Page 60 of All Inn Thyme
“Okay.” She bites a smile on her lip. “How was your day?”
“Better now,” I say, thinking about what I want to do to that lip she just bit. We’ll get to that later.
My phone vibrates, and once I see it’s just my dad, I silence it and slide it back into my pocket. He’s probably just calling to check in, so I decide I’ll call him back after dinner. But I feel it immediately buzzing with another call and look down to several texts and the screen lit up with his name again. Something is wrong.
Dad
It’s your momma.
Shit.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell them as I go outside and answer the call. “Dad, what’s wrong?”
He chokes back tears as he says, “I had to rush her to the hospital, son. I found her collapsed on the kitchen floor when I got through with work.”
“Okay, I’m going to come home on the next flight that I can get on.”
“Probably best, son.” His voice breaks. I have never heard my dad cry or seen him this distraught.
“What are the doctors saying?”
“They think it’s her heart.”
My own heart drops at hearing this. Panic starts to fill me, and I shake my head and shake it off so I can focus on what I need to do.
“Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I can,” I say as I turn around, my eyes meeting Mellie’s worried ones as she’s standing in the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” Her hands grip my arm and she pulls me in, her eyes searching mine.
“It’s my momma. She collapsed and is in the hospital. They think it’s her heart. I have to go home to her.”
“Okay, why don’t you go pack and I’ll look up flights for you?” she offers.
“Okay, I need to fly into Mobile.” I need to make so many calls, pack a bag, get a flight, and I need to it allfast. It’s making me overwhelmed. “Find me the soonest one you can, please. I appreciate your help.”
“Of course,” she murmurs as she pulls out her phone and sits down at the table to begin searching.
In my room, I mindlessly throw clothes into my duffle and think about my momma. I feel bad that I’m so far from home and haven’t been able to visit her much lately. And even guiltier when I couldn’t let her come up here.
Kase hugs my leg as I pass and pats my thigh with his little hand. “Thanks, Kase,” I say, hugging him to me. “Will you take good care of Nova?” I ask as I look over to Nova leaning into us as she licks Kase’s hand.
“Yes,” he says solemnly. “Are you coming back?”
“Of course I am.” I tousle his hair, trying to lighten the mood. “It looks like she’ll take care of you, too.”
Mellie looks over at me and says, “I found one. How does this look?” She hands me her phone to look at the flight information.
My eyes scan it and I see it leaves in the next few hours. “Looks good.” I grab my wallet out of my back pocket and complete the purchase.
“Want me to drive you?” she offers.
“Yeah, honey, that would be good.”
“Of course,” she says as she pulls me into a hug and lays her head on my chest.
This. This is what it would feel like to have her as my woman. Someone to carry you when life kicks you in the balls. I need her and she needs me.
* * *
