“It’s your father. He... He...”
“He what?” He grasped her shoulders. “What’s wrong with my father?”
Shaking her head, she sobbed in her handkerchief. From the couch, Dakota stood and wiped her eyes.
“Colt, the doctor said your father is dying. He doesn’t have much longer to live.”
Suffocation gripped his throat and chest. Why was this happening today? He needed to find Blaze. However, if his father was dying, Colt had to see him first.
“They are up in your father’s room,” Emma said, pointing to the stairs.
He left the parlor and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Lisa’s sobs echoed down the hallway. Sadness grew heavy in Colt’s chest, and he wondered if he would even be able to look at his father without bawling like a baby. He must be strong. That was what most of his life had taught him that men don’t cry. Real men handled life’s problems and didn’t cry when their mother died. Real men didn’t cry when the woman they loved married another man.
Before reaching his father’s room, Colt wiped the tears from his eyes. As he stepped in, the first person he saw was Blaze. She stood by the window, staring out, looking prettier than he’d ever seen before. Yet, where was Kent? Colt still needed to punch the man in the face, but that would have to wait until after he said his goodbyes to his father.
“Colt,” Lisa gasped. “You’re hurt!”
Blaze swung around so fast, it looked as if she lost her balance. Her eyes were wide, but she said nothing. He couldn’t tell if she was happy to see him or mad.
Colt looked away and stepped toward his father. Lisa met Colt halfway, taking him by the hand. “Your father isn’t doing well at all.”
Colt couldn’t take his eyes off the feeble man lying in bed who struggled with each breath. Color had left his father’s face. Even the man’s lips appeared to be a light shade of blue.
Colt fell to his knees beside the bed and gently held his father’s hand. “Pa?” His voice broke.
His father’s eyelids fluttered as he looked at Colt. The hint of a smile touched the man’s mouth.
“You came back,” his father said in a raspy voice.
Colt nodded. “I hadn’t left, Pa. I’d been wounded, but I’m here now, and I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
“This... is your home.”
“Yes, Pa.”
“And... your family... is here, too.”
Colt glanced briefly at Blaze as his heart continued to wrench. Tears were running down her cheeks. “Yes, my family is here,” he said, looking back at his father.
“You’re... a good son. I’ve always loved you.”
Colt’s lips trembled as he held back the sob ready to escape him. But he couldn’t. He must be strong. “I love you, Pa. I’m sorry for everything. Will you please forgive me?”
“I... already have.”
His father coughed weakly and slowly, his eyes closed. Doctor Hamilton bent closer to his patient and listened to his heart with a stethoscope. After a few seconds, the doctor frowned and straightened, shaking his head.
Lisa bawled and fell against her husband. Colt couldn’t move. All he could do was stare at his dead father. Tears dampened his cheeks, but Colt hadn’t the strength to wipe them away. At least he hadn’t cried in front of his father.
“Colt?”
He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up into Blaze’s teary eyes. “Are you all right?”
He nodded. “Yes. I’m just glad I made it in time to tell him goodbye.”
“I’m glad you did, too.”
She brushed her fingers across his forehead and cringed. “Will you come downstairs and let me bandage your wound?”
