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Tuck looks from his sister to the doctor, the wheels in his brain turning at about the same speed as my addled brain. Fury shades his face red.
I try to reach out to him, but moving makes my vision swim.Someone should call an ambulance.
But it seems like they’ve all forgotten me.
“You’re Jared’s father!” Tuck roars.
Dr. Turbo Maximus takes a step backward, raising his hands like he’s blocking a karate kick. “You must have me mistaken with someone else. I don’t have kids.”
Still clutching her stomach, Hazel speaks. “Actually, Victor, you do.”
Victor?As invictory?That’s even worse thanDr. Turbo Maximus.A fresh wave of nausea rolls through my body.
How am I supposed to compete with the American-Gladiator-lookalike doctor who fathered Hazel’s son?
I’m thankful for the excruciating pain shooting through my leg. At least it dulls the ache in my heart.
And that’s when my body betrays me, spewing fish tacos all over the sand.
Chapter 12
Hazel
Victorexaminesthewoundon Bishop’s leg and declares that it isn’t deep. “It’ll need to be thoroughly cleaned at the hospital before he can be stitched up, though.”
I shudder at the thought of Bishop being patched up like Honey’s Yoda doll. “But he’ll be okay?”
“He should be just fine,” Victor says. His voice is as smooth as melted butter, just as I’d remembered.
I hug my arms around myself. “Thank goodness.” I haven’t been this worried since the time Jared’s appendix nearly burst. “Tuck, you’ll go with him to the hospital, right?”
Tuck looks outraged, throwing Victor a look of murderous rage. “But—”
I put my hands on my hips. “Jared Elijah Tuck.” Since I named my son after my brother, the full name rolls easily off my tongue. Tuck winces, just as Jared does when he’s in trouble. “I’ll be fine. You have to go with Bishop."
The truth is I’d much rather go with Bishop to the hospital. When the ambulance arrives, it’s hard not to climb inside next to him. But this conversation with Victor is twenty years overdue. And it’s time to face the music.
Like a diva.
Victor and I stand side-by-side as the ambulance drives down the beach and out of sight. I stare at the tracks it made in the sand for a long moment before turning to face him.
While tending to Bishop, he’d jumped right into doctor mode. But now the emergency is over, he looks…stricken.
“There was a baby?" His voice is soft, unsure.
I gesture to the towels that Bishop and I’d spread in the sand earlier. “Let’s sit.”
As we settle onto the ground, I take a deep breath. “We have a son,” I confirm. “Jared is wonderful. He’s brilliant, funny, and kind. And he’s much too handsome for his own good. But he’s madly in love with his high school sweetheart, so he doesn’t even notice when other girls look at him.”
“Is he in college?” Victor asks.
“He’s a student at Savannah Tech. He owns a local business here in Friendly. He leads kayak tours.”
Victor’s mouth drops open. “The man that runs the paddle tours? That's Jared?”
My eyes flicker to his. “You’ve met him?”
He nods slowly. “I took a private tour yesterday. He’s very passionate about conservation. He told me about Hank Heron and the problem with feeding wildlife and—” He takes a ragged breath. “He’s my son.”
