Chapter Sixteen
J ared made it to the hospital in his car in record time. With his entire family gathered in the waiting room, there was no space for anyone else, but it was past midnight and the area was empty, except for them. There was also no room to pace, which left everyone huddled in small groups.
Despite the fact that he’d talked with his father after yelling at him for not taking care of himself, Jared was torn. On the one hand, he’d been right or they wouldn’t be in the hospital now. On the other, he felt guilty for yelling at his dad and now he was being taken care of by doctors who wouldn’t let anyone in to see him.
He and Charlotte had switched places with Remy and Raven, taking their seats while they walked over to Dex and Samantha. Fallon was with Brooke and Lizzie, while Noah stayed home with the girls.
Charlotte slipped her hand into his. “What are you thinking?” she asked.
“That I wish I hadn’t had an argument with my father about him not taking care of himself at the same time knowing I was right.”
She squeezed his hand. “He knows you have his best interest at heart.”
They sat that way for another few minutes when Remy walked over.
Charlotte rose to her feet. “I’m going to take coffee orders and go to the machine. It’s the best I can do at this hour. Can I get either of you anything?”
“Black,” they both said at once.
She nodded.
“Thanks, Charlie,” Remy said.
Jared treated her to a warm smile. “Thank you.”
She nodded and walked off to take more orders.
Remy lowered himself into the now empty seat beside Jared. “Dad’s tough. He’s going to be okay.” He put a hand on Jared’s back.
“Also stubborn. Whatever this is, he’s going to have to start following doctor’s orders if he wants to see his grandchildren grow up,” Jared said.
Remy nodded. “Agreed. Maybe tonight will scare him enough to do just that.”
With a shrug, Jared said, “I had this argument with him a few nights ago and a few weeks before that. I feel guilty as hell about yelling at him, but he needed to hear it.”
“You did the right thing.”
“The Sterling family?” A doctor with salt-and-pepper hair asked as he stepped into the room.
Everyone turned and the man’s eyes widened. “Okay then. I’m Dr. Vitale, the cardiologist called in to see Mr. Sterling.”
“How is he?” Remy asked.
“Stable,” the doctor said.
There were audible gasps of relief. Brooke put an arm around her mother, and behind the doctor, Charlotte had walked into the room with a tray holding quite a few paper cups of coffee.
Jared strode over while the doctor spoke, took the tray from her and placed it on a table. Then he stood beside her.
“So due to those two blocked arteries, I’d like to operate and do bypass surgery on them, especially with one of the arteries being the main one. They’re clogged and we need to get them open and the blood flowing.”
Jared shuddered at the thought of his father having open-heart surgery.
“Can we see him before?” Fallon asked, her voice shaky.
The doctor nodded. “He’s being monitored overnight and we won’t operate until tomorrow. But two at a time, and please keep him calm.”
Once the doctor left, the family agreed on Fallon and Lizzie going in first. As long as Jared saw his father, he didn’t care what order he went in.
One thing he knew for certain, he wouldn’t have gotten through this ordeal as well as he had without Charlotte by his side.
Turning to face her, he braced his hands on her hips. No one in the room paid attention to them, everyone focused on Alex and their own feelings in the moment.
“You’ve been my rock,” he told her.
She smiled and stroked his cheek. “I’m glad I could be here for you.”
“No, you don’t get it. You’re the reason I haven’t crumbled under the pressure of waiting to hear if I was going to lose another parent. Not my siblings, you .”
She parted her lips but didn’t speak. That was okay. He had enough to say for both of them. “I never had anyone who cared enough to be there for me and I didn’t give enough of myself to do the same for someone else. You did that for me. You stood by my side, and I’d do the same for you.”
“I’ve never had that either.” Tears filled her eyes but they weren’t sad ones, he knew by the small trembling smile trying to break through.
Fallon and Lizzie returned to the room and everyone pivoted toward them. “He’s doing well,” Fallon said in a shaky voice. “Remy and Dex can go in next.”
Jared would go afterward as they’d agreed on chronological order except for Fallon and Lizzie. If Aiden had been here, he’d go in with Jared.
He’d left a message for his sibling and Jared hoped he’d call back soon.
Twenty minutes or so later, Jared’s turn came. He followed a nurse’s directions and strode down a hallway until he came to his father’s room.
He knocked once and walked in.
His dad turned toward the door. His face looked pale, small oxygen tubing wrapped around his face and up his nose, and his smile was forced. “Hi, son. Come on in.”
A chair was already pulled up to the bedside and Jared sat down. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a stupid old man.”
Jared shook his head. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s hard to admit when you have to slow down.”
“I didn’t follow doctor’s orders. I fought with my kids. I smoked, ate like shit, and thought I was tough enough, that I knew better. I ignored all the warning signs, and now I’m facing heart surgery.”
Jared covered his father’s hand with his, leaning on top of the waffled blanket. “You are tough, Dad, and that’s why you’re going to get through this.” Jared wasn’t upset with his father. It had to be hard to face his own mortality. “I felt guilty after our argument, but you know I’m just looking out for you, right?”
His dad nodded. “I was wrong. With all my kids. With Lizzie.” His face looked more lined than before and there was definite regret in his eyes.
A lump rose to Jared’s throat. “I love you, Dad. You’re going to get through this.”
“Damn right I am,” his father said.
And when Jared left, he was smiling.