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“Did you not just see what I saw?” Austin asked with a quick laugh.
“You mean the way the two of them were practically making out with just their eyes?” Garrett added with his own hint of amusement. “I was ready to turn the hose on them. It was a little unnerving.”
“Shut up,” Jackson murmured, even though he felt like his face was on fire.
“You’ve been back in town for…what…a handful of days and you found it necessary to hit on the least appropriate girl in Laurel Bay?”
“There’s nothing inappropriate about Savannah,” Cash interjected loudly. “She’s a good person and, in their defense, they met up before either knew who the other was.”
“I thought you said you met her at Parker’s spa?” Garrett questioned.
“Um…”
“They met up last night at a pub,” Cash told them with a grin. “They only found out earlier today how they both know me.”
Burying his face in his hands, Jackson groaned and suddenly knew exactly how Savannah had felt earlier. Why did he think this was going to be better than pretending to still be enlisted and far from home?
“So what happens now?” Austin asked.
“I think they came to an agreement that they couldn’t date,” Cash replied. “Although I don’t see why. I mean…”
“Not them!” Austin interrupted. “I’m not interested in my baby brother’s love life. I want to know what happens now with you! With us! What is it you’re expecting from us moving forward?”
“Oh.” Looking mildly chagrined, their father shrugged. “That’s really up to the three of you. I’d like to spend time with all of you, if you’d let me. I’d genuinely like to sit and have a meal with all of you and Mia and Emmaline.” Another shrug. “And if your mother was so inclined, I’d like for her to be there as well. One last family dinner at some point—preferably sooner rather than later.”
They all nodded as they looked at one another.
“I think that’s fair,” Garrett said. “Um…are you being seen by any doctors here? Have you reached out to hospice?”
“There’s a folder around here someplace with all that info. I didn’t make any calls because I wanted to meet with the three of you first. If you had no interest in being with me, then I would have made alternate plans.”
“Do you need help?” Austin asked. “With…any of it? I mean…we can take you to doctor’s appointments or help interview nurses or…just tell us what you need.”
Cash smiled with gratitude. “Thank you for being so gracious,” he said gruffly, his voice catching slightly. “The only thing I need is to know that you’re all happy and healthy and taken care of once I’m gone. I’m not asking you to forgive me or to even love me. Just having some time with you is all I need.”
“Dad,” Garrett asked quietly, “maybe there’s something else that can be done. What if you met with some doctors here? I mean…don’t you want to try?”
“You may not believe this, but I did. I had second, third, and fourth opinions. I met with more doctors than I ever wanted to. The whole time Savannah was recovering, I sort of got desperate because the thought of leaving her the way everyone else had was just…” He growled with frustration. “It had nothing to do with me being selfish because before that, I had accepted my fate. I knew it was coming and it was no more than I deserved. But the thought of being one more person who that girl counted on and leaving her? I practically lived in one scanning machine or another for over a month trying to see if there was something that could be done—something to slow this disease down.” Sadly, he shook his head before looking back at Garrett. “Now, they all just want me to be comfortable.”
Austin looked away, Garrett hung his head, and Jackson closed his eyes. For all the years they had hated this man—cursed his very existence—in the end, he was still their father.
And they were losing him.
Only this time, it was forever.
