Page 75 of Defending Casey

Casey made the call.

* * *

Hale picked up immediately,flipping off Clint when he coughed up the word ‘whipped.’

“Hey, Case, what’s-”

“Nora’s not feeling well. I stopped by Mountain Medical, and Doctor Kim saw her. He doesn’t think it’s more than a cold, but I’m taking her home after I drop off lunch to my dad at the store.”

Fear clawed at his heart.

Sure, Casey said it was just a cold.

But hearing that Nora wasn’t feeling well hit him hard.

“You want me to come over?”

“No, not now. I’m calling from the exam room. She’s half asleep against me right now. Chances are she’ll be asleep for hours. So while you have the guys go ahead and do what you can. We probably won’t be able to take her to the house tomorrow, sorry.”

He heard the disappointment in her voice but had a feeling she was more disappointed for him and Nora than herself. She knew how much he was looking forward to showing Nora the bedroom set.

Which, he looked at the guys who were watching him with open curiosity, wasn’t going to be finished with him on the phone.

“Baby,” he closed his eyes so he could see her in his head, “if anything changes, call me. Okay?”

“I know,” her soft voice had a little hitch in it. “I love you, Hale.”

“Casey, I love you so damn much.”

“Bye.”

He turned around and saw the guys waiting for an update. Gesturing to the phone, Hale let out a breath. “Casey said Nora has a cold. She’s taking her home and Nora will likely sleep for a while.”

Zeke looked at Clint before he turned back to look at Hale. “You want to continue with this?”

“Yeah.” Hale gave them a rueful smile when he realized he’d shaken his head instead of nodding. “I mean, yes. There’s nothing I can do right now and…” He lost his train of thought. “Holy shit. I’ve been gone for years. And Casey’s been doing this by herself. I mean, of course, she had her dad, but I should have been here. I should have come back and checked on her. At least.” He wasn’t used to the overwhelming feeling of guilt that rolled through him like a tidal wave. “How Casey doesn’t kick my ass at times like these, I don’t know.”

Zeke reached out and Bodie set a Phillips screwdriver in his hand. “Don’t focus on that, man. You’ve got a daughter and woman who love you. This was all a fuck up from the start.”

Bodie lifted the end of a board and held it steady for Zeke to fit the hardware in. “If Casey doesn’t blame you, why are you doing this to yourself?”

Clint nudged Stone, who lifted up his end of the board to hold it level and gave him a pointed look as well.

Stone grimaced back at Clint. “What?”

Smiling, Clint rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have something to say?”

“What am I supposed to say? I’m here as the muscle today.”

Clint gave his friend a hard look. “You’re the muscle? Then what am I?”

Stone opened his mouth and Bodie let out a sigh.

“Can it, you two.” Bodie gave Hale a smile. “You might regret keeping us around later, Hondo.”

Hale shook his head. “Not on your life. Seriously, I owe all of you for helping me with this. The instructions are pretty good, but this thing looks like it’s going to be huge. It didn’t look this big put together in the store.”

Clint shrugged. “Beats the four of us wandering like cavemen around a kids store looking for those little baby outfits.”

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