Page 63 of A Case of You

“Buddy, stop and try to clear your head. If your dad was going to blow up at you, he would have done it when you and Brandon showed up at their house unannounced. And he didn’t. Did he?”

“No.” In fact, his parents had surprised him by their reactions.

“See? Please try to logic this out in your head, okay?”

He blew out a long breath. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, buddy. Put Master back on, please.”

Perfect timing, because Brandon had just emerged from the bathroom to wash his hands. “He wants to talk to you again, Master.” Then he headed into the shower to get started. It was a little after seven local time, and he wanted to go see his father.

The irony that he nowwantedto go see his dad didn’t escape him.

* * * *

Late Sunday afternoon, Stuart’s mom hugged him. “What time you flying out tomorrow?”

He glanced at Brandon, because he hadn’t had a chance to talk to him about this. “I was thinking about delaying my flight.”

“Why?”

Stuart blinked. “Why?”

“Why?”

“Um, Mom, Dadjusthad a heart attack.”

“And he’ll be in a regular room tonight. Discharged in a couple of days. You heard them.”

He stared at Brandon for advice. Brandon only arched an eyebrow at Stuart and cocked his head.

Stuart took a deep breath. “Won’t you need my help or…something?”

She placed her hands on his shoulders. “He’s not dying. Lara said so, too. I think they know better than we do.”

Robert had come back to the hospital while his wife had stayed home with their kids.

Jake had not returned.

“It’s okay, Stu,” Robert told him. “Eileen and John are here for a few days yet. It’s all right. You have a job to get back to. We’ll keep you posted.”

“I can ask for time off.”

His mom shook her head. “They’re depending on you. Now, if things were not looking good, I’d feel differently. But you heard the nurse. He was fussing at her for not letting him have coffee and bacon this morning. That isnota man on death’s door.”

“But…last night. He almost died.”

“I almost died a couple of months ago when the truck in front of me lost a hay bale and I had to swerve to avoid it. You think you needed to come home for that?”

“That’s different, Mom!”

“No, it’s not.” She pointed at Brandon. “You understand what I’m saying?”

He nodded. “I do, ma’am.”

“I’mnottrying to run you off, Stu. Honey, like I keep tellin’ you, I love you. Differences of opinion aside, if I thought youneededto be here, I’d tell you. If I think he’s going downhill and you need to come back, I’ll tell you that, too. If Eileen and John had to leave tomorrow, I would be saying the same thing to them. Or to Robbie, here. It’s okay.”

It still didn’t feel…right.