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“I knocked. You didn’t answer, and I knew you were home.”
I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes. “Dad. I’m twenty-five years old. If I don’t answer my door, there’s no need to let yourself in. I could have been taking a shower.”
He holds his hands up. “Sorry for being a concerned father. You’ve been moping around ever since that boy left and it worries me. I heard you received a letter today, and I thought…”
I gasp. “Does anyone mind their own damn business on this island?” Mama Doe would never have said something to my father. So, who did? “I’m fine. And yes, the letter was from Ryker.” The letter is personal and I’m not about to tell him what it said.
His gaze jumps to where the letter is hiding and back up to me. “I was also coming to tell you I’m seeing Dr. Patel for a follow-up. Last week I got an MRI, and he says the news isn’t good.”
Guilt and sadness pulls at my heart and I rush to him, forgetting the last couple minutes. “Dad. You didn’t tell me you were feeling bad again.” I look him up and down as if I’ll see the cancer. “Please, let me come to the appointment with you this time,” I plead.
“I don’t want you to hear this stuff.”
He never does. He’s only allowed me to one appointment. The first one where he was told he had cancer. Since then, he demands that I let him deal with it. But Ryker’s questions about his cancer have me curious. I should know more.
“I don’t care,” I say, squaring my shoulders, readying for a fight. “I’m coming.”
He stays silent for a beat and then sighs. “Okay. It’s next Monday at ten.”
I don’t question why Dr. Patel is waiting a whole week. I just nod and flash a warm smile. “It’ll be all right, Dad. I’m here for you.”
Wrapping my arms around his thin body, I cherish the hug, knowing a time will come when I can only dream about these moments. “You’ve done so great at your cookie business, I don’t want you to turn your focus away from that,” he whispers into my hair. His over six-foot frame towers over my five foot two one. I wish I had gotten some of his height.
I dig my head into his chest. “Nothing is more important than you.”
Even Ryker.
I won’t be taking him up on his offer. Being here for my dad is my top priority.
“Thank you, honey.” He pulls away from me and steps off my porch. “Can you make me some of your famous red velvet cookies? It’ll make me feel a lot better.” His fanatical smile makes me laugh. I’d make him anything he asked for.
* * *
“Girl, you’re making a great mistake. This is your chance to explore.” Mama Doe says, whipping out the sheet so it’ll fall flat on the bed. After my delivery this morning, the girls at the front said she was looking for me.
I tuck in a side, helping. “He’s sick. I can’t leave.” At my dad’s appointment, a few days ago, we found out his cancer has come back. But it’s a slow-growing cancer. The treatments the doctor talked about have a high success rate.
“Pshh,” she says, waving me off. “He’s not going to die anytime soon.”
My eyebrows cock up in surprise. “You don’t know that. What if something happened to him while I was gone?” I would never forgive myself.
“He doesn’t even act sick, child. I’ve seen men on their deathbed. Your dad is not. I saw him on his fishing boat this morning.”
I ignore her, tucking in the sheets with a little too much force. She doesn’t understand. He’s fishing because that’s his lifeline. It makes him happy. I glance up at her after tucking the corner in. “Did you tell him I got a letter?”
The pillow she was fluffing plops on the bed. “Aspen, do you need to ask me that?” No. Of course she didn’t. She might be everyone’s Mama Doe, but she’s so much more than that to me. She took me under her wing when I was a teenager and helped me in areas my dad wasn’t able to. Like the day I got my period and my “I’ll always be here for you” dad walked out of the room with a pale face and brought me Mama Doe instead. She’s my adopted mom.
I sit on the bed and exhale heavily, hating that I’m second-guessing everyone. “I figured it wasn’t you.”
She fluffs the other pillow and fixes them at the head of the bed. “The ears on this island can hear whispers.” That’s the truth. After a long pause, she adds, “You can be back in a day. If something was to happen to Rudy, I could call the boy to get in touch with you.”
I push off the bed, and she grumbles, coming up behind me to fix the tousled corner where I was sitting. Standing in the threshold that leads out to the private patio, I blindly stare out to the water. Am I stupid for not going?
If I go with the attitude that it’s nothing more than a trip to help me plan my future, and seeing Ryker is just a bonus, then I won’t be setting myself up for disappointment when I come home. I shake my head at my thoughts. Don’t be stupid, Aspen. You said that last time.
* * *
“You’re not going.”
