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“You have to go through with these tests, Dad,” she said to his still form, hoping her words would help. “If you need angioplasty, it couldsaveyour life. The mortality rate for the procedure is far, far lower than you think.”
He didn’t respond.
She leaned over him and kissed his stubbled cheek. Emotion clogged her throat as she realized she couldn’t remember ever kissing him before.
“Our family has been divided for too long, Dad,” she said softly. “You said you have to fix things. But we’veallgot things to say that should have been said long ago. If we don’t talk to each other—listento each other—our family will never be whole.”
She gently tucked the sheet and thin hospital blanket over him. “Is that the legacy you want to leave? Failure? We can’t make things right if you’d rather ignore medical advice and die. I thought you had more backbone than that.”
Robert waited until after she left, then he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a long, long time.
And for the first time since Helen’s death, he whispered a prayer.
ED GLARED ATMatt from across the stack of lumber that had been delivered behind the Fosters’ house. “Our plans for this porch were correct. Up to code. I checked them twice and you did, too. We didn’t make a mistake. And while you were gallivanting off to Bozeman, the inspector said we were a half-inch off code on the stair risers at the Sloan place...”
Matt had spent two days in Bozeman with Jolie, Beth, and Thea and had come home Tuesday night.
The old guy had surprised everyone when he’d finally consented to an angiogram. While he was on the table, the surgeons had gone ahead with angioplasty and a stent to open up a severely clogged artery.
Thea said she figured he must have had brain damage, or he would have checked out against medical advice before ever reaching the surgical suite. But Jolie had just smiled.
Matt guessed that she laid out the facts in no uncertain terms.
Being with her during those long days had filled Matt with a sort of peace that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. It had feltright.
And it was getting much harder to remember why he’d ever thought she’d been so wrong for him.
The first night they’d all camped in the waiting room, afraid to leave.
The second evening, Thea had reserved a shared room at a nearby motel for herself, Beth, and Jolie.
Matt had headed home.
MATT FACED EDacross a worktable and wished he hadn’t hurried back to Garrett Bluff. His thoughts drifted as Ed spewed a litany of complaints.
“Well?”Ed insisted.
His voice slammed Matt back into the present. “Well, what?”
“What are we going to do about this? We can’t start construction if we don’t have the permit. These people expect their jobdoneby next Monday.”
Matt shook off his thoughts about the trip to Bozeman. “I’ll talk to the inspector.”
“And how are you gonna do that? I’ve called, I’ve stopped by. I can’t get a response—he’s always out, in a meeting, or on another line.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“What, you think you can waltz in and do better?” The anger glittering in Ed’s eyes spoke of far deeper issues than just this project delay. “You sure aren’t the boss.”
Matt stared at him in surprise. “You think I’m trying to take over? I thought this was a straight partnership, all the way.”
“You recheck my figures. Question my bids, my scheduling. With you second-guessing every move, it’s like having Big Brother watching over my shoulder twenty-four hours a day.”
That’s because I do find problems,Matt thought grimly.Too many.“I never meant it that way. Your craftsmanship is the best I’ve ever seen. I just happen to have a little more experience on the business side. We aren’t playing to our strengths if we don’t divide some of the responsibilities.”
The hostility in Ed’s eyes slowly faded. “Maybe.”
“Let’s meet at Grizzly’s for lunch and work this out. I’ll buy.”
