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“I heard that.”
I turn to face Dad. “Good, because it wasn’t a secret. You, yourself, have admitted you can be ornery.”
His lips twitch beneath his beard. “Get your ass over here and give your old man a hug.”
I walk over, and before he can attempt to sit up, I lean down to him. It makes me feel marginally better that his grip around my shoulders is still strong.
“I told your mom to leave you be with this. I know you’ve got a tour coming up and have more important things to worry about,” he says once I pull back. “For some reason, she thinks this is worse than what the doctors say it is. It’s a simple repair to one of the valves.”
I lean a hip on the side of the bed. “You should be used to this by now. It’s her job to worry about you, Dad. Just let her do her thing.”
Mom harrumphs and shoots Dad a told you so look.
“And I’ve got news for you.” I lean down, giving him eyes that look exactly like his. “There’s nothing more important than your health. So shut your trap about me having more important things to worry about.”
Before he can respond, the doctor walks in to check on Dad. Parker and I move to the end of the bed. Mom stays beside him while the doctor explains what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’m sure this isn’t the first time they’ve been told what the procedure entails, but Mom listens intently. I listen as well, glad to know first-hand what to expect. Like Dad said, the procedure seems pretty simple and mildly invasive. The surgery is expected to be about two hours and if everything goes according to plan, Dad will only be in the hospital for a week afterward.
After hearing the doctor explain everything, my worry lessens. Obviously, there are complications that could arise during surgery, but the doctor seems pretty confident all will go well.
Once the doctor leaves the room, I step back from the bed and pull my phone from my pocket. I check the message that came through while the doctor was talking. I smile when I look down at the picture and the message attached to it.
My Stalker: Glad you made it there safely. Miss you already.
The picture she sent is of her lying in bed wearing one of my band shirts. She must have stolen another one from me, because this one is different from the one she took from my hotel.
Me: I want you to sleep in that shirt tonight, so I know you’ll be dreaming about me.
“Sexting while you’re in Dad’s hospital room. Good one.”
I look up at Parker’s laughing eyes.
“Shut up,” I mutter.
He laughs. “Get it whenever you can, I guess.” He looks down at my phone. “She’s hot. Who is she?”
I glance at the picture again. “A girl I met in Silver Falls.”
She’s so much more than simply just a girl.
“From the look on your face when you look at her picture, I’d say she’s more than that,” Parker says, reading my thoughts.
“Yeah,” I murmur.
I just need to figure out exactly what Taylor is.
* * *
It’s beentwo and a half hours since they wheeled Dad back to surgery. Two and a half hours of waiting and worrying. For the last hour, I’ve been pacing the room. Mom’s sitting on one of the chairs, staring off into space with a cup of coffee between her hands, and Parker is currently standing by the window looking outside.
When I pass by Mom for the hundredth time, she grabs my arm. “Sit.”
I do as she says, taking the seat beside her. She deposits her mostly-empty coffee cup on the coffee table in front of us.
“Tell me about this girl Parker said you’re seeing.”
I’m surprised Mom’s waited this long to ask me about Taylor. But then again, her mind has been in turmoil over Dad, so I guess it’s to be expected. Now’s not really the time to talk about it, but I think we could both use the distraction.
“I met her in Silver Falls, the town I was visiting before I came home.”
“How long has this been going on? Did you know her before you went there?”
“No. She’s actually the sister of the owner of the PR firm Grey Water just signed on with. Her and Penelope, the owner, are part of quadruplets.”
Mom’s surprised gaze comes to me. “Quadruplets? Wow. That must be interesting.”
I chuckle. “You’d think so, huh? I’ve only met three of them, so I don’t know about the fourth sister, but the three I have met couldn’t be more different in personality.”
“How serious is this relationship with her?” she asks.
I blow out a breath and run a hand through my hair. “Honestly? I don’t know. It was hard leaving her, I do know that. And I miss her like crazy. She makes me laugh and keeps me on my toes. I never know what’s going to come out of her mouth, which is different from the women I’m used to. All the others say what they think I want to hear to try and get in the pants of a rock star.” I look at Mom. “But I don’t see how it could work. I live in San Diego. She’s in Florida.”
