“Well, everything looks good. No major swelling or anything. I still want to monitor you for another week here, but unless your PT doc has any more issues—” He nods to me with a warm smile, one I return and then step up a bit when I see Dad looking at me. “—you should be able to do your physical therapy at home.”
“The club will make sure everything is set up for you,” Casper says, and Dad nods.
I take that as my cue and sit on his bed, grabbing his hand. “I’ve missed you so much. You can’t ever do that again to me. I swear I almost died right alongside you.”
Dad’s eyes flicker to my hand holding his and then to me. His head tilts a bit, and his smile is hesitant, but there.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I shake my head. Now isn’t the time to berate him for being a hero to a little kid. He did good. Any of the brothers could be here right now. It just happens to be my dad, and I’m taking it harder than the others. “We can talk about it later. All that matters is you’re awake, and I’m going to make sure you’re up and running in no time.”
“No.” He pulls his hand out of my grasp. “I meant, sorry, but do I know you?”
The room quiets. The brothers were murmuring to one another but have stopped. There’s a buzzing noise, but I’m not sure if it’s from a machine or just in my own head.
“Who are you?”
“Funny, Daddy.” I huff out a laugh.
He doesn’t. He shakes his head and looks at the others around us. “Ain’t laughing. Are we together or something?”
My head tilts down at the implication of his words. “Seriously?” I look at him and then General, catching Kooper’s eye for a second before looking back at Dad. “I’m Ruby, Dad. Your daughter. You and Mom had me like a million years ago.”
“Who?”
I blink back the sudden emotions clogging my throat and threatening to spill out of my eyes. “Your wife—Katrina.”
He shakes his head as if he’s as clueless as the rest of us feel right now.
I feel myself panicking, and I look at General. He seems lost, and then he steps into doctor mode. Someone pulls me off the bed, and I go to the window, half listening to General ask Dad a few things.
If it were anyone else, I’d think they were joking. But Dad would know never to pull a stunt like that. Especially after all that’s happened.
“Ruby?”
I look up and see everyone staring at me. Did he ask me a question, or did he just say my name a few times?
I shake my head to show I don’t know what’s going on. “What?”
“Want to take a walk with me?” General asks. Not one of the brothers, but a doctor. And as I look at everyone in the room, nothing on their faces says it’s a good thing to take a walk. But as I look at Dad, I see something else too.
Zero recognition. I’m just a stranger to him.
Tears prick my eyes, and I nod at General while not looking away from Dad.
It takes him coming toward me and ushering me out the door for me to move.
“What’s going on?” My voice is small. I hold myself together, but just barely.
Dad’s door opens, and out comes Kooper. He shuts the door and leans against it. He might act like he’s on sentinel duty, but it doesn’t matter why he’s here. He seems to always be here every time I’m about to fall. Only once did I let him catch me. I refuse to do so now, even if I’m trembling to keep from running into his arms.
“I’ll run some more tests, but my initial diagnosis is dissociative amnesia,” General says.
“What’s that?”
“It’s when someone forgets personal information, memories, sometimes entire people.”
“Even Mom? He loved her. Said she was the love of his life.”
