Page 14 of Lavender Lake
“Cas Bowman, ma’am,” he said.
Muddy frowned. “Cas Bowman.”
“My best man,” Declan supplied. “He flew in early as a surprise before the wedding.”
“Salem and Bowman were on the same flight,” Hadley said. “Oddly enough.”
“Oddly,” Muddy murmured. She moved away from me and embraced him before stepping back. “Hadley? You want to come too?”
Hadley nodded and left Declan’s side. He watched her go and a pang of envy shot through my heart.
She had someone to lean on. Someone to care for her.
My eyes went to Bowman. He was staring at me with a blank expression across his face.
I quickly turned away and followed my sister and grandmother. “You have to gown and glove up just for the first few days,” the nurse said, handing me a gown. “He’s at a high risk of infection.”
The three of us donned the medical gear, and then went into my father’s ICU room.
I stared at him.
The man had always been larger than life. A cowboy. A stubborn, steady presence. A bear of a man.
And now he just looked . . .human. Fallible.
I hated seeing him like this. Broken. A shell of who he truly was.
A horse had kicked him in the head. Would that rob me of my father like the ovarian cancer had robbed me of my mother?
“He looks better today,” Muddy said. “He’s not as pale.”
“You’re right,” Hadley agreed.
I bit my tongue.
Hadley reached out and touched Dad’s hand despite having a glove on. “We love you, Dad. Get better.”
I wasn’t doing this. I wasn’t saying goodbye. I would not mourn at his bedside.
“We should go,” I said quietly. “Let him rest.”
Hadley looked at me. Seeing without needing words. We were twins. We didn’t need words.
The three of us stepped out of the hospital room and began to take off the gown and gloves.
“When was the last time you slept?” I asked Muddy.
“I don’t need sleep.” She lifted her chin, presenting a stubborn angle that I recognized from years of looking in the mirror. “I’m staying in the waiting room. They let me see him for a few minutes every couple of hours, and I want to be here in case something changes.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Hadley offered.
“You don’t have to, sugar,” Muddy said.
“I know. But I want to.”
I couldn’t sit in the waiting room with nothing to do except let my mind hold me hostage.
Muddy handed me her keys.
