Chapter Fourteen
The swoosh of the elevator doors sounded particularly loud as Sienna exited. She checked in with the nurse at the charge desk, then walked down the hall toward her father’s room.
She knocked softly and, with a deep breath, pushed open the door. Jase immediately straightened from a chair to one side of the bed, rubbing a hand over his eyes as he moved toward her.
“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier.” Her gaze tracked to Declan, lying in the hospital bed with his eyes closed and a sheet pulled up to just below his chest. He looked peaceful. Silver whiskers shadowed his jaw and a long tube peeked out from the gap in the front of the hospital gown, attached to a heart monitor next to the bed.
“Don’t worry about it,” he answered. “He only woke up for a few minutes, then drifted back to sleep.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“The doctors believe he’ll make a full recovery. They did an angioplasty for a blockage in one of his arteries and inserted a stent to keep it open long-term. He’s going to need to finally take his diet more seriously, and we’ll need to make sure he starts exercising regularly. But if we can convince him to give up the junk food and make his health a priority, he should be around to be a pain in the butt for a good while.”
She laughed softly. “Cheese puffs,” she murmured. “I remember him loving cheese puffs. He’d deny it, but his fingertips were always stained orange.”
“Still loves them,” Jase confirmed. He took a step back and looked her up and down. “You look nice.”
She smoothed a self-conscious hand over the front of her dress. “I borrowed it from Paige. I had... I went out... I was having dinner when you texted.”
“With Paige?” he asked, one thick brow lifting.
She shook her head but didn’t give any more information.
“Then it must have been Cole.” His tone was low and fairly disapproving.
“He’s your best friend,” she pointed out. “Is there some problem with me having dinner with him?”
“You’re my sister,” he answered, as if that explained everything.
It was odd but sweet to hear him refer to her in that way, sounding both overprotective and exasperated. It was clear Jase couldn’t explain how they’d gotten to this place any more than she could.
She raised a brow. “From what I heard, not that long ago you wanted Cole close to me so he could make sure I didn’t have any evil plans for my time in Crimson.”
One side of his mouth curved. “Evil isn’t quite the right term. Things changed. I’m not trying to chase you away, Sienna, and Cole is a friend. But he’s not a long-term bet for a woman.”
“Who says I’m interested in that?”
“No one.” He shook his head. “But I hope you’re in our lives for the long term. It’s taken too many years to get to this point, and I don’t want anyone to mess that up. Dad can handle that all on his own.”
“I’m stuck in this damn bed,” a gravelly voice said, “and you’re going to diss me.”
“When did you start using the worddiss?” Jase asked as they both turned to the bed, where Declan had propped himself up against the pillow.
“My neighbor has a twelve-year-old boy. He downloaded Urban Dictionary on that fancy phone you got me.”
“Lord help us,” Jase muttered.
Sienna moved to the side of the bed. “How are you feeling, Dad?”
Declan stared at her for a moment. “You called me Dad,” he said, adjusting the sheet. “I should come close to dying more often.”
“Don’t even think about it,” she countered.
“I’m fine, baby girl.” He lifted one thin shoulder, then let it drop. “It takes more than a wee clogged artery to finish me off.”
“I’m glad.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “You gave me quite a scare.”
“Let’s be clear.” Declan looked between the two of them. “This episode had nothing to do with Sienna. It was me and the fact that I can barely remember to put the toilet seat down, let alone take my heart medication every day.”
