“I love you too, Dad.”
Out in the hall, John warned Jack that Madi was in a mood.
“What’d you say to her?” Jack asked, chuckling.
Christ, they looked so much alike it was easy to predict what Jack would look like in thirty years, when his wavy brown hair was peppered with gray and he had wrinkles around his amber eyes.
“I tried to tell her she’d be staying with me and your mom.”
“Rookie mistake, Dad,” Jack said with a laugh. “And now I have to clean up your mess.”
“You’ll be fine if you don’t tell her what to do.”
“You an expert now, Robinson?”
“Don’t have to be; it’s pretty fucking obvious she wants to be treated with the same respect and trust you guys show each other.”
Mic fucking dropped.
“Damn, dude.” Jack paused and ran his hand through his hair. “Does she really think we don’t respect her?”
That was a loaded question, and it wasn’t for me to answer.
John saved me from having to answer. “Go talk to your sister.”
As we walked, I thanked John again for calling Shane and providing transport.
“It was the right thing to do. We’re all here for you, but you need your family.”
“When will he get here?”
“Four hours or so. I asked AJ to text us when they leave the airport.”
“Good, I should be out of surgery by then.”
“Someone will be with you when you wake up.”
“Do you think Mary would mind?” She was the one Sheppard I hadn’t talked to about my feelings for Madi, and that didn’t sit right with me.
“I’m confident I can speak for her and say, no, she won’t mind. In fact, I’d wager she’ll be thrilled.”
With that settled, I returned to my room and waited for the nurse.
Waking up after anesthesia wasn’t that different from having a hangover, except there were no fun memories of drunken shenanigans.
With half-open eyes and blurry vision, I checked for visitors.
Not Madi.
I didn’t let my disappointment grow roots, instead choosing gratitude because I wasn’t alone. Mary sat on my good side with a book in her hands.
“Thank you, Mary.” I sounded hungover, too.
I smiled when I noticed the SSI logo on the paper she used as a bookmark. Probably John’s business card. “Happy to help. How are you feeling?”
Groggy. Thirsty. Tired.
“Painfree, so that’s something.”
