Hotshot and Hospitality by Nora Everly

Chapter 23

Garrett

Barrett had wanted me to drive based on my first aid knowledge, but who knew my driving skills would be what saved the day instead? Wyatt caught little Cora Louise the second I pulled into the emergency room parking lot at the hospital in Knoxville. The staff and Sabrina’s dad, Dr. Roy Logan, were waiting for us outside the doors since Willa had called from the car to let them know we were coming. The drive here was thirty minutes of pure adrenaline and I couldn’t wait to point out to my mother how useful my time racing at The Canyon back in high school had turned out to be—but now was not that time. She was in her grandma/momma bear zone and unlikely to even hear anything that wasn’t about Sabrina and the baby, or possibly Wyatt.

Sabrina and Cora were swept away the second I stopped Sadie’s van. Wyatt, Willa, and my mother followed, and I drove through the half-circle emergency area to find a parking spot.

Even though I had just become an uncle for the fifth time, Molly was on my mind instead of my new niece. Lacy was also on my mind. If I was honest with myself—which I rarely was—my whole entire miserable dating history was on my mind.

I preferred to do, not think. I liked things I could see, feel, and touch over wondering where I stood in any given situation—the intangible qualities of human interaction had always made me twitchy. This thing with Molly was driving me insane. I’d been home for almost four years, and in that time, I barely got her to interact with me and it had hurt. No, it more than hurt, because I never understood why. In high school, I got why she slipped away from me because she was troubled after her dad died. But as adults? I couldn’t figure her out. And every time I’d seen her, it had killed me a little bit inside to the point I finally had to force myself to give up on her and move on with Lacy, who was sweet but ultimately not for me. Now that Molly was finally reciprocating my feelings, it was so heady, I could explode with it. The rapid forward progression of our—for lack of a better word—relationship, concerned me and thrilled me in equal parts.

There had never been a moment in my life when I didn’t love Molly. As a kid, I’d always pictured myself growing up and marrying her someday. Obviously, not in the way a grown man would think of marriage and love. My current thoughts included a lot of sex that my younger self couldn’t have even imagined back then.

Was my regard for her rooted in our shared past? Or was it growing out of our recent interactions? Hopefully it was both, but I was too in the middle of it to see straight. Or maybe beautiful little Cora Louise had given me baby fever—was that possible in a guy?

I locked up the van and hurried to the hospital’s information desk. “Sabrina Monroe’s room?”

“Hey, Garrett! Over here!” Willa waved me over from where she stood in front of the bank of elevators.

“Never mind,” I told the receptionist and jogged over to Willa.

“They’re both fine. Sabrina’s doctor is with her. Come on.”

We traversed the sterile, white floors of the hospital until we arrived in the waiting area where we took seats by my mother.

“You’re up next, my sweetheart!” She held Willa’s hand and smiled huge at her. “How are you feeling? Do you need a snack or a drink? Garrett, honey, run and get Willa a bottled water and whatever looks the healthiest out of that vending machine in the hallway. My purse is on the coffee table.”

“Ma, I have money. What would you like, Willa?” I chuckled at her expression, her mouth was half open and her eyes were wide as she looked at me. Like she still wasn’t quite used to my mother’s constant affection.

“Uh, I’m not hungry. I’m fine. You can sit down, Garrett. But, thank you.”

“You let me know.” She nodded as a bemused smile crossed her face. My mother’s goal in life was to make sure we were all happy, and now that two of my brothers were married, that goal extended to their wives. Willa would get used to it eventually.

“We’re here! Where’s my grandbaby?” The deep country twang of my father’s voice drifted across the waiting room and my mother stood up to rush into his arms.

“We haven’t seen them since they checked in. The doctors are with them now. But she’s just beautiful, Bill—as precious as can be.”

“Of course she is. Just like her momma. Molly’s on her way. She stopped in the gift shop to get some flowers—said she felt weird coming up here with nothing to give.”

“Oh, pish. When will that girl realize she’s family?” My mother shot a pointed look in my direction. “You make her feel like family again, Garrett. See to it!”

“Yes, ma’am.” I grinned.

“You’re the only one of my boys who has ever sounded sassy when you say ma’am. You have always been a little stinker.”

“Ma, come on.” I shook my head as I sprawled in a chair across from a snickering Willa.

“No, I mean this, Garrett William, from the bottom of my heart. This is the truth. So, you listen to your momma right now. That poor girl has been lost ever since her daddy died and you have been lost since you came back home to Green Valley. It’s about darn time you two found each other again. I’ve been doing my best to be subtle—” She glared at my father when he interrupted her with a chuckle. Her definition of subtle was clearly different from ours. Luckily, I had managed to keep a neutral expression on my face. I froze when I saw Molly lurking at the edge of the hall behind my mother. How much had she been able to hear? “I want what’s best for y’all and I’ll see to it that you get it,” she finished.

“Hi.” Molly’s soft voice turned my mother’s head.

She pulled out of my father’s arms and hugged Molly against her chest. “Honey, I’m so glad you’re here, and those flowers are stunning.”

“Thanks. I’m not going in, I mean, I came to drop off these flowers because—”

“You’re family, Molly. The end,” Dad said in his “and that’s the final word” voice.

She grinned and crossed the waiting room to sit by me. We’d both been on the receiving end of his “dad” voice many times before—but not since it had involved water balloons, painting the house with mud, tag in the living room or something else equally destructive or messy. We used to be a handful whenever we were together, always in trouble for something. “Hey, y’all.” She greeted Willa and me with an amused grin crossing her gorgeous little pixie face.

Barrett joined us in the waiting room at the same time Doc Logan popped in to let us know Sabrina and Wyatt were ready for us to visit for a few minutes.

“You go first, Garrett,” my mother bossed. “Then when you’re done, Molly can drive you home.” She turned to Molly to at least give the pretense that she was asking and not ordering us around. “You can give him a ride, can’t you?” Sweet as pie and very satisfied with herself, my mother beamed at her.

“No problem, Becky Lee,” Molly said as she and Dad exchanged amused looks.

“I won’t be long,” I told Molly. She passed me the flowers to take to Sabrina.

After stepping inside Sabrina’s room, I saw my brother with one of the biggest smiles I’d ever seen on his face and in his arms was his new daughter—with the addition of this little one, they had four kids between the two of them.

“Hey, y’all. How are you feeling?”

“Perfect,” Sabrina answered. She looked much better now, relaxed against her pillows and beaming with happiness.

“Say hi to Cora Louise Monroe.” Wyatt beamed at me so hard I could swear his face was going to end up freezing that way if he didn’t stop smiling. “Want to hold her?”

I nodded. “Hey, little angel.” I took her in my arms, and immediately fell in love. Not just with little Cora, but with the possibilities my own future held. I wanted what Wyatt had, all of it. On some level I’d been seeking it out ever since I got home. Holding this adorable bundle in my arms confirmed it.

“I’ll get out of your way now and let you rest. She’s just beautiful.” I passed her back to Wyatt. “It was very nice to meet you, Cora. Congratulations, you two.”

“Who’s next?” I asked when I got back in the waiting room.

“That would be me,” Dad said and stood up. After an unsteady step forward, he took a deep breath. It was odd and shaky as it shuddered into his body. “Becky Lee?” The urgency in his voice startled me. He put a hand to his chest.

My mother hopped to her feet in alarm. “Bill? What’s happening.”

“What’s wrong, Bill?” Doc Logan asked as he and Barrett also stood up to help.

He staggered to the doorway and left the waiting room. Barrett and Doc Logan followed closely behind, grabbing his elbows, then catching him before he could fall to the floor. “We need help!” Barrett shouted. But a nurse had seen Dad’s unsteady walk out of the room, and she was already on her way.

“I’m okay . . . don’t want to scare Molly and Willa . . .” He gasped through a grimace as his hands went to his chest.

Too late; she and Willa were already following behind him and saw his legs buckle while Barrett held him up.

“Mom?” I questioned as Barrett and Doc Logan helped him to a chair until a stretcher could arrive.

“I’m . . . fine . . . probably . . . just heartburn . . . from that eggplant stuff . . .” Dad insisted through his gasping breath, the stubborn old man.

* * *

We were in a different waiting room now, Mom, Barrett, Everett and Willa, Molly and me. It was white and sterile. There was not a smile to be seen in this part of the hospital.

Everett had arrived with Wyatt and Sabrina’s kids, plus Ruby and Weston, her niece and nephew, and dropped them all with Doc Logan. Wyatt had been going back and forth from Sabrina’s room to here with us.

The doctors were running tests.

We were still waiting for news.

None of us had been able to see him.

The uncomfortable silence, the absolute stillness in this room, was in direct contrast with the joy in the other one. It was jarring.

Like the difference between life and death.

We all sat staring at the floor, occasionally exchanging worried glances and nervous smiles of encouragement, as if we could somehow reassure each other he would be okay when we all knew nothing.

“Bill Monroe?” A doctor appeared in the swinging doorway at the rear of the waiting room, startling us all.

“Yes,” my mother said. She stood up quickly, immediately followed by Barrett, who had become her shadow since the moment they’d taken Dad away.

“He is stable. Two of you can go in, if you’d like to follow me.”

Mom stepped forward, followed by Barrett who looked around the room questioningly at us.

“You go with her,” I answered his unasked question, as did Everett. I sensed he needed to do this, that taking care of our mother was helping him hold on to his control. With a nod, he followed them.

Molly took my hand without looking at me and squeezed. Her haunted expression gave me pause, but I could barely focus on my own state of mind right now. Silent comfort was all I had to offer as well. “He’ll be okay,” she declared. “He has to be. We were just cleaning up the party dishes not even an hour ago. He was making jokes and so happy about the baby . . .”

“Of course he will,” Willa affirmed. “Dads like him always stay around.” Her eyes widened in horror on Molly once she realized the implications of what she had said. “Oh, I—I can’t believe I said that—”

Molly held up a hand and smiled softly at Willa. “It’s okay, and you’re right. Dads like Bill do always stay, but if they can’t, they’ll let you know they wish they could.” Her eyes drifted over Everett, then settled on me. “No matter what happens, Bill loves you boys. He was just telling me how much earlier . . .” Her eyes shone with unshed tears under the fluorescent glow of the lights before she ducked her head. I let go of her hand and pulled her into my side.

We collectively rose to our feet when we saw Barrett and my mother coming our way. “Is he—” Everett started to ask.

“Your father is sitting up in bed and he wants to go home! I am beside myself. I just—he had a heart attack and he thinks he should go home to sleep it off!” Tears filled her eyes as she opened her purse and rummaged around until she found a small pack of tissues.

A relieved laugh escaped me on a huff. “That sounds like him.”

“They ran tests—an EKG—and they took his blood. He had a mild heart attack called an SMI—silent myocardial infarction,” Barrett explained. “He’s going to have to make some changes when he gets out of here. And we’re lucky he was here with all of us or he probably would have just gone to bed to sleep it off, the stubborn old goat.”

“So, he’s going to be okay,” Everett confirmed.

Mom dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and answered. “Yes, he should be okay, but changes will have to be made, just like Barrett said. He won’t be back to one hundred percent anytime soon, no matter what he thinks. Heart attacks are serious even if they are silent! Y’all can go tell him goodnight, then go home and get some sleep. I’m going to stay here with your stubborn daddy and make sure he stays in that darn bed.”

“No way. I’m not leaving you here—” I started to argue but stopped at the look on Barrett’s face.

“I’ve got you, Momma,” he said. “We’re grown men. Let us take care of you for a change. I’m staying with you.” To the rest of us, he said, “Y’all go home. There’s no sense in all of us being here. Garrett, you’re in charge of keeping the company going for the time being. Everett, get Willa home and take care of your girl. I’ll call you if anything changes.” Barrett’s default reaction to any sort of stressor was to control everything that surrounded it until it was gone. I was afraid of how he would react when he realized there was no way he could control this situation; our father’s health was a variable that was too unpredictable at this point.

“You got it,” Everett agreed. “Come on, sweetness, let’s go say goodbye to Dad for the night, then we’ll go home.” They hugged my mother, then took off down the hall.

“Garrett, you’ll need to go to the office tomorrow instead of the site. What about putting Chris in charge of the inn for now?”

“Good thinking. Will do.”

“I’ll call if anything changes. Say goodbye, go on home and take it easy for tonight. I’ve got this.”

“Molly?” I held my hand out, she took it, tightly squeezing it with hers.

“I have my car and I already talked to Landon. I have the rest of the day off too. Whatever you need from me, I’m here. For all of you.”

“I love you, my sweeties.” My mother attempted to hug us both, but only succeeded in squishing Molly between the two of us, a moment of levity we all needed. “Say goodbye to your daddy. Y’all two take care of each other, promise me.”

“We will,” I answered.

“Promise it,” she demanded.

“We promise, Becky Lee,” Molly agreed, dropping a kiss to her cheek before tugging me down the hall to say goodnight to my father.