“Nolan, why haven’t you come to me with this?”
“Because I don’t want to be the guy who goes running to Daddy when I don’t feel like I’m getting a fair shake. I’ve tried to fight my own battles. I’ve given detailed financial rebuttals for recent acquisitions decisions I’ve vehemently opposed. But the fact you don’t know anything about all the work I’ve put in means they aren’t taking my concerns seriously enough to bring them up with you.” I swigged from my water bottle. “And I get that this situation is somewhat of my own making, given that in the past I haven’t been as dedicated to the company as I should’ve been. Again, this is not an excuse, but everyone assumed Jax would come back and learn the ropes to take over the CEO position when you’re ready to retire. Only I knew you had doubts about Jax’s interest in that. But I felt like you had doubts about me too.”
He sighed. “I get where you’re coming from. And maybe I have rubber-stamped some of their recommendations because Brady and Ash aren’t usually wrong.” He stood and spun his racquet around, ready to play again. “Tell you what. Send me everything you’ve considered a red flag. I’ll look into them.”
Another pat on the head. I half wondered what he was hiding. Opting to ignore the convo, I got back to my feet. “Thank you, sir.”
“Sir. Ha. Serve, smartass.”
We’d played five points when Dad lowered to his knees. At first I thought the ball had struck him. But when he crashed to his side on the floor, I knew something was wrong.
I dropped beside him. “Dad!”
His face had gone gray and he was clutching his left side. His eyes were wild and he tried to speak.
“Don’t move. I’m getting help.” I tried to remember everything I’d read about what to do when someone was having a heart attack but my mind went blank.
I hit the emergency button on the speaker for the intercom system. “Call 911 and an ambulance. My dad is having a heart attack or a stroke or something.”
Several excruciating long moments passed before I heard, “Ambulance is en route.”
“Thank you.
By the time I’d returned to my dad’s side, he’d gone limp.
Fuck.
I searched for—and found—a pulse in his neck. He was breathing. We were in a metro area so he had a good chance at survival. I kept telling myself that because I couldn’t accept anything else.
“Dad. Stay with me. Help is on the way.”
Nothing.
I grabbed his hand. “I’m here. Just hold on.” I kept talking to him, watching for changes in his breathing, keeping my fingers over the pulse point in his wrist to assure myself his heart hadn’t quit.
Time didn’t register and then the ambulance crew was there, loading him up. I yelled at the country club attendant, “Call Edie Lund. Her name is on file. Tell her to meet us at”—I looked at the paramedic—“which hospital are we going to?”
“Good Hope Hospital has a cardiac emergency center.”
“Is that closest?”
“It’s the best.”
“Take us there.” Then I yelled down the hallway as we exited the building in case the guy hadn’t heard me the first time. “Call Edie Lund. Tell her Nolan said we’re going to Good Hope Hospital.”
On the ride to the emergency room, the paramedic asked me a bunch of questions I couldn’t answer.
Dad still hadn’t regained consciousness, but his color looked less gray after they’d placed him on oxygen. As I stared at him, I couldn’t believe my strong, larger-than-life father was in this state. He’d always been healthy. Taken good care of himself and enjoyed things in moderation. Had I pushed him too hard in the game? Did he feel he needed to prove himself to keep up with his son, half his age?
The medical staff whisked him away as soon as the ambulance doors were open. A nurse took me to the emergency room desk to fill out paperwork, but I could only answer the most basic info: name, address, age and insurance provider.
My mom arrived ten minutes after we did. I couldn’t imagine how fast she’d driven to get here so quickly.
I’d never seen her so panicked. “Where is he?”
“He’s with the doctors.”
“What happened?”
I explained and directed her to the front desk so she could finish filling out the medical portion of the admissions forms.
As soon as she finished, she demanded to see him. We were told to wait.
She paced, her high heels clicking across the tile. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she was shaking so hard the bracelets on her arm rattled.
Without a word, I moved in front of her and wrapped her in my arms.
“I c-can’t lose him, Nolan. I c-c-can’t imagine life without him.”
“Me neither. I got him help as soon as I could.”
“You didn’t call me. You had the club call me.”
“It was the fastest way to let you know. My cell phone is still in my bag at the club.” I looked at her. “Who else did you call?”
Horror crossed her face. “No one. I grabbed my keys and slipped my shoes on and left. I don’t have my purse or my phone. We have to call Jax. And Ward and Monte.”
“I’ll call Jax.” At the front desk, I said, “Can I use your phone please?”
“Sure. Dial nine first.”
I was half-afraid Jax or Lucy wouldn’t pick up, believing it was a spam call, but after the second time I called, he answered with, “What?”
“Jax. Mom and I are at Good Hope Hospital. Dad had a heart attack.”
“Jesus. Is he okay?”
“He was unconscious in the ambulance but we don’t know any more than that right now. He’s with the doctors.”
“I’m on my way.” He hung up.
Mom had returned to pacing.
“Jax is on his way.”
She nodded.
I stood by the door and waited for my brother. It seemed to take him longer to arrive than I thought it should.
Jax clapped me on the shoulder and went straight to Mom.
We relayed the information to him. After another hour of waiting, we’d hit the wall of politeness and demanded to know what was going on.
A woman in scrubs approached us and took us back to where they’d isolated Dad and run tests.
Mom gripped both mine and Jax’s hands hard at seeing Dad unconscious and hooked up to machines and an oxygen mask strapped over his face.
Then we were directed to a small room where we were told to wait for the cardiologist.
The woman who introduced herself as Dr. Curran appeared to be Jax’s age and she got right down to business. “Is there a history of heart disease in your family?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Unfortunately I didn’t see anything in Archer’s medical records that he had any recent tests that would’ve given him a warning to his condition.”
“What condition?” Jax asked.
“He’s got four heart blockages. He looks fit for all intents and purposes, but I suspect, given the damage to his heart, he’s been masking his symptoms for at least a year. The good news is he is healthy enough for us to do the surgery. The bad news is he needs to have this surgery tonight.”
“What surgery?” Mom asked.
“Quadruple bypass surgery. We’ve got a team in place and as soon as we have your permission, we can get him prepped.” Then the doctor went into an explanation that should’ve come with a PowerPoint presentation. I got lost after the description of the purpose of removing an artery from his leg to use for blood flow to his heart. Mom was rapt and asked question after question that never occurred to me. I looked at Jax and in that moment I knew we both felt like little boys again, hoping Mom could make everything better.
But we were supposed to be the strong ones. She needed to believe she c
ould lean on us.
Jax made the time-out sign. “Look, Dr. Curran. I’ll be blunt. We won’t settle for just any cardiac surgical team. We require the best team, with the highest patient survival rate because we’re not going to fuck around with his life. We have the means to take him anywhere in the country, or to bring the premier surgical team here. So before we continue this conversation, we require the names of your medical team members so we can have them vetted immediately with our medical experts.”
“Understood, Mr. Lund. I’ll get that information to you straightaway. But please be aware we are the highest-rated cardiac care hospital in the Midwest. And being equally blunt, we are aware of the Lund name. Dr. Lee, the head of the cardiac and thoracic surgery units, has already been apprised of the situation. I have his direct number if your medical expert needs to speak with him.”
“Thank you.”
She left and came back with the list.
Jax took over from there, partially because he was the only one with a cell phone. After talking with Monte and Ward, who consulted with the Lund family medical team, they agreed that Dr. Lee’s team was the best option.
Plans were finalized and we got to go in, one at a time, and spend a few minutes with Dad.
Mom had tears streaming down her face, and an angry set to her jaw to keep her chin from wobbling after she left him.
Dr. Lee arrived and gave us the final rundown of the procedure and sent us out to the waiting room.
Enough time had passed since Jax’s phone call to the family that Monte and Priscilla, Ward and Selka, Brady, Ash and Lucy had arrived.
While I was thankful for my mom’s sake that she had family supporting her and Dad, I felt disconnected. I’d never felt so acutely alone.
Twenty-Five
GABI
After the second game I refereed ended, I stopped in at Lakeside and gathered up all my practice clothes from the week, my water bottles and my coffee mugs. I had a tendency only to notice things I needed after I’d run out of them.
It surprised me that Margene was still there. There’d been a birthday party scheduled during open skate time, but I would’ve thought she’d be long gone by now. I snagged my stuff out of my locker before I went looking for her.
She was leaving the office and did a double take when she saw me. “Gabi? What are you doing here?”
“Had to get this stuff cleaned up before the week starts. Why are you here so late?”
“Lucy called and asked if she could drop Mimi off and have me wait with her until her aunt picked her up.”
That was weird. “Is Mimi still here?”
“No. Her aunt came about ten minutes ago. Poor Lucy was frantic to get to the hospital.”
My stomach bottomed out. “Hospital?”
“Evidently Jax’s dad had a heart attack. Lucy said he has to have emergency surgery and she wasn’t sure how long they’d be at the hospital, so she needed her sister to take Mimi for the night.”
“Omigod. When did this happen? What hospital?”
“No offense, sweetie, but I don’t think you should just show up. I’m sure Jax and Lucy know you’re thinking about them.”
I tried not to snap at her. “Nolan is my concern—we’re together now.”
Margene opened her mouth. Closed it. “After seeing his behavior at the NHL exhibition after you were injured, I’m not surprised.”
“When did this happen? I left Nolan’s house before noon and he and Archer were supposed to play racquetball today.”
“It happened at the club.”
“Nolan must be losing his mind. What hospital?”
“That cardiac one off of Central Avenue. Good . . . Hope.”
“Thank you.” I raced to my truck and threw everything in the passenger’s seat.
I tried to call Nolan twice, but it went to voice mail both times. Then I called my sister and cancelled our plans—she wasn’t happy, especially when I didn’t explain.
Finally, twenty minutes later I pulled into the parking lot at Good Hope. I didn’t waste time looking for familiar cars, I just headed to the emergency entrance. “Lund family? Probably in the surgical waiting area?” I added.
“Second floor. Elevators are to the left.”
I tried to be patient, but it might’ve been the slowest elevator ever. I burst out of the doors when they opened, my shoes squeaking loudly on the tile. Everyone in the waiting room turned and stared at me. But I was only looking for one person. “Nolan?”
He spun around from where he stood alone by the windows. “Gabriella?”
And I beelined toward him.
He caught me and squeezed me tight.
I buried my face in his neck and didn’t want to let go.
He set me on my feet, and I curled my hands around his face. “Are you okay? Is he okay?”
“How did you find out?”
“I had to stop at Lakeside and Margene told me. I got here as soon as I could.”
Nolan pressed his mouth to mine and the kiss lingered. “Thank you for coming. I wanted you here so badly, but I didn’t have my phone and it’s been hectic.”
“Tell me what happened.”
While he filled me in, our bodies just naturally gravitated toward each other.
The soft touches and gentle caresses between us relayed our familiarity, our intimacy, more than a passionate kiss would have.
A loud throat clearing had us breaking apart.
No surprise that everyone stared at us, mostly with shock.
Jax approached us first. His gaze winged between us. “How long?” He paused and answered his own question. “Since the exhibition hockey game. Christ. I didn’t even notice when she stopped flipping you off, did I?”
Nolan flashed him a fast smile. “Nope.”
“To be honest, I still flip him off more than is probably healthy,” I said with obvious affection.
Jax snorted. “Am I the only one at Lakeside who didn’t know?”
“No one at Lakeside knew. Including Margene. She’s the one who told me you were at the hospital.”
“As you’ve probably heard, there’s not much to tell at this point,” Edie said behind me.
I faced her and hugged her. “How are you holding up?”
“As well as can be expected.” She straightened the collar of my T-shirt. “I’m glad you’re here for him.”
“I’m here for you too.” I clasped her hand in mine and squeezed. “Three years ago my dad had this same surgery. I understand how scary this is. My dad pulled through and he’s better than he was before. Archer will be too.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
“I have enough for both of us.”
She leaned in and whispered, “Now I wish we would’ve stuck with the crafting thing. I need something to do with my hands besides pray.”
“I can sit beside you and hold your hand for as long as you need, Edie.”
Edie patted Nolan’s cheek. “Keep her.” She walked over to where her brothers-in-law stood.
I took my first look at Nolan’s outfit; he was wearing athletic shorts, shoes and a baggy T-shirt. “You said you don’t have your phone. Don’t you have other clothes?”
“I left everything at the club when I jumped in the ambulance.”
“I know you can’t leave, but do you want me to go to the club and get your stuff?”
“And Dad’s. And yes, that would be great.”
Jax said, “I’ll call them right now and make sure someone has it ready for you.”
“Perfect. Thank you.” I smoothed Nolan’s hair down. “Do you want me to pick up food for everyone?”
“We’ll order in if we need to. After you get my car keys, can you get my other bag out of my car? It’s got a change of clothes in it.”
“Of course.”
<
br /> Nolan kissed me. “Hurry back.”
“I will.”
The country club was officially closed, but someone had stayed to hand off the Lunds’ items. I grabbed the other bag out of Nolan’s car and returned to the hospital within an hour.
Nolan’s uncles had taken him aside and were talking to him intently as Jax, Ash and Brady looked on across the room. Lucy, Edie and the other Lund matriarchs were sitting in between the two groups, eyeing each group warily.
As soon as Nolan saw me, he excused himself to meet me.
Jax came over too. “Thanks, Gabi. I’ll get Dad’s bag to Mom. At least she’ll have his phone until we get hers.”
“No problem.”
Then Jax looked at Nolan. “What’s that about?”
“Some crap that I absolutely don’t want to deal with right now.” He sighed and grabbed his bag, pausing to give me another kiss. “Thanks for this. You know I loathe being in these types of clothes longer than necessary.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen you dressed like that.”
“Don’t get used to it,” he warned.
As soon as he was out of sight, Jax said, “So you and Nolan. I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Us either.”
“Is there a reason neither of you told me?”
“Why? Do you disapprove?”
“Are you kidding? I think it’s great.”
Lucy called him over just then.
Rather than try and make small talk with the other Lunds, I headed down the hallway to wait for Nolan.
He emerged from the bathroom wearing gray fleece sweatpants and a long-sleeved black shirt. He said, “Better?”
“You look warmer.” My gaze searched his face. “You okay?”
“Not really. If it’s not enough to deal with Dad being in surgery, my uncles would like LI to put out a press release tomorrow that I’m ‘acting’ interim CEO.”
“That seems . . .”
“Premature? Or like they’re not hopeful the surgery will be successful?” he said tersely.