“Like complete crap,” she answered. “Where’d Mom go?”
“She just went to grab a coffee,” I said. “She’ll be back in a minute.”
Grace eased her head back on my shoulder and placed her hand that wasn’t in the cast on my arm. “I’m glad you and Mom are together. Aside from finding out that Mom got Bradley Cooper, this is the best news I could have hoped for.”
I feigned offense. “You mean I got beat out by the dog?”
“Well, I’ve wanted a puppy pretty much my entire life.” She chuckled and flinched, clutching at her ribs. “Ouch. It hurts to laugh. Anyway, did you know that the nurse thought you were my father?”
Father. There was that word again. I’d panicked when I saw Grace in the hospital bed, but with her tucked away safely by my side, I felt more steady. Like I could be the type of man that made a good father. I could be a man that didn’t run out of the hospital gasping for air at the first sign of trouble… right?
I wanted to believe that, but the more the minutes ticked by without an update on Sam, I felt that sense of doubt building in my mind again.
“Katie told the nurse I was your dad so they’d let me back to see you,” I explained.
She got quiet again, and for a moment, I thought she’d drifted back to sleep. “Is it weird for me to say that sometimes I wish you were? I love my dad, and I miss him. But is it so bad for me to wish I had a dad that was actually here?”
My heart caught in my throat.
“That’s weird, isn’t it?” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m still loopy, I guess.”
I cleared my throat in an effort to mask the emotion that crept into my voice. “That’s not weird, sweetheart.”
“I don’t remember a lot about my dad, but I remember the way he felt. He felt… safe, like he’d always protect me.” She sighed softly. “You feel like that too. Like a dad.”
I swallowed hard, afraid that if I tried to speak, I’d completely break down. After how scared I’d been, I didn’t feel I deserved her words. Dads wouldn’t buckle under pressure, would they?
No, they’d have stayed by her side the entire time. They’d have watched over the hospital staff to make sure they were giving her the best possible care. They wouldn’t be a coward, like I’d been.
“Mr. Montgomery?” A voice tore me from my thoughts. I looked up to see a man about my age in a white lab coat staring down at me.
I nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Dr. Williams.” He glanced at Grace who lifted her head from my shoulder. “May I have a word with you in private?”
I felt Grace’s grip tighten around my arm as I stood to follow the doctor. “It’s okay. I’ll be right back.”
He led me to a corridor outside the waiting room just as I saw Ella return to Grace’s side.
“Is Sam okay?” I asked as we came to a stop.
“Mr. Montgomery, I removed Sam’s spleen and was able to get his bleeding under control,” the doctor said, “but we had a hard time controlling his blood pressure during the procedure, so he’s still intubated. We’re keeping him in the ICU to monitor him more closely, but I feel optimistic his condition will improve over the next few hours, and we’ll be able to extubate him tomorrow. I expect he’ll make a full recovery, and barring any complications, we should be able to discharge him in about a week.”
Thank God.I felt my entire body sigh with relief. “That’s great news!”
“It is.” Dr. Williams didn’t smile, his expression completely unreadable. “However, something else came up during surgery that I’m a little concerned about.”
My stomach dropped. “Okay…”
“Sam has a mass on his pancreas. It measures about one point five centimeters, which isn’t huge, but it’s large enough to give me pause,” he informed me. “I’m running a biopsy so we can confirm whether it's malignant or benign.”
Malignant.My head felt like it was spinning. “Wait.” I placed my hand on the wall in an attempt to ground myself. My heart was beating out of my chest. “Are you saying Sam could have... cancer?”No, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” the doctor said. “We’ll see what the lab results show and go from there.”
“Right.” My chest was tight as though I had a five hundred pound weight on top of me. “When will those come back?” The air suddenly seemed hot, causing me to feel dizzy.
“We should have them back within a couple of days.”
