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“Me, too.”

“How did this happen? I always thought Dad had a perfect bill of health.”

“I don’t know. We had just gotten home from Mass, and he was going to work on his crossword puzzles out on the patio. I went to check on him a little later and found him slumped over the table.”

“Oh, Mom.” Elena’s heart broke for her mother. She couldn’t imagine how that must have been.

“I called the ambulance, and they rushed him into surgery. They put a stent in but said they’d need to do a few more tests to make sure there’s no more damage. But they’re hopeful he’ll make a good recovery.”

“Good. That’s good.”

“It is.” Adele stood and walked around to the other side of the bed. She sat her coffee cup down and squeezed his arm. “You know, other than when I was having babies, we’ve never been in the hospital. We never talked about what would happen if one of us…”

Her voice trailed off as she brushed tears from her eyes.

“Make sure you and Skylar talk about it.”

Despite how morbid the idea may be, Elena knew it came from a place of love. And it wasn’t lost on Elena that her mother had acknowledged them as a serious couple. Her conversation with Skylar must have gone well.

Another knock on the door was followed by Skylar entering the room. She had her hands tucked into the pocket of her tight black jeans and walked over to Elena. As she massaged Elena’s shoulders, Elena realized how comforting the simple gesture was. Elena smiled up at Skylar.

“I heard you and Mom had a good talk.”

“We both agreed you’re a stubborn ass.”

“Skylar,” Adele scolded as she busted out laughing, “I said stubborn mule.”

“Same thing.” She laughed as Elena enjoyed the sound.

“Elena’s not an ass.” Her father’s quiet voice was followed by a cough as he slowly opened his eyes, and his grip tightened on Elena’s hand. All three of them turned their attention to him. “She’s headstrong, just like me.”

“We agreed on that, too.” Adele laughed as she leaned down and kissed Felix’s lips. “You’re awake.”

“I am. What time is it?”

“It’s after two in the morning.”

Felix groaned. “I should go back to bed.”

“We’ll leave you alone so you can rest, Dad.” Elena went to let go of his hand, but Felix didn’t let go. She made eye contact with him and smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise.”

“I don’t want you to go without knowing that I heard you.” He didn’t have to clarify what he’d heard. “I’m old, but I can try to understand this. Maybe Skylar can take me fishing sometime so we can talk.”

“Absolutely,” Skylar nodded as she wrapped her arms around Elena’s waist from behind and pulled her close. “I’d love to take you out on my boat sometime.”

“It’s a plan.”

His eyes were heavy, and he slowly drifted back to sleep. Elena gently let go of his hand as they left the room and went out into the hallway. All the time, Skylar kept her arm around her waist.

“Do you all have a place to stay tonight?”

“We do. Riley got us a hotel.”

Adele nodded. “Okay. Good.”

“We’ll stop back by in the morning. We don’t have to leave right away, so we can stay for a bit.”

“Thank you for being here.”