Page 17 of You Had Me at Chocolate

Her pulse was so loud in her ears, Clem had no clue if she’d whispered or yelled it but Merridy’s hand slid onto Clem’s shoulder and squeezed. “Clem? What’s wrong?”

“Is she… do they…” She couldn’t even bring herself to say the words.

“I don’t know,” she heard her father say but he sounded like he was underwater. “Clem… I thought she was… we’d had such a great time at the wedding, no indication… I found her on the floor about an hour after we got home… I thought she’d…”

It seemed her father couldn’t bring himself to say it either. “The paramedics… they told me to pray.”

Oh god.

“Okay.” Clem stood. Bella and Merridy followed suit. “I’m coming home. I don’t…” She couldn’t think properly. She couldn’t figure out her first steps. But her father didn’t need to know that. “Are you in Bozeman?”

“I’m on my way now.”

“Okay… I’ll meet you there. I need to sort things on this end and get the first flight home but I doubt I’ll be able to get there until tomorrow.” Which would still be quicker than driving.

“I’m so sorry, darling. I know how much you were looking forward to your vacation.”

“Oh god, Dad, it doesn’t matter.” Nothing mattered but her mom not dying.

Sure, they’d had a fractious relationship this past year with Clem not only traveling again but announcing she was moving to New York. Her mom, who hadn’t been happy since her split with Reuben, didn’t understand that Clem, who had always been so settled and committed to her job and Marietta, suddenly wanted more.

But Trina Jones had only been coming from a place of love and she sure as hell didn’t deserve this. “Just hang in there. And ring me as soon as you have an update, no matter the time, okay?”

“What happened?” Bella asked as Clem hung up the phone.

“My mom,” she said, her hands shaking now as the information set in. “She had a stroke.”

“Oh, babe.” Merridy grabbed her in for a hug and Bella joined in and for a few seconds, Clem succumbed to the tsunami of emotion welling inside her and cried. But, knowing there was no time to waste she pulled out of the circle and clamped down on the tears. Shutting down the daughter side of her brain, she let the librarian take over.

“I have to get to Bozeman.”

God… they were going to need to get her luggage off the flight and that would cause a massive delay for everyone but she couldn’t think about that now. She had to do what needed to be done.

“Right.” Bella nodded. “Let’s go see the desk.”

*

Clem strode into Bozeman hospital at three o’clock the next afternoon. She was exhausted and sick with worry. She’d spent all her travel time on her phone researching everything she could on stroke—or CVA, cerebrovascular accident, as it was known medically. The good news was how much better the outcomes for stroke were these days and there was a lot of ongoing research, which was encouraging but it was the poor outcomes that had haunted her as she’d sped across the country as fast as domestic airline scheduling allowed.

Entering the intensive care waiting room, she stifled a gasp as her gaze landed on her father. He looked terrible, the lines on his face suddenly deep crevices aging him by about twenty years more than his fifty-eight.

“Oh, Clem,” he whispered as he stood, his shoulders stooped, tears running from his eyes and a terrible sense of foreboding froze her to the spot for a beat, her heart crashed in her chest.

“Is she…?”

Hal Jones shook his head. “She’s still hanging in there.”

His voice cracked and Clem hurried across the room, straight into his arms. She staggered a little as he leaned into her and squeezed her hard, sobbing quietly. “I can’t lose her, Clemmy,” he said, hoarsely. “I won’t know what to do without her.”

Clem held him tight, shocked to see her big, strong capable father so distressed. All her life she’d leaned on him. He’d been the quiet, solid support. Always just there, in the background, believing in her, encouraging her, giving her what she needed—physically, emotionally, financially—to be the person she wanted to be.

Not to mention loving her mom. Respecting her. Indulging her. Showing Clem through example how a man was supposed to treat a woman. How a loving relationship was supposed to be.

A girl couldn’t have asked for a more perfect male role model.

Even when her mom had been upset about Clem breaking up with Reuben and booking her Contiki tour, her father had been encouraging. He’d run interference with her mom, he’d told her she had to do what she needed to do, she had to follow her dreams. He’d told her everything would be okay.

Now she knew deep in her gut, she was going to need to be that person for him.

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