Just tell me, Heston.
Surprise. It’s an animal.
You had me worried thinking he was dying. He just needs a pill and his itchy butt will be a thing of the past.
No, Dad. He doesn’t have worms. It’s a wolf.
What’s a wolf?
The animal. He calls it his beast. Wanna see?
I couldn’t continue, even in my imagination, because I didn’t want Devyn in trouble with the big shifter honcho, and if I was the one who blabbed, would I be hauled before the council? I had no intention of finding out.
“Heston, come here, please.”
Dad calling me reminded me of when I was a kid and I’d done something wrong. I’d put my head down and push out my bottom lip, but pouting never worked on Dad. Father was a pushover for a good pout, but Dad was made of sterner stuff.
His night light was on, and he’d plumped the pillows behind his back before patting the chair beside the bed.
“I love you very much and?—”
“I know, Dad.”
He waggled his finger, and we said in unison, “Don’t interrupt.”
That got a laugh out of him.
“While I should be annoyed you went behind my back and asked Sebastian for money, I’m proud of you. Your father would be too. Thank you.”
After what I’d seen at the house, I wasn’t sure my step-father had the cash. Yes, he owned a multimillion dollar company, but the funds were tied up. He couldn’t just demand the accountant hand over a stack of bills.
“You’re not angry.” It was a statement, not a question, and it worried me. Was that a sign he’d given up on getting the surgery or he was too sick to care about where the money came from?
“No. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and my illness has put you under so much pressure. You haven’t had a chance to begin your life.”
“Dad, no.” He pursed his lips. “Sorry, again. I won’t interrupt.”
“You couldn’t raise that much money and I should have agreed about asking Sebastian.” He raised a hand as I made to speak and I closed my mouth. “ButIshould have spoken to him. I’m sorry.”
I took his hand, noting the translucent skin that reminded me of crepe paper and the blue veins below.
“Don’t. It’s done and in the past and we’re looking forward.”
He nodded, the light catching the tears on his lashes.
“Promise me you have no more big surprises. My heart can’t cope.” He froze. It was the sort of thing people said every day, but for Dad, his heart was in bad shape.
I squeezed his hand. “Once you’ve had the surgery, we’ll go to the movies and take vacations. There’s a whole world waiting for you, Dad.”
He yawned and covered it with his hand.
“Time to sleep.”
There were only a few hours before I had to get up for work. Images, questions and ideas were bouncing around in my head and I had given up on sleep. But my eyes closed and the alarm woke me. Thirty minutes later, I was out the door.
As I made coffees for customers, I ran over the names of people who’d worked with Father. While there were probably tons I’d never met or heard him mention, three names were at the top of my list.
When my shift was over, I sat in the car, scrolling through my phone.
