The doctor stepped up to Mike and tipped her head toward the door. “Can we talk?”
Mike followed her into the antiseptic-smelling hallway.
“Don’t worry,” she said after she shut the door quietly behind her so Edward couldn’t overhear. “Your father is fine. He’s now on an anti-anxiety medication, which has calmed him down and let him feel for the first time in ages,” the doctor explained.
“So he’s feeling anger. Toward me. The only person who’s stood by him?” Mike asked in disbelief.
Confusion, frustration and anger overwhelmed him, an impotent mix of feelings he didn’t have the first clue how to handle. Because along with those feelings came the guilt for being angry at a sick man.
“Welcome to the world of therapy, Detective Corwin.” The psychiatrist placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s always really bad just before it gets better. But it does get better.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“Sometimes counseling can help family members, too. It’s not easy to deal with the changes in their loved one.”
Mike let out a rough breath. He didn’t need counseling, he needed Amber.
Needed to tell her he was sorry, that he loved her. That he didn’t want to end up like his father, alone and afraid. He should never have sent her away. Mike wanted Amber in his life now and forever. And the sooner he told her those things, the better, as far as he was concerned.
But Edward was his first priority. And as much as that frustrated him, it was the way it had to be. “What does he need from me now? Can he stay alone?” Mike asked the doctor.
She shook her head. “But his friend Clara offered to move in and make sure he takes his medication and things like that. He seems to respond well to her so I have no objection if you don’t.”
The knot in Mike’s stomach eased. Not just because he wanted to hop a plane to Vegas, but because Mike feared for his own sanity if he had to move in with his father.
“Selfishly, that works for me,” he admitted.
The doctor nodded. “I understand. It saves you having to disrupt your life until we know if his medication is correct and he’s able to function on his own.” She scribbled a few notes on her chart as she spoke. Then she glanced up at Mike. “Any other questions?”
“Actually, yes. About my own life…” Mike paused, feeling extremely self-centered for what he was about to ask. “I need to go out of town for personal reasons. But I won’t go until you say it’s okay.”
“Detective—”
“Mike, please.” He had a feeling they’d be seeing a lot of one another.
“Mike. Your father is going through a rough time, and clearly he’s taking his anger out on the one person he trusts enough not to abandon him. That’s you.” She smiled, reminding him of hi
s warm, caring mother. “That said, because he is angry, it wouldn’t hurt if you put a little distance between you. As long as Ms. Deveaux makes sure he takes his medication and contacts me if there’s a problem, you can feel comfortable taking your trip.”
Her words took him off guard. “Really?”
She nodded. “As much as you feel responsible for your father, he’s safe. He’s cared for. And he’s on the road to being healthier than he has been in years. I can’t promise, but I can say with ninety-nine percent certainly based on experience, he will come around. Edward knows he can count on you.” She touched his shoulder. “You’re a good son.”
Unbidden, a lump formed in his throat. “Thank you.” He forced the words out.
She inclined her head. “I’m just telling you like I see it. You’re a good influence and your father needs you.”
Grateful, Mike shook the doctor’s hand.
He’d help Clara get his father settled at home, then he’d see about booking a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada. The state where he’d met Amber, the city where his lucky streak had begun. With everything inside him, Mike hoped the streak didn’t end in the same place it had started.
His fate was in Amber’s hands.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BY THE TIME the bus pulled into Vegas, Amber’s body ached from the long hours of travel. Her heart ached even more, but she would have to learn to live with that. She didn’t go home first, but took a cab to the nursing home to visit her father. She doubted he’d know she’d even been gone, but she needed to see him and pretend for a little while that he was healthy and she was still his best girl.
Because it was the summer, his floor nurse had taken him outside for some fresh air, and after checking in, Amber wandered out back. She found her father sitting in a lawn chair, staring out at nothing.