Pushed

Chapter 22

Pressingthe phone to his ear, Jasper’s face drained of color. “I’ll be right there.” He pocketed his phone and sank back against the counter, grasping the edge to keep himself upright.

“What is it, Jasper? Did something happen?”

“My dad just had a heart attack and is on his way to the hospital.” He looked deflated, as if all the life had leaked out of him. “I, uh, I gotta go.”

“No way. You’re in no shape to be on the road right now.” I looked at the puddles of water we’d made on the floor. “Let me mop this up quick, and then I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“Yeah. Sure. Okay,” he muttered, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

It didn’t take me long to clean up the floor. I closed up the restaurant and led Jasper to my car out back. “What hospital was he going to?”

“Lakeside General.”

As I turned onto the Main Street, I reached over and squeezed Jasper’s hand. “It’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.”

The roads were clear, and we arrived at the emergency room within fifteen minutes. I pulled into the drop-off lane. “Here you are. Please text me and let me know how he’s doing, and if there’s anything I can do for you and your family, just say the word.”

“How about going in with me?”

“You want me to go into the hospital with you?”

He nodded, his fear and vulnerability apparent in his eyes and the slump of his posture.

“If you want me to save you from eating cafeteria food, I’d be happy to whip up a batch of criadillas for you and the fam.” I nudged his shoulder with mine, hoping it would lighten his mood, but nothing.

“Sure. Whatever.”

So a no on the use of humor to break the tension. Got it. “Okay. I’ll come with you, but I need to find a place to park. Do you want to get out here and I’ll come find you? Or come with me to park the car?”

“I’ll stay with you.”

This larger-than-life man seemed fragile, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit. The urge to take care of him caught me off guard. I was not a caretaker kind of person. Unless cooking food counted.

I’d learned from my grandma that all of life’s challenges could be resolved with the right dessert or comfort meal. But not only did I want to ply Jasper with cookies and milk, I wanted to wrap him in my arms and hold him tight—a feeling that was completely foreign to me.

Had all that water addled my brain?

Jasper probably just didn’t want to walk in there by himself. Maybe he was afraid of what he might find inside those doors. Guess I couldn’t blame him. Surely, once he was with his family, though, he wouldn’t need me there anymore.

Jasper grasped my hand as we walked through the sliding doors of the emergency room, lacing his fingers through mine and holding on like I was his lifeline or something. As weird as it seemed, I didn’t pull away. If holding my hand kept him from going off the deep end, who was I to take that from him?

He stopped at the reception desk to ask where to find his dad. As we stood there, still holding hands, another couple rushed in. The petite woman had short black hair and combat boots and was accompanied by a tall, ruggedly handsome man in a flannel shirt.

She ran up to Jasper and riddled him with questions. “Jasper, I can’t believe this happened. Where’s Dad? How’s he doing? Is he gonna to be okay?”

“I just got here, Rave. Gimme a chance to find out.” He turned to talk to the receptionist.

She looked at me. “Ah, so you must be Jasper’s fiancée? You really do exist.” She winked, letting me know she was aware of our masquerade. “About time we get to meet you. I’m Raven, your wingnut fiancé’s older sister. And this is Nash.”

Flannel Man draped his arm across Raven’s shoulders. “I’m this wingnut’s very real fiancé.”

Raven playfully bumped her hip into Nash’s side. “Oh, yeah. It’s a recent development and doesn’t seem quite real to me yet. But I do have a ring to prove it.” She held up her hand to show off her engagement ring. It was a band with swirls and small diamond sparkles like stars, but it didn’t have a huge stone like most engagement rings. She didn’t strike me as a conventional kind of girl, and the ring looked like it must have been made just for her.

My first impression of the couple was that Raven seemed to be quite the firecracker, and Nash’s calm demeanor seemed to balance her out. I liked them in an instant.

“Congratulations.” I shook their hands. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’d hoped to meet Jasper’s family, but never imagined it would happen under these circumstances. But here we are.” I felt so awkward. When I agreed to come with him, I’d completely forgotten about our so-called engagement, and that we’d have to keep up that ruse out in public.

Too late to sneak out now.

Raven looked between Jasper and me. “What in the world happened to you two? Why are you soaking wet? At this time of night?”

I cringed and looked at our clinging, wet clothes. “Would you believe a little black rain cloud followed us here? Soaked us the minute we stepped outside.” I couldn’t believe we’d been in such a rush to get here that we completely forgot about the water fight. Could have at least grabbed a towel or threw on a sweatshirt. I self-consciously pulled my wet shirt away from my chest. We looked like drowned rats. And this was how I had to meet his family? Ugh.

“Yeah, right.” She looked at us skeptically then lifted a hand up. “Maybe I don’t want to know.” She elbowed Jasper in the side, and they shared a look I didn’t understand.

Being around Raven seemed to bring Jasper back to life. “What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen. Right, Princess?” He winked and pulled me to his side. Then he cleared his throat, his mood becoming serious again. “Apparently, Dad’s getting some tests done, but Mom and Junie are in the waiting room. We can join them there.”

“Okay, lead on, little bro.” Raven sidled up to Nash, and he wrapped his arm around her.

Jasper took my hand again and led us through a door to the ER waiting room. A beautiful woman with long silver hair sat with a young woman on the other side of the room.

Raven ran over and flung her arms around them. “Mom. I’m so scared. Please tell me he’ll be okay.”

“What happened, Mom?” Jasper asked.

“I noticed he was holding his left arm, like it was hurting him. I asked him if he did something to injure his shoulder. He said no and didn’t know why it was hurting so much all of a sudden, but he was sure it would go away. He was going to lie down on the couch for a bit, but before he got there, he fell over, clutching his chest. I figured he must be having a heart attack or stroke, so I called 911. They got there in about eight minutes. He never lost consciousness, so that’s a good thing.”

Jasper muttered under his breath. “I knew we should have kidnapped him.”

His mom shook her head. “Don’t think that way. It probably would have happened anyway, and this way he got to the hospital quicker than if he’d have been anywhere else.”

Jasper accepted her answer, but worry still seemed to weigh him down. “I guess that’s true.”

Tears welled in his mom’s eyes. “Tillie brought over an herbal remedy for Rob yesterday. She said it was very important that he take it. Thank goodness he listened. It probably saved his life.”

Nash led Raven to a chair next to her mom, taking the seat next to Raven to keep her glued to his side. He leaned forward to speak to the mom. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you all.”

She reached over and squeezed Nash’s hand. “Thanks, sweetie. We appreciate that. I’m sure we’ll need to take you up on that offer before long.” She noticed me standing next to Jasper, still holding his hand. “And who is this lovely lady?”

Jasper let go of my hand for the first time and slung his arm around my shoulders. “Mom, this is AJ Scott. She’s the chef at the Moonstruck.”

“Of course. Your fiancée. So lovely to finally meet you, AJ. I’m Honey, but you’re welcome to call me Mom like everyone else.” She got up from her chair and wrapped her arms around me in a warm hug. “You’ll have to come out to the farm for a family dinner soon. Jasper’s been hiding you away for too long.”

Even amidst this trying time, she seemed kind and accepting. This should have been an awkward meeting. A complete stranger had showed up at the worst possible time, attached to her son, and that stranger’s entire connection to the family was a lie. But by Honey’s reaction, you’d think I’d set up an all-you-can-eat chocolate fountain in the lobby.

If only I’d have had time to bring food. I felt so naked.

Jasper’s mom had to have noticed my wet clothes when she hugged me, but she didn’t mention it. Not one word, look, or flinch. I shuddered to think how awful we must look with our hair and clothes still damp.

She looked at me expectantly, like she was waiting for an answer.

What was the question? Oh, yeah, something about a family dinner. “Oh, that’s not really necessary. Besides, I work most evenings.”

“Don’t worry.” She patted my arm. “We’ll work around your schedule. If you have an evening off, or even a Sunday brunch, we can eat anytime. Or we could even do it at the restaurant, but I’d prefer to be at the farm because I love to cook, especially for my loved ones. I’m sure you know what I mean.”

“I do. That sounds wonderful, but I insist on bringing something. Obviously, I love to cook, too.” Hopefully my acceptance of Honey’s offer wasn’t overstepping the boundaries of this fake relationship. But Jasper didn’t seem to object.

“I would love that.” Honey’s eyes were all kindness. “As soon as Rob is out of the hospital and on his feet again, we’ll set it up.” Then she reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze, just like she did for Nash. “It’s good to have you in the family, AJ.” She winked, showing me she understood our charade. But at the same time, she made me feel like I was accepted into the fold. And as much as I hated to admit it, it felt good.

Jasper’s hand seemed to magnetically reattach to mine as soon as it was by my side. He put his free arm around his mom to give her a half-hug. “How’re you holding up, Mom?”

She leaned into him and looked around at all who had gathered. “Better now that you’re all here.”

We sat together to wait for more information, and Jasper continued to hold my hand. It was as if we’d been super-glued together, our fingers locked and his thumb gently rubbing the back of my hand. I was surprised by how comforting it felt. The most natural thing in the world. Not controlling in any way. In fact, even during this crisis, when he needed me, it felt like he was supporting me just as much. A part of me wished I could hold his hand forever and never let go.

That, or resume what we had been about to do before that phone call interrupted us.

As much as Jasper drove me crazy most of the time, I couldn’t deny the irresistible attraction between us, and my growing desire to kiss his lips off whenever he was near.

But that was a problem for another day.

In this moment, I would enjoy playing the part of the doting fiancée. I’d let my mind wander and imagine what it might be like if this was real.