Page 32 of The Sinner's Son
Eddie held up his hands in surrender. “Are you really going to be a daddy?” His gruff voice was soft and full of wonder.
“Sawyer and I are expecting a baby in February, thanks to our amazing friend Kelsey. We haven’t told anyone else, so you have to act surprised when we make our big announcement at the Keys’ Labor Day party.”
“I can do that.” Eddie reached over and settled an enormous hand on his shoulder. “I’m so damn proud of you.”
Royce looked over at his dad and smiled. “And I’m proud of you, so you better not die.”
Eddie coughed, then released a loud belch that rattled the windows and stunk up the car.
Royce waved the stench away from his face. “What the hell is that coffee made of? Napalm?”
“Feels like it,” Eddie said, pressing against his sternum.
“I think that shit singed off my eyebrows.”
“You’re fine, pretty boy,” Eddie said. “And I feel better now. I don’t think I need to go to the hospital.”
“Too late,” Royce said as he turned into the facility’s parking lot. He followed the signs for the ER and stopped outside the double doors. “Go on inside and register. I’ll be in as soon as I find a parking spot.”
Eddie grumbled something in response when he reached for the door.
“Don’t you dare think about sneaking off. I’ll tell Jo.”
“Fine.”
Eddie shut the door, and Royce drove off once his father entered the building. He thought about calling Sawyer as he searched for a parking spot, but Eddie’s life didn’t seem inperil. Royce would reach out to him after the staff evaluated Eddie instead of upsetting Sawyer over something that could be a severe case of acid reflux brought on by drinking panther piss at the hardware store. He applied the same logic to Jo. Eddie wouldn’t want to upset her unless there was something to worry about. He exited the car and hurried to the ER before Eddie could escape. Royce found his dad at the registration desk, charming the pretty clerk.
The young brunette smiled and shook her head at whatever Eddie had said. “The next signature is your consent for treatment.”
Eddie scrawled his name on the electronic pad and tilted his head toward Royce. “He’s making me do it.”
The clerk smiled. “I’m sure he has good reasons.”
Luckily, they didn’t have to sit in the waiting room for very long. A petite nurse with blonde hair and green eyes offered Eddie a kind smile before showing him back to an evaluation room. She ran through a series of questions as she checked his vitals.
“Your heart is beating nice and steady now,” she said.
The old Eddie would’ve made a lecherous remark, but this new version of his father interacted appropriately with the pretty nurse.
She pulled the stethoscope from her ears after listening to his lungs. “The doctor will be in soon. She’ll probably want to run tests just to make sure you didn’t experience a mild heart attack. We’ll try not to drag this out too long.”
Two hours later, Dr. Hannah White confirmed Eddie had suffered a severe acid reflux attack, but they found other concerning issues. They suspected an ulcer had formed in his stomach and recommended additional testing. He also had a slightly inflamed gallbladder and elevated liver enzymes he couldn’t ignore.
“Your symptoms and test results aren’t severe enough to admit you,” she said, then provided a list of symptoms that would require his immediate return. “I’m going to write prescriptions for medications that you need to start immediately, and you need to follow up with your primary care physician. I’m also referring you to a gastroenterologist, but the best thing you can do right now is to take your meds and eat very mild foods.” She made some suggestions of things he should eat before laying out a long list of things he needed to stay away from. “I know it’s overwhelming, but I’m going to send you home with some information that will help.”
“Okay,” Eddie said, sounding dejected and looking overwhelmed. “It sounds like I can’t eat anything that tastes good.”
“Well, Sawyer Locke will fix you right up. He knows all the best things to eat and knows tricks to make them taste better.”
Eddie cocked his head to the side. “He took our last name?”
Warmth bloomed in Royce’s chest as he nodded. “He still goes by Key professionally, but he’s all mine in every way that matters.”
“I know it’s short notice, but do you think he’d mind if I came over tonight and got some tips?” Eddie asked.
“We’d love that. Bring Jo. We can eat healthy food that mostly tastes good and relax at the pool.”
Eddie chuckled and shook his head. “You’re not much of a salesman, son. ‘Mostly tastes good’ isn’t a very good marketing pitch.”