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“Um…I just got off the phone with Mac and he said Mr. Montgomery’s been moved to ICU for the night and they hope he’ll then go to a private room at some point tomorrow.”
A nod was all he could do.
“He said not to count on him, Jason, Lucas, or Robert to be in tomorrow and wanted to make sure everyone knew you were the one to go to with any issues.”
Awesome.
“Okay,” he murmured.
She stared at him with a sad smile. “For what it’s worth, I get it. Mr. Montgomery is pretty much everyone’s favorite person. This whole thing just seems so surreal.” She paused. “But if you need to talk…”
“I’m good, Sara, but thanks,” he said solemnly. “I’m just gonna stay until I get caught up on everything so the guys won’t have any worries when they get back.”
For a moment, she continued to watch him. “No one expects you to move in here and run the entire company,” she reminded him. “These are extenuating circumstances and you need to give yourself some grace.”
“Okay.”
With a loud sigh, she nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning, Noah. Make sure you go home, have something to eat, and sleep.”
“Thanks.”
It wasn’t until she was gone that he realized she was right.
He did need to talk to someone.
Not Jax. He’d already talked to him about his relationship with Lily, and it didn’t make him feel great. Simon might be busy and he hated to bother him while he was on tour, so that left…
Picking up his phone, he let out a low moan because this was not the guy he ever wanted to be.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mom,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “How are you?”
“Noah! Hi!” Doreen Wylder said with pure joy. “This is a surprise! How are you doing?”
“Um…not so great,” he replied honestly. “Do you have time to talk?”
“For you? Of course! I just got home and was sitting here trying to decide what to have for dinner. So, what’s going on?”
Where do I even begin?
“Three years ago, I met a girl,” he began, and then told her the whole story of everything that happened right up until he walked out of the hospital earlier today. “And now? Now I’m not sure what to do. This has made me look at myself and I don’t like the man I’ve become.”
“First, that’s ridiculous,” she said firmly. “There isn’t anything wrong with who you are. You’ve worked hard to accomplish your dreams, Noah. And the fact that you were trying to be respectful isn’t a bad thing. I don’t think there was ever going to be an easy path for you and Lily, and that’s more on her father than anyone else. What kind of man holds a grudge for three years?”
“I know, but…”
“And Lily’s a grown woman, for crying out loud! I get that some guys don’t like to think of their daughters as being sexually active, but…”
“Oh my God, Mom! Stop!” he said with a laugh. “I get what you’re saying, and yeah, Lucas has been my biggest obstacle. And just when I thought we’d overcome all of it and moved on, Lily shows up and I went and got involved when I shouldn’t have.”
“I hate to say this, Noah, but it takes two. And from what you’ve told me—and I’m sure you’ve left a lot out—it seems like the attraction was mutual and this was bound to happen. Sounds like Lucas Montgomery’s got a stick up his ass that needs to come out. Do I need to come to Charlotte and talk to him? Because I’ll do it!”
Just the image was enough to make him laugh again. “As much as I appreciate you wanting to come here and kick my former NFL quarterback boss’s ass, I’m going to have to say no.”
“Please. I can still whoop your brother’s butt and he’s a football player too!” She went quiet for a moment. “All I’m saying is, this is a crappy situation and the timing for all of it is making it worse. You may have to just…wait this one out for a bit. William’s in the hospital and he’s been your buffer, but right now, the whole family’s focus has to be on him.”
“I know, but…”
