“Who do you think you are?” she shouted. “Now you want to be my brother? You ignored me during the entire reception, not to mention the past five years!”
“I was giving you space, Sammy!” Michael shouted back at her.
Mallory was surprised steam wasn’t rising from her head. Space? Space was a few days or a few weeks. She might not havebeen receptive, but it hurt her more than she cared to admit that he hadn’t even tried.
Devastated by the warm tears that stung her eyes, she turned to blink them away. Her vision was only slightly blurry when she turned back and pointed a finger in his direction.
“Do not call me that. And you don’t get to be a protective brother after pretending I don’t exist.” She turned on her heel and charged back into the room.
She was beyond washing up. She turned on the shower, hoping the warm water would once again soothe her racing thoughts. After tossing her robe onto the floor, she stepped under the cascade of hot water. Her old tactics of cleansing breaths did little to calm her anger, so she quickly soaped up and rinsed off, before reciting some positive affirmations.
“Are you okay?” Christian was standing in the doorway when she stepped out.
He wore fresh black dress pants, and his yellow shirt was unbuttoned. He was looking at her like he thought she might run. She wasn’t going to, but a few minutes to regroup would do her some good.
“I will be.”
He stepped the rest of the way into the bathroom and pulled her close. His warm embrace soothed her and this time her deep breathing did what it was supposed to do.
“We can leave if you need to,” he suggested.
“No. I’m not letting him ruin what should have been a nice getaway,” she answered. “I’m tired of always running.”
He held her at an arm’s length, his green eyes studying her closely. After a moment he nodded his head in agreement. “Okay. Let’s do this then.”
She breathed him in for an extra moment before releasing him so she could get dressed. His arms felt like home, and she didn’twant to move, but she couldn’t use him to hide. Hiding wasn’t any better than running. It was time for her to face things.
Chapter 14
MALLORY
“Can you take this next patient?” Jenna asked. “I’m supposed to go on break.”
Mallory finished up her paperwork and headed out to the lobby. When the double doors opened, her heart stuttered, and she felt as though she was looking at a ghost; freezing her in her tracks as goosebumps spread across her flesh. She hadn’t seen her father in person since Christmas five years ago. The fact that he was standing there just days after she’d seen her brother couldn’t have been a coincidence.
“I need to talk to you,” he said after a moment.
“I have a patient,” she said before looking behind him and into the waiting room. “Henry Lasko?”
An older gentleman stood when she called the name and made his way toward her. She directed him through the automatic doors but stopped to address her father.
“You need to go. I’m at work.”
“I’m here for bloodwork,” he argued.
“Then someone else can do it.”
She paused on the way to her chair to tell Jenna that she wouldn’t be able to take that patient. She didn’t explain why, figuring Jenna would get it out of her later, if she really wanted to know.
As she prepared Mr. Lasko’s labs, she heard Jenna call her father back. It took everything in her to not react; but she was listening. She made her normal small talk as she found a vein and started drawing his blood.
“Have you ever had blood drawn before?” She heard the question come from the other side of the curtain.
“Plenty of times. I get checked out every year. I just haven’t been here before,” her father’s voice traveled to Mallory’s ears.
Mallory filled the first tube and picked up the next one.
“Ever since I lost my wife, I make sure I get checked out. Even though my children are grown, I don’t want to leave them before it’s truly my time.”
