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The sound of Oz’s deep southern drawl shredded what was left of her nerves. She inhaled in a sad attempt to brace herself for face-to-face contact, because after so many years, nothing had changed.
Oh, they had a few more wrinkles than when they were twenty-five and twenty-eight, but the hint of gray in Oz’s dark hair made her pulse race. Almost-forty Oz was even more handsome. “Okay,” she said finally. “I’d like that. It’s been a difficult day.”
“That it has. How are you holding up?” he asked.
She opened her mouth to speak only to close it again, unable to find the words to express herself with anything other than a shake of her head.
“Yeah, I get it. I’m sorry, sweetheart. None of you deserve this mess.”
She ignored the term of endearment. Sweetheart, honey, and darling were as common in the south as expletives were elsewhere. “Did you know he was having an affair?” she asked. “I mean, I know how gossip works, especially when you live in a fishbowl.”
It was one of the things she’d hated about the island. Probably the only thing she’d hated about it. But when there were only a few thousand full-time residents, it was inevitable that there would be gossip like any other small town.
Oz shook his head, one side of his lips twisting into a grimace.
“No. I’m as surprised as everyone else. Devon, look, I know things between us have been strained all of these years, but… Rayna Jo is going to need us, all of us, to get through this. I’d like to think nothing will keep you from reaching out to me if you need something.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “Thank you.”
Oz leaned a shoulder against the metal support between the giant windows of the hospital, his gaze raking over her features.
She fought the urge to duck her head, knowing she wasn’t at her best.
“I hear you have your own show.”
“Ah, well, had. It’s been fun,” she managed to say. “But it ended today.”
“I’m sorry. I hadn’t heard.”
“It’s all good. I’ve just been hired to temporarily co-host a morning show while I explore other options.”
“Are you looking at anything in particular?” Oz asked.
He seemed interested but she knew it was a matter of being polite. Leave it to Oz to remember his manners at a time like this.
But like it or not, her attention shifted to the tiny platinum band she felt rubbing against the bottom of the coffee cup. “I haven’t had much time to think about it.”
“Well, good luck. Maybe you’ll have more time to visit. I know your mom was happy to see you. Everyone is, including me.”
She forced a smile and wrapped her other hand around the warm cup. The hospital was cold. Or maybe she was just chilled from the nerves and the grief and the horror of what her father had done and all the day had held.
“I hadn’t heard. Congratulations.”
Her gaze shot back to his and she watched as Oz stared at her hand. She quickly glanced around them and turned so that her back was to the group. “It’s not—” She twisted it around to show him it was an engagement ring and not a wedding band. “Don’t mention it, please. Now’s not the time and… it’s new and complicated.”
She set the cup on the window ledge and was painfully aware of Oz’s gaze on her while she discreetly slipped the ring off and tucked it into her pocket.
“So I see.”
Yeah, she felt no awkwardness from the man she’d once been engaged to about the ring now tying her to someone else. “Look, Oz, I appreciate you coming over to talk, but I’m not really—”
A code blue was called for the surgical floor, and she felt like her heart stopped beating. Anger and adrenaline had kept her going until now, but her father was still her father, and she’d always been a daddy’s girl.
Her gaze met Dara’s across the room, and simultaneously the two of them bolted toward the door, leaving the others behind.
They raced back to the waiting area to find her mother sobbing in a chair, surrounded by the Babes. No one spoke as they waited on word.
Minutes stretched and finally a secured door opened. A grim-looking doctor in surgical scrubs emerged. Devon knew without being told what the outcome had been. The cold she’d felt before now spread to every part of her body.
