“I know who you are, Ms. K.” I hoped I didn’t sound as rude as I felt, but it was midnight. “I’m guessing it’s something urgent that had you waking me up, so let’s dispense with the small talk and get straight to the point.”
“Your grandfather is in the hospital.”
I blinked. I had to have heard that wrong. I’d just seen him. “What?”
“Manfred – Mr. Hunter – was just taken to the hospital in an ambulance. You need to come right away.”
“I’m on my way.”
It didn’t occur to me to ask how she knew Grandfather had been taken away in an ambulance since I lived in the same house as him and hadn’t heard anything, but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. The important thing was that I needed to get there, and I dressed with an urgency I’d never felt before.
Not that it was serious. It couldn’t be. Grandfather was the healthiest person I knew. He ate right, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink to excess, exercised as best he could at his age, and had regular check-ups. Hell, he was hardly ever even sick. He wasn’t one of those old people who had to get flu shots and wear masks in public. My whole life, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen him sick enough to call off work, and I couldn’t recall a single time he’d been in the hospital.
Which meant this was just a false alarm. He’d eaten something that didn’t agree with him, and Ms. K had panicked. Or maybe he’d fallen, and she wanted to make sure he didn’t break a bone.
Except Ms. K didn’t panic. I’d met her on more than one occasion and had been struck by how calm and intimidating she was. I wouldn’t have ever wanted to be on the opposite side of a case as her. So, the fact that she seemed so freaked out bothered me.
Not too much, though, because Grandfather was fine.
He was always fine. Always there. He’d been there to take in my brothers and me after our parents and sister died. He raised us by himself after Grandma Olive had passed, and that was no easy feat. He was tough. He could handle anything life threw at him.
I kept reassuring myself the entire ride to the hospital, but it did little to calm the mass of worry settling in my stomach. Once inside, I was directed to a waiting room where I saw Ms. K pacing. Her severely cut gray-and-blonde hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and she was wearing a path in the floor.
“Ms. K,” I said as soon as I was close enough to get her attention.
“Jax.” She came toward me, and for a moment, I thought she might hug me. “Manfred was at my house this evening, and he passed out. I couldn’t get him to wake up, so I called 911.”
This evening? It was past midnight.
How had I not known that Grandfather was seeing Ms. K?
That was just one of the many questions I’d ask him when he was better. Because he would be better.
“Where is he?”
She gestured toward a pair of double doors. “I told them I was his attorney, so they’ve given me a couple updates, but any medical decisions that need to be made, that has to be done by you.”
Medical decisions? What sort of decisions was she talking about? Grandfather had fainted. That’s all. Maybe he was dehydrated.
“He woke up,” she continued, “but he was disoriented. They’ve been running tests.”
I awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Thank you for calling me. If you want to stay, you’re welcome to, but if you want to go home, that’s fine too.”
She nodded and went back to pacing, and I went over to one of the chairs to sit. Because sitting showed I wasn’t concerned. Because he was going to be okay.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a tall, thin woman in purple scrubs came toward us. I jumped to my feet, ready to hear that I could go back and see Grandfather while she started the discharge paperwork. He wouldn’t want to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.
“Are you Mr. Hunter’s grandson?” she asked.
“Jax Hunter.” I held out a hand, and she shook it. “Can I see him?”
“I’m Dr. Kassum. I was called down to consult on his case. I’ll take you back to see him shortly, but you need to know how serious his condition is before that.”
Serious? That didn’t make sense.
“Your grandfather suffered a severe heart-attack.”
Okay, that was more serious than I’d thought. But people survived heart-attacks every day, especially if they were otherwise healthy. He’d get through this and be home by the end of the week at the latest.
“The damage to his heart was…catastrophic.”
Ice flooded my veins. “What do you mean catastrophic?”
“His heart is damaged beyond repair. It’s failing.”
That couldn’t be right.
“We’ve made him comfortable, but you should call in any other family you have.”
“What about a transplant?” I demanded. “Artificial valves, that sort of thing. There’s things you can try.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hunter, but there’s not. At his age, with his rare blood type, the chances of finding a heart quickly enough is a million to one. And even if we did find one, the chances of him surviving surgery are less than ten percent.”
I heard a small sound behind me and knew that Ms. K was crying. I couldn’t comfort her though. How could I make her feel better about something I couldn’t understand? This had to be a mistake. I could get a second opinion. Ms. K could threaten legal action. We had options.
“I explained this to your grandfather, and he declined being put on the transplant list. He said he wants us to keep him alive until his grandsons arrived, and then he wants no more heroic measures.”
All the strength ran out of my legs, but I didn’t collapse. I couldn’t. I had to be strong. For my brothers. For Grandfather. I wouldn’t let him down.
“Excuse me,” I said quietly. “I have calls to make.”
Fourteen
Syll
It was always cold when I came here, but I preferred it that way. Even if the sun was out, the cold kept things bleak, and I wanted them bleak.
“I tried,” I whispered as I reached out to touch the stone. I could feel the chill even through my gloves, but the external temperature had little to do with what I felt all through me.
The marker was small, but I hadn’t been able to afford anything else. Not without selling the bar and making myself homeless in the process. Dad wouldn’t have wanted that. In fact, he probably would have laughed at me for wanting anything here at all. We’d never been the sentimental type. Or, at least, I’d tried not to be.
Gareth Bradley Reeve Age 47 Beloved Father
It wasn’t nearly enough. Those seven words didn’t say how he’d been a single dad from the time I was three. Or how he’d taught me to ride my bike in the bar, so he could keep an eye on me while he did the paperwork. It didn’t let everyone who walked by know that he’d gone without new shoes, so I could have a prom dress.
I drew in a shuddering breath and wondered if I’d ever be able to come here without feeling like my world was ending all over again. I missed him so badly that it hurt. I had Gilly, but I didn’t know if she would always be there. I didn’t know if whatever had sent her to Boston years ago would send her away.
“I don’t know what to do, Dad.” I straightened but kept looking down at the marker. “I’ve tried to keep things going, but I don’t think I can anymore.”
Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I glanced toward it, expecting to see someone with flowers, or maybe a few stones, to lay at a grave. Instead, I saw Mr. Jones.
“Not here,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t do this here.”
He held up a hand. “Please, Miss Reeve, hear me out.” I glared at him but made a gesture for him to continue. He did. “You need to stay away from Jax Hunter.”
Okay, not what I’d been expecting. “I don’t understand.”
Mr. Jones gave me one of those patronizing looks that men his age gave w
omen of all ages who dared to question them. “I think you do, Miss Reeve. You need to stay away from Mr. Hunter.”
“I have a boyfriend.” Heat rushed to my cheeks as I realized the statement wasn’t necessarily about the kiss. Mr. Jones had an employer who wanted my bar, after all. “And I told you I wasn’t selling.”
He gave a half-shrug. “Everyone knows that being in a relationship doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
The way he said it made me think it wasn’t just some sort of off-the-cuff remark, no matter how casual he sounded, but this wasn’t a conversation I wanted to be having. Not here, not with him.
“Look,” I said, “you need to leave. Whatever message you have for me, you can give it to me any other time or place. Just not here.”
His eyes darted down to the stone at my feet, but there was no apology on his face when he looked back at me. “My instructions were to come here and tell you to–”
“I know, I know, ‘stay away from Jax,’” I said. My temper was simmering now, and the last of my patience was gone. “You do realize that whatever asshole you’re delivering your message for sent you to find me at my father’s grave, on the anniversary of his death?”
He didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed, and that just pissed me off more.
“I have a message for you to take back to your boss. I might’ve considered selling at some point in the far future, but they crossed a line sending you here today. I’ll see my bar burned to the ground before I’ll sell to them. You go back and tell them that they fucked up.”
I couldn’t tell if he was ignoring me, or trying not to laugh, but I meant every word of what I said. I didn’t like being told what to do, but I could’ve overlooked the strange ‘warning’ if Mr. Jones had just come to the bar. This would’ve been too far even if I hadn’t just had the shittiest week ever.
“I admire your determination, Miss Reeve, but let me assure you that once my employer sets their sights on something, they don’t stop until they get what they want. I recommend that you do as you’ve been told and avoid Mr. Hunter.” He smoothed back his slick hair. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say to any of that. I had a feeling that he was telling the truth, both about his employer and about me seeing him again. I wasn’t sure, however, what he’d meant by the relationship comment. Unless, of course, he’d seen Jax kiss me, and then left before he saw my response. But that wasn’t any of his business.
And neither was my relationship with Jax. My non-relationship. Because he and I didn’t have one.
And we never would.
At least that was one less thing I had to worry about with Mr. Jones’ employer.
Fifteen
Jax
For the last twelve hours, I’d been alternating pacing in the waiting room, the hallway, and my grandfather’s room. I would’ve loved to go outside and get some air that didn’t stink of disinfectant and illness, but the doctor’s words kept echoing in my head, and with them came a host of memories I didn’t want.
I’d been eight when the accident happened. Like Cai and Slade, I’d been with friends, and we’d stayed there while Grandfather had taken care of things. It hadn’t been until years later that I learned what happened that night. That my dad hadn’t been killed right away like Mom and Aimee but had been unconscious when he reached the hospital. He and Blake had both been taken to the hospital. Dad had never woken up, but Grandfather had still seen him.
I hadn’t. In fact, my last memory of the family I’d lost that night had been me getting reprimanded for teasing the twins. I’d never seen my parents or sister again. They’d been cremated, their ashes placed in the family vault. The funeral had been formal, completely planned by my grandparents. They’d been so worried about what we’d lost, they hadn’t asked us if we’d wanted to see our parents one last time, so we could say goodbye.
As much as I struggled with resenting my grandfather for not giving me the opportunity to see my dad one last time, I didn’t want the same thing to happen with him. I planned on being here until the end.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Blossom’s voice pulled me out of the past, and I was grateful for it. This was bad, but that was worse.
“No, thank you, Blossom.” I gave her a polite smile. “This is good for now, but I may need you to run things back and forth until…”
I let my voice trail off, unable to say it yet.
She reached over and put her hand on my arm. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you. No matter when you need me.”
“Thank you.”
She didn’t ask if I was thanking her for the offer, or for bringing me my work laptop and files, and I was glad because I honestly didn’t know how I would’ve answered that. But I was still glad she was there. I didn’t have many people in my life I could count on, and with her, I always knew where I stood.
I went back into Grandfather’s room and took the uncomfortable seat in the corner. He was sleeping again, or rather, still. He’d been awake for about ten minutes the first time I’d seen him, but since then, every time I’d come into the room, he’d been out.
I could barely look at him, which made me even more grateful that I had something to do. Except I couldn’t concentrate. I’d start to read a sentence, then get distracted by his heart monitor. Or how still he was laying. Or how old he looked.
Or the fact that he was never going to leave that bed.
And that was always when I started looking at my phone to see if I had any messages from my brothers. As tense as things were sure to be between us, it’d be better than sitting here by myself.
It was well into mid-afternoon when I heard someone enter the room. It’d been three years since I’d last seen him, but I recognized the sound of his footsteps. Cai and I were thirteen months apart in age, and I didn’t have a single childhood memory that didn’t have him in it.
I looked up, and for a moment, the child I’d known and the man he’d become overlapped. The golden blond hair and bright blue eyes were the same. Cai had always been tall, but his freshman year of college, he’d gone from matching me at six feet, two inches, to passing me up by three inches, making him the tallest of us four.
“Jax.” His voice was still as calm and even as always.
I’d always loved trying to make him mad when we were growing up, but I’d rarely ever managed it.
“Cai.” I stood and quickly crossed the space between us. I held out a hand, and we had a moment of awkward hug-or-shake before he shook my hand. “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”
“I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t had a private plane ready for me.” He shrugged off the bag he was carrying and walked over to the bed. “What happened?”
“His heart.” I stuck my hands in my pockets and went to stand next to Cai. “We had a meeting Thursday afternoon, and he was fine.”
My brother gave me a sharp look, and I prepared myself for the reprimand.
“Don’t you live in the same house?”
I rubbed my forehead, but it didn’t make a difference to the headache I’d had almost since I’d first gotten here. “You know how huge that house is, and how independent he is. Do you think he’d tolerate me keeping tabs on him?”
Cai didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to. I already knew the list I’d get from my brothers of how I’d fucked up.
“It came out of nowhere,” I said. “Dr. Kassum said there was nothing in Grandfather’s medical history that could’ve predicted this.”
A moment of awkward silence fell, and I tried to figure out something I could say. Things hadn’t always been easy between us, but after the accident, Cai had disappeared on me. I’d needed his help with Slade and Blake, but he’d gone off and done his own thing. He was still doing that. He was questioning how often I’d seen Grandfather, but Cai hadn’t even been back to Boston in three years. I was the one who’d stayed, who’d taken over the family business.
“How’s business?” Cai asked, almost as if he’d known where my thoughts had gone.
“Good,” I said. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about my ideas for a club, but I held back. He was just being polite. He’d never cared about Hunter Enterprises. Hell, I didn’t think he even cared about his dividend check. “How’s work?”
He shrugged. “Dealing with epidemics isn’t exactly as glamorous as traveling around on the company jet.”
I gritted my teeth. He had to go there. I’d rented private planes for him and Blake, so I could send the company jet to pick up Slade in Texas. It hadn’t been a slight. But that was Cai. Always picking at the way I did things.
“Well, we can’t all be doctors.” That came out a lot glibber than I’d meant it, but that was how it’d been between Cai and me for more than twenty years.
“Some things never change.”
Grandfather’s hoarse voice cut through the tension.
“You’re awake.” I tried not to let the relief bleed into my voice, but I wasn’t sure I succeeded.
“Don’t worry, Jax, I’ll stick around until the rest of the boys get here.” His eyes were calm as they met mine, and I wondered if he’d always known how I’d felt about not saying goodbye to my dad.
“I’d like to speak to your doctor,” Cai said, squeezing his hand. “I want to make sure they’ve thought of all possible treatments. It’s always good to have second opinions.”
I wanted to remind him that his area of expertise was infectious diseases, which worked great at the CDC but wouldn’t do shit for Grandfather’s heart, but I kept my thoughts to myself. I wasn’t about to waste what little time we had with Grandfather arguing with my brother.
“Dr. Kassum is one of the premier cardiac specialists in the country,” Grandfather said.
I recognized the stubborn set of Cai’s jaw because all of us Hunter men had it. He wasn’t going to let it go.
“There’s nothing more to be done.”