Chapter 9 #2
In theory, Clay knew how bad off the old man was.
But seeing him struggle to breathe—knowing that those eyes might not open again—had been a one-two punch to his conscience.
He should have come sooner. Should have checked in on the guy if only to make sure his affairs were in order.
He didn’t have a responsibility because Pete was such a great guy.
He had a responsibility because he liked to think he—Clay—was a halfway decent person.
Now, after delaying the trip and delaying the visit both, he might very well have missed the chance to clear some things up with his father.
Although Pete had stopped seizing by the time the ambulance reached the hospital, his blood pressure was dangerously low.
Clay overheard the admitting doctors talk about “neurological complications of end-stage cirrhosis,” but when he’d tried to quiz a passing nurse about it, the man had insisted Clay wait for the doctor’s prognosis.
In the meantime, Clay did searches online with his phone, and all of the news was damn dire.
Straightening on the bench, he debated grabbing a coffee when the doors to the CT waiting room flung open, admitting a dark-haired young woman followed by Gabriella.
Gabby’s gaze went to his immediately and he knew right away her conversation with his half sister must not have gone well. Pale and rain-streaked, both women were visibly upset
“I want to see my father.” The brunette—it could only be Mia—rushed to the laminate counter where an attendant worked at her computer behind a bouquet of silk sunflowers.
Already on his feet, Clay strode over to Gabriella. The urge to fold her in his arms was strong, but something about her posture told him this wasn’t the time.
“You okay?” he asked quietly, unable to keep his hands off her. He settled for rubbing his palm along the back of her too-tense shoulders.
And damn, he really needed to hold her for his own sake if not for hers. Today had damn near sucked the life out of him.
Gabriella’s stiff nod said plenty about her day. “Fine. How’s your father?”
“Stable enough for a CT scan, but he hasn’t regained consciousness as far as I know.” As he filled her in briefly, he could hear Mia’s demands to see her father grow louder.
“Maybe you should try talking to her,” Gabby urged, her eyes still on the teen.
“She asked me how I knew about Pete on the way over here—wanting to know why I’d been contacted and not her.
I had to tell her about you. She didn’t speak to me for the last fifteen miles of the trip, accusing me of lying to her. ”
No wonder Gabriella looked so upset.
His gut sank. This was his fault. He should have introduced himself to the girl sooner. Reached out to her. He’d buried his head in the sand for too long where his father’s life was concerned, and the innocent teen at the nurses’ station was the one paying the price.
Reluctantly he let go of Gabriella and moved closer to his half sister, knowing how much she had to be hurting. And scared.
And feeling betrayed.
“Mia?” He gave her plenty of space. He had experience dealing with teens on the edge from his own days in the foster system and, since then, in his work as a private investigator.
Damned ironic that he specialized in reuniting families when he’d turned his back on his own.
“Are you my father’s doctor?” the teen demanded, swinging around to face him. Dark eye makeup had streaked down both cheeks, her damp hair clinging to her neck.
She didn’t resemble their father, but Clay could see hints of his grandmother in her—the dark hair and eyes. He wondered if she’d ever seen photos of the woman.
“No. I’m—”
“Then I don’t want to hear it.” Mia turned back to the nurse in purple scrubs. “I need to see my father before he dies, okay? I’m his daughter and he’ll want to see me. He needs me.”
Clay weighed his options, understanding her urgency. Their conversation could wait until she got some peace of mind about their father.
The attendant’s gray eyes traveled from him to Mia and back again. “If it’s okay with the rest of your family, I can take you in for a minute.”
Clay nodded quickly, approving the plan.
“They are not my family,” Mia retorted, already moving toward the door marked Authorized Personnel Only.
The nurse lifted a section of her counter to join the girl. “It might ease her mind if she can see him,” she confided. “I’ve done this before. We’ll be behind the glass partition anyway.”
“Thank you.” Clay sincerely hoped it helped. He could identify with how rattled the girl felt.
As the two of them disappeared behind the swinging door, Clay took Gabriella’s hands in his. Turned her to him while the industrial clock ticked its slow seconds.
“Remember how you asked me to hold your hand today before the trial?” He stroked over the backs of her fingers with his thumb, needing to memorize the feel of her.
She gave a clipped nod, almost as though she didn’t trust herself to speak. Her fair hair was darker than normal from the rain, clinging damply to her head.
“I’m going to ask for a return favor even though I don’t deserve it.” He tipped his forehead to hers, and some of the stress inside him eased a fraction. He breathed in the scent of her skin, something soft and floral that made him think of a spring garden.
“Your day has been worse than mine.” She didn’t move away while they remained alone in the small waiting area. Bland easy-listening music played from invisible speakers, piped in along with the antiseptic-smelling air from a nearby duct.
“Seeing Pete like that made me realize how wrong I’ve been to resist seeing him for this long. I should have reached out to Mia as soon as he told me about her.” Actually, he should have found out about the girl long ago without having to be told. But he was done burying his head in the sand.
“She thinks I lied to her.” The stark words didn’t begin to hide the pain that came with them.
“I’m so damn sorry, Gabby.” He let go of her hands, but only so he could trail a touch up her arms to round her shoulders and then span her upper back through her damp trench coat. “And I know it’s not fair of me to ask, but I really need to hold you.”
He tucked her against him even before he’d given her time to answer. But damn.
Damn.
He needed her in a way that caught him off guard, kind of like a Pete Yancy backhand when Clay hadn’t done a damn thing wrong. One second he’d been walking alone through life just fine. And then he’d seen Gabby again and it had shifted his whole world without him knowing until right now.
But in the time they’d spent together since he had spotted her outside the Owl’s Roost, he realized that his life had been missing something all the years without her.
Like she’d left a hole in him when she’d gone away ten years ago, and he hadn’t noticed it was there until she returned and fit back into that spot.
She’d never expected less of him because he came from a difficult background.
She’d seen the best in him as a teen, and still did all these years later, and it made him want to be a better man.
It was probably a good thing the door marked Authorized Personnel swung open again just then, forcing them apart. Because the realization that he needed someone as much as he needed Gabriella right now threatened to take his feet right out from under him.
But as Mia stalked toward them with a jut to her jaw and an angry gleam in her dark eyes, Clay understood he had to be ready to deal with his half sister sooner rather than later. It was his fault that Mia was so angry with Gabriella and it was up to him to make that right.
“Clayton Travers is your friend?” Mia directed the question to Gabriella as she tucked a few pamphlets under her arm. She clutched a wadded-up tissue in one hand. “Looks a little more than friendly to me.” Her dark eyes skimmed over Clay.
He reminded himself to be patient. That the girl had had a tough day and she was just a kid.
Still. He wasn’t about to let her hurt the kindest woman he’d ever met.
“That’s not even remotely your business.” Clayton stepped squarely in front of the teen and extended his hand. “But as your older brother, I’m more than happy to give you all the unwanted advice you need. Nice to meet you, Mia. I’m Clayton. Gabriella’s friend.”