Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Can you see the exit?”
“Yes! We need to backtrack and take the next right, then left, then right again.”
“That’s my girl,” he says, and the casual endearment makes my heart flutter. “Remember, we’re not cheating—we’re strategically adapting.”
As he lowers me carefully to the ground, I spot something over his shoulder that makes me burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he asks.
“Hey, Maribel!” I wave to where Theo has hoisted her onto his shoulders about fifty yards away. She waves cheerfully when she spots us.
Eric shakes his head. “Great minds…”
“Or desperate competitors,” I counter as he grabs my hand again.
“Stay sharp! Maribel has the same advantage now.”
We race through the turns I’d plotted out. The lush green walls look different from this angle, though, and for the next fifty paces, I worry that I’ve gotten it wrong. But no! When we make the final turn, I see the opening ahead.
Eric hoots with glee, and we both break into a sprint. And when we clear the exit, Theo and Maribel are nowhere in sight.
“Yes!” Eric pumps his fist. “Where’s Kandi? I thought she was going to record our time?”
I spin around in a quick circle. Then I spot her in a loud orange sundress. She’s leaning over someone who’s seated on the ground.
My father. And he’s clutching his chest, his face contorted in alarm.
“Oh shit,” Eric says.
“Dad!” I rush over, dropping to my knees beside him. “What happened?”
“He just collapsed,” Kandi says, her voice trembling. “He’s having chest pains.”
My father grimaces. “I didn’t collapse. I sat down. Just need to catch my breath. Help me up?” he says to Eric, his face red from either pain or embarrassment.
Either way, I don’t like the look of this. Not at all. His expression is pinched, and his breathing is labored.
“You’re going to the ER, and that’s final,” Kandi says, her voice shaking.
“Great idea,” Eric says in his calm captain’s voice. “And I have a plan for how. Give me sixty seconds.” Then he takes off at a trot toward a golf cart that belongs to the grounds crew. He flags them down as he runs.
The worker stops, and within seconds, Eric has commandeered the vehicle.
“Get me off the damn ground!” my father barks, embarrassment coloring his face.
But if he were really okay, he’d get himself off the ground. “In a second,” I say quickly.
Footsteps pound behind us as Theo and Maribel arrive, breathless and concerned. “Dad!” Theo drops to the grass. “What happened?”
“Shortness of breath,” I say quickly, before my father can whitewash the whole event. “He needs to be checked out by a doctor.”
“I’ll go, too,” Theo says, helping Dad to his feet, as Eric drives up in the golf cart.
“How about we take Kandi instead?” I put my hands on my brother’s shoulders and force him to look at me. “You and Maribel stay with your guests. We’ll call you from the ER.”
“Okay,” Theo says slowly. “But you’ll call, right? Or text?”
“Promise,” I insist.
“What about Tessa?” my father asks gruffly. “Make an excuse for me.”
“Don’t tell her anything’s wrong,” Kandi adds. “Not until we know something. You know how she gets.”
Maribel nods, squeezing Theo’s arm. “We’ll handle things here. Just don’t forget to text us.”
Eric helps my father into the cart, then slides behind the wheel. I get into the little back seat, along with Kandi. And as Eric puts the cart into motion, I study my father’s back as it rises and falls with every breath.
This is very bad, I realize. He’d told me everything was under control. But it clearly isn’t.
Eric drives us right to the parking lot, and Kandi points out her car. “Want me to drive you to the hospital?” he asks.
“Please,” she says tearfully.
A captain’s work is never done. And I have never been more grateful.
Chapter 27
Putting Me on a Leash
Eric
The drive to the hospital feels like a playoff game—lots of speed, coupled with intense concentration. I’m going to get this man to the hospital in time, even if I have to break a few traffic laws. There will be no fresh tragedies on Maribel’s wedding weekend. Not if I can help it.
When I finally pull up at the ER entrance and turn to look at Darcy’s father, I’m relieved to see that his color is a little
better.
Darcy is taking no chances, though. She pops out of the back seat. “I’ll get a wheelchair.”
“Don’t fuss,” he grumbles. But then he allows Kandi to roll him inside the building, which is scary. I know exactly how tough guys behave in the face of pain, and sitting down in a wheelchair is not a good sign.
Luckily, the emergency department escorts Mr. Randolph right into an exam room. Kandi fills out the paperwork, and Darcy commences pacing the waiting room. As the minutes tick by, she alternately stops to check on Kandi or to text her brother that there’s no news yet.