“Is there anyone you’d like us to call?” asked Ben.
Tristan shrugged. “I don’t know who. I mean…”
“What about Bullet?”
“I guess, although, I’m not sure he…I don’t know. Would he…”
“Yes.” Liv smiled. “He would.”
Her grandfather took Liv and Ben up on their offer to go back to the house, and left Tristan the keys to his truck.
“Do you want to get back in bed, Daddy?” she asked after they were gone.
He didn’t answer right away, but after a few minutes, stood, walked over to the bed, and sat on its edge. “I’m sorry about this, sweetheart.”
Inwardly, Tristan rolled her eyes. This wasn’t a condition he could’ve done anything to prevent. He’d been born with this deviation, from what the doctor said.
“You need to get checked out too,” he told her. “All these years, I’ve had a heart murmur and not a si
ngle doctor told me to get what’s called an echocardiogram.”
“What’s that?”
He explained that it was essentially an ultrasound for the heart. If he’d had one, they would have been aware of his condition. In the event it worsened, he could have been on the proactive side of surgery. He also warned her that if she ever heard the words “heart murmur” to get one done herself.
Bullet jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He pulled it out and answered without bothering to see who it was.
“Bullet, this is Liv Rice calling.”
“How’s Tristan?” Bullet guessed he should’ve asked about her daddy first, but he was more worried about her. He still hadn’t been able to sleep, he was so concerned.
“She’s better now that she’s seen her father.”
Liv explained as much as she knew and said that whenever there was an update she’d let him know.
“He needs surgery soon, so I should be able to give you an update tomorrow.”
“Can I talk to her?” he asked.
“We’re not at the hospital now, but you can call her, Bullet. I’m sure she’d be glad to hear from you.”
He thanked Liv, hung up, and immediately called Tristan.
“Is that a call you need to answer?” her father asked when she looked at her phone.
“Not now. I can call him back.”
“Him?”
“It’s just one of the riders, Daddy. It’s not important…”
“Try again, and tell me the truth this time.”
Tristan smiled. “We can talk about him later; it really isn’t important now. We need to talk about your surgery.”
Her father was shaking his head. “We’re gonna talk about it right now, Tristan. This very minute.”
“He’s somebody who works for Flying R. He’s a hand, but I don’t think anyone really considers him that. He’s so much more than he gives himself credit for.”