"Dad, what happened?" Ryan asked. He went to one side of my father's bed as I followed my grandmother to the other side. My father took my grandmother's hand and Ryan's giving them a slight squeeze.
"I was stopped at a light and someone apparently didn't see me or the light and just ran right into me."
"But you're going to be okay. There's no serious damage?" I asked.
"I’m told I’ll be fine. My back hurts like hell and I'm told that it may be a while before I'm surfing again, but I'm strong and healthy, so it’s not too bad I think." At least he was positive, I thought.
My grandmother was one of the strongest people I knew, but as she looked down at my father, I realized that the iron woman that I normally saw my grandmother as, now looked like a mother who nearly lost her child. It reminded me of when my mother died. All of us were devastated. But my grandmother had been strong for all of us where my father hadn't been able to be. Not that we blamed him for it. My mother was the love of his life. That realization was made clear, year after year, when he had never allowed another woman into his heart.
For a long time, we weren't sure he'd ever fully recover from her loss. After her death, he dedicated his life to raising us, which with four boys, took a lot of time. Now that we were grown, he spent his days enjoying surfing and a leisurely life, not having any interest in the business.
I knew Ryan had felt duty-bound to take our dad's place in the business, but our grandmother had been adamant that all us boys would have a place in Strong Incorporated. We had the option to do something else, as I had already started to do by buying other businesses, but if there was one thing I learned after my mother's death was the importance of family. Since I would never have one of my own like Ryan was setting out to do, this was it. I had my grandmother, my father, my brothers, and now Kellie, and I suppose, by extension, Natalie, although I tried not to think of her as a relative since I was fucking her.
Carter and Noah came charging in, and dad reassured them that he’d be fine.
"I have to tell you, boys. I've had some moments since the crash to think about life. Of course, I know how precious it is and how fleeting it can be after losing your mom. But as my proverbial life flashed before my eyes, I realized I didn't have any regrets. I'm so proud of the men you boys have become. How hard you work, how much you care for this family and for your grandmother. I couldn't be prouder. If it was my time to go, I would go in peace knowing that you are all good solid men."
"It would be nice if they were married," my grandmother quipped, shoring up her strength again.
“I’m married," Ryan said. "I'm even about to give you a grandbaby. It's all these other slackers that you need to talk to."
Ryan grinned at me, Carter and Noah.
"Why are we talking about marriage and babies?" Noah asked.
"Seems to me, Ryan, that you've taken one for the team. Your wife and your baby are all that is needed. The rest of us Strong men can go out and do what we do best," I said.
"And what is that?" my grandmother asked, her sharp eyes staring at me.
If it was just me and my brothers, I might've said something about womanizing, but since it was my grandmother, I went with "Being good, pious, single gentleman, of course."
Everyone laughed, although clearly my father was in pain from the effort. Still, it was nice to know that we were still together. We were still a family.
14
Natalie
Alex Strong, Hunter’s father, didn't work in the company, but that didn't mean his presence wasn't felt around the office. It was clear his sons were devoted to him, as was Margaret Strong. I didn’t know Alex well, having only met him at Kellie and Ryan's wedding in Thailand. What I could tell in our short meeting was that he was very different from his sons. He was still tall, handsome and broad, but there was a softness and gentleness to him that the other boys didn't have. Particularly Hunter.
The word of Alex’s accident spread quickly through the building, and the worry from everyone could be felt. I was among those that worried. It made it difficult to work. Eventually I gave up and pulled out my phone to text Hunter to see what was going on.
Everyone here is thinking about you and your dad, I hope everything is alright. Let us know.
The response was quicker than I'd anticipated.
Everything's fine. He'll be out soon.
I studied the text feeling relieved that it appeared Mr. Strong was going to be okay, but wondering what it meant that Hunter was very short in his responses. Was it because they were still in the middle of dealing with his father, or was he annoyed that I was reaching out to him? Did he think I was overstepping my bounds as his employee, or as his friend with benefits?
It was a reminder about why agreeing to have this no-strings attached affair with him was such a bad idea. Sex always complicated things, even when one tried to do it in a way that didn't involve strings. But there was really nothing I could do about it now except to accept what he said and go back to work.
At the end of the day Kellie came into my office.
"You're still here," I said. "I thought you'd be with Ryan."
"This seems like something that should just be the immediate family, so I stayed behind. But since I am here, I was thinking you and I could go get some dinner together before it's time for me to pick up Ryan at the hospital. I guess he rode down with Hunter."
We went to a local restaurant not because it had great dinners, but because it had a peanut butter chocolate sundae that Kellie was craving these days. Fortunately for the baby, she ordered a healthy meal with lots of vegetables before she ordered her peanut butter chocolate Sundae.