My Way Back to You (Harlequin Large Print Super Romance)

by Pamela Hearon

  All the way home, they rehashed what the doctors had told them, with Eli filling in many of the gaps she’d missed. Some of the details were frightening, such as a blockage that had been in his heart so long it had created its own bypass. Others gave her some relief. If they hadn’t been avid walkers for all these years, he probably would’ve had a heart attack.

  Rosemary managed to keep her composure for the first few minutes at home as her eyes followed Eli all the way to the machine shop. Then she made her way to the privacy of their bathroom, locked the door and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

  She cried until she’d let out as much of the frustration and fear as she could push to the surface right then. There was plenty more in the recesses, awaiting its time.

  She rinsed her face with cold water until the majority of the redness and swelling were gone. Then she went in search of her phone to call Maggie and tell her the news.

  * * *

  “GOOD LORD, WHEN did you get so stodgy?”

  Maggie shook her head in feigned disgust at the shocked look she’d brought to Jeff’s features.

  “I’m not stodgy.” His tone was both amused and defensive. “But, if we get caught—”

  “We’re not going to get caught, Jeff.” She cupped her hand to the bulge her suggestion had created in his golf shorts. “You saw the course marshal wave to us back on seventeen. He was headed the other direction. And that foursome behind us is so slow we’d have to set stakes to make sure they’re moving.”

  Jeff glanced around from the golf cart where they sat, obviously checking out the layout of the cart path leading up to the eighteenth tee box, which sat atop a high hill. A pergola-type structure with flowering vine-covered latticework for sides had been built at the base of the hill, probably to give shade to those having to wait to tee off, as well as protection from wild drives. He wiped a hand across his eyes and grinned. “You should’ve been a lawyer. You make a persuasive argument.”

  She could tell he was starting to relent, so she used the advantage and pressed the point home. “C’mon. It won’t take long, and it will feel so good.” She added a sexy moan to her voice. “My mouth...mmm.”

  Jeff’s laugh, the way he responded to her—had been responding to her for the past two days—was giving her a heady feeling of power. She unbuttoned the waistband of his shorts and had the zipper down halfway when her phone vibrated against her thigh.

  Her first instinct was to ignore it, but it might be Russ. She pulled the phone from her pocket to check the ID. “Mom,” she read, and started to slide it back to its resting area.

  “Take it.” Jeff buttoned his shorts and zipped back up. “We’ll save this for later.”

  “Chicken,” she taunted as she removed the phone from her pocket again and swiped the screen. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hi, darlin’.” Mom’s voice sounded thick. “Have I...” She cleared her throat. “Have I caught you at a bad time?”

  Jeff took advantage of the quiet electric cart and continued on up the path toward the tee box.

  “Just trying to do a few things here I can’t do at home.” She flashed him a wicked grin when her answer drew a shake of his head and a low chuckle.

  “Well, I thought I better call and tell you about a situation we have here.”

  Maggie felt her smile fade. A situation usually meant a death or a fire in Taylor’s Grove. “What’s happened?” Her tone garnered Jeff’s attention, eyes full of question.

  “Your dad was having chest pains last night, and we went to the ER at Baptist, but his EKG was fine.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Not so good. He had a stress test this morning. They found three blockages and scheduled him for bypass surgery Monday.” Her mom rushed out the last words on one breath.

  Maggie’s hand flew to Jeff’s arm, gripping it tightly. “Dad’s having open-heart surgery Monday?” The golf cart jostled to a stop.

  Her mom’s long breath whispered of despair. “Yeah.”

  “Oh, Mom.” Maggie’s heart beat to the rhythm of her rising panic, each pulse pushing a new question to the front of her mind. “Has this been going on long? Why hasn’t he said something?”

  “He evidently noticed a pain when he lifted Mabel’s casket last week, but he thought he’d pulled a muscle. Then last night when we were walking, he had pain going uphill but not coming down, so he figured he might have a problem.”

  “So, it’s been going on a week.” Frustration at her dad’s stubbornness tightened her jaws. “Is there any damage?”

  “No, he didn’t have a heart attack. They want to fix it before he does.”

  Maggie’s hope latched on to that bit of good news. “I guess that’s something.” She didn’t know when he did it, but Jeff’s arm was around her. She leaned into him, accepting the support and comfort he offered. “How’s Dad taking the news? Can I talk to him?”

  “He went out to the shop as soon as we got home. You know him. He’s acting like it’s nothing.”

  “Well.” Maggie turned toward Jeff, speaking as much to him now as to her mom. “I’m going back to the hotel and packing up. Then I’ll head home.” Jeff nodded in agreement and started the cart again.

  “It’s already late enough in the day that you wouldn’t get home until after dark.” That was true. Home was a nine-hour drive from where she was now. “And I don’t want to be worried about you on the highway by yourself. Just wait and come home tomorrow or Sunday. You can’t do anything here, anyway.”

  “Except be there if you need me...”

  The unspoken completion of that statement hung in the silence a couple of seconds before her mom answered in a shaky voice. “We’re gonna be fine, sugar.”

  “I know.” She hoped the conviction she’d forced into her own voice sounded genuine.

  “Please don’t hurry home. We’ll just see you when you get here.”

  “Okay. Give Dad hugs. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Love you.” Maggie ended the call and slumped back into the seat. “Guess you heard.”

  Jeff nodded. “Did he have a heart attack?”

  “No.” She filled him in on the details as they followed the cart path back to the clubhouse and turned everything in.

  She handed Jeff the keys on the way to the car. “If you’ll drive, I’ll call Russ and let him know what’s going on.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. He should at least be aware...”

  Their eyes met across the top of the car and they nodded to each other before they got in. It was a little odd that, with everything they had argued about during their years together, they had always seen eye to eye when it came to their son.

  “Hey, Mom.” Russ sounded out of breath when he answered.

  “Hey, little man. You doing okay?”

  “Yeah. I love it up here. There’s so much to do.”

  Russ sounded happy, which lifted her spirit some. And, although she wanted to have a long conversation and hear all about his doings, right then she needed to deliver her news and get it over with. “I need to tell you about Grandpa.” She went through the scenario again, answering his questions and making a point of staying upbeat.

  “I’m gonna talk to Coach, and tell him I need to come home.”

  Russ and his grandpa were very close—she’d worried he’d want to rush to his side. “No, Russ. I don’t want you to do that.” She firmed up her voice. “You just got there. I mean, you’re hardly even settled in yet, and there’s nothing you can do at home except sit at the hospital. I’ll call you and keep you informed of everything that’s going on.”

  He paused. “Are you okay? There at the house all by yourself?”

  Of course. He thought she was back in Taylor’s Grove. “Yeah. I’m good.” Not exactly a lie. “But I don’t think you should call Grandma and Gran
dpa just yet. They’re still pretty emotional. Maybe wait until Sunday?”

  A disgruntled sigh drifted through the phone. “Okay. But keep me posted.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  They said their goodbyes, and Maggie leaned her head back to relax for just a minute.

  Jeff’s phone rang, and he looked at the ID. “It’s Russ.”

  * * *

  JEFF PULLED MAGGIE’S SUV into a restaurant parking lot and stopped. He had to give his complete attention to this conversation to keep from giving away his and Maggie’s clandestine getaway.

  “Hey, Russ. What’s up?”

  “Hey, Dad. Mom just called and told me Grandpa is gonna have open-heart surgery.” His son’s tone was heavily laced with concern.

  “Wow. I’m sorry to hear that. When’s it scheduled for?”

  “Monday.” Russ paused, and Jeff waited. “I think I need to go home for it. I’m gonna go talk to Coach Brimley—”

  “I don’t think you should do that.” His words caused Maggie’s head to jerk toward him, eyes wide with concern and question. “Your first tournament next week is the one that will define your place on the team for this year. You need to be there.”

  “But, Dad—”

  “I know you’re concerned, son. But all you’d be doing would be sitting at that hospital for hours. This surgery has become pretty commonplace. It’s not nearly as scary as it sounds.”

  “I know. But it’s still dangerous and Grandpa’s old—”

  “He’s only...what? Sixty-five or sixty-six?”

  “That’s old, Dad. And something could happen.”

  Of course, sixty-five sounded ancient to their son. Jeff remembered when it had sounded ancient to him. “Nothing’s going to happen, Russ.”

  “You can’t be sure. We didn’t think anything would happen to Zeke, either. But it did.”

  Wow. When had his son become so grown-up? So knowledgeable about life...and death? “I need to be there for Mom.”

  Jeff gave Maggie an everything-will-be-okay nod. “Your mother will be fine.”

  “You didn’t see her after Zeke died.” Russ’s tone was all mature man, sure of himself and with a take-charge attitude. “She took it hard, and it made her...different. She needs somebody besides Grandma around if something happens to Grandpa.”

  So even Russ could tell something changed with Zeke, though he’d evidently never let on to Maggie. It seemed so unfair that his son had to take on the responsibility of supporting his mom during that kind of crisis. Somebody else should have taken that burden off the then fifteen-year-old.

  Jeff’s heart squeezed. He should have been there for his son and the boy’s mother.

  Well, he hadn’t been. But he could make up for that, at least in part...and garner a few more days with Mags in the process. “Tell you what. You know I’m in Lake Geneva, right?” He’d told Russ all about his plans when he’d made them.

  “Yeah.”

  “How about I extend my vacation a few more days, and I’ll go down to Kentucky and take your place?”

  “You’d do that?” Russ sounded pleased, but Maggie leaned away from Jeff, shaking her head in protest and giving him a look that said he’d taken leave of his senses.

  “It’s the least I can do. I wasn’t there when you needed me after Zeke’s death, but I can be there for you now. I’ll be like your representative, keep you abreast of everything.”

  “That would be so cool, Dad.” Relief gave Russ’s voice a boyish tinge once again—the way it should be. “You should totally call Mom. I’ll bet she’d let you stay with her. I mean, the house is huge.”

  Jeff could barely keep from holding back the chuckle. “Yeah, well, I’ll talk to her, and we’ll see if she offers.”

  Maggie must have known what he was referring to. She rolled her eyes and gave her head a shake of resignation.

  “Okay. Well, I feel better, knowing you’re gonna be there. Guess I’ll stay here, after all.”

  “Good decision.”

  “Want me to call Mom and warn her you’re gonna call her?”

  “No. A warning might give her too much time to think about it.” He reached over and took Maggie’s hand, giving her a smile. “I think it’d be better if I just talk to her myself.”

  “’Kay. Good luck. Call me.”

  “I will. Love you.”

  “You, too. Bye, Dad.”

  Jeff ended the call, then pinned Maggie with a direct look. “So...how would you feel about having a houseguest for a few days?”

  He wasn’t sure if the heavy sigh that pressed through her lips was pleasure or frustration.

  Maybe a mixture of the two.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ONE MINUTE MAGGIE was having fun on the golf course with her ex-husband, and the next minute her world was careening out of control.

  Actually, it wasn’t completely out of control. It was simply out of her control and in the hands of Jeff Wells. How had he managed that? With hardly even a nod in her direction, he’d promised Russ he would be there for her dad’s surgery, invited himself into her home, changed his flight to Wednesday and called and arranged with his dad to have a few more days off.

  “You’re not mad at me, are you, Mags?” He pulled back onto the road.

  Oh, so now he was concerned about her feelings on the matter?

  “I’m not really mad. I’m stunned. I’m confused. I’m upset about Dad. I...I really don’t know how I feel.” She massaged her temples, which felt good but did nothing to help sort out her feelings. Jeff in Taylor’s Grove. Staying at her house. This would be the biggest news to hit the town since Ollie Perkins came out of the closet last year.

  “I can stay at a hotel if you’d prefer.”

  Was he a freaking mind reader? “It’s not that I mind you staying at the house, Jeff.”

  “I need to make up for not being there for Russ—and for you—when Zeke died.”

  Her heart stuttered. “You think my dad is going to die?”

  “No, of course not.” He stole a quick glance her way. “Open-heart surgery is an everyday occurrence now. But it’s going to be an emotional time. You’ve acknowledged you’re upset. And your mom won’t be in any shape for you to lean on her. You need somebody.”

  “And I appreciate that. But, can you imagine all the talk it’ll stir up? Mom and Dad are already upset. Dad’s heart will blow, for sure, when he hears you’re staying with me. He’s liable to drag out his shotgun.”

  “Like he did the first time?”

  Maggie snorted at the old joke. “This time, he’ll be running you out of town.”

  “Just listen to me.” He brushed the back of his finger down her cheek. “Take away all the stuff that stems from other people. Do you want me to stay with you?”

  She considered that. “Well, yeah, maybe. I mean, you’re right that it’s not going to be an easy time to be alone.”

  He shrugged. “Then where I stay is nobody’s business. But I told Russ I’d be at the hospital for Eli’s surgery. That doesn’t broker discussion.”

  “Don’t use that tone with me, Jeff,” she snapped. “It’s my family we’re talking about. Everything about this situation is open for discussion, and you do not seem to be hearing me. So listen now. Mom and Dad won’t want you at the hospital. It’ll upset them further. You don’t even have a name to them when Russ isn’t around. You are the son of a bitch to Dad...and that’s when he’s being nice.”

  Jeff seemed unfazed by her revelation. “He just thinks Russ doesn’t hear it. It’s been a running joke between Russ and me since somebody at school told him what the term meant, but that’s beside the point. Your dad’s going to be knocked out, so there’s no way he’ll know who was there and who wasn’t, unless somebody tells him. If he fi
nds out after his heart is fixed, it shouldn’t make any difference. I mean, I don’t plan on going into his room and visiting him. I’m simply Russ’s stand-in during the longest hours.” He reached over and squeezed the hand lying in her lap. “And I want to be there for you, too.”

  “But tomorrow and Sunday...” She was thinking aloud. “I’ll have to go to Mom and Dad’s. And to church. People will come by.”

  “We’ll deal with that when and if it happens.”

  “Of course, we’ll have some warning.” She grasped for a positive. “I have an alarm system on the driveway.”

  “Why?” He chuckled. “You hide men often?” She could tell he was trying to lighten her mood, and, darn, if it wasn’t working.

  “Well, you never know when it might come in handy.”

  “Like this weekend.” He pointed to the empty stretch of highway in front of them. “Looks like all’s clear to me.”

  She leaned her head against the window, out of excuses. “You do have to admit, this is all pretty bizarre. I drop my son off at college, hook up with my ex, go with him on a one-day vacation, take him home with me during a family crisis and stow him away in my house like a wanted man.”

  “So I’m wanted now. Interesting.” He patted her leg. “Would you quit worrying? Things like this happen all the time in California.”

  “Pfft. Hollywood, maybe.” She shook her head.

  “Hollywood’s part of California.”

  She rolled her head in his direction. “You always make everything sound so simple.”

  “Nothing about life is simple.” He grinned and gave her a wink. “Life’s like eating an elephant, Mags. The only way to tackle it is one bite at a time.”

  “Got any steak sauce?” she asked.

  * * *

  “YOU DON’T SEEM YOURSELF, Rosemary.” Sue squinted and peered at her, chin buckled in question. “Is everything okay?”

  Rosemary wasn’t surprised Sue Marsden picked up on the discomforting vibes coursing through her. The woman could sniff out gossip faster than a bird dog on a covey of quail.