AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I tripped on this damn mat.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“You were with Tucker. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“I’m calling the paramedics.”
“Just help me up, Scarlett. I’ll be fine.”
“Do you hurt anywhere?”
“My wrist is a bit sore where I caught myself,” he admits. “But I’m fine. It’s just my pride that’s a bit bruised, that’s all.”
“No, I’m absolutely calling the paramedics.”
Jesus, my heart is hammering so hard in my chest, it’s a wonder Tucker can’t hear it. I reach for my phone and call 911. Once the call is made, and the ambulance is on the way, I sit on the floor with Dad and hold his hand.
“I don’t want to move you in case you’ve injured something.”
“Scarlett, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“But you are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. You’re causing a fuss for nothing.”
“No, I’m not,” I insist. The next ten minutes are a blur as the ambulance arrives, and four men come rushing inside with a gurney and all kinds of equipment.
Most of them know my father, and they chat with him, keeping him at ease as they check him out.
“How long have you had this bruise on your knee?” One of them asks my father, making him frown.
“Oh, I must have gotten that when I fell.”
“We’re going to take you to the emergency room, just to have your wrist and knee looked at,” the paramedic named Jimmy says. “I know that’s not how you planned to spend your Friday night, but it’s really for the best, Mr. Rick.”
“Thank you,” I say before Dad can complain. I follow them out of the house, just as Lexi is hurrying out of her car and rushing up to meet us. “Lexi, I was just about to call—”
“What the hell is going on?” she demands, her face white as she approaches Dad on the gurney. “Dad, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he assures her. “I had a little fall, and Scarlett is just being cautious by calling in the troops.”
“What did you do?” Lexi rounds on me, pushing her face to mine. “You have one job, Scar. Watch Dad, make sure he’s safe and well taken care of.”
“He had poker night, and I went out with Tucker—”
“This is so you,” Lexi interrupts with a humorless laugh. “You let someone else take care of your responsibilities while you go off whoring with him.”
She points behind me, and I turn, surprised to see Tucker walking up behind me.
“Watch yourself, Alexis,” Tucker says, his voice and eyes hard.
“It’s true,” she insists.
“They’re loading him,” I say, pulling out of Tucker’s grasp as he takes my hand in his. “I’m going with him.”
“The hell you are,” Lexi says, but I’m already climbing into the ambulance, and the doors are shut before Lexi can say anything more or try to join us. I take Dad’s uninjured hand in mine and watch out the back window as Tucker and my sister fade from view.
“She’s just upset,” Dad says. “She’ll cool off.”
I smile down at him because I don’t want to upset him, but when it comes down to it, Lexi isn’t wrong. It is my job to take care of our father, and instead, I spent the evening with Tucker. I even stayed after I knew that Dad was home alone, and that’s on me.
This is all my fault.
I need to refocus and remember what’s most important: my father, not my libido.
“Hey, Dad, are you and Gretchen okay?”
“We’re fine, honey,” Gretchen says, waving me off. She’s Dad’s in-home physical therapist. “Rick’s all mine for another ninety minutes.”
“I’ll be back well before then,” I assure them both before walking out the back door. I saw Tucker in his garage a little while ago, and I figure now’s a good time to go talk with him.
Not that there’s ever a good time to have this conversation, but Dad’s with Gretchen, and I don’t think Chloe’s home from her friend’s house yet.
Last night was simply relentless. That’s the only word I have for it. My emotions were all over the place. I had the best sex of my life with a man I respect and like, who I trust wants to be with me for all the right reasons and not just because I’m Scarlett Kincaid, international superstar.
But then I had the terror of finding Dad on the floor, and everything that happened after. To say it was a rollercoaster would be the understatement of the friggin’ year.
I hear clanging coming from Tuck’s garage, and when I come around to the big door and find it open with Tuck sitting on the floor beside his lawnmower, my stomach takes a dive to my feet.
Dear sweet Lord in Heaven, the man is gorgeous.
He’s sweaty, and a little dirty, thanks to the tinkering and the oppressively hot South Carolina summer weather. And when he looks up at me, his eyes narrow.
