The world suddenly slipped into slow motion as I stepped out of the trailer to get a better signal and set down the clipboard and pen. “Yeah, he’s my dad.”
“Mr. Carter, I hate delivering this news by phone, but your father suffered a massive heart attack at work today. He was brought in by ambulance not long ago, and he’s being prepped for surgery as we speak.”
Panic filled my thoughts and echoed in my voice. “Surgery?” I practically screamed in the woman’s ear. “What’s going on? Is he going to make it?”
“You need to get here as quickly as possible, Mr. Carter.”
“I’m three hours away. And at work. Can’t you tell me what’s happening?” Fear had a way of unexpectedly morphing into anger.
“I don’t have any other details, Mr. Carter. I’m sure the doctor will be able to tell you more when you arrive.”
My jaw ached from grinding my teeth in the few short moments I’d been on the phone, and if I didn’t stop pulling my hair, I wouldn’t have any left. “That’s not good enough. That’s my dad. Is he going to be all right?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I really do wish I could tell you more.”
“Yeah, fine, I understand. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Thank you for letting me know.” I didn’t wait for her to say you’re welcome or goodbye before I hung up and left the receiving dock in the same shape it had been in when I answered the call.
I practically ran through the aisles, jumping over pallets on the floor and dodging forklifts as I went. When I got to Farley’s office, he was on the phone and held his finger up for me to give him a minute. I didn’t have a minute. Frustrated, I groaned and ran to the time clock and punched out, and then slipped into the breakroom to grab my stuff from my locker. Farley was off the phone when I returned to his office.
“What the hell, Carter? You’re white as a ghost.”
“I just got a call—”
He put his hands on his hips and tried to issue a stern warning I wasn’t fucking interested in hearing. “You know cellphones on the floor are against company policy.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, write me up on Monday. I’ve got to go. My dad had a heart attack and is heading into surgery.”
“In Atlanta?”
No, jackass, in the breakroom. “Yes.”
The agitation for the cellphone violation quickly vanished when he realized what I was telling him. He and his pops were close. If anything happened to Old Man Farley, we wouldn’t see Farley in here for days.
“Get the hell outta here. Once you get there and know more about what’s going on, give me a call and let me know if you’ll be in on Monday, but don’t worry about this place, we’ve got it covered.”
I was about to turn around and race to my truck when I remembered Masyn. “Hey, Farley, can you do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Can you tell Masyn what happened and that I’ll call her when I know more?”
“Definitely. Now, go.”
I slapped the metal door casing and gave him a curt nod. It was as close as I could get to saying thank you when I was on the verge of losing my shit. My dad and I hadn’t been super close since he’d moved to Atlanta, but he was the only family I had—at least by name and blood—and I loved him just the same. And he’d done his best to be a good father after my mom passed away when I was a kid. He’d just been too heartbroken without her to be Dad of the Year.
The keys fell out of my shaking hands in the parking lot, and by the time I finally got the doors to the truck unlocked, I worried about even driving to my house to pack a bag, much less getting on the interstate for a three-hour trip. With the truck idling, I touched Beau’s name on my contact list and waited for the call to connect.
“Hey, man. You’re off early.” Beau didn’t wait for me to respond. “You want to meet Peyton and me down at Sadler’s? We’re having a drink before she takes off.” He laughed at something in the background.
“Beau…” My voice cracked as I said his name.
His tone shifted immediately, and I knew I was on the verge of losing it. “You okay?”
“My d-dad,” I stammered. “I-I need to go to Atlanta.”
I heard him call for Lani and ask for the check. “I’ll meet you at your house.” And he disconnected.
I wasn’t sure how I managed to arrive at my house in one piece or even how I got there. Beau’s car wasn’t in the driveway, so I ran inside and started throwing shit in a bag. I didn’t have a clue how long I’d be gone or what I would need, but I figured anything I forgot, I could buy in Atlanta once I knew what was going on. Right now, I just needed to get there. When he still hadn’t arrived by the time I finished packing, I took a quick shower to rinse off the stench of a day on the dock and then I put on fresh clothes. I was sitting on my bed tying my tennis shoes when he came down the hall.
“Sorry it took me so long. I had to drop Peyton off at her car and grab my stuff from my parents’ house. You ready?”
“You’re going with me?”
“Based on how you sounded on the phone—which isn’t shit compared to how you look in person—I didn’t think you needed to deal with whatever this is alone.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. His face was lined with pity, even without knowing what happened. “Plus, this way, you’ll have a place to stay and won’t have to worry about a hotel.”
I nodded and swiped up the bag at my feet. He hadn’t asked any questions, which was good since I didn’t have any answers. Beau had his faults, but friendship wasn’t one of them. There’d never been a time in my life when I’d needed him and he hadn’t shown up. And today was no different.
No words were exchanged between us as we got into his BMW. And it wasn’t until we hit the interstate that he finally dared to speak. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Some woman called me from Atlanta Memorial and said he had a heart attack. They were prepping him for surgery. That’s all she told me.”
“Like open-heart surgery?” The shock rang through loud and clear.
I pounded my fists on his dashboard, trying to keep the stinging tears at bay. “Fuck, I don’t know, Beau. She said the doctor would be able to tell me more once I got there.”
“I’m sure he’s going to be okay.” Beau was a shit liar. He didn’t have a clue if my old man would survive any better than I did.
“He’s all I’ve got, man.” That one sentence unlocked the floodgates. I buried my head in my hands and let my fear out the only way I knew how.
“That’s not true, Lee. I know he’s your dad, but as long as I’m alive and Masyn’s breathing, you’ll never be alone.”
He was trying to help, and I knew that—it just wasn’t what I needed to hear. I refused to consider the possibility of my dad not pulling through. It didn’t matter that I was a grown man; no child wanted to live without their parents, and I’d already lived most of my life down one.
“I’m surprised Masyn isn’t with you.”
I welcomed the change of subject. Thinking about her was preferable to my dad in a hospital. “She had to work late. I didn’t even talk to her before I left.”
“Dude, she’s going to freak out.”
“Nah, Farley’s going to let her know what happened. I told him to tell her I’d call her when I knew more.”
“That’s going to go over well.” His sarcasm was unbecoming and made me want to slap the shit out of him. Now wasn’t the time for him to try to be cute.
“I didn’t have a choice, Beau. She was up to her elbows in grease and machine parts, not to mention, she has to work late today and has to be at the shop all day tomorrow. Even if she had wanted to, she couldn’t come with me.” I reached into my bag to grab my cell to send Masyn a message. Even with Farley delivering the news about where I’d gone, I wanted her to know I’d thought about her. I didn’t have time to finish typing the message before Beau interrupted me.
“You going to tell me how all that ended up coming togethe
r?”
I hated when Beau was right about something; the smug look that crossed his face anytime that subject came up again made me want to smack him.
“I don’t know. After I dropped you and Peyton off on Monday night, I went to Masyn’s house, and she was drunk as piss. I shouldn’t have tried to talk to her then. I just had to get some things out of my system, only I didn’t get a chance to tell her anything other than the fact that I didn’t have any interest in Peyton.”
“Why couldn’t you tell her anything else?”
I sat my phone in the cup holder, leaned back in the seat, and tried to relax. Worrying wouldn’t get us to Atlanta any faster, and talking about Masyn brought a smile to my lips. Even when I was filled with dread, she made my heart happy. “Masyn started blubbering about Peyton taking you and me away, and how she always had to talk to you in code when you were with Felicity. And by the end of the conversation, I thought she was telling me she was in love with you.” I rolled my head to stare at him and witness his reaction. I wasn’t expecting laughter.
“I have no idea what she said to make you think she had feelings for me, but if you’d told me about it that night, I could have set the record straight.”
“Reaching out to you wasn’t the first thing on my mind when I was cleaning up vomit and carrying her to bed.”
He gulped and scrubbed his palm over his scrunched face. “Ew. Dude, that’s definitely love.”
Good thing it hadn’t been Beau she’d puked on, or he would have tossed his cookies, too. “It sucked. I was covered in it and had to wash my clothes before I could leave. By the time I got them into the washer and tried to move her, she asked me to stay.”
“On the couch?”
I shook my head and grinned. “You’d think, but no. She wanted me in bed next to her.”
“That’s torture.” He flicked on the blinker. I leaned in his direction when he switched lanes and the tires screeched. “I wonder if she had any idea what she was doing.”
“Doubtful. She was out within seconds.”
He shot me an irritated, sidelong glance. “And let me guess: you spent the night staring at the ceiling?”
“For the most part.”
“Lee, man, you know that even if it was me who Masyn was after, I’d never do that to you, right?”
The truth was, I didn’t know what to believe. Sleep deprivation did crazy things to the mind and the imagination. “Let’s just say it wasn’t a fun night, and neither was the following day. She apologized over and over, but keep in mind, she was apologizing for putting a divide in the friendship, not for confessing she loved you.”
“I should be pissed you made a play for her, thinking she had the hots for me.” His cocky grin left no room for doubt that he was fucking with me.
“It wasn’t like that.” I might be known as a player around town, but Beau knew the truth. He’d always known Masyn was it for me. “Maybe it makes me an ass, but honestly, at this point, I don’t really care. If I hadn’t done it, she never would have told me I’d misunderstood everything she said Monday night.”
“Lee, I don’t care how the two of you got there.” He shrugged, swung into the right lane behind a speeding semi-truck, and set the cruise on eighty. “I’m just glad you did. Even though she hasn’t flat-out said the words to me, I’ve listened to her stories about dates and why they never worked out, and I’ve heard the jealousy in her voice any time you and another chick came up. Once I left for college, she and I talked a lot more than we did when I was here. I think it was easier for her to open up because I wasn’t in the thick of it anymore, yet I knew all the guys who ever stood on her doorstep and their history.”
I wished one of us had spoken up, even though I couldn’t fault either one of them since I hadn’t said anything, either. I raked a hand through my hair, squirming in the leather seat, trying to imagine her chatting with Beau about me, while I got blowjobs in the bathroom at the bar. “Just a lot of wasted time.”
And misplaced emotion.
“Probably not. You came together when the time was right. Don’t regret what you haven’t done, and make it happen going forward.”
Don’t regret what I have done, too.
“Yeah. Right.” I glanced at the clock and wished like hell I could call her. I was certain she was still at work, since it wasn’t quite four, and even though I’d told Farley that I would call her, Masyn would text me as soon as she left. She was a stickler for the safety protocols, and she wouldn’t have her phone on her even if I tried to call. Knowing that still didn’t change the fact that I wanted to hear her voice and tell her I loved her.
“How’d you and Peyton leave things?”
“Dude, I met the wrong sister first.” That wasn’t good. “Peyton is everything I wish Felicity had been, but without all the attitude and snarly disposition.” It was good to know he hadn’t been blind to the things Masyn and I saw in his ex-fiancée. “Once I get settled in the new house and job, we’re going to make plans for me to go see her. Until then, she might come back for a week or two since she’s off for the summer.”
“Have either of you considered how you’re going to deal with Felicity? Or her parents? I’m not trying to rain on your parade or anything. I just don’t know if that’s a road you’re ready to walk, Beau. You and confrontation don’t do well together.”
“I’m not thinking that far ahead. Peyton is keenly aware of what all I’m dealing with right now. But the sex is good and so is the company, so I’m going to enjoy it and figure it out as I go.”
“Obviously, I don’t know her well, but I got the impression she didn’t have a lot of experience in the relationship department. Just be careful you don’t end up hurting her while you’re finding yourself.”
“Listen to you, Mr. Compassionate. When did you start caring about women’s feelings?”
I’d never led a girl to believe she would get anything more from me than the moment we were in. I never took them out on dates, I didn’t bring them to my house, and I certainly didn’t share my bed—there was no confusion. And any woman who thought she’d change that did so of her own accord, not because I skipped with them down a primrose path while holding their hand and humming.
“She seemed like a nice girl. And your reputation’s at stake, too. Don’t forget that you’re supposed to be in Gay Paree on your honeymoon right now. You might not have to deal with the fallout of being seen around town shacked up with Felicity’s sister, but you can bet your ass your mom will.”
“My mom loves her.”
“Doesn’t mean she wants to answer for your behavior with Peyton so shortly after you called off a wedding with Felicity.”
“I liked you a lot better when you were just a pretty face holding a beer.”
I groaned. “I’d kill for a beer.”
“Forget it. I’m not adding an open container charge to the list of my offenses this week.”
“Killjoy.”
He turned up the radio and we spent the rest of the ride in relative silence. My thoughts volleyed between my dad and Masyn, neither of which I could reach, and the music helped to stop my mind from wandering. And when we finally got to the cardiac ICU, I worried I’d need a room of my own before this was all over.
Chapter Seventeen
“What do you mean there’ve been complications?” No one could tell me anything other than to have a seat and wait. “It’s been almost five hours since he went into surgery.” I estimated based on when I’d gotten the call and when the woman told me he was being prepped to go under.
“Open-heart surgery is complicated, Mr. Carter. As soon as there’s an update on your father’s condition, someone will come out to speak with you.” Simply averting her stare, she dismissed me as though the conversation were over.
The hospital needed to consider classes for their staff in patient-family management. This place currently sucked at compassion.
Beau stepped between me and the nurse on the other side of the desk.
“Come on, Lee. Let’s take a seat. Eating her for dinner won’t get you any answers.”
I turned and let him push me toward the waiting room. “This is insane. He’s been here for hours. They have to know something.”
“I don’t think they’re withholding information just to get to spend more time with you in their lobby.”
I slumped in the vinyl chair. Little did I know, it would end up being my home for the next three hours. “They could be more sympathetic.” I crossed my arms in protest, and Beau mirrored me. “He might just be a patient to them, but he’s my dad.”
By the time someone finally came out, it was close to eleven at night. Beau had tried to force-feed me food from the cafeteria, he brought me coffee I wouldn’t give to a dog, and my nerves were frayed.
The surgeon’s mask hung by strings from his neck, and he appeared as weary as I was. “Mr. Carter?”
The moment he said my name, I stood and extended my hand.
“I’m Dr. Swallow. I was part of the team that worked on your dad.”
Trying to read his face was like trying to put a Rubik’s Cube back together. No matter which way it twisted, none of the emotions lined up. “How is he? Is he going to be all right?” I was tired and anxious, and my attitude reflected it.
“We lost your dad twice on the table. He’s in recovery now, but the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are critical.”
“What do you mean you lost him?” I could feel my blood pressure rising and my cheeks flaming. “Like he got up from the operating table and ran off to play hide-and-seek? Or you didn’t do your job? Which kind of lost are you referring to?” My reaction was over the top, but I couldn’t seem to reel myself back in.
“Lee, calm down. He said your dad is in recovery.”
I swatted Beau’s hand off my shoulder, ignored his attempt to rationalize with me, and turned back to the surgeon. “You mean to tell me, my dad almost died three times today, twice by your hand, and no one could be bothered to so much as come out and mention things weren’t going well?”
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