by McCoy, SJ
Dan cleared his throat. He was standing in the doorway, watching them.
“Can you stay for dinner?” She knew he'd have to leave, but she didn't want him to.
His eyes searched her face. “I should go. I can go get dinner for you both before I leave though. Save you having to make anything.”
“Great!” said Scot. “Can we get pizza?”
Missy gave him a stern look. “On a Sunday?” His face fell.
Dan grinned. “I think after winning State Championships, a guy should be allowed a celebration dinner. Don't you, champ?”
Scot grinned back at him and nodded. “Yeah, Mom. Don't spoil my victory.”
Missy laughed. She wasn't going to win when the pair of them teamed up on her like that. Besides, Dan was right, it should be a celebration dinner. “Okay then. Pizza it is, but you don't need to go for it. I'll call Giuseppe's for a delivery.”
“I'll call it in,” said Dan. “You want the usual, champ?”
“Yes, please.”
“How about you, Miss. Want your lasagna?”
“Yes, please.” She was surprised again. He knew she saved her pancakes for dessert. He knew she always got lasagna when they ordered from Giuseppe's. He was turning out to be full of surprises. All good ones too, so far. She snuggled with Scot on the sofa while he called in their order.
“Should be here in half an hour. I'll eat with you, but then I'll have to get going.”
Missy nodded. He'd be cutting it fine if he was supposed to meet Olivia at eight. She wasn't going to say anything though. It was none of her business. She was just glad he was staying a little while longer.
Scot wriggled off the sofa. “Dan, Dan, Dan, did you see the files I left you?”
“I sure did. I think we're making progress.”
“Will you show me what you've done? Come on, let's go see before the pizza comes?”
Dan looked at Missy.
“Go on,” she smiled. “Don't make him wait ’til next weekend.”
Dan nodded and followed Scot out to the RV. Missy got up. She would have to wait ’til next weekend for what she wanted to do with Dan. She was glad for Scotty's sake that he didn't have to. She made her way into the kitchen. She could get the table ready for when the food arrived. She felt a little unsteady on her feet and leaned on the table for support. After a few moments she straightened up, hoping it had passed. That was when everything started to spin. And went black.
***
Dan was laughing with Scot as they came back into the house. Missy was gone from the sofa. He went into the kitchen. She was sitting on the floor, looking dazed.
“Miss! What happened?” He was at her side, picking her up off the floor.
She tried to focus on him, but looked woozy. “I'm okay,” she mumbled.
“Mom!” Scot's eyes were round and scared. “Are you okay?”
“She's going to be just fine, champ.” Dan's voice didn't sound like his own. It sounded calm and soothing. Inside he felt anything but calm. His heart and his mind were racing. “Do you think you can call Uncle Ben and ask him to send Michael over here?” He hoped Scot would fare better if he had an important job to do. Dan carried Missy back into the living room and sat down with her still in his arms. She looked more with it now.
“I'm okay, hero.” She gave him a weak smile.
“Jesus, Miss. What happened? You scared me.”
“I blacked out.” She gingerly touched at her forehead, where he could see a bruise and a big lump starting to form. “I think I gave myself a doink on the way down too.”
“Looks like you did. That's going to be a doozy.”
Scot came in, putting his phone back in his pocket. “Uncle Ben's going to call Michael. He said he'll come himself later, too.” Dan knew he'd done the right thing when Scot asked, “Can I do anything else?”
Dan was proud of the kid, trying to be the man for his mom. Dan knew what he probably needed most though. “Actually, there is. Can you swap places with me while I get some ice to put on her head?”
Scot looked at him as though he'd gone completely nuts. “You're going to put ice on her head? Why?”
He felt Missy shake in his arms as she started to laugh. He had to laugh with her at the incredulous look on Scot's face. “He means an icepack, honey. I bumped my head when I fell.” She lifted her hair with her hand to show him.
“Oh! Ouch. I get it.” He came and sat on the sofa and stroked his mom's shoulder. “You'll be okay,” he reassured her.
Dan slid out from under Missy and went into the kitchen. He leaned his forehead against the fridge, his head filled with memories. Fetching ice packs for his own mom's bruises and black eyes. Telling her she'd be okay, hoping it would be true. He shook his head to clear it, and opened the freezer. Did anyone ever eat frozen peas? Or were they just kept in every freezer for moments like this? He pulled a bag out and wrapped it in a dishcloth. With a smile he opened the freezer again and squeezed three ice cubes out of the tray. He put them in a dish and took it back to the living room. Missy looked less ashen. Scot, with his arm around her, less scared.
Dan knelt on the floor at their feet. Taking an ice cube from the dish, he winked at Missy and placed it on top of her head. Scot's eyes grew wide again. Dan took another and put it on top of Scot's head, trying hard not to laugh as the kid's eyes almost disappeared into his hairline as he tried to watch. He took the third ice-cube and put it on top of his own head. “There, she'll be fine now. It's an old Texan ritual to heal the sick.”
Scot looked at him as though he really had gone crazy.
Missy burst out laughing. She definitely looked a bit better. “He's teasing you, honey!”
Dan grinned and held out the frozen peas. “This is the more conventional treatment though.” He gave them to Missy.
Scot rolled his eyes and laughed. “You ass...tronaut! I thought you'd lost it!”
They all laughed now. Dan was pleased Missy didn't call Scot out on his language. He had been scared out of his wits for a minute there. She obviously had something going on with her, but it wasn't anything imminently life threatening. She smiled gratefully at him as he plucked the ice-cube off her head and tossed it into the dish along with his own. He grabbed Scot's and pressed it against the kid's nose for a second.
“Eww!” Scot swatted at him laughing.
“How are you feeling?” he asked Missy.
“No worse than I did this afternoon. Except now I have a big lump on my head.”
He smiled at her. “Well, your friend, Dr. Michael is on his way to give you the once over.”
“Thanks, but I'm fine, really.”
“I'll be happier when I hear him say that.”
The doorbell rang. Dan went to answer it. He took the pizza and gave the guy a huge tip because he didn't want to wait for change. As he turned to go back in he heard a shout. “Hang on, Dan.” Michael came hurrying down the street carrying his bag.
“Thanks for coming so fast.”
“What happened?”
“She blacked out and keeled over. Gave herself a good knock on the head, too.”
Michael frowned.
“You know how tired she's been? Well, today she started to get off balance, feeling dizzy. Come on in, she's in the living room. He took the food through and dumped it on the kitchen table before following Michael, who squatted down next to the sofa.
“What you been up to, critter?”
Dan watched her smile at Michael. He didn't feel any of his earlier jealousy, just gratitude that Michael had come so quickly.
“You know me, causing trouble as usual. Do you think I'm going to make it, Doc?” she asked as he strapped a blood pressure cuff to her arm.
“Hold still and we'll see.” After he'd taken her blood pressure and her pulse, he gently pulled her lower eyelid down. “Have you been eating properly?”
Dan smiled when she looked up at him. “Yessir. You can ask Dan.”
“I can vouch for quantity cons
umed,” he said. “I don't know about nutritional value. What are you thinking, Michael?”
“I'm thinking anemia. Symptoms are classic, but we'll need a blood test to make sure.”
“Is that just iron deficiency?” asked Dan.
Michael stood up. “It can be, or it can be a couple of other things, too. Decreased volume of blood itself, which would account for the low blood pressure, or a decrease in red blood cells. Which is why we'll need that blood test. Miss, can you come in and see Dad in the morning?”
“I can't. I'm at work. I could stop by later?”
Dan shook his head. “You're not going to work, Miss.”
Michael nodded his agreement. “No chance, critter. I'll meet you at Dad's office at nine, okay?”
Missy looked from Dan to Michael and back again. “I have to go to work.” She sounded desperate.
Dan hated to see her like that, she looked pale and defeated. He didn't know what the problem was, but it couldn't be anything they couldn't work out. “You have to get yourself sorted out first.”
She rested her head back against the sofa. “Okay.”
Michael looked at Scot. “Will you help Dan keep an eye on her and make sure she comes in tomorrow?” Scot nodded. “Okay. I'll leave you guys to it then.”
Dan walked him to the door. “Thanks, Michael.”
“Not a problem, but you might have to drag her into the office in the morning.” He lowered his voice. “And make sure she knows it's my favor, not an official visit, so no charge.”
That puzzled Dan. “Doesn't her insurance cover office visits?”
“It might, if she had any.”
“What?”
“Shh! I shouldn't know that. You sure as hell shouldn't know that. My dad's been the town doc for years. You can't help but know who has which insurance, who's self-pay and who tries to stay away. Point is, you need to bring her in in the morning and that's only one of the reasons it'll be hard to get her there. Good luck. I'll see you tomorrow.”
Dan watched Michael walk up the path then closed the door. He stood in the hallway, trying to assess the situation. She said she had to go work. It must be for the money. There was no way she could, though. She needed to get the blood test and he knew she wouldn't go if he didn't take her himself. He went back into the living room.
“You hungry, champ?” Scot nodded. “How about you, Miss?” She nodded too. She was getting a little color back in her cheeks, but now she looked worried.
After they'd eaten, Dan cleared the dishes. Scot came to join him. “She's fallen asleep,” he said.
“Good. She needs the rest.”
“Want to go in the RV and go through that code?” asked Scot hopefully.
Dan grinned at him. “I'd love to, but do you think maybe we should stay in the house and keep an eye on your mom?”
Scot nodded.
“What do you usually do on Sunday night?”
“Get my backpack ready for school.”
“You want to do that while I see to the dishes?”
“Okay.” Scot didn't look thrilled.
“You got any homework you need to do?”
Scot pulled a face.
“I'll take that as a yes?” He couldn't help but smile as the kid nodded reluctantly. He remembered only too well how it felt to have to write boring essays about irrelevant dead people when there were programs waiting to be written and systems waiting to be designed, or hacked. “If you get it done quick enough, we can maybe see if you can beat my high score before you have to go to bed.”
Scot brightened at that. “Okay, I'll be quick.”
Dan laughed. “Not too quick! Get it done properly, okay?”
“Okay,” sighed Scot. He picked up his backpack and headed upstairs.
Dan peeked in at Missy. She was fast asleep on the sofa. He went back to the kitchen and closed the door behind him. Sitting down at the table, he pulled his phone out and called Ben.
“Hey, man. Hang on.” It sounded like the restaurant was busy. “Okay. I can hear you now. How's Miss? What happened?”
“She fainted, but she's fine now. Thanks for getting ahold of Michael.”
“No problem. I'll come over when I get a minute.”
“No need. She's sleeping.”
“Alright then. It's crazy in here tonight. What did Michael say?”
“He thinks she's anemic. Wants me to bring her in for a blood test in the morning.”
“You sticking around then?”
Oh, shit! Dan had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be leaving. “Yeah.” He looked at his watch. It was almost seven thirty already. “Listen though. She can't work ’til she gets sorted out. She needs to rest. Do you know what she's supposed to be doing this week?”
“She's got a crazy schedule. I've got her on the cabins all week.”
“She can't do it. I don't want her working at all this week, but I'll cover it.”
Ben laughed. “You offering to clean cabins?”
Dan laughed with him. “You've seen the RV, I don't think you'd want me on the cleaning crew. I mean I'll pay you whatever it costs to find cover for her.”
“You don't need to do that. I can take care of it.”
“I want to. Seems like Miss needs the money, so I need you to pay her whatever she would have made this week. I'll pay you to actually get the work done. I may be able to get her to stay home tomorrow, but I can't stay all week. There's no way she'll rest up if she's losing money.”
“You've got a point, but we could split it?”
“No need. You're going to have to hustle to find someone to do the work. I get the easy part and just hand over the money.”
Ben laughed. “True. I'd happily trade with you. Listen I'd better get on it. See who I can find to fill in. Tell her I'll stop by tomorrow?”
“Will do, and I'll have my check book ready.”
“Okay, bud. See you tomorrow.”
“See ya.”
Dan hung up. That was the easy phone call done. Now for the not so easy one. Olivia. He chewed the inside of his lip, and remembered he needed to text Smoke.
Sorry. Change of plan. Not leaving tonight. Call you tomorrow?
He stared at the phone. It buzzed almost immediately with a reply.
OK. C U 2moro.
Now there were no more excuses. He searched his contacts for Olivia and listened to it ring.
“Hello, Daniel. I hope you're not going to be late.”
He rested his head in his hand. “Hello, Olivia, Yes, I'm fine thanks. How are you?”
“Ugh! What's the matter Daniel?”
Why did she insist on calling him that? “I'm not coming.”
“What? I canceled other plans because you said you wanted to see me!”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“Sorry's no use, is it? Why aren't you coming?”
“I'm still in Summer Lake and I'm not coming back tonight. Maybe not tomorrow either”
She tutted loudly. He hated when she did that. “You spend far too much time with that boy!”
“His name is Scot.”
“Whatever. And you better come back tomorrow. You need to be in the office.”
Dan had had just about enough of her telling him what he did and didn’t need to do. “I don't know what I'm doing yet.”
“Well, I'm telling you what you're doing, Daniel. You're going to get back here as soon as you can and get yourself in the office in the morning. I have the people from Systech coming and I need you to talk to them.”
What the hell? “Olivia, I'll come in whenever I'm ready. I’ve told you, I'm not going to talk to the pricks from Systech. I don't want anything to do with them, and neither does Steven. I do not want them in the building. Do you understand me?”
She was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again her tone was much softer. “I'm sorry, darling. I'm just trying to look out for you. I know you can't see it yet, but this will be a great deal for us. You need to talk to them, then y
ou'll see.”
Dan didn't trust himself to reply, just waited for her to continue as he knew she would.
“I'm sorry I was snappy. I was looking forward to seeing you tonight. It's been too long.”
Her wheedling tone made his skin crawl. It was so obvious she was simply trying to get her own way, and would use any tactics she thought would work.
“I'm sure if you left now, you could be here by bedtime. We can talk. You can spend the night.”
Dan shook his head at the thought. He hadn't slept with her in months. Even on the few occasions they'd gone out, he hadn't been able to muster any desire for her. He'd just kept thinking of Missy instead. He let out a deep sigh. “I told you. I'm not coming back tonight. We'll talk when I see you.”
“But Danny, I want to see you. I want you.”
That did it. She was a manipulative bitch! He'd told her once, in the early days when he was still quite flattered by her interest in him, that only the people who loved him had ever called him Danny. She tried to use it on him whenever she was determined to get her own way. “I don't want to see you. We're done. Through. Finished. I wanted to tell you face to face, but now you know.”
“You don't mean that, Danny.”
She was still wheedling! He took a deep breath. “Yes, I do, Olivia. Goodbye.” He hung up. Damn! He'd wanted to do the decent thing. Tell her to her face. But she was so damned pushy! He was sick of her telling him who he was, and what he thought, and what he wanted. She didn't know, or even care, what he really thought, or really wanted. He seriously doubted now that she ever had. She wanted the money and the control that came with Prometheus. He took a beer from the fridge. Well, it was done now. He'd no doubt have to face her—and her anger and pouting and wheedling—once he went back, but at least he'd told her. The worst of it was over. He hoped.
Chapter Seven
Missy opened her eyes. She felt a little groggy. She couldn't figure out why she'd been sleeping on the sofa. Dan sat in the chair, his legs slung over the arm. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Was she still dreaming? No, it came back to her. Passing out in the kitchen. Dan taking care of her. He was working on his laptop. Seemingly engrossed as he tapped away at the keyboard. He would pause occasionally to chew on his thumb as he stared into space, then start tapping away again. He was gorgeous! That muscle shirt he wore showed off a lean, muscular torso he usually hid under baggy T-shirts. What she would like to do to him, if she could find the energy! But she had to find some energy from somewhere. She had to go work tomorrow, no matter what he said, or Michael for that matter. She caught her breath. What was Dan still doing here anyway? He couldn't make her go to see Doc Morgan in the morning because he needed to get back to San Jose. She looked at the clock. It was past ten! She sat up, making herself dizzy. Where was Scotty? He had homework to do.