Page 36 of An Engagement for Erica

“I’ll make the call right now,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said and disconnected his phone.

“What was that about?” Michael asked.

“Dr. James’s daughter is the consultant I hired. We’ve worked together before. We’re close.”

“Close?” Michael asked.

“Close enough for her to do this for me,” he said. He hoped. He was speaking out of turn and didn’t care.

He was speaking from his heart and hoping for the best to come out of it.

“Are we going to New Haven?”

“The minute my grandfather leaves, I’m following the ambulance. At the same speed.”

“I’m going with you,” Michael said. “I’m not sure I’m steady enough to drive.”

He wasn’t sure if he was either.

A nurse came in. “You can see your grandfather briefly. He’ll be loaded up in a few minutes.”

He handed his key to Michael. “Can you bring my car around to the bay by the ambulance?”

“On it,” Michael said, running out.

He followed the nurse to where his grandfather was.

Maybe it would’ve been better if he hadn’t.

He started to blink his eyes, trying to keep the tears back.

The big man he’d looked up to appeared lifeless on the bed. Monitors and IV’s hooked up.

“You better fight this,” he told his grandfather. “I expect you to come out on the other side.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m not ready to lose you. Please don’t go.”

He closed his eyes and took a few steady breaths.

“I’m sorry, we need to go,” the nurse came in.

Tucker moved back and then followed them out of the hospital and took off speeding down the road.

There were no words spoken on the trip. He didn’t think he could talk without crying.

His phone went off and he saw the text from Erica, hit the button, and heard the car speaking.

“My father is aware. He’s in surgery and will be finishing up soon, but they will prep your grandfather and he’ll move in as soon as he can. He can’t promise someone else won’t take over if he’s held up.”

He hit the button to reply. “Thank you, Erica. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“If he’s in surgery, how was she able to talk to him?” Michael asked.

“I’m thinking she said it was an emergency and asked him to be interrupted in the OR,” he said.

“Just a consultant, huh?” Michael asked.

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