Trapped in Tourist Town (20 page)

It wasn't like anyone was asking her to stay. Amanda and Chase were so excited getting ready for the baby that they'd ceased giving her the guilt treatment. Her parents equally so. Their worlds revolved around the newest Eaton-to-be. And Cady didn't begrudge them this special time at all. Okay, not much. But Burke.

She didn't have to look at her blurry reflection in the napkin dispenser to know she was pouting like a spoiled child. She'd expected him to fight for her to stay, especially after their incredible night at his apartment. Had she read too much into that evening? Hell, that whole weekend! Was it too much to hope that he'd want to continue their relationship? Enjoy more—nights? She blew out a sigh that lifted her long bangs off her forehead and away from her eyes.

A light tap on the door elicited a grouchy groan. She was closed. Hello? She was also in a snit and if they valued their lives, they would turn and walk away. Another rap with a knuckle, this one on the window, caused Cady to look up with a sneer. Perfect. Speak of the devil. Burke peered through the window, waving once he knew he'd been spotted.

Cady took her time getting out of her chair, taking another leisurely sip of Diet Coke and meandering toward the door to let him in. She knocked into the closed sign, setting it swinging and hoping it would catch Burke's eye.

“Hey, I've missed you.” He leaned into the doorway and kissed her softly on the lips, but made no attempt to cross the threshold.

“I've been right here.” She held the door open and gave him a pointed look.

“Would it be okay if ...?”

Burke looked down and Cady gasped when she realized he wasn't alone. Attached to a leash was the craziest-looking mutt she'd ever seen. The dog had a wicked overbite. And his fur couldn't seem to decide which direction it wanted to grow in. But if dogs could smile, this one had the biggest, happiest grin in the world. The damned thing was so ugly he was cute.

“Oh my goodness!” She squealed, snatching the leash from Burke's hand and dragging them both into the bakery.

“Are you sure he can be in here?”

“Just don't report me to the health inspector.”

Settling on the floor, Cady chuckled to see the dog needed no encouragement. He jumped into her lap, snuffling, sneezing, and lapping her silly. She stroked his ears and kissed his little pug nose.

“What is your name, sweetness?”

“Bandit.”

“Ah, like your little midnight visitor.” Cady laughed to see that Burke seemed pleased she understood the source of his new pet's name.

“You got it. And besides, this guy's kind of a thief in his own right. He stole my heart and he looks like he's well on his way to getting yours too.”

“I haven't had a dog since I was a kid.” Cady sighed, ruffling Bandit's perky ears and losing herself in his adoring brown eyes.

“Well, this is a first for me.” Burke's voice was quiet, contemplative.

Joining her on the floor, he reached out to pet the dog. Their hands knocked against one another and he reached for hers, clasping it warmly. Cady was finding it very difficult to hold onto her nasty mood.

“So, I bought a house.”

“Yep. I heard.”

“Of course you did. Word travels fast in a small town.”

“New house. New dog. Did you get a new car yet? Gotta give back the rental sometime, right?” She frowned when Burke looked guiltily toward the big window. He had all his bases covered.

“I guess you're all settled into your new life then.” She tried to tug her hand away and refused to meet his eyes when he tightened his grip.

“I promised to tell you about what happened when I met with my father in New York. That explanation is long overdue. I need to explain to you why I've been so anxious to start over here, to find my own place, my own way.”

Cady paused. She honestly hadn't made the connection. All she'd thought about was that Burke was so eager to be accepted in Scallop Shores. It had never occurred to her that this gung-ho attitude was prompted by his visit to his father.

He'd been so upset that day. She'd tried to get him to talk about it and he'd refused. Clearly something had bothered him, but since they'd been back, she thought he was happier. Maybe not so much happy as—determined, she realized. And she'd completely dropped the ball, been so focused on herself and the fact that he wasn't asking her to stay in Scallop Shores. What kind of girlfriend did that make her?

Wait
—
girlfriend
? Had she really just assigned herself that role? Cady peeked through long lashes. For the first time since they'd returned, she noticed the hard set to Burke's jaw, the way his hesitant smile didn't quite meet his eyes. He was hurting. If Bandit hadn't claimed the spot already, she would have curled into his lap, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing away his pain.

“Cady!” The bell over the door jangled harshly as Chase stuck his head in, still in uniform.

“Down here.” She knew he couldn't see them there on the floor and scrambled up to meet her brother in the doorway.

“You weren't answering your phone.” He frowned.

“I must have left it upstairs. What's the matter? Amanda's in labor?”

“No. It's Dad. Mom took him in with chest pains. They're at the ER. I'm headed over there now.”

“Oh my God. What can I do?”

“Get the house ready. Swing by and pick up Amanda, so I know all my girls are taken care of.”

“Chase. Tell him I love him.” Cady wrung her hands.

“He knows that, baby. He knows.” Chase gathered her against his broad chest, smooshing her cheek against the cold metal of his badge. He kissed the top of her head and set her aside gently. Nodding toward Burke, he ducked back out the door.

“You okay?” Burke was already behind her, squeezing her shoulder.

“Yeah, I'll be fine.” She took a shuddering breath and swallowed hard to keep from losing it. Her eyelids stung where the tears hid behind them, trapped because she refused to let them fall.

“What did he mean, ‘Get the house ready'?”

“He meant that we're about to be inundated with well-wishers, neighbors, and townsfolk. Someone needs to be there to receive them.”

She twisted her fingers together, staring out the bakery window, though her brother had already driven away. She should be there too. Burke hooked an arm around her waist and drew her back against him.

“Amanda and I've got this. You go be with your dad. He needs you right now.”

He slipped behind the counter and came up with a coffee urn. God, she loved this man! And if she wasn't such an emotional basket case right now, she'd tell him. But he didn't deserve to wonder if she was sincere, or if the stress of the moment led her to say something she didn't truly mean. He captured her lips in a brief kiss, ushered the dog out ahead of him, and slipped through the door.

• • •

By the time Cady had spoken to someone in the ER, her father had been admitted to a private room upstairs. Her sneakers squeaked on the gleaming linoleum, sounding obnoxiously loud as she put more distance between herself and the crying babies, coughing, and general chaos that was the Emergency Room waiting area. Chase would be upset that she hadn't followed his orders. But Chase could stuff it, for all she cared.

She swore the elevator was moving in slow motion. It didn't help that nervous energy had her practically hopping in place. By the time the little ding sounded for the eighth floor, Cady stood with her nose to the doors, prying them open the very second she could get a finger hold. They didn't have any information for her downstairs, and no news was—well, it was no news. She wouldn't be happy until she saw her father with her own eyes.

“Wallace Eaton, please.” She leaned over the counter at the nurses' station, not feeling the least bit guilty that she was interrupting what must have been a darned good romance novel.

“Are you family?” The nurse slipped a Post-It in her paperback and dropped it into a tote bag on the floor.

“I'm his daughter. Please, I need to see him.”

“He's in room 819, about halfway down the hall, on the right.”

“Thank you.”

Pivoting on a squeaky heel, she headed in the direction the nurse had pointed. It was quiet up here, no commotion, no one running around or shouting orders for crash carts and “Get me 50 cc's of epi—stat!”, whatever the jargon was they used on the medical dramas on TV. That had to be a good thing.

Cady pushed down her jitters and tried to present a calm front for her mother when she entered the room. She was uncomfortably close to throwing up, but her mom didn't need to know that. Taking one last, soothing breath, she tapped quietly on the door.

“Cady? Chase said you were headed to the house.” Her mom patted the empty seat beside her.

“I know. I disobeyed a direct order. I was just too concerned about Dad. Burke and Amanda are at the house. They can handle things just as well as I could have.” She scowled at her brother, instantly regretting it when she saw him gripping the windowsill while he avoided looking at the prone figure of his father in the bed.

“Mom, what happened?”

“He was in the garden, weeding. I brought him some water and found him massaging his shoulder. He tried to tell me it was nothing, but I've lived with the man for thirty-five years. I know when he's in pain. He wouldn't let me call an ambulance. Thank God he actually agreed to let me drive him to the ER.”

Cady finally let her gaze fall on her father, lying so still. He was hooked up to machines, wires and IV tubing crisscrossing his bare chest. He looked—frail.

“He's sleeping?” She turned back to her mother.

“Not by choice, I'm afraid. He was quite insistent that nothing was wrong and he got a little worked up.”

“Dad was always a lousy patient.”

“Would you listen to yourself? You're already talking about him in the past tense! Dad's going to be fine. He just needs to take it easy.” A tic in his left cheek and a bright sheen to his stormy eyes showed Cady just how close her brother was to crying.

“Of course he's going to be fine. Dad's a tough guy. He can weather anything.”

Silently Cady stood and crossed the small room to Chase. Without speaking, the siblings reached out for each other, linking hands as they waited for the doctor who would give them news about Wallace's prognosis.

• • •

Hours later, Cady sat at her father's bedside alone. He was being kept overnight for observation. As far as heart attacks went, his had been relatively minor. Not that heart attacks were anything but serious. Still, they had been incredibly lucky. Tomorrow he'd be going home with a medicine cabinetful of meds he would need to take. And he'd have to follow doctor's orders and rest.

Her mother had asked for a cot to be brought in. She'd be spending the night. Chase had left momentarily to pick up Amanda. Once the doctor had assured them all that Wallace was going to make a full recovery, Chase was able to talk his mother into grabbing a late dinner at the hospital cafeteria before it closed. Cady opted to stay behind in case her dad woke up to find himself all alone.

Taking her father's beefy paw in her small hand, she traced the calluses and scars that marked a lifetime of hard work on the sea. Her dad had always been larger than life to her. She could still remember squealing in happy fright as he picked her up and pretended he'd toss her off the deck to the ground below. He scared away the monsters under her bed, and, later, the boys who came to pick her up on dates. He always had the best lap for cuddling during family movie nights.

This was a wake-up call, a bitter reminder that her dad wasn't always going to be around. He was getting older. Their roles were starting to reverse and sooner, rather than later, he was going to need help.
Only, she was going to be in New York
. Ah, good. Now that the fear had abated somewhat, she was free to wallow in guilt.

“Flutterby?” His voice was a gravely whisper.

“Dad? You haven't called me that since I was probably nine years old or so.”

“You were eleven and you had a raging case of chicken pox. You were devastated that you had to miss the school field trip to the aquarium.”

“Mom had already signed up to chaperone, so you stayed home and took care of me.”

“We ate pancakes for lunch and watched
Tom and Jerry
in our pajamas.”

“And I made you color in my Barbie coloring book with me.”

“Hey, as long as I got the pages with Ken on them, I was happy.”

“I love you, Daddy.”

“Aw, don't go getting weepy on me, kiddo. Just had a little heart hiccup, was all. Your mom all right?”

“She's hanging in there. Chase and Amanda took her downstairs to eat.”

“Good, good. Your fella, where's he?”

“Burke? He helped out at the house this afternoon. Amanda said he even mowed the lawn for you.” She ducked her head, biting the inside of her cheek.

“City boy mowed
my
lawn? Hope Chase has time to stop by and fix it.” This time their eyes met and they both laughed.

“Hey! It was my first time. Don't I get points for even getting the damned thing started?”

Cady spun around to find Burke pouting in the doorway. She jumped up and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him hard. She kissed his cheek with a loud smack.

“Yes, you get points for all of it. You rock.”

“Damned right I do.” He nodded at Wallace. “You look … good.”

“I look like hell, but never mind that. Take my Cady out and make sure she eats.”

“Yes, sir.”

Returning to the bed, Cady gingerly kissed her father goodnight. She gave his hand one last squeeze, her smile too bright. Stupid tear ducts! She was not a crier. He gave her a reassuring nod and waved her out of his hospital room.