Perfect Fling

by Carly Phillips

  Erin drew in a deep breath. She could wait for Cara to come looking for her, scream and send Victoria running, or—she reached for Victoria’s hand. “Look—”

  With a vicious tug, the woman yanked her hand from Erin’s so fast, she’d had no time to get a real grip. Erin turned and screamed her brother’s name but when she spun back, Victoria was running for the back exit door. By the time Mike pushed his way through the crowd, all Erin could do was point to the half-open door.

  Mike sprinted after her, but Victoria had disappeared. Her brother was furious over the entire turn of events. “And where the hell is Cole?” he asked, when he, Cara, Erin, and Sam gathered together once the excitement died down.

  “When Cara picked me up, he was supposed to leave to come here right after me.” She turned to Cara. “Any luck reaching him?”

  The other woman shook her head.

  Erin reached for her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She was about to dial him again when she saw the message indicator. She listened to Cole’s message in complete disbelief.

  “What?” Mike asked, irritation oozing from him.

  “His father’s in the hospital. Jed had a heart attack.” Erin grew light-headed. Her first thoughts were of Cole and how this news would affect him. “He said he knew I was safe with Cara, and he’d be in touch when he knew something.”

  He hadn’t asked her to meet him there. Hadn’t said he’d appreciate her company, or support. No, Cole being Cole, he’d chosen to face this alone.

  Or so he thought. Because there wasn’t a chance in hell Erin would leave him alone at a time like this.

  • • •

  Cole didn’t know how to deal with his father on a good day, and today wasn’t one of those. No sooner had Cole climbed into his car than his cell rang. A nurse from the hospital had used Jed’s cell to find his IN CASE OF EMERGENCY number. Lo and behold, the old man still had Cole listed. He hadn’t, however, wanted him called, something he’d made perfectly clear when Cole entered the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Another thing Cole didn’t know how to deal with? These feelings running through him about his father’s heart attack.

  He’d never thought of Jed as mortal. In fact, he’d always thought the old man would be around to insult and torture Cole forever. But even he knew the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit—or CICU, as the nurses referred to it—meant things with his father were serious. His throat swelled at the notion.

  Good thing he had his father to keep his emotions in check. When Cole walked in, Jed had gotten so worked up, the doctors asked Cole to step out because stress wasn’t good for him. Cole moved to the waiting room—a place he’d been before, when Erin had been admitted for the gunshot wound—and stared at the ceiling.

  From the minute he’d received word, he’d been torn between wanting to be with Erin and needing to make certain his father would be okay. Erin, he knew, would be fine with her brother and Cara’s protection. Jed . . . he was still waiting for word. A little over an hour had passed since he’d arrived and nobody had been out to see him.

  He rose, deciding he’d check in at the nurse’s station—spare Jed his presence but find out when someone would explain his father’s medical condition.

  “Cole?”

  He turned at the sound of Erin’s voice, surprised to see her. To his relief, Cara followed behind her, which meant Erin hadn’t run off on her own after receiving his message.

  “I didn’t mean for you to leave Joe’s to come here.”

  Her soft lips pursed together. “You thought you’d handle your father’s heart attack alone?”

  He nodded. Of course he had.

  “And you assumed I’d let you.”

  He couldn’t help but grin. “Guess I should have known better.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Hi, Cara.”

  “How’s Jed?” Erin asked.

  “Still don’t know anything,” Cole said, surprised to hear his voice catch as he spoke. Apparently he was more upset than he wanted to admit to himself. He cleared his throat. “I was just about to go in and push for answers.”

  Erin faced Cara. “Go on back to Mike. Plan’s scrapped for today, and I’ll be here as long as Cole is. We’ll just go back to the house together.”

  “No,” Cole said. “You go back with Cara and Mike. I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”

  “All the more reason for me to stay.” Erin waved Cara away.

  He should have known she’d pull the stubborn routine. Despite trying to push her away, he was grateful she wasn’t listening. He didn’t want to deal with doctors by himself, let alone Jed. Hell, he didn’t want to deal with the realities inherent with his father being so ill.

  Cara glanced back and forth between them. “Well, given the choice between hanging out with you two and all these outdated magazines”—she pointed to the dog-eared glossies on the table—“or going home to my husband . . . easy choice. And you’ll be safer with Cole,” she muttered.

  “What’s that mean?” Cole asked.

  Cara pulled him into an unexpected hug. “Take care. And I hope your dad’s okay,” she said, backing away just as quickly.

  Cole was glad. Hugs and emotion from Cara were as unfamiliar as the panic coursing through him.

  “Okay, you two, I’m gone,” Cara said.

  He nodded. “Drive safely.”

  “Will do. And one of you call me when you have news.”

  “Sure thing,” Erin promised. She glanced at Cole. “Well? Let’s go find the doctor.”

  He shook his head. “Hold up.” There was something they needed to discuss first.

  “What is it?” She looked up at him with guileless hazel eyes that, on top of Cara’s cryptic comment, Cole suddenly didn’t trust worth a damn. “You tell me.”

  Erin blinked. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Start with what Cara meant by you’ll be safer with me? Did something happen at Joe’s?”

  “Shouldn’t we be checking on Jed?” Erin started for the swinging double doors, but Cole pulled her back.

  He caught her around the waist, stilling any jittery movement. “Out with it. What happened?”

  “Well, I might have had a run-in with Victoria.” She winced as she said the words.

  All the blood running in Cole’s veins froze. “What?!”

  She forced herself to meet his gaze. “Okay, it’s like this. I ran into Evan when I was with Cara, and seeing how I haven’t been working but he saw me in a bar, I needed to explain. It was crowded and loud, so we stepped into the bathroom hall. Cara and Mike were within shouting distance. It was fine.”

  Cole cocked an eyebrow. “Somehow, I don’t think it was fine,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “But she got close to you,” he bit out.

  Erin ran her hand down his arm in an obvious effort to soothe him, but instead of calm, all he felt was frustration that he hadn’t been there to protect her.

  “Finish the story.”

  She sighed. “Evan and I argued—”

  “About what? The bastard was annoyed you were out?”

  She shook her head. “Not exactly.”

  He waited in silence.

  “Fine. He insulted you—again—so I told him you’d be in my life for the foreseeable future, seeing as how you were the father of my baby. And then I punctuated the point. Like this.” She pulled her loose top tight against her tiny baby bump. “See?” She shrugged.

  Cole stared at the little spitfire, trying not to laugh at Carmichael’s expense. Trying harder not to pull her into a hard kiss for defending him . . . yet again. He didn’t bother fighting the overwhelming admiration he felt for this woman, or the gratitude at how easily she stood up for him. Whether he deserved it or not.

  “Stop laughing.”

  He let his grin show. “I’m trying.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “What’d Carmichael do?” Cole asked.

  “He stormed off,”
she said, wincing at the memory. “And that’s when someone bumped me from behind.”

  Cole sobered. Only Erin could have him so distracted on so many different levels that he’d forget the reason they’d started this conversation to begin with. “What happened?”

  “Once she realized I knew her name, she got all excited that you’d obviously mentioned her to me. I tried to convince her we weren’t involved in any way, not anymore. She called me a liar. I didn’t want her to leave, so I tried to grab her hand, and when she pulled away, I screamed for Mike and Cara. They came immediately, but she’d run out the emergency door, and Mike couldn’t find her.” Erin spread her hands in front of her. “End of story.”

  Not by a long shot, Cole thought, his pulse pounding so hard he felt the beat in his left temple. Her brother and sister-in-law should have been a hell of a lot closer to Erin than they’d been, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Obviously that was what Cara meant when she’d said Erin was safer with him.

  “It happened fast,” Erin said, as if reading his mind. “In seconds, really. I never left anyone’s line of sight. I never figured I’d be alone—”

  “Because Carmichael was supposed to be right beside you.” Cole’s anger at the other man only grew. Her boss wasn’t her bodyguard, but the other man knew the seriousness of the situation, had been told Erin was in danger, and yet he’d let his ego over Erin’s pregnancy get in the way of his common sense.

  Erin touched his cheek, capturing his attention. “It’s all okay. I’m fine. She’s gone, but I’m here with you now, and we can focus on Jed. That’s what matters.”

  He drew in a calming breath. “You have a way of making me insane,” he muttered.

  She patted him on the shoulder. “Anything to keep you distracted from your problems.”

  He shook his head. “She shouldn’t have gotten close to you. She’s crazy. What if she’d had a knife on her?” He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost her that way. His hands clenched into fists.

  “Mr. Sanders?” A man in a white coat walked through the double doors.

  “Yes?” Cole strode over to meet the man, nerves suddenly jangling.

  No matter how much conflict existed between him and Jed, the man was his father. The only blood one he had, and dammit, the little boy in Cole still wanted the chance to make peace. Getting the other man’s approval might be asking for too much but he’d settle for a cease-fire, a cessation of hostilities and maybe even a permanent truce for the future. Especially since Jed was going to be his kid’s grandfather. There was no way Cole wanted his child to experience the kind of constant anticipation of disapproval or rejection from Jed that he had.

  As long as Jed had a future, Cole thought, and, heart in his throat, he faced the doctor to hear his father’s prognosis. A few minutes later, only one word stuck out in Cole’s mind.

  “Surgery.” Cole said the word out loud, but hearing it didn’t make it any more real.

  Quadruple bypass surgery, without which, according to the doctor, Jed would have another imminent heart attack, this one probably fatal. The doctor, an older gentleman with sparse gray hair, continued to explain the procedure to Cole and Erin.

  Cole vaguely heard him toss a lot of other medical terms around, but he didn’t hear everything. He couldn’t process all the details of how they’d crack open his father’s chest, use a heart and lung machine to keep him breathing during the procedure, without wanting to jump out of his skin. He thought instead about their strained, difficult relationship, and wished things could be different before his father went under the knife.

  Erin slipped her hand into Cole’s, and her warmth registered against his palm. She not only calmed him but she focused him too.

  He was able to concentrate more on what the doctor was saying, including Jed being a higher risk patient. “Your father has high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and has been suffering from anginal pain without reporting it to his doctors until the pain was so severe, he almost couldn’t call 911.”

  Cole sucked in a startled breath. Damn the stubborn man.

  The other man continued to run down the risks of the surgery for any patient, causing Cole to shut down again because he couldn’t let himself hear all the negative possibilities. Not if he was going to make it through the next however many hours.

  “So, all that said, your father’s prognosis is decent, once he wakes from surgery,” the doctor said, his words, as well as Erin’s hand squeeze, bringing him back once more.

  “When?” Cole managed to ask.

  “First thing tomorrow morning. The surgery lasts four to six hours, could be longer. In other words, tomorrow will be a long day. I suggest you go home tonight and get a good night’s sleep.”

  “I’d like to see him,” Cole said. He couldn’t imagine living with himself if anything happened on the table and the last words between them were Jed telling him he didn’t need him here.

  The other man frowned. “The nurses told me your last visit agitated him. He’s in a fragile physical state. If he works himself up again, we won’t need the OR,” the other man said with brutal honesty that Cole respected.

  “Fine.”

  “Wait.” Erin spoke up.

  “It’s okay,” he assured her. Whatever was best for Jed, that was what mattered now. Not Cole’s feelings.

  She shook her head. “Jed and Cole have a difficult relationship, but now Jed knows his condition, right? He knows he’s having surgery tomorrow?”

  The doctor nodded.

  “So ask him if he’s up to seeing his son. Better yet, let me ask him.”

  “Erin—” Cole said in a warning tone.

  “Shh. I’ve known him for years. He likes me, or usually does.” Neither Cole nor Erin mentioned she’d thrown him out of her house a few weeks ago. Even Jed wouldn’t hold that against Erin. But that didn’t mean Cole wanted Erin to try to sway Jed on his behalf. He hated the embarrassment caused not just by their dysfunctional relationship but by Jed’s assessment of his son’s failings.

  “Maybe knowing what he’s in for, Jed will want to talk to you.” Erin spoke in her softest, most understanding voice. Then she looked up first at Cole, then the doctor, with a sweet, imploring expression that probably had juries bending over backward to see things her way. Lord knew he couldn’t deny her anything. He was pretty sure she’d get Jed to see things her way.

  “Please let me go in?”

  Dr. Wilson, he’d said his name was, clutched his clipboard and smiled. “You’re persistent, Ms. . . .”

  “Marsden. Erin Marsden.”

  The other man’s eyes opened wide. “I know your father. His oncologist referred him to me when he was trying to decide on treatments for his cancer last year.”

  Erin wrinkled her brow. “Really?”

  This time Cole squeezed her hand, offering her comfort.

  “Some of the chemotherapy drugs can be hard on the heart. We often confer, go over a patient’s history and situation before they decide on a course of treatment.”

  Erin nodded in understanding. “My parents dealt with everything about the treatment and the cancer themselves. They kept us kids in the dark about specifics, but I do know dad’s in remission thanks to the care he received, so thank you.” She beamed at the other man, obviously recovering from her surprise. “And I’m sure Cole’s father will be getting the same type of excellent care.”

  “We’ll do our very best. Now, I’ll take you in to Jed so you can work the same magic on him you just did on me. If he agrees to a peaceful, quiet visit with his son, it’s fine with me.”

  Cole, well aware they were talking about him as if he weren’t there, knew he owed a debt of gratitude to the amazing woman by his side. No matter what his stubborn father ultimately decided.

  Sixteen

  Erin stopped in the doorway to Jed’s room, surprised by how frail the older man suddenly looked. The doctor had paved the way for Erin’s visit, so Jed was expecting her. She knoc
ked, and he turned his gaze from the window overlooking the parking lot.

  “Hey, there,” Jed said. “Doctor said you wanted to see me.”

  She nodded and walked up to him, pulling a chair beside the bed. “You’re still speaking to me after the way I threw you out of my house?” she asked with a quick smile.

  “I can’t hold a grudge against you, but you knew that or you wouldn’t have asked to come in. I take it you’re here with that son of mine?”

  Erin swallowed hard and nodded. “He’s worried about you. He came as soon as the hospital called him. He dropped everything to be here.”

  “He needn’t have bothered. I’m going to be fine.”

  His voice trembled, and Erin knew his words were more bravado than real belief. “I’m sure you are. But on the off chance we’re wrong, do you really want to leave Cole with things left unsaid? Or worse, with his last memory of you telling him you didn’t want him here?”

  Jed turned his head toward the window.

  “I don’t know why you feel the way you do about him, and I don’t want to know,” Erin continued. “That’s between the two of you. But I’m having your grandchild, and if you want a relationship with him . . . or her . . . you’re going to have to forge one with your son first. Think about that for a minute.”

  Only when she felt enough time had passed for Jed to use that brain of his, did she speak again. “Cole wants to see you before surgery. Based on your reaction last time, the doctor refused because your body can’t handle stress. Think you can manage to have a civil conversation with Cole?” Erin asked him.

  Being a stubborn mule, Jed remained silent. As a prosecutor, Erin was used to waiting out a pigheaded witness, so she remained quietly seated, determined to get the outcome she wanted.

  She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Jed finally turned to face her. “You’re gonna wait me out, aren’t you?” he asked.

  Erin only grinned. She was damned sure planning to try, but sensing that Jed was beginning to consider her request, she pushed a little more. “It would mean a lot to me if you talked to him.”

  The older man eyed her, staring at her longer than she felt comfortable enduring.