Page 98 of Hard Rock Heat

Damon stared at me. "Is that why?" He chuckled, loud and long. "Faith, you call that a tantrum? Shit." His cheeks spread wide. "I'm glad you never saw how pissy I acted around Hope when she first started dating my brother. I was like a five year old sulking over his toy being takenaway."

"Just because you act like that doesn't mean Ishould."

"Remember what I told you?" he said gently. "You don't have to be the mature one all thetime."

"Yes I do," I saidstubbornly.

A look of consternation crossed his face. He opened his mouth toargue.

My cell phone rang. I took it out of my pocket and put it to my ear, not bothering to apologize. I was at work. Technically Damon was the one interruptingme.

A woman's voice on the other side asked for me. I frowned, confused. Didn't she know this was my cellphone?

She continued speaking. My heart sank. My fingers went numb, phone nearly falling from my hand. The flush on my face faded, replaced by a cold, clammysensation.

Damon looked alarmed. "Faith, what thehell—?"

I lowered the phone. "It's my father." I hear myself speaking the words distantly. Something inside me didn't quite register them as real. "He's in the hospital." Tears pricked the back of my eyes. "I have to go. Now." I took in a shuddering breath, forcing back the tears. "Shit, the event starts in a fewhours."

Damon took me in his arms. He ran a soothing hand up and down my back. I lethim.

"It's okay. Don't think about that now." He turned his head. "Kat!" he yelledout.

"Yeah?" I heard her respond from across the stadiumfield.

"We've got to go," he hollered. "Think you can handle the event by yourselftonight?"

There was absolute silence.Then—

"Um. Sure. Yeah. Okay." Her voice trembled. "I can do that. Totally. I can totally do this. Yes. I can." Her voice steadied, sounding firmer, resolute. "You go do whatever you need to do. Don't worry. I've gotthis."

"Thanks Kat, owe you a million." Damon took me by the shoulders, making me look at him. Tears gathered along my lash line, but hadn't yet fallen. "We're going now.Okay?"

"Okay," I said in a small voice. "You don't have tocome—"

"Don't be silly," he said. "Of course I'm coming withyou."

The tears did fall then. Damon squeezed myhand.

"Let's go," he said. "I'll be right besideyou."

Chapter Thirty-One

"You should sit,"Damonsaid.

I paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. My fingers tapped against my hip in a rapid fire tempo. Damon tracked me with hisgaze.

"You're making me dizzy," headded.

"I hatehospitals."

The last time I'd been in one had been when my mom died. We'd been in the waiting room for hours as they operated on her, hoping, praying, wishing, only to be told by a doctor with a sympathetic face that he was sorry, but there was nothing they coulddo.

This time, I'd gotten a call from the mom of the kid next door who mowed the lawn. All I'd been told was Dad had fallen down the stairs and had been found unconscious. So here I was again, back at a hospital, waiting fornews.

Damon stood, intercepting me as I whirled around on my heel, changing direction yet again. He took my hands inhis.

"Sit," he urged. "Pacing won't make the doctor come anyfaster."