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I got up from my desk and walked over to Brooke to hug her. We hugged each other tightly too then smiled at each other.
“See you in about…” Brooke glanced at her watch. “An hour.”
“I’m looking forward to all of us getting together again. We’re all due a breather.”
I was the last one to arrive at Mystic Bar because my dad called me at 4:50 p.m. to tell me that he was going to have some tests run on his heart next week. It’d been fluttering on and off “for a while,” as he put it. I asked him why he hadn’t said anything to me about it before now. His reasoning was that he didn’t want to worry me.
I offered to drive to Austin to go with him to get the tests done but he told me that he’d be fine. I didn’t like the thought of him going alone, though. Not for something like that. I was planning to talk to Brooke about taking off work for a couple ofdays so I could go with my dad but I didn’t say anything to him about it because I wanted to clear it with Brooke first.
I was walking toward the table where Zac, Bash, Brooke, and my comrades were all sitting with their drinks in hand, as well as a variety of appetizers spread out in front of them, when Brooke nodded in my direction. Zac looked over his shoulder, then immediately smiled at me and stood up.
“Hey, Sinclair,” he said as I made it to the table.
“Hey, Buchanan. Sorry I’m late, everyone. I got a call from my dad as I was getting ready to leave work.”
“Is he okay?” Brooke asked.
“Yeah. He’s just gotta have some tests run on his heart next week. I had no clue that it’s been fluttering. He didn’t tell me about it.”
“Because he didn’t wanna worry you.”
I chuckled. “That’s exactly what he told me.”
“He’s the parent, you’re his daughter.”
“Yeah, but I’m all he’s got,” I said, sitting down beside Brooke.
“Why don’t you go with him?”
“I was gonna ask you about doing that very thing.”
“We’ll hold the fort down while you’re gone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
I stared at Brooke, then looked around the table at the rest of my team.
“We’ve got you covered,” Jason said. “Don’t worry. Even Joan of Arc has to leave the battlefield every now and then.”
“But I don’t like leaving it.”
“But you’re going to,” Brooke insisted.I blew out a long sigh. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Are you ready for a Hendricks and tonic?” Zac asked me.
I looked at him, sitting in his usual spot across the table from me where we could be close to each other but not too close. Still close enough for me to feel his foot nudging mine underneath the table. And the private flirtations between us had just begun.
“I would love one. Actually, two shots of gin this time, please.”
Zac waved at our waitress and while he was giving her my drink order, Bash started talking to me.
“Doll, everything is gonna be okay with your dad. I can tell that you’re really worried about it.”
“It’s just that my dad has always been so healthy. Not one thing has ever been wrong with him. He eats really well, he’s active, he gets adequate sleep.”
“Sometimes genetics take the upper hand despite our efforts to live a healthy lifestyle. But with all the advances in medicine, I’d just take a deep breath if I were you and tell yourself that your dad is gonna be fine. Have faith.”
