Chapter 21
With the animals fed and taken care of, Dax washed his hands at the kitchen sink then prepped the ancient coffee machine. After he made a stop at his place to tend the horses and Vanessa spoke with Mrs. Steele, they needed to carve out time for her to unpack. Living out of boxes had to be a pain.
The machine wheezed to life. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of burnt coffee, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. He filled a mug then sat at the kitchen table to choke down the bitter liquid.
The clicking of Frankie’s claws on the hardwood floor reached him moments before the little dog pranced into the kitchen ahead of Vanessa.
She’d dried and curled her long dark hair and applied just enough makeup to enhance her natural beauty.
Dark-washed jeans covered her lean legs, and she’d tucked in a long-sleeved, caramel-colored shirt.
The neckline scooped low enough to show off the birthmark he’d enjoyed kissing the night before.
He’d engage in a repeat if he wasn’t a mess.
“You look really nice.” Okay, so that might be an understatement. He’d almost swallowed his tongue when she’d stepped into the room. “Do you want some coffee?”
She pressed her hands to her stomach. “No, thanks. My nerves are a wreck. How much longer before we leave?”
“After I finish this cup, we can head to my place. I’ll feed and turn out the horses before we go to Mrs. Steele’s. What time did you tell her to expect us?”
“Ten thirty.”
“We have plenty of time.” He took a big sip of coffee. They might still have over an hour before they needed to meet Mrs. Steele, but he didn’t want to make Vanessa stand around and wait any longer than necessary.
“Thank you for taking care of things this morning so I could have more time to get ready. Luckily, I labeled the boxes with my clothes, so it didn’t take me forever to find something decent to wear.” She smoothed her palms over her sleeves. “Does this look okay? Is it too much?”
“You look perfect.”
She beamed. “Thanks. Oh, and Dr. Hatcher called after I got out of the shower. She said the goats can come home tomorrow. She’ll drop them off after we arrange a good time. I’m so relieved they’re all okay. One disaster averted.”
“Good news. Hopefully, only the first of many to come.”
Pulling out a chair, she sat beside him and propped her elbows on the table. “Fingers crossed. I knew the day could only get better after such an eventful start. I still can’t believe Chip showed up like that. He was really mad.”
A flash of anger tightened Dax’s expression. “I texted Madden to let him know about it. A grown man going to a young woman’s house to bark orders. What the hell was he thinking?”
“That he could bully me out of here. Same as always. Either he’s so angry he doesn’t see how guilty he makes himself look, or he just doesn’t care. Something tells me he’d risk about anything to get what he wants.”
“And he has a lot to lose,” Dax said.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
He scratched the back of his neck. “Trust me, I understand his frustration.”
“Excuse me?” Her eyes almost bugged out of her head.
“Hear me out,” he said before she lunged across the table and slapped him. “Chip thought this land would be his one day, and for some reason seems to be caught unaware by it ending up in your hands. I’ve been there, and it sucks.”
She reached under the table to rest her hand on his knee. “I never thought of it like that.”
“Probably because I figured out a different path and didn’t drag other people through hell when I didn’t get my way.
The thing about Chip that bugs me, besides his attitude, is the fact he has a job.
He has a wife and daughter. He’s built a business.
If he’s the one terrorizing you, he could lose everything. Why?”
“You said it yourself. People around here don’t take kindly to their land being sold. He wants to keep the property in the family.”
“But you are family,” Dax insisted.
“Not to him.” She slumped back in her chair.
“He doesn’t care that we have the same blood in our veins, or that this is what his father wanted.
After my mother left town, she and I were both dead to him.
Heck, I don’t think he ever thought of me as a person.
Just a problem to solve. And now that problem is in his face, causing more issues, and he’s not happy about it.
The question that still remains is, exactly how far will he go to get what he wants? ”
Dax let the question roll around in his head as he finished his coffee. Caffeine buzzed in his veins, giving him the extra jolt he needed to get through the day.
His phone rang and he spotted Madden’s name on the screen. “Well, that’s my brother. Maybe he has some insight.”
He answered as he made his way to the sink to rinse his mug. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
“Where do you think? I’m with Vanessa. We were just about to head home so I can handle the horses and check on Pops.”
“Skip the house, you need to get to the hospital.”
The words created an instant haze around his brain. “What are you talking about? Why would I need to go to the hospital?”
“I’m with Pops right now. At the house. We think he fell and is unconscious. He’s being transported to the county hospital. You need to meet me and Lily there.”
The mug slipped from his fingers and clattered into the sink.
Vanessa hurried to his side while Frankie spun in circles at his feet.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I…uh… I need…” He couldn’t think, couldn’t compute what Madden said on the other end of the line. His dad was found, unconscious, and he hadn’t been there to help. Hadn’t taken care of the person he loved more than anything else in this world.
She smoothed a hand on his back. “Do you need me to take the call?”
Clearing his throat, he regained control of his slipping composure and shook his head. “Is he going to be okay?” he asked Madden, ignoring Vanessa’s worried eyes.
Silence stretched over the line for a few seconds. “I really hope so. We’ll know more once we get to the hospital. I’ll see you there.”
Dax disconnected then tossed his phone on the counter. He gripped the edge of the sink and hung his head. Pressure built at the bridge of his nose, and he sniffed back his emotions. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart. He had to get to his dad. Be by his side the way he should have been last night.
“Dax?”
He flinched then stepped away from her. “I’ve got to go. My dad’s hurt. Madden found him this morning.”
“Oh no. Do you want me to drive?”
Blinking, he stared at her as he struggled to keep up with all the things running through his mind. “No, I’ll drive. Um, I’ll call Reid or Ben on the way. They can pick you up at the hospital so they can take you to see Mrs. Steele. I know how excited you are to meet her.”
He walked past her without waiting for a response.
His heart thundered in his ears. Right now, all that mattered was getting to his dad.
He found his keys in his pocket, swiped his cowboy hat off the hook by the door, and jogged to his truck.
Only one thought ran on repeat—if his dad didn’t pull through, he’d never forgive himself.
* * *
A weird tension crackled in the air between Vanessa and Dax all the way to the hospital. She yearned to reach out, to comfort him, but instinct held her back. An icy exterior covered the warm, openhearted man she’d come to know and care for.
She tried not to take it personally. She, more than most, understood the terror that accompanied the news of a loved one in danger. Hell, she’d been a shell of herself during the entire time her mother battled cancer. She couldn’t fault him for retreating into himself, no matter how bad it stung.
Once he found a parking spot, he hopped out of the truck and waited for her to meet him at the hood of the vehicle before heading for the doors to the emergency room.
She hurried after him, hating the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Instead of dwelling on it, she focused all her energy on sending positive vibes into the universe for Walter.
The doors whooshed open and she hung back while Dax made a beeline for the desk.
“Vanessa, over here.”
Relief overcame her once she spotted Lily standing in the corner with Ben, who dipped his head in a silent greeting.
Lily waved Vanessa over and offered her a small smile. “How’s Dax holding up?”
Vanessa kept her gaze glued on Dax as he spoke in hushed tones with the middle-aged man behind the desk.
“He’s quiet. Upset. Barely said a word since he hung up with Madden.
Where is Madden?” She glanced around the waiting room but only saw a line of mostly empty chairs on worn carpet and a messy coffee station in the corner.
“He’s with Walter,” Ben said.
“That’s good, right?” Vanessa asked. “The doctors wouldn’t let anyone with him if he wasn’t stable.”
“I’m not sure,” Lily said. “I hope so.”
Dax stalked toward them, his cowboy hat stuffed in his hands. “They won’t let me back there. Said only one person can be with Pops at a time. Damn it, I don’t even know what happened, and that guy’s treating me like I don’t deserve any information.”
The crack in his voice splintered Vanessa’s heart. Red tape in the medical field was enough to drive anyone crazy. Especially a loved one searching for reassurance. “I’m sure he can’t tell you anything. Doctors are usually the only ones who can give updates on patients.”
“Dax, just sit down for a minute.” Lily smoothed a hand over his arm, but he yanked it away.
“I don’t want to sit. I want to see my dad.”
Ben took a step forward. “Sit. Now. And shut up.”
Dax worked his jaw back and forth. “Excuse me?”
“You’re being a jackass.” Ben pointed at a nearby chair. “Sit,” he repeated.
Dax scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t take orders from you or anyone else.”
Lily cupped Dax’s elbow and steered him toward the chair. “No one is giving orders. We understand you’re upset, but we can’t help when you’re acting like a jerk. Now take a seat, text Madden to let him know that you’re here, and I’ll tell you as much as I know.”
Vanessa hated the pinch of jealousy that accompanied watching Dax give in to Lily’s gentle prodding. It was stupid to feel anything other than relief that he’d calmed down a little, but she wished he’d let her support him. Let her in and be there for him the way he’d been there for her.
Instead, she was like an outsider. Standing by while everyone else handled the situation.
Once Dax sent off his text, Lily sat beside him.
“Madden and I stopped by the house this morning. He wanted to have coffee with your dad before getting to work. When we got inside, we found him on the kitchen floor. There was no way to know how long he’d been there or what caused the fall.
There were no apparent injuries, but he never regained consciousness while we were with him. ”
Dax scrubbed a hand over his face. “He gets hungry at night. I usually set a snack on the TV tray he keeps beside the recliner. On the rare occasions he’ll actually let me help him to his room, I’ll put something on his nightstand.
He must have woken up and needed something to eat.
I wasn’t there. I didn’t leave him anything. He fell because of me.”
Vanessa swallowed the urge to tell him he hadn’t done anything wrong. But as much as she wanted to comfort him, he’d made it clear she wasn’t the one he wanted right now.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lily said. “You didn’t push him. Didn’t leave water or a stupid banana peel on the floor so he’d trip. Things happen. People have accidents all the time. This is not your fault.”
“I wasn’t there,” he repeated, and dropped his head in his hand. “I haven’t been there in days. I just left him alone. Madden saw it. He even came out to tell me we should hire some help, but I was too stubborn to listen. Now Pops is lying in a hospital bed, and I put him there.”
Hurried footsteps down the hallway paused the conversation. Madden arrived, his lips turned down in a frown and worry clear in the bags under his eyes.
Dax shot to his feet. “Is he awake?”
Madden shook his head. “Not yet. They’re hopin’ with a little time, he’ll wake. Tests didn’t show anything they should be concerned about. But with his age and the Parkinson’s…” His voice trailed off and he wiped his eyes.
“I want to see him.”
Madden nodded. “Of course. I’ll take you back. Ben, can you stay with Vanessa for a while?”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Vanessa struggled against the jolt of disappointment. Yes, Dax needed to be with his father, but she didn’t want to just be passed off to the next man to protect her. She was safe waiting with Lily at the hospital. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m fine.”
“You should go,” Dax said, finally meeting her eyes.
“You have places to be this morning. You shouldn’t put that off, and I need to be with my dad right now.
We’ll talk later, but until then Ben will keep you safe.
” He lifted a hand as if to reach for her then shoved that hand through his hair and walked away.
Madden offered her a stiff smile then followed his brother.
Disappointment melted into bitter rejection. True she hadn’t known Dax for that long, but she’d really thought what they’d found was special. Was different. Could turn into a future she’d always wanted.
But now one thing was abundantly clear. Dax might blame himself for his father’s accident, but she was the reason he hadn’t been home. And if Walter didn’t survive, Dax might never look at her the same.