Taking His Woman (8 page)

“Chris?” It was Blaze.

“What’s up? I’m a little busy.” He picked up a
strawberry and fed it to Erica. Her lips looked lovely and red around the
bright red fruit. “How soon can you get to a hospital?”

“Why? What’s going on?”

Erica looked at him, concerned.

“The old man collapsed at home. They’re
thinking heart attack. Can you get to the hospital?”

“Yes. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and
stared out at the ocean.

“Chris, what’s the matter?” She was on her
knees in front of him.

“My dad’s collapsed. Blaze thinks it’s a heart
attack. I need to get to the hospital. I’ll drop you home.” Chris got to his
feet, packing away the picnic. Erica grabbed his hand, pulling him to face her.

“Chris, look at me. I’m not going home and
leaving you to deal with this alone. We’re together now. Where you go, I’ll
go.” She went on her toes and kissed him. He nodded his head, thankful for the
support she was offering.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said against her
neck. Chris inhaled her sweet scent to try to calm his nerves. His father was
an asshole at times, but he was still his father.

“We pack the picnic away. Then we go to your
car and on to the hospital.” She stroked his hair. He welcomed every comforting
touch. Chris wished he could stay in her arms forever. All too soon he had to
pull away and let real life invade their time together.

In silence, they gathered the boxes, putting
them away. Hand in hand, they walked to his car, putting the basket in the
back. He took every step as a moment of time.
 
Chris wasn’t prepared for his father’s death. What would happen if he
never saw him again?

“Stop thinking the end of the world. Your
father will be fine,” she said.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know I don’t know. Wouldn’t you rather be
thinking the good rather than the bad?”

He nodded his head, moving faster towards the
hospital.

The sunshine disappeared in a sea of clouds.
His heart was racing. The pain inside him grew worse at the thought of losing
his father. Erica put her hand on his thigh, offering him comfort. Chris took
everything he could get. He had never anticipated losing his father.

He parked the car, and together they walked
into the hospital. They were sent to cardiology wing. When he saw the sad
expressions on his family’s faces he gripped Erica’s hand. She tightened her
grip, offering him her strength.

Molly stood, embracing him.

“What’s going on? Is he with a doctor?” he
asked.

“They’re running the necessary tests. We’re
waiting for a doctor,” Blaze said. Luke, John, and Trent sat with Blaze Jr. at
their feet. Chris’s nephew looked concerned.

“What do they think it is?”

“They think it’s a heart attack. His age and
the stress of work may have taken their toll,” Blaze said.

“No. He’s not working. What was going on before
he fell?” Chris turned to Molly.

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”

“Your husband may be dying, and you can’t tell
us?” Chris yelled.

“Chris.
Enough.
Some
stuff is meant to be private,” Erica whispered.

He relaxed at the sound of her voice. Closing
his eyes, he tried to deal with the riot of emotions inside him.

When he opened his eyes, he stared at Molly.
She looked to have aged twenty years since that morning.

“We’ve got to sit and wait,” Blaze said, moving
towards Cassie. Molly took a seat on the end of the waiting room, her gaze
fixed on the door.

Chris held Erica’s hand and led her to a corner
seat. She sat next to him. Their hands joined, and the pair sat staring and
waiting.

They each took it in turns to assist Blaze Jr.
and get refreshments. Erica left him for a short time to make a phone call.
While he was alone, Chris thought about all the pain he’d caused. The possible
death of his father was opening his eyes to so much more. He would not allow
Erica to leave him. This was for life. He wanted her by his side.

He watched Cassie with Blaze. The love the
couple had for each other had overcome so many odds. If she could forgive
Blaze, then Erica could forgive him. They could have a future together. She
came back, handing him back his phone. Chris took the device, kissing her on
the lips before she could speak.

Molly was handed some forms to fill out, which
she did with a shaking hand.

Chris kept hold of Erica’s hand. The tests
being run were taking their time.

Finally, as it was getting dark outside, a
doctor appeared. Chris recognised the cardiologist as one of the people who
visited his father’s country club.

“Mrs. Sinclair,” he said.

“Don’t do that, Malcolm. Just tell me if he’s
going to be all right.” Molly sounded scared. Chris knew without doubt that she
still loved his father.

“He’s going to be fine. I’m so sorry. We’ve
been running these tests, and there has been a lot going on in the hospital
today. Your husband had an angina attack. This is not a heart attack, but I’m
pleased we’ve caught it before it could get worse.”

All of them crowded the doctor.

“Has he had a heart attack?”
Trent
asked.

“No. He’s got diabetes, which some of the tests
showed, and he’s suffering from stress. Is David under a lot of stress or
anxiety at home?”

They all turned to Molly.

“Yes,” she said. “I’ve asked for a divorce, and
it has been quite tense.”

“Then I want to keep him in for observation.
His age, circumstances, and diet could be detrimental to his health. I’m going
to write him a prescription for his diabetes and heart. Providing his tests
come back clean, he should be free to go home tomorrow.”

Chris took a seat while Molly finished talking
to the doctor. “He’s going to be all right,” Erica said.

“I know.”

****

Erica stayed with him. His brothers went into
visit his father. She kept hold of his hand when each one came out looking
shocked. Even though he was fine, she imagined the sight of their father in a
hospital bed, hooked up to tubes would be shocking for anyone.

Chris was the last brother to go through. She
started to stay in her chair, but Chris held her hand through to the waiting
room. David was propped against a load of pillows. Erica stood in the corner
allowing Chris space. Molly sat by the bed. Erica noticed the grip the older
man had on his wife’s hand. He clearly didn’t want her to leave him.

“Hi, dad,” Chris said.

“I can’t believe it took the fear of a heart
attack for all my boys to call me dad in the same day,” David said.

She chuckled, covering the sound with a cough.

“Who is this delightful young woman?”

Chris held his hand out to her. She accepted
moving forward. “This is Erica. Erica, I’d like you to meet my dad, David, and
my mum, Molly.”
 

When the introductions were over, Erica stood
back in her corner.

“You don’t look well. How are you feeling?”
Chris moved to the side that was free.

“I’m tired and fed up of being poked by people.
I want to go home, but that blasted doctor who calls himself a friend is
leaving me here for the night.”

“It’s for your own good,” Molly said.

David gazed at his wife. “Thank you for staying
with me.” He kissed her hand. The tenderness made Erica yearn for that kind of
affection. Chris had explained the lack of love between his two parents, but
looking at them now, she saw a lot of ... something. It might be love.

“You’re my husband. I’m not going anywhere.”

Chris stayed for a little while until the nurse
asked them to leave for a short while. They all stood in the waiting room.

She kept quiet as they each made arrangements.
They were a big family. Cassie took her to one side. Blaze Jr. was curled up on
the chairs.

“How are you holding up?” Cassie asked.

“Fine.”
She
stared at Chris and knew she’d be more than fine with him in her life.

“He hurt you.”

“I know, but things are different now. It’s
hard to describe or understand. We’re together, and nothing is going to come
between us. I appreciate that you care so much about me. I do. I love him,
Cassie.” Erica broke away from him to look at the woman at her side. “After
everything between us, I still love him.”

“I can relate to that feeling.” Cassie stared
at Blaze.

Chris came over. “How are you doing?” he asked
Cassie.

“Great. Looks like I’m needed. Take care, the
both of you.”

Erica smiled, waving her hand.

“What’s
going on?” she asked.

“We’re
going back to my parents’ house. I’ll fill you in on the drive.”

She liked
the way he always reached for her hand. When they were in the car, driving
home, he kept a firm grip. She’d called Ben earlier and told him she wouldn’t
be able to make it home. Spending time with Chris was more important to her.

Chapter Nine

Chris
stared at the door to his parents’ house. Erica held his hand as he opened the
door. Blaze, Cassie, and Blaze Jr. had driven back to the city where Blaze
lived.
Trent
went back to his friends. Luke and John were staying at the motel near the
hospital for their mother. Molly was by his father’s side for the night.

His father
would be under constant observation. Erica closed the door and took his coat
off for him.

“I’m
sorry. I’ve never seen him like that before in my life,” he said. Seeing the
pale man in the hospital bed had scared the crap out of him.

“Don’t
worry about it.”

“You’re
not shocked by what you’ve seen?” he asked.

“No.
Having a parent who constantly drank until she passed out and then ended up
having her stomach pumped prepares you a little for this. You need to eat.
Where’s the kitchen?” He led her by the hand into the kitchen. Chris expected
to see the mess that his father had created that morning. What he saw surprised
him. The kitchen was pristine as if Molly had been in cooking instead of his
dad.

“Are you
okay with me fixing you something to eat?” she asked.

“Yes. I’d
love to see you working in the kitchen.” He smiled, leaning down to kiss her.
The shock of his father had spoilt the day.

She
responded to his kiss, giving him her lips.

“Sit down, and I’ll feed you.” Erica pushed him
into a chair before she went to the fridge. Chris watched her pull out some
leftover potatoes from the fridge, along with tomatoes, chilli, and bacon. He
frowned but kept his thoughts to himself. She went over to the cooker and
looked in every cupboard. Chris knew she was looking for a frying pan. He liked
the view of her ass as she bent down. The dress spread over her cheeks, making
him wish she wasn’t wearing anything.

Erica, chopped, fried, and fixed up some nice
smelling food. Chris got nervous when she didn’t deseed the chilli.

“Here you go,” she said, twenty minutes later.
She sat on the other side of the counter, handing him a fork. The saucepan lay
between them looking delicious.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve got a tendency to grab a
load of ingredients and mix them together. Sometimes you get something great.
At other times, not so great.”
She had a smile on her face.

The red stuff in front of him smelt great but
looked awful. Shaking his head, he dug in getting some potato and bacon on his
fork. Erica was already eating hers. He popped his fork in his mouth and began
to chew.

There was heat with tomatoes. The flavours worked
well together. “This is good.”

“I know. It’s the best way to use up leftover
potatoes.” Both of them finished off the frying pan full of food. Chris licked
his lips, sitting back in his chair.

“Wow. That was delicious. I had no idea you
were a good cook.”

She smirked. “If you think that is good in
twenty minutes, then give me an hour, and you’ll be blown away.”

He laughed.

“See. I knew you could smile again.” Chris
helped clean away the frying pan and forks. Erica fixed them some juice then
followed him into his dad’s office. He frowned,

looking
at a
picture of him, Blaze, and his father. They were smiling.

“You guys look happy.”

“I think we were at some point.”

He pushed the picture away. “Do you want me to
drive you back to the beach house?” he asked. She nestled against him, her
warmth offering him the support he needed.