Jacquelyn laughed. “You’ve been special to me since you provided a safe space for my son to land and introduced him to your club.”
Big, scary Carbon blushed. “Like you always say, I was happy to help.”
“Well, I’m glad you did. I’ll check in with you all in a bit. Jake, are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, though it was clear he didn’t want to leave Ariel.
“I’ll get your number from Carbon and text you if there are any changes,” I told him. “And you’re welcome to come visit her any time you want to.”
“Thank you, Ms. Calloway.”
“You can call me Presley.”
He nodded. “Thank you, Presley.”
As soon as they were gone, my dad turned to me. “It’s later. Tell me what all that was about.”
“Jacquelyn Marks,” I started and paused, walking to the door. “Why did you call her Mrs. Pierce?” I asked Carbon.
“She married her bodyguard, Ronan Pierce, almost twenty years ago. She didn’t legally change her name, but I’ve referred to her as Mrs. Pierce since then,” he explained.
“Okay, my turn,” my dad said impatiently.
“Jacquelyn Marks is extremely wealthy, powerful, and influential, especially in the healthcare industry. She owns several hospitals, including this one,” I explained.
“She owns the hospital?” he asked in disbelief.
“Technically, she owns a corporation that purchases hospitals in danger of going under,” Carbon said.
“I never knew the hospital was having financial issues.”
“It wasn’t,” Carbon said. “She bought this one for a different reason.”
“Are you going to tell us what that reason was?” Mom asked shamelessly.
“It’s a long story, but here’s the short version. Gabby got fired from the hospital in Cedar Valley through no fault of her own,which resulted in Gabby moving back to Croftridge. Jacquelyn acquired the hospital so Gabby would always have a place to work.”
“But Gabby doesn’t work at the hospital,” I said.
“She can if she wants to,” Carbon replied.
“And here we were thinking we were hot shit for buying Ariel a car,” my dad joked.
“You’re hot shit for being involved in her life,” Carbon said. “My parents and Harper’s parents were gone before our kids were born, but they’ve had plenty of people around who filled the grandparent role for them. My point is the grandparents are important, not the gifts.”
Mom sighed dramatically. “He’s huge, handsome, and insightful. A rare find.”
“Hey, now,” my dad said.
“Oh, hush up. You’re a rare find, too.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I knew what they were doing, even Carbon. They were distracting me, trying to keep me from falling into the deep pit of despair that was waiting for me with open arms. I appreciated their efforts as much as I loathed them.
30
PHOENIX
“What can I do?” Ember asked.
