Page 80 of Go Deep

“It shouldn’t have taken another episode for me to apologize for my behavior. I was unfair to you and unfair to Gabe without even knowing him. And I feel like I fed you both to the wolf otherwise known as Bob Sinclair.”

“I’m no sheep. I’ve battled way worse than him.”

“I know you have. Because you’re strong. Fearless. You’ve always been a fighter.”

I stand up straighter, a flicker of light in my core igniting and shooting out to every cell. Like my dad, I’ve been carrying a weight around, too. The weight of my truth. And now that it’s out, I finally am free.

Damn. Why the hell couldn’t he ever say that to me before?

A knock at the door jars me, and I look up to see Dr. Morrison’s head pop into the room.

“Dr. Morrison, thank you so much for coming.” Eva turns and shakes his hand. His gaze stays on me for a few seconds too long…again…so I avert my eyes as he approaches Dad’s bed.

“I saw the press conference,” Dr. Morrison says to me with a smile. “Gotta say, I suspected it from our first meeting. And I’m happy for you guys. Must be a relief to finally get it out there.”

“Don’t be too happy.” I run a hand down the back of my head. “I fucked it up, not once but twice. I doubt I’ll get another shot with him.”

“Three strikes and you’re out. You’re still in the game.” Eva winks at me.

“Whatever. Can we please talk about Dad and forget about my drama?” I push off the wall and walk toward the bed. “I didn’t misspeak at the conference, right? All the test results point to the gallstones?”

Dr. Morrison flips through the screens of the iPad in front of him. “Yep. The ER nurses ran a whole host of tests just to be sure of the diagnosis: CBC, CMP, PT/PTT, lipase, amylase, total bilirubin, urine analysis, alk phos?—”

“Doc, no offense, but none of us knows what the hell you’re talking about. If you say they ran everything to rule out his heart, we believe you. You’re my father’s cardiologist and wetrust your judgment.” My lips curl up the slightest bit at my father. “We just need your blessing that he’s gonna be in kickass shape in a few weeks to continue his campaign, because that’s the important thing.”

“Correction.” Dad’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “I’m alive and here with my two children whom I love more than anything.That’sthe important thing.”

His gaze connects with mine and I give a slight nod. It’s weird, but since the attack came on in his office earlier today, he looks relaxed. His normally gruff demeanor has softened, and he’s smiled more in the past couple of hours than I’ve seen him do in months.

I think it’s relief.

Like he said, he kind of always knew my secret.

Maybe he’s glad it finally got out, and that things blew up around him because it was his escape from the clutches of Bob Sinclair and his checkbook.

Eva holds out her hand and I grasp it.

But the loss still clenches my gut. Loss and regret.

Because if I’m being honest with myself, if I was Gabe I’d hate me a little bit for outing us like that and tarnishing his image with his fans. My intentions were good, but I didn’t think of the repercussions before I spouted my big mouth. Linking myself to him when the world knows my father as a total bigot probably wasn’t my smartest move.

“I was able to get your surgery scheduled with one of the best gastro surgeons in the country. He happens to be a good friend of mine, and he’s in town for a conference, so you’re all set for tomorrow morning.”

“And what’s the recovery?”

Eva rolls her eyes. “Dad, seriously? Is the word ‘relax’ really not in your vocabulary?”

“Nope. And I have a lot of work to do, beginning with myplatform. I need to completely rebrand myself for this election.” Dad looks up at Dr. Morrison, embarrassment etched into his worn face. “I’ve got a lot of apologies to make once I get out of here, but I think I should start right now. I apologize if I ever offended you, Doc.”

Dr. Morrison shrugs. “Eh, in my business, I’m used to grouchy, intolerant old men. Besides, I took an oath.” He winks and then turns to me. “You guys should go home and get some sleep. The senator will be resting tonight on my order. Come back tomorrow morning. They’ll start prepping him at eight, and the surgery will be at nine.”

Dad hangs onto my arm for a second after Eva gives him a kiss. She nods her head toward the hallway. “I’ll be outside.”

“I’m going to fix this, Vince. I promise.”

“Just focus on yourself, Dad. We’re here for you…and the fallout.” I snicker.

He grins. “I’m ready for it. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad things happened the way they did.” His smile fades. “When I saw that video…”

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