Love All Out - Part 4 (A Stepbrother Romance)
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Authors: Alice Ward
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This is Part 4 of "Love All Out" – a five part Hot New Adult Stepbrother Romance Series by Alice Ward.
It was time. Past time actually.
James and I were going to confess our love to our parents. But then tragedy struck and Daddy ended up in the hospital. Once again, our plans had to be postponed. Besides, we had work to do, the most important of which was protecting our animals and making sure Bradley Miller was locked away where he belonged.
We were content to keep our love a secret for a while longer, until a surprise from James’s past showed up and threatened everything we’d worked so hard to build. As we struggled to navigate our way around our newest obstacle, we made a horrible mistake… a mistake that sent our relationship crumbling down around us.
This book is intended for a mature audience, 18+ only.
“This is taking too long… we’ve been here for hours, someone should have told us something by now,” I insisted as I paced the floors of the Durango emergency room.
It felt like days had passed since the ambulance delivered me and Daddy to the hospital. The EMTs had immediately wheeled Daddy through the double doors and a nurse had stopped me from following. Renee and James arrived ten minutes later. James tried to comfort me, but nothing he said registered. Terror consumed me and my heart grew heavier with each moment that passed without news.
James slumped in a hard plastic chair, his elbows resting on his thighs. Renee was curled up beside him, her feet on the edge of her seat and her arms wrapped tightly around her chest.
“I’ll see if I can get an update from the nurse,” James offered. But he didn’t stand. The burly male nurse behind the desk had already made it pretty clear that our desperate need for news wouldn’t speed up its delivery.
“Don’t bother,” I said, wringing my hands. “We both know he’s not going to go check for us and I think we’re wearing on his patience.”
“If he doesn’t have enough patience to deal with worried families, he’s in the wrong line of work,” James insisted firmly. He stood up and walked to the desk with his hands on his hips. I couldn’t hear what he said, but the nurse nodded at him and disappeared through the double doors.
“He’s going to see if he can find anything out,” James promised, returning to his seat.
I forced my lips to turn up into a show of gratitude and continued pacing. Renee didn’t respond at all. In fact, she hadn’t said one word since she and James arrived at the hospital.
She feels guilty… she should feel guilty after all of that deep fried garbage she’s been feeding us. It’s a wonder we’re not all lined up in beds next to Daddy.
I pushed my hair from my face and pressed my fingers in my temples. Deep down, I knew Daddy’s heart attack wasn’t Renee’s fault. His diet had always been heavy with red meat and he’d never been easy on his body. He’d always been fond of scotch after dinner and a good cigar while riding through the pasture. But I couldn’t bring myself to direct my anger and blame at my father. Not when he was lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life. It was easier and much more satisfying to cast Renee as the villain.
I heard the doors swing open again and turned to see the nurse approaching us.
Please God let him have good news…
“Mrs. Rogers?” he said as he approached Renee. She didn’t correct him, just looked up with sad, heavy eyes.
“Yes,” she replied, her voice full of defeat.
“My name is Clark. I’m one of the emergency intake nurses. I just spoke with one of your husband’s trauma nurses and she said that Dr. Mains, the cardiologist on call, will be out to speak with you in just a few more minutes.”
Renee nodded at him with tears in her eyes and then quickly turned away. Clark started back towards his desk and I stepped in front of him, blocking the way.
“Surely that’s not all you know,” I insisted. “Is he stable? Is he conscious? What’s being done to fix him?”
Clark studied my face for a moment. The look in his eyes was an odd combination of sympathy and impatience. “He’s stable, for the moment. I’m sorry, but that’s all I’m at liberty to tell you.”
I opened my mouth to argue. Scream. Something. Instead, I nodded and stepped out of his way.
“Willow, why don’t you sit down?” James suggested softly. “You’ve been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours… and it looks like we have a long night ahead of us. You need to keep up your strength. Can I get you something to eat… please?”
I shook my head. “I can’t even think about eating right now, James. If you want to help me, call home and check on the foals.”
It seemed surreal that so much had happened in such a short time. Mondo won Preakness, then Bradley poisoned the foals and stole Thunder, and had been arrested for his horrible crimes. Now Daddy… I stifle a sob… Daddy collapsed. It had been one hell of a weekend.
James reached for his phone just as a man in a white lab coat stepped through the double doors. He approached us, his back straight and his eyes serious.
“Are you the Rogers family?” he asked, his green eyes darting back and forth between me, James, and Renee.
Renee cleared her throat and extended her hand as we all rose to our feet. “Yes, we’re Cole’s family,” she said. “I’m Renee and these are our children, Willow and James. Please tell us that he’s okay.”
If I hadn’t been so anxious for news, I’d have clarified our family situation a little for Dr. Mains. But I didn’t care if he understood how we were related. All I cared about was Daddy.
“Cole suffered a pretty severe heart attack,” he said, furrowing his well-wrinkled brow. “The good news is we were able to stabilize him. I apologize for taking so long to update you, but there were several tests we needed to do to determine the best course of action from here. Cole’s angiogram showed some significant blockage in the main artery that pumps blood to his left ventricle. That’s the most dangerous area for blockage to occur, and we have a couple of options on how we proceed.” Dr. Mains paused for a moment and then opened his mouth to continue. Renee didn’t let him.
“Can we see him?” she asked. “If there’s a decision to be made about what to do next, Cole should be the one who makes it.”
“I’m sorry, but we’ve sedated him for his own comfort,” Dr. Mains replied. “And time is of the essence. It’s best we proceed now.”
I was relieved that Daddy was stable, but completely overwhelmed by the fact that we’d have to make decisions for him without his input first. I bit my lower lip while James wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.
“What are our options, Dr. Mains?” he asked.
“If you’d like to take a conservative approach, we can take Cole back to the cath lab. I’ll perform balloon angioplasty to clear the blockage and place a stent to keep the vessel from narrowing again. The procedure is fairly noninvasive, but it does leave a greater chance of the blockage reoccurring.”
“And then he’d have another heart attack,” I said, horror tinging my voice.
Dr. Mains nodded. “Cole would be very closely monitored. In the best worst-case scenario, we’d catch the new blockage in time. But in the worst worst-case scenario, he could go into cardiac arrest again.”
James tightened his grip on my shoulder. “What’s the other option?”
“The other option is to do coronary bypass surgery—”
“But that’s open heart surgery,” Renee gasped and covered her hips with her fingers. “That’s too dangerous.”
“The surgery isn’t as radical as it sounds,” the doctor assured us. “And it’s not nearly as dangerous as it used to be. In fact, there’s a cardiologist in Denver that uses a surgical robot and minimally invasive techniques. Her name is Dr. Gulley. She’d take a small vessel from Cole’s leg and use it to bypass the blocked artery in his heart.”
“What types of risks are involved with something like that?” I asked. “And how long would Daddy’s recovery time be?”
“I don’t want to give you a false sense of security,” he said gravely. “There are risks involved with any surgery, more so when the patient has a heart condition. But I’m confident that Cole is strong enough to survive the procedure, barring any unforeseen complications.”
“And what are the advantages of having the surgery, versus the angioplasty and stent?” I pressed. I was determined to make the right decision and I needed as much information as possible.
“Cole will have to make some significant diet and lifestyle changes, but the surgery greatly decreases his chances of having another heart attack,” Dr. Mains assured me.
“Then that’s what I want to do,” I said firmly. “How soon can he be moved to Denver?”
Renee stiffened beside me. “That’s ridiculous, Willow,” she insisted, looking at me as if I’d grown two heads. “The balloon thing is much less invasive. We’ll do that, and if his blockage comes back we can revisit the surgical option… with
Cole
involved in the decision.”
A confused look spread across Dr. Mains’ face and he looked back and forth between me and Renee. James let his arm fall to his side and took a few steps back so he was no longer between us.
All of the worry I felt for Daddy turned to rage as I shifted my weight to face Renee. “If the blockage comes back, he could have another heart attack, Renee. That means more of his heart would die. Which means he’d be weaker and frailer… which he would hate. I may not be a doctor, but I’m smart enough to know that. I want him to be healthy and happy for as long as possible and it sounds like this surgery is the best way to make that happen.” I turned back to the doctor. “Please, arrange for my father to be transferred to Denver as soon as possible.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Renee snapped, her face tight with anger. “You’re not the only one who loves Cole. You don’t have the right to make this decision.”
My blood boiled and Dr. Mains turned to me with a grimace. “I’m sorry, but your mother is right. As his wife, she has final say on his care.”
“She’s not my mother,” I growled. “And she’s not his wife. I’m his only child, and I’m an adult, which makes this
my
decision. And I’ve made it. Please, make the arrangements to have him moved.”
Dr. Mains nodded and shot Renee an apologetic look. “I typically don’t like to act when families aren’t in agreement, but as I’ve already said, time is of the essence. I’ll make the necessary calls. One of you can ride along on the Medivac flight…”
“That will be me,” I interjected, my voice firm, just on the edge of screaming.
The doctor nodded again and turned to James. “It will take an hour or so to finalize the arrangements. If you leave for Denver now, you won’t get there much later than Cole and Willow.”
James nodded, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. I couldn’t tell if he was upset with me for overruling his mother’s wishes and I didn’t particularly care. “We’ll get on the road immediately.”
Dr. Mains turned back to me. “Sit tight, Willow. A nurse will be out with some paperwork for you to fill out. And for what it’s worth, I think you’ve made the right decision. The surgery would be my choice if one of my loved ones was in Cole’s shoes.”
I thanked the doctor again and after shaking all of our hands, he disappeared back through the double doors. Renee turned to me and burst into tears.
“How… could you… do this?” she sobbed. “It’s so dangerous, Willow. It’s so…”
My nerves were frayed, my heart was breaking, and I was in no mood for Renee’s blubbering or hysterics.
“Dangerous would be letting the doctors do a half ass patch job in the cath lab,” I hissed. “Or is that what you want?” Confusion and hurt spread across her face, but it didn’t slow me down. “You don’t want to grow old with my father. You want him to waste away while you spend all of his money. Hell, if this had happened after the wedding, you’d probably just let him die.”
“Willow!” James said in a sharp, harsh whisper. Renee collapsed in tears and James caught her just before she hit the floor.
“You’re completely out of line,” he continued, scolding me as he comforted his mother. “My mother loves Cole. She’s terrified right now, can’t you see that?”
I could, but I didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t care about Renee’s pain when mine was so consuming. But I knew that Daddy wouldn’t want me to be so unkind, so I reluctantly apologized.
“Renee, I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I honestly believe that the surgery is the right way to go. But I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
Renee took a deep breath and wiped her tears. “I know you’re upset and on edge. But if something happens to him, I won’t survive it.”
James wrapped her in a hug. “Cole’s strong. He’ll get through this,” he said to Renee. He looked at me over her shoulder. “We’ll all get through this.”
“Ms. Rogers… the doctor needs you to fill out these forms,” said a quiet voice. I turned and found a short, elderly woman with a kind face holding a clipboard.
“Yes, of course,” I said, taking the paperwork from her hand. I turned back to James. “You two should probably get on the road. I’ll call if anything happens before we land in Denver.”
He nodded and slung Renee’s purse over his shoulder. He put a hand on the small of her back and pointed her towards the door. “I’ll call home and tell everyone what’s going on,” he offered.
I nodded. “Thank you. And thank Dallas for holding things down at the ranch. Tell him I’ll call as soon as Daddy’s out of surgery.”
James softened his eyes and I could tell he longed to pull me in his arms, to press mine in comfort. But it wasn’t the time or place to spring our relationship on Renee so with a sad smile, I said goodbye and turned my attention to the stack of paperwork in my hands.
***
“Willow…? Willow, I brought you a cup of coffee,” Matt said, gently elbowing my ribs. I stirred in my plastic chair and tried to stretch the kink out of my neck.
“Here, you take this and I’ll get that,” Matt offered. I took the coffee from his hands and he massaged my tight, sore muscles.
“I can’t thank you enough for coming,” I said as I stared across the waiting room at James and Renee. James stared back at me helplessly while Renee’s eyes remained fixed on the door. She was furious that I’d agreed to the surgery and I was starting to wonder if she’d ever look at me again.