“You know, Dad, you could be a little nicer to him.” Jade sighs, wrapping her arms around his middle when he places his arm around her shoulders.
“I didn’t kick his ass. I consider that pretty nice,” Bernard grumbles, and I bite back a smile while Jade hisses.
“Dad.”
“Don’t ‘Dad’ me. He hurt Cybil. God only knows how long he knew he wanted to be with someone else.” He shakes his head, then looks past Cybil and me.
I turn to look over my shoulder and find an older woman in scrubs walking toward us. When she’s close, she looks us over before she locks eyes with Bernard. “Maisie is settled in her room. You can stay with her overnight if you like, of course, but there can only be two people in the room at a time. Visitors can only stay for fifteen minutes until she’s moved out of the ICU, which won’t be until tomorrow, and visiting hours are up at eight.”
“Thanks, Annie,” Bernard says, and she pats his arm before she turns to Cybil.
“It’s good to see you back, kid.”
“You too, Annie,” Cybil replies, and Annie glances up at me quickly, then gives Cybil a soft smile, walking away.
“All right.” Bernard drops his arm from Jade’s shoulders. “You and Cybil go on up and see your mom.”
“No, you and Jade go first,” Cybil says quickly, shaking her head.
“I’m gonna be here all night, and Maisie will want to see her girls,” he says gruffly, and Jade’s eyes fill with tears while Cybil tucks her face against my side and sniffles.
“Go on with Jade.” I rub her back, then kiss the top of her head, and she nods before tipping her head back, her gaze searching mine. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
With a nod, she looks at Jade, then reaches for her hand, and the two of them walk away.
“I need coffee.” Bernard rubs his hands down his face.
“We passed the cafeteria on the way up here. The coffee shop there was open. I can run and get you something.”
“Do you think they have whiskey?”
“That’s doubtful.” I smile, and he sighs.
“I probably shouldn’t drink anyway.” He pats my back. “I need a break from this room, so I’ll wander with you down to the cafeteria.”
Without another word, we head down the hall to the coffee shop, and while he gets a coffee, I pull out my cell phone when it vibrates. Seeing it’s Blake, I slide my finger across the screen and put it to my ear. “What’s up?”
“Mom just told me that you’re in Oregon with Cybil. What the fuck, Tanner? We have clients coming in a few days. When are you coming back?” he growls, and my temper flares while my hand balls into a fist.
“No ‘Is everything okay’? No ‘I heard what happened. How’s Cybil doing?’ Just ‘When the fuck are you coming back?’” I walk down the hall when an elderly woman shoots me a look of reprimand for either cursing or speaking loudly. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”
“I’m talking to you, the guy who owns a third of Live Life Adventures, or did you forget about that shit once Cybil showed up?”
“Buy me out.”
“W . . . what?” he asks, sounding caught off guard and suddenly calm, but I’m done, so fucking done with his bullshit. I could understand him being upset about Cybil and me meeting during a retreat, but after spending time with us last night, I figured he’d see how happy she makes me and want that for me.
“Get together with Maverick and come up with an offer. If it’s acceptable, I’ll sign over my portion of the business to you two.”
“You’d give everything up for some chick you just met?”
“No, but I’d give it up for the woman I’m falling in love with.” I hang up and turn off my cell before I tuck it into my back pocket. When I turn around, Bernard is standing close and wearing a look that shows he just heard my side of that conversation.
Fuck.
“Everything all right?”
“All good,” I lie and dip my head toward his coffee. “Did they have whiskey?”
“Nope.”
“Sucks,” I mutter, hearing him chuckle as we walk back to the waiting room, where we take up two seats near the doors to wait for the girls to get back.
“Normally, I wouldn’t do this.” He breaks the silence that’s settled between us, and I turn my head his way. “Jade’s explained to me more than once that things are different nowadays, and that just because a woman is with a man, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in a relationship or that it’s serious.” He runs a hand down his beard while I try to figure out where he’s going with this. “That said, I heard what you said on the phone, so I guess I wanna know if I’m gonna have to prepare my girls for Cybil moving away.”