AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He exhaled a short laugh. “Believe me, I don’t expect anything of the sort.” I parked the UTV, and we got out, walking side by side as we ascended the wide steps to the wraparound front porch of their log cabin. He shouldered me. Hard. “You couldn’t even buy me coffee.”
I shoved him back. “You weren’t supposed to be at my house, dick.”
“Asshole,” Ian tossed over his shoulder, shoving me back so he’d get inside the house first.
Sheila was in the kitchen, shaking her head as we tussled our way into the house. Dad was in his favorite recliner, and an oxygen cannula snaked around over his ears as his thin chest rose up and down while he slept.
“Sorry,” I said quietly.
Sheila hustled over, wrapping Ian in a tight hug. “You’re home,” she said in a hushed tone.
“I’m home,” he said. Ian towered over her, his dark hair pulled back, and I could see enough of his face that he looked just as relieved about that as she was. He kissed the top of her head. “Looking good, Mom.”
She patted her salt and pepper hair, styled in the same blunt bob she’d always had. “Liar.”
Ian tilted his head toward Dad. “How’s he doing?”
Sheila and I traded a look.
“Just say it,” Ian said.
“He’s eating less,” I answered quietly. “In bed most of the day. When he does get around, he’s got to be in the wheelchair.”
Ian’s jaw clenched, his dark eyes not moving from our dad as he nodded.
Sheila sighed. “Hospice aides are here twice a week to help with bathing him and such, it’s a big help. His doctor and nurse come right to the house too.” She patted his chest. “It’s good you came home when you did. He’ll be so happy you’re back.”
My eyes burned a little when Ian cleared his throat and dashed a hand under his eye. “Yeah,” he said, voice gruff with emotion. “I’m happy too, Mom.”
“Parker coming home for the fall festival?” I asked.
It was Dad’s favorite time of year in our small town, and he’d made a simple request that our whole family be together for the weekend.
She paused. “I think so. He and Beckett have a bye week, so the timing works out well.”
Now it was time for Ian and I to share a look. Our youngest brother didn’t take it very well when Dad decided to forego any treatment and instead live out the rest of his life without the drugs ravaging his body.
“He came home for Greer’s wedding, right?” Ian asked.
That was a few months ago, and he hadn’t been back since, and in those few months, Dad had declined. A lot. But I nodded. “Yeah.”
Sheila wiped under her eyes. “It was hard for him to see your dad like this,” she whispered like she was afraid for Dad to hear. “But he came home. They talked a little bit. He calls a couple of times a month. It’s … better. But he’s still afraid to watch him die.”
Join the fucking club, I thought.
But I’d never say it out loud.
I wrapped my arm around Sheila’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll all be here with you, no matter what you need, Mom.”
She sniffled. “Best boys in the world,” she said. “Can’t understand how neither of you are married yet. Any girl would be so lucky to have you.”
Ian frowned, and I smothered a grin.
Her comment, innocently meant, instantly brought up a vivid memory of Ivy. I’d done my best to avoid thinking about her the last week.
No good would come from it.
Only once had I indulged it. Just once.
