Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
MAC
I didn’t know how the hell I was supposed to get anything done and take over for my daddy when everyone kept kicking me out of my damn office. Avery had stormed in a little after seven and demanded I stop working at once.
Naturally, I had bestowed upon my friend the only gesture that seemed appropriate—I’d flipped her off and continued sorting through the piles that I couldn’t make heads or tails of.
“You’re doing a lot better than you’re giving yourself credit for. And you’ve done more work in a week than your daddy usually does in a month,” Avery had said. “And when have you ever known me to blow smoke up your ass?”
Yeah, that’d been never, but still, I hadn’t believed her. Eventually, we’d come to an agreement—Avery would sit with me and help me work through everything, while at the same time giving some impromptu and much-needed training.
While, true, my daddy had been the mayor most of my life—ironically, taking the seat after his daddy had died of a heart attack—I had no idea what that actually entailed.
After my crash course, I’d just been getting the hang of it and had really started to make some progress. And then Will had begged me to head to the hospital and bring Momma what she’d been asking for because Will didn’t have a break in her schedule for hours.
I had tried—and failed—not to dwell on the fact that Momma hadn’t reached out to me to ask for it. The events of the past few weeks had shone a light on how my family saw me and what they thought—or didn’t think—of me.
And I was getting really fucking sick of it.
I ground my teeth together as I sped down the interstate toward Memphis. Frustrated that no one seemed to think of me for anything and irritated that I didn’t automatically know how to do the job I’d been tasked with, I’d taken off without a word to anyone.
I probably should’ve told Hudson, but that would mean I’d have to talk to him, and I wasn’t in the right headspace to do so. I had too much else on my mind to dissect what last night with him had meant. How, while he’d been inside me, I’d wished, more than anything, that he could be there to love on me every time I needed a little extra push to fall asleep.
But that was nothing but a futile hope, and allowing my thoughts down that path of make-believe wasn’t good for anyone, least of all me.
Shaking my head, I gripped the steering wheel as I turned into the hospital parking lot. I’d have preferred I come here again on my terms and when I was ready to walk into the lion’s den—not knowing how Daddy was gonna react to me being gone while he’d been taken in, or me taking over for him while he was off for many weeks. No doubt, he’d find some way to take my absence as a sign I wasn’t ready for the job I’d been reluctantly given.
But, dammit, I could do this. If only everyone would start taking me seriously.
With a bag in hand, I strode down the ICU corridor toward Daddy’s room, psyching myself up for whatever awaited me behind the door. I knocked once and waited for my momma’s soft, “Come in,” before I stepped foot into the room.
Momma sat in the chair next to the bed—it looked like it belonged across the room beneath the window, but I had no doubt Caroline Haven had rearranged things until they were to her liking. And after the talk she’d given all of us last night, I figured that meant she’d slept in that chair all night, holding Daddy’s hand.
“Hey, sweetheart,” she said, her voice not much more than a whisper.
I shot her a smile, then darted my eyes to Daddy. Even though I knew he was in the ICU and that he’d had major surgery…even though I’d prepared myself for what he might look like, none of that helped the reality of what was in front of me.
My proud and boisterous father was reduced to a pale, fragile-looking man hooked up to all kinds of machines. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady, and I felt a knot form in my throat.
God, we’d almost lost him. He was a stubborn pain in my ass, and we’d never seen eye to eye for as long as I could remember. But hell if the thought of never being able to argue with him again didn’t send a wave of panic through me.
“Will said you needed some things?” I held up the bag before setting it on the windowsill.
“I did, thank you for bringin’ that stuff up. Nat forgot this mornin’. I swear that girl would leave her head behind if it wasn’t attached.”
“Where is she?”
“She, Gran, and Asher went to grab something to eat.” She held out the hand that wasn’t encased in Daddy’s and beckoned me closer. “Did you get some lunch?”
No, I hadn’t—how could I eat when I had all this shit weighing on my mind?—but I nodded anyway. Momma didn’t need another thing to worry about, and I was perfectly capable of feeding myself.
“Why don’t you come sit with me?” She patted the chair next to her—the space Gran had no doubt been perched in all morning, while Nat and Asher hung out in the waiting room in case they were needed.
I did as I was asked. Although, the last thing I wanted was to sit down. If I sat in this room, with the incessant beeping and my daddy looking too close to death’s door for my liking, then it’d all be real. Everything that had happened would be real, and I wasn’t sure I could take that.
After several long moments where my tongue felt like a lead balloon in my mouth, intrusive and unmoving, I finally swallowed back my fears to ask the question I’d been unable to bring myself to until now. “How’s Daddy doin’?”
“At least have the decency to ask me instead of your momma,” Daddy said, his voice low and so unlike the usual bark, I startled. “I’m right here.”
“Daddy.” I swallowed down my unease and leaned closer to my father, my eyes tracking over every inch of his face. “How’re you doin’?”
“I’d be doin’ a lot better if I wasn’t so damn hungry all the time…” he grumbled.
“Richard, we’ve talked about this.” Momma’s tone was firm, brooking no argument. “You’ve got a lot of food still left over from lunch.”
“You call that food?” He gestured to the plate on his tray, filled with a mostly untouched meal of chicken and vegetables. It looked like the only thing he actually ate was the Jell-O. “Maybe if you’re a rabbit. Which, in case you weren’t aware, I’m not.”
“Not a rabbit, no, but definitely a jackass.”
I couldn’t keep in my startled laugh, and I stared at Momma, slack-jawed. I’d never, in all my life, heard her talk to Daddy like that. I’d often wondered how someone so strong and opinionated could be married to a man like Richard Haven and not say a word to challenge him.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that.” Momma waved a hand toward me. “It’s not as if you haven’t thought the same thing.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “It’s just…you know. Um…a whole new side of you.”
“A whole new side of me in your eyes, but not altogether. After this man’s fool-headed actions, I’ve decided I’m not waitin’ until we’re in private to call him out on his idiot behavior. No time for that anymore, because I intend to have him at my side for many years to come. So, if he wants to act like a jackass, I’m gonna tell him so. Regardless of who’s in earshot.”
“You’re not gonna do that while any of the fellas are around, are you?”
“Try me.”
“Sweetheart,” my dad said, in a tone that could only be described as a whine.
What in the hell was going on?
“Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me. You’ll have nothing to worry about if you follow the doctor’s orders and do as you’re told.”
“But they have me—” Daddy cut off at a sharp look from Momma, and I had to stifle another laugh.
We were in uncharted territory now. As far as I knew, none of us Haven girls had ever been witness to anything like this. No wonder Nat had been able to stay at the hospital all morning. This was better entertainment than skydiving. Especially with Gran there giving Daddy the what for, too.
“How’re things goin’ at town hall, honey?” Momma asked as she stroked Daddy’s hand.
“They’re—I’m…figurin’ things out.”
“Figurin’ things out at all hours, apparently,” Daddy said. “Spendin’ an awful lot of time there, if talk around town is to be believed.”
Of course, my dad would take the extra hours I’d spent there learning the ropes and turn it into a negative. Because I was so dumb, I’d flunked out of college, so of course, I’d need extra time to do his work.
“Not that much…” I mumbled, but my fire from earlier had all but evaporated.
“That’s not what Gleaves told me. Said you’ve been gettin’ there before the sun comes up and not leavin’ until well after it’s set. That’s—” Daddy cut off and pressed his lips together, nodding to me. It took all my strength not to cringe in anticipation of what was coming. “Real impressive. I’m proud that you’re puttin’ in this work and not lettin’ town hall go to hell while I’m out.”
Wait…what? Had I stepped into the freakin’ twilight zone? You could knock me over with a feather, I was so stunned at those words coming out of his mouth. Though I was fairly certain praise from him had happened at least once in all my years, I couldn’t remember a single time.
“Don’t look so shocked, Mac. ’Course I’d be askin’ folks to keep an eye on things while I’m gone. Can’t effectively run the town from a hospital bed if I don’t.”
“That’s the whole point, dear. You don’t run the town. Mac does.” Momma pursed her lips. “And you said so yourself earlier today after your phone call—she’s doin’ a fine job of it. So, leave her to it.”
I thought my shocks for the day were over, but apparently not. As my parents continued bickering quietly, I could only sit there, the outward appearance of utter calm. Meanwhile, inside, everything was all jumbled.
I liked to pretend as if I didn’t give two shits about what people thought of me, but that just wasn’t true. And though years ago I’d stopped attempting to gain my parents’ approval, that didn’t mean I didn’t still desperately crave it. And they’d just handed it to me on a silver platter.
I couldn’t deny the feeling of accomplishment that had settled over me at their words. Which was ridiculous—it should’ve been the acts that made me feel accomplished and not a couple well-timed sentences from my parents. Especially since I was a fully grown woman who didn’t need their approval for anything. I knew that, and yet…
“How long are you gonna be stayin’ this afternoon?” Momma asked. “I know you must be so busy at town hall.” Her words were spoken with such pride, I couldn’t help but feel that swell in my chest.
I cleared my throat from the tightness that was suddenly there. A tightness that had nothing to do with my daddy being in a hospital. “I’ve got a while. I was in late last night and again early this mornin’.”
“Must’ve gotten that work ethic from your daddy,” he said.
Never mind that I’d seen him skipping work more than actually doing it, but that was beside the point. He was showing me the kind of approval he usually reserved for Rory or sometimes Will. Never Nat. Never me.
Now, I just had to figure out how to keep it.
If anything, the stakes were even higher now, because I’d been given a taste of something I couldn’t ever remember having, and it was as addictive as a drug.
It was time to buckle down as the acting mayor and make headway not waves. I’d sworn I was ready to sacrifice anything to prove my worth. And that included all the ideas I’d had for the town, like the entrepreneurial bonuses to entice newcomers to the area, or a dedicated search and rescue team for Havenbrook.
Now wasn’t the time to broach those ideas or fight for any of it. Not when I needed to hold it together for my family. Not when my daddy was counting on me to not fuck up.
So, for now, I could maintain the status quo. Besides, we’d gone without for this long—what was another couple months?
Maybe, after Daddy came back to his role, he’d see my contributions as valuable and seek me out for advice or input—ask about my ideas. Maybe then I could broach some of those things. It’d no doubt be better received by the good old boys if the orders came from a good old boy, right?
Until then, I just had to stay the course. Not rock the boat. And focus all of my attention on making sure I finally succeeded at something.