seven hours to get there, unless I can hop a flight. I'll let you know after I talk to Lora and Duncan."
"Okay. Love you. I'm sorry to have to call you like this."
"That's okay. I don't think there's any way to make it easier."
"True. I'll see you when you get there."
Chad jumped up and ran into the house, his mind churning. Lora still stood in the kitchen, ear to her phone. She must have felt the urgency, though, because she made her excuses and hung up. "What's wrong?"
"I'm heading to Amarillo. Cheyenne just called. They think Dad had a heart attack."
Lora gasped, her eyes filling with concern. She rushed to him, resting her hand on his arm. "Oh, no. Are there any details? Has he been seen?"
Chad shook his head. "All I know is Brock was with him on the range, and t
hey had to fly him in the emergency helicopter to Amarillo. Mom and Brock are on their way up, and Cheyenne will go up as soon as she has someone to watch the kids."
She reached up to cup his cheek. "Okay, what do we need to do?"
Chad's throat constricted. Apparently he wasn't totally wallpaper. She did see him sometimes.
"I need to call Duncan, but that's just to let him know where I'm going. Then I need to decide if I'm flying or driving."
"By the time you get to the airport, catch a flight that may or may not be there, plus a connector, rent a car and drive there, you might as well just drive."
He nodded, knowing she was correct. "Yes, I agree. I'm going to go pack a bag."
"And I'll have Mercy pack a bag."
Chad looked at her sharply. "You're going with me?"
Lora frowned at him, her green eyes narrowed. "Of course we are. We love Garrett as much as you do. Something like this you need family around you. Francine will, even if Garrett doesn't know we're there."
Blinking, he nodded. "I agree. Didn't know if you'd be able to drag yourself away."
Lora winced a little, and her eyes got a little unfocused, like she was thinking about everything she had to do. "I'll make it work,” she said firmly. “Let's move."
Chad called Duncan, but it was just a formality. Boss man knew how important family was. He needed to know what was going on with some of the smaller cases, though.
"We wrapped the Watt-tech case and all the paperwork has been filed," Chad told him. "Brian Calvert is wrapping up his forensic accounting case for the country singer Henry Bright, too."
"Did he figure out who'd been embezzling from him?"
"Yeah," Chad sighed. "Exactly who Brian thought it was at the beginning. The asshole told Bright he was squirreling it away as a nest egg for them."
Duncan choked out a laugh. "That's a good one. Anything else I need to know about?”
“Not that I can think of,” Chad told him honestly. “If anything occurs to me I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good. Keep me updated on Garrett's condition and take the time you need."
Chad packed several days' worth of clothes in a duffle and grabbed his spare prosthetic leg and his blade. He had no idea how long they would be down there, but he needed to be prepared for anything. In his gut, he had a feeling it would not be a quick trip. Dad still did a lot around the ranch. If they were short he could maybe step in for a while.
The thought of his father not being a part of the ranch seemed desperately wrong.
Mercy came in through the doorway, tears in her eyes. "Is Grampa Lowell going to be okay?"
Chad knelt down before her, giving her good eye contact. "I don't know darlin'. I sure hope so. Sounds like he's really sick right now. Do you have everything packed?"
She nodded her head. "Mom's checking it. And I'm supposed to go to the basement and make sure everything is turned off."
"That's a good thing for you to do. Is your tablet charged? We're going to be in the truck for a while. Then we might be at the hospital for a while too."
Wincing, she raced out the door to check. Chad heaved a breath, wondering what he was forgetting as well. Another sleeve for his stump. Cream for the skin of his left hand, though it didn't seem like it was doing much good anymore. It was more contracted than ever.
Walking from the room he grabbed his tablet as well as the phone charger from his side of the bed.
Within fifteen minutes they were walking out the door. Mercy had her bag and a pillow in hand so that she could sleep. They would be driving into the night.
Two hours into the drive south, Cheyenne called. "So, apparently Dad was chasing after a calf. Brock remembers looking over and seeing him grab his chest, rein up the horse and fall off. Unfortunately, he landed on his arm, breaking it. The doctors are in with him now and I'm on my way there. Sounds like he did have a heart attack and he's going to have stents put in to repair the blockages they have found. Brock says the doctors seem pretty casual about it because they do it all the time."
Chad felt a knot of tension ease in his gut. "So it sounds like he's going to be okay..."
"Yeah," she sighed. "I think so. He's too hard-headed not to be. Sounds like he's going to need surgery on the arm, too, but that will happen after the heart stents."
"Damn," Chad said. "Thanks for the update. We should be there within about four hours."
"Okay. Be safe."
Lora's hand was on his shoulder, rubbing, calming. "So he'll be okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. The heart attack led to the broken arm, so he's going to have to slow down for a while. They're putting stents into the blocked arteries, then they'll work on the arm later."
She winced and shook her head. "Poor Garrett. This is going to put him out of commission for a while."
"Yeah," Chad agreed.
It was seriously going to put a crimp in the old man's tail not being able to use his arm, let alone whatever damage he took from the heart attack.
They finished the drive in quiet. Once the light faded Mercy played with her tablet for a while before going to sleep. Chad glanced over at Lora. Her hands were folded in her lap and there was a somber expression on her face. She'd done a few things on her phone before putting it away. "I'm sorry to drag you away from everything."
She looked at him, frowning. The light had faded from the sky and the only illumination was from the dash of the truck. "Don't be sorry. This wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just one of those things that happen and have to be dealt with."
Chad blinked at her, then looked back at the road. He'd thought for sure that she'd be pissed about her schedule being messed up. Or her schooling. She'd been so single-minded recently.
"We'll see how he is when we get there. Maybe you can get back to everything in a day or so."
She gave a slight shrug. "We'll see. If I'm needed here I'll stay."
That she would even make the offer made him happy. For a long time he'd been feeling like second fiddle, and feeling guilty for that on top of everything.
Conversation drifted away, but it didn't feel as awkward as it had been before. When Lora's head began to bob, he motioned to his thigh. "Why don't you lie down here?"
Without a word she maneuvered herself to lie across the bench seat, her head on his leg. Without even thinking about it, Chad reached down and stroked her hair from her face. Within seconds she'd fallen asleep, but he continued to touch her, just because he could.
Chapter 5
The hospital in Amarillo was surprisingly busy, considering it was one a.m. The woman at the reception desk smiled at them warmly and checked Garrett's whereabouts on the computer in front of her. "Room 532," she told them, then pointed to the hallway with the elevators.
Chad's heart thumped as they climbed, and it wasn't because he carried the drowsy Mercy. His father was such a vital part of everyone's lives, he just couldn't imagine losing him.
Being in a hospital also put him on edge. The smells and the bright lights played havoc with his mind. Zeke, during one of his stays, had once joked about having more PTSD from the hospitals themselves than the injuries they were getting care for, and it was eerily true.
Cheyenne saw them first because she was standing at the nurse's station on the fifth floor. Her eyes turned glossy with tears, and even though he held Mercy he held an arm out for Cheyenne's hug. She grabbed him and wouldn't let go. He kissed the top of her wavy auburn hair. "He's gonna be okay. You know that."
She nodded against him, then pulled away to swipe the tears from her cheeks. Turning to Lora she pulled her into a hug as well.
Chad was surprised to see Lora's eyes fill with tears as well.
"Come on, y'all," he growled. "He's not that bad. They're going to fix him, right?"
Cheyenne nodded. "Yes, he already went in for the repair. It's done. They're going to let him recover for a couple days, then they'll repair the arm. He woke up for a little bit, long enough to tal
k to Mama, then he went back to sleep. She's in there with him now."
Tension rolled out of his shoulders. "That's good news. He's a tough old bird. This isn't something that will keep him down for long."
When Chad saw his father a few minutes later, though, he wasn't so sure. Garrett's pallor was positively deathly, even with the oxygen cannula beneath his nose and the lights dimmed for the night.
His mother looked up with a smile and leaned up for his hug. "You made good time from Denver. Is my grandbaby out there too or is it just you?"
"All three of us came down."
His mother's graying brows shot into her hair. "Lora came? Really? I knew she was busy..."
He nodded, not wanting to get into the issue. He looked back at his father. "What have the doctors said?"
She sighed, rubbing her husband's hand on the mattress. "They had to put in three stents for blocked arteries, but the procedure was easy. No issues at all. Garrett is not going to like what they prescribe, though. More salads, less fried food like he sneaks away for in town. Pills to keep his levels in control."
Chad winced. Garrett Lowell believed in living life the way you wanted to. Strictures did not play into his day-to-day life. It was only within the past couple of years that his mother had started trying to eat healthier. Garrett had grumbled, not liking the changes. For Mama, though, he'd modified a few things. Garrett would do anything for her.
But it hadn’t been enough, apparently.
"So, what's the plan?"
His mother sighed, suddenly looking more tired than he could ever remember her being. "He's come around a couple of times but they have him on pain meds for the arm. It's broken in three places and will need a plate to fix, as well as several screws."
Chad looked at his dad's right arm. It was bandaged from shoulder to fingertips and propped up on a mound of pillows on the bed. Yeah, if it was broken that badly it would need internal support.
He was going to be out of commission for a while. At least he was left-handed. That was one small bright spot in the situation. He’d still be able to do most things for himself.
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