Page 46 of Keep My Heart (The Haydon Falls #1)

Nick

‘Hey, I just got off the plane,’ I say, answering Sawyer’s call as I walk through the airport terminal. It’s crowded and loud and hard to hear.

‘You need to get back here.’

‘What was that?’ I hold the phone closer to my ear. ‘It sounded like you said I need to get back there.’

‘I did. You need to get back here. Now.’

‘Why?’ I stop. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Move out of the way!’ a guy yells at me as he goes around me.

I step to the side, dragging my suitcase with me.

‘It’s Dad.’

‘What about him?’ I feel my pulse racing, hearing the serious tone of Sawyer’s voice.

‘Dad had a heart attack.’

‘Wait—what? Is he okay?’

‘We don’t know yet. He was having chest pains and trouble breathing so Mom called for an ambulance. He just got to the hospital. The paramedics think it was a heart attack, but we need a doctor to tell us for sure.’

‘Fuck.’ I rub my jaw, a thing I do when I’m trying to think. ‘I’ll see if I can get a flight. I’ll get the next one out.’

‘Let me know when it gets in and I’ll meet you at the airport.’

‘I’ll have Matt get me. You need to be at the hospital with Mom. Are you there now?’

‘Yeah, I’m outside the ER. Mom’s in there filling out paperwork.’

‘Where’s Jason and Brody?’

‘They’re on their way.’

‘Go be with Mom. She’ll tell you she’s fine, but you and I both know she’s freaking out.’

‘Yeah, I’m heading in there now.’

‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’ I end the call and race through the airport to one of the ticket counters. ‘I need a flight to Haydon Falls, Wisconsin.’

The woman types on her computer for what seems like forever. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t think they have an airport.’

‘You’re right. Sorry. I’m not thinking straight. I meant Madison.’

She types some more, then nods. ‘I have one leaving tomorrow morning at five.’

‘I need to be there tonight. Try Milwaukee.’

After what seems like an hour of her typing, she shakes her head. ‘Everything’s booked. The soonest I could get you a seat would be tomorrow morning.’

Shit. I can’t get there tomorrow. Dad could be dead by then. He better not fucking die. I’m not ready to lose my dad. I need more time with him.

‘What about Chicago?’ the woman asks. ‘I have a seat open on a flight that leaves in an hour.’

‘Yes. I’ ll take it.’ I give her my credit card. The ticket will probably cost me a few thousand dollars, but I don’t care. I have to get home.

Ten minutes later, I’ve got my boarding pass and am heading to the gate, trying to calculate when I’ll get there. Chicago’s at least a two-hour drive from Haydon Falls, more with traffic, and I’ll have to rent a car.

I text Sawyer and tell him I’m flying into Chicago and give him an estimate of when I’ll be there.

Call Uncle Mitch, he texts back. Mom was just on the phone with him. He’ll give you a ride .

I’m so out of it I wasn’t even thinking of my uncle. He lives in Chicago and wouldn’t think twice about picking me up and driving me to Haydon Falls. He’s probably going there anyway to be with my mom.

I call him up, but his phone goes straight to voicemail. I call his home number, knowing he still has a landline.

‘Hello?’ It sounds like Nash answering, not Uncle Mitch.

‘Hey, it’s Nick. Is this Nash?’

‘Yeah, hey, I just heard about your dad. We’re heading up there soon.’

‘All of you?’

‘Yeah. Dad’s at the gas station, filling up the truck. I’ll follow behind him in mine. Bryce and Austin are going with Jake.’

It must be serious if they’re all going. I’m afraid to call my mom to find out.

‘Hey, could one of you stick around and give me a ride? I’m taking the next flight out to Chicago. I couldn’t get anything closer.’

‘Yeah, of course. I’ll stay behind. It’ll give me a chance to check on our job sites before I go.’

‘Thanks. I’ll send you the flight information.’

‘Did you just get back to New York?’

‘Yeah, I’m still at the airport. I was getting off the plane when Sawyer called. I haven’t talked to my mom yet. I’m kind of afraid to.’

‘Dad talked to her a few minutes ago.’

‘Did she say how my dad’s doing?’

‘She said they haven’t told her anything yet.’

I blow out a breath. ‘I’m fucking scared, Nash. I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready to lose him.’

‘Hey, don’t be thinking like that. You gotta try to stay positive. Your dad isn’t that old and he’s been healthy up until now. He could make it through this.’

‘I keep telling myself that, but look what happened to your mom. Aunt Barb was younger than my dad.’

Nash’s mom died of a heart attack a few years ago.

We were all shocked when it happened. I still can’t believe she’s gone.

She and my mom were close, more like real sisters than sister-in-laws.

When I was growing up, Aunt Barb and Uncle Mitch would drive up with their boys to see us several times a year.

We’d drive down to Chicago to see them too, but it was more fun for them to come to the orchard where all us boys could run around outside.

‘You can’t compare the two,’ Nash says. ‘You don’t know what’s going on with your dad. You need to wait to hear from the doctor.’

‘Yeah, you’re right.’

‘What time does your flight leave?’

‘Less than an hour. We should be boarding soon.’

‘You want me to stay on the phone with you?’

‘No, I’ll be okay. I need to make some calls. Thanks for doing this. I’ll see you soon.’

‘Nick, we’re family. You don’t have to thank me. Whatever you need, just ask. ’

An announcement blares from the speaker above me.

‘Sounds like we’re boarding now. I just sent you the flight info.’

‘Got it. See ya, Nick.’

It’s good I’ll be riding home with Nash. I like talking to him, and he’s been through this with his mom so he understands how I’m feeling.

As I get in line to board the plane, I check my phone and see that Lyndsay called a few times but didn’t leave a message. She’s probably wondering why she hasn’t heard from me. I was going to call her when I got off the plane, but then Sawyer called and everything went to hell.

I call her, but her phone goes straight to voicemail. I leave a message. ‘Hey, it’s Nick. I need to talk to you. Call me when you get this.’

I don’t want to tell her about my dad over the phone, especially when I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe it wasn’t a heart attack. Maybe it was just chest pain caused by stress or indigestion. I hope that’s all it was, but I’m worried it’s more serious than that.

Knowing I can’t keep avoiding it, I call my mom, telling myself to be strong for her and stay positive.

‘Hey, Nick,’ Jason answers.

‘What are you doing with Mom’s phone?’

‘She gave it to me in case someone called. She’s in the hospital talking to the nurse. We’re not supposed to use cell phones in there.’

‘Any word on Dad?’

‘Not yet, but from what the nurse said, it sounds like a heart attack.’

‘But we don’t know how bad?’

‘No. Hey, when are you getting here? I know we’re all grown now, but we all kind of look to you to take over when shit like this happens. Sawyer’s already freaking out about who’s going to take care of the orchard.’

‘Can Brody help?’

‘Yeah, but this is his busiest time of year. He’ll have to either cancel on people or try to hire some help really fast.’

‘And I’m guessing you can’t get out of your teaching contract.’

‘I could, but I don’t know who they’d get to replace me. And at night I have to coach, but I could try to get out of that.’

‘Don’t do anything yet. Give me some time to think. We’ll figure something out. Tell Mom I’ll be there later tonight. I could only get a flight into Chicago. Nash is driving me up.’

‘Okay. I need to get back in there. We’ll let you know if we have any updates.’

He ends the call and I scroll through my phone to my boss’ number. I don’t like calling him on the weekend, but he wouldn’t think twice about calling me, so I shouldn’t feel bad about it.

‘Nick,’ he answers. ‘This is a surprise. I thought you were on the farm this weekend.’ He laughs. He thinks it’s funny I grew up on an orchard. He makes fun of me for it, even going so far as calling me Farmer Nick when he introduces me to new people joining the firm.

‘I’m in New York now, but I’m heading back. My father had a heart attack.’

‘Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.’

‘I need to take some time off. Probably all of next week, depending on how things turn out with my dad.’

‘Nick, you just made partner. You can’t take a week off. You have responsibilities, and you’re already behind on your work. I’m still waiting for you to give me the Feinstein contract to review.’

‘I’ll do what I can while I’m gone, but I can’t promise you anything. My first priority is my dad and my family. ’

‘Your father will be fine. Men have heart attacks all the time. My father’s had two and the old man’s still around. Don’t you have all those brothers? Why can’t they be with him?’

I’m furious that he’s acting like this isn’t serious or important. My father is sick. He could be dying. At a time like this, I don’t care about my stupid job.

‘I need to be there,’ I tell him.

‘Then I expect you to still do your work. I need that contract done by tomorrow.’

‘It’s not going to happen. It’s only partially done and I need more than a few hours to finish it. You’ll just have to get it when it’s ready. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do.’

He clears his throat. ‘Perhaps it was a mistake making you a partner. You don’t seem ready for the job.’

‘I’m more than capable of doing the job, but I’m not choosing work over my family at a time when they need me.

I’m sorry if you don’t agree with that, but this is what I have to do.

I’ll do what I can on the contract and send it to you when it’s ready.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.’ I end the call before he can fire me.

I don’t think he will, but he might if I don’t get back there soon.