Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MAC
As soon as Ava and I walked through the back door, I knew something was off. For one thing, there were no scents—no chicken or pot roast, no cinnamon hanging in the air from an apple pie baked earlier in the day.
And then there was my momma’s voice, strong and clear—the tone one she’d used on us girls only a handful of times in our lives. The one that said she meant business, and now was not the time to push.
“Dammit, Richard, you will listen to what Dr. Snyder said, or so help me…”
“Now, sweetheart, I said I would, and I will,” my daddy said, his tone the schmoozing one I absolutely loathed. “But can’t we start next week?”
My brow furrowed, remembering what Edna had said the other day about seeing Daddy coming out of the clinic. Maybe something was wrong and it wasn’t just a man cold.
Ava and I rounded the corner into the kitchen and found my parents facing off at the eat-in island. Momma stood, hands on hips, in front of where Daddy sat, glaring down at him. As for him, he was the picture of ease, totally unperturbed by Momma’s ire.
“Momma? Daddy? What’s goin’ on?”
Momma’s head snapped up to me, her eyes flying to Ava before she closed them on a shuddering sigh. She brought her hand to her forehead and shook her head. “Sunday supper. I completely forgot.” She let her arms drop to her sides. “We’ve been at urgent care all afternoon.”
My eyes shot to my dad, running over every inch of him, as if I could sleuth out whatever ailment he had. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, honey.” Daddy waved me off. “Nothing at all.”
Momma glared down at him, her mouth pressed in a firm line. “It’s not nothing, and if you don’t start treatin’ this as the big deal it is, we’re gonna have an issue.”
“Okayyyy.” I darted my eyes between my parents, picking up the obvious clues that some real shit was going down. “How about I call Rory and Will and see if they can bring something for supper?”
Momma breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded, before leaning down and whispering to Daddy, her tone low enough that I couldn’t hear.
I turned to Ava. “Why don’t you go on upstairs and see if Gran’s awake from her afternoon nap yet.”
Ava’s eyes met mine, worry and uncertainty swarming in them.
“Papa’s fine.” I squeezed her hand and lifted my chin toward my daddy. “See? He’s over there arguin’ with Nana like usual. Go on now.”
Ava bit her lip, but after a brief hesitation, she strode toward the back staircase, and I exhaled. I pulled out my phone and sent a group text to Rory and Will.
Group text with Rory, Will, and Mac
5:17 p.m.
Mac:
Either of y’all have anything on hand you can bring over for supper?
Rory:
I’ve got a casserole in the freezer.
Will:
Wait…why do we need to bring supper? Is Momma okay?
I glanced toward the kitchen where my parents continued bickering, still in hushed tones so I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Mac:
Momma’s fine, but something’s up with Daddy. Idk details yet. Hurry up so we can discuss.
Rory:
Grabbing the food and heading out right now.
Will:
Be there in 5
I pocketed my phone, tiptoed toward the kitchen, then stood just out of sight, hoping to glean something from my parents’ conversation.
“Dr. Snyder said a heart healthy diet, Richard, and that does not include fried chicken,” Momma said, her tone firm and exasperated.
“Well, certainly he doesn’t mean that for the rest of my life! I can’t go without fried chicken forever, Caroline.”
“You’re gonna go without it until I tell you otherwise. And no more of those damn cigars either.”
“You can’t take those away too!”
“I can and I did. I already threw them away.”
“What?” Daddy nearly shouted. “Do you have any idea how much those cost?”
“Do you have any idea how little I care ?”
I barely held in my laughter. It wasn’t often my momma got this feisty—that I heard, anyway—but I absolutely loved it when she did.
“No more fried food. No more cigars. And tomorrow, you’re gonna start using the country club’s gym and do some light cardio like suggested.”
Daddy groaned, long and loud, sounding not much older than his granddaughters. “Sweetheart, this whole mess today doesn’t constitute all that. The EKG was all right. They’re just puttin’ me on Lasix as a preventative. I hardly think all this is necess?—”
A loud cracking noise made me jump, and I peered around the corner to see my momma’s hand firmly on the island as she leaned over Daddy. “Dammit, Richard, you’re gonna take this seriously, or so help me God, I will make your life a livin’ hell . Do you understand? You think no fried chicken is the worst thing I can do to you? How about plain salads with no dressin’ for every meal?”
“Now, don’t go?—”
“And if you think I can’t make it so no restaurant will serve you, you’ve underestimated me. I know the name and birth weight of every restaurant owner in town. Try me .”
It was quiet for long moments, and even I held my breath, peering around the corner at my parents, my eyes wide.
“Fine,” Daddy finally grumbled, his tone that of a spoiled child not getting his way for the first time. “I dunno why you’re gettin’ so snippy about it.”
I could practically see the smoke billowing out of my momma’s ears, so I figured now was a good time to interrupt before she actually strangled the big oaf who was too dumb to realize when he was being an idiot. “Will and Rory are on their way. Rory’s bringin’ a casserole.”
Momma exhaled a deep breath, her shoulders sagging. “Thank you, honey. The girls okay?”
I knew she meant the little girls—when the next generation came along, the previous one didn’t get asked about often. “Ella’s out huntin’ for the new flags I put out, and Ava’s gettin’ Gran.”
Momma nodded, and before I could ask what was going on, the back door opened, and in strode my sisters. Rory studied the room, her eyes assessing Momma and Daddy, then the spotless kitchen—something that never happened on Sundays—before narrowing back on our parents. Will’s gaze was more frantic, her eyes running over our father as if checking for any outward sign of injury.
“Momma,” Rory said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek before doing the same to our father. “Daddy. I’m just gonna pop this in the oven. Shouldn’t take but a little while.”
“I don’t suppose that’s fried chicken, is it?” Daddy asked, eyes hopeful.
“Richard James Haven, what did I?—”
“Okay, all right.” Daddy held up his hands in surrender. “I was only jokin’.”
“If you ‘joke’ with me one more time, I’m gonna lock you in the bedroom and add a pass-through slot like they have in prisons. Then we’ll see how much you feel like jokin’.”
My eyebrows shot up, my eyes meeting first Rory’s, then Will’s. They each wore the same shocked expression.
“Now, don’t go talkin’ crazy, sweetheart. Who’s gonna run the city if I’m stuck at home? I know the doctor said I need to take some time off, but I just can’t do that right now. I’ve got meetings scheduled every day this week and next.” Daddy looked at Will, eyebrows raised. “Isn’t that right? We’ve got all those plannin’ meetings with the city council to discuss redoing several roads around town. Plus the new park they want to install. And then there’s the Christmas parade. I can’t just cancel them because a few tests came back slightly bad.”
“ Slightly bad?” Momma snapped. “For Christ’s sake, Richard, take your butt upstairs and lie down right now.”
“But—”
“ Now, before you give me a heart attack. We’ll figure it out because you are taking some time off. I don’t wanna hear another word against it.”
Daddy huffed but apparently wasn’t a complete idiot because he heaved himself off the chair, tucking his pants up under his protruding belly, and trudged upstairs without another word.
The four of us were silent for a few moments after he’d gone, no doubt each of us making sure the surly old man was out of hearing range.
Rory broke the silence. “What’s goin’ on, Momma?”
She rested her hands on the counter, head hanging between her shoulders like she was too tired to hold it up any longer. “Let’s get your sister on the phone and make sure Gran’s down here so I don’t have to say this more than once.”
I exchanged worried glances with my sisters, but without a word, the three of us sprang into action. Will plucked her phone from her purse to video call Nat, Rory intercepted Ava when she and Gran came down the stairs and directed her elsewhere so the grown-ups could talk, and I hooked my arm through Gran’s, guiding her toward the dining room table.
“Guess my son’s been causin’ quite a ruckus,” Gran said.
“You know Daddy.” I pulled out Gran’s chair for her, then took the seat to her left. “Always needs to be in the spotlight.”
Once the five of us were seated and Nat’s face filled the phone screen, our momma folded her hands on the table and took a deep breath. “Your daddy’s been complainin’ of a few things lately—more so than usual. He went to the clinic the other day, but I swear all he did was shoot the breeze with Dr. Snyder because the doctor wasn’t aware of any of the issues when we went into urgent care today.”
“What’s the matter?” Will asked, her brow creased.
“He’s been havin’ some persistent leg cramps and swelling and shortness of breath. He’s also been complainin’ about stomachaches throughout the day. Any one of those separately wouldn’t be a big deal, but all three together had me worried—especially after I Googled them.” She took a deep breath, her fingers pressed to her temples. “They’re precursors to a heart attack, so I dragged his butt to urgent care right away to get him checked out. They did an EKG, and it looked okay. But with all his symptoms, they gave him a prescription to help remove excess fluid and sent him home with strict instructions to take it easy. And that man, God love him, but he refuses to do anything easy.”
“’Course not,” Nat said, rolling her eyes on-screen.
“What can we do?” Will asked, worry lacing her voice.
“Make sure he’s doin’ what he’s supposed to and not doin’ anything he isn’t,” Momma said. “Which, I’m sure you know, will be a full-time job for about ten people. Your daddy doesn’t like bein’ told no.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “We can handle him.”
In fact, it would give me great pleasure to boss my father around—it was just the cherry on the sundae that doing so would help keep him safe.
Rory nodded. “We can get the word out, too. Make sure everyone in town knows what’s goin’ on so he can’t slip anything past us.”
“That’s good thinkin’, because he’ll try to sneak anything he can, the little shit,” Gran said.
Momma cracked a smile. “Gran’s right.” The smile slipped from her face, and her tone sobered. “And I’m sure I don’t need to remind you girls, but your daddy’s the same age as Gramps was when he passed away from his heart attack.”
The table went quiet, and I met my sisters’ gazes, all of us radiating worry and concern. I had been young when our grandpa—Gran’s husband—had passed, but I still felt the hollow ache from his absence nearly two decades later. I didn’t share the same special bond with my daddy that I’d had with my grandpa, but I couldn’t deny I’d feel his loss just as painfully.
After a few moments of silence, Rory cut in, her tone all business as she picked up her phone and poked around, no doubt pulling up her digital calendar. “All right, then. Let’s figure this out. I could move some things around and hire out contractors to oversee the projects I’m workin’ on for King Haven. But there’s a ton of upcomin’ school activities this month, plus the girls’ extracurriculars.” She pursed her lips. “I’m sure Nash would help where he can because he doesn’t have any out-of-town projects this month.”
“I’ll do what I can at town hall, but I’m already there from sunup to sundown anyway since Daddy fired his latest assistant,” Will said. “I can delegate a few things to Avery to handle so I can take on more of Daddy’s work.” She bit her lip, her brow creasing. “Dammit, wait… I have wedding stuff lined up almost every day for the next couple weeks that can’t be postponed anymore. Unless…” She took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. “Maybe Finn and I should push back the wedding?”
“Heavens, no. You’re not pushin’ it back,” Momma said, reaching out and resting her hand over Will’s. “Maybe Nat can?—”
Nat shook her head on-screen. “Sorry, Momma, but I’m in Greece. I’m scheduled to be in Belize in two days, then I fly to Morocco for a week. These take months of plannin’. I can’t?—”
“’Course not,” Gran said, cutting in. “And as much as I’d love to see Nat runnin’ this town, I think that’d send my son into an early grave.”
I watched the conversation volley between everyone else at the table, a hollow ache deep in my chest making itself known. I was the obvious choice to shoulder some of this burden—or maybe it was only obvious to me? I didn’t have an important career that ate up all my time. I had no kids, no husband, no wedding to plan. I wasn’t gallivanting all over the world—or even the state. I was hanging out in Havenbrook, gobs of unaccounted-for time as compared to the rest of them, but apparently I wasn’t a good fit.
I tried not to let my discouragement show, because heaven knew the last thing someone with my track record should be doing was filling in for the freaking mayor. If that happened, I’d probably have Havenbrook bankrupted before the end of the week.
“Wait a minute.” Will slapped her hand to her forehead. “We’re all idiots.”
“Speak for yourself,” Nat interrupted.
Will continued as if our youngest sister hadn’t spoken. “We’ve been thinkin’ too hard. The answer is right in front of us.” She rolled her eyes as everyone glanced around, then gestured to me. “ Mac is the obvious choice. Not only is she great at public relations—exactly what Daddy needs now durin’ these meetings—but I know Finn, Nola, and Drew can figure something out at The Willow Tree for a bit until Daddy’s back up and runnin’.”
All eyes snapped to me, and I swallowed down the nerves that suddenly swarmed my stomach. Shit, why had I put that stupid thought out into the universe in the first place? This was absolutely above my pay grade—so far above it, it wasn’t even a speck in the sky to me.
Failing at my own shit was one thing, but screwing up the entire town? I’d never, in all my years, live that down.
“That’s perfect,” Momma said, a smile lighting up her face. “Of course Mac’s the best choice.”
I jerked back, shocked that she had agreed so easily. “But?—”
“It’s settled, then!” Momma clasped her hands and relaxed back into the chair.
It was only the look of relief that swept over her face that had me keeping my mouth shut.
A buzz of conversation started up around the table, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything anyone said. Not when I’d suddenly been put in charge of our entire town. At least until this business with Daddy got figured out.
I only hoped it happened sooner rather than later, because there was no telling how quickly I would fail at this.