Chapter Nine

Greg kept up with the ambulance, staying behind them until they got to a stoplight in Saint James. The ambulance, with sirens blaring, drove right on through the red, and Greg had to stop.

Isaac had tears in his eyes, and he'd clenched his hands into fists. They rested on his thighs as if he were ready to punch something if the opportunity arose. For all Greg knew, Isaac was the type.

The truck's engine and the sounds of other cars around him broke the silence. Saint James was a bigger town than Pickleville. Still, it wasn't a huge metropolis, which meant the traffic was reasonable. One thing Saint James had that Pickleville didn't was a hospital. It was the biggest and closest to Pickleville, but the drive took twenty-five minutes, and that wore on his nerves a bit.

Greg darted his gaze to Isaac as the light turned green. He rolled on through with the rest of the traffic, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

He let guilt eat at him. He should've felt as miserable and desperate as Isaac but didn't somehow. He had wanted to sit down and have a conversation with his father but not for his father's sake.

"He's been sick for a few months. Stage four cancer. I knew this was coming. I'm still not prepared."

"Hard to prepare. If it were the man who raised me, I'd be a fucking mess."

Isaac stared at him. Greg didn't have to take his eyes off the road to know. He felt it. "That wasn't Roger?"

"No." Greg took a deep breath and let it out. "Roger and Sherri didn't have time for much more than alcohol and a various assortment of drugs. Sherri got busted for meth, so that's her latest thing. Roger mostly stuck to drinking as far as I know. Guess he gave it up, though."

Greg stopped at the next light and waited for it to change so he could turn left into the hospital parking lot.

"The guy I know doesn't drink." If there was an accusation in Isaac's tone, Greg couldn't detect it.

"That's good. For him."

"But for you, it's too late?"

"Yeah." If he focused on that for too long, he'd lose it. At some point, the numbness would wear off and whatever threads were holding him together, would break.

The light turned green, and Greg moved the truck into the parking lot, taking the drive around to the emergency room lot.

Greg turned off the truck's engine and slipped off his seatbelt.

He opened his door when Isaac grabbed his arm. "I know how you feel. My parents were shits too. Roger helped get me through some of that. Helped me understand it all."

Greg nodded but didn't know what to say to that. A part of him was jealous his biological father provided someone support when he hadn't done that for Greg. An equal part was glad Isaac had someone.

"The state took me away from them when I was sixteen. I ended up with a great father." Greg pocketed his keys at the same time he pulled out his phone. "You'll meet him soon."

Isaac nodded. "Roger told me your foster dad was a good dude."

Greg nodded even as he dialed the phone.

Leonard answered on the second ring. "Greg?"

Greg smiled and then let out a shaky breath. "Roger's at the hospital in Saint James. Will you come?"

"I'll be there in thirty minutes, and I'll bring Kyler with me." Leonard hung up without a goodbye.

Isaac watched him but didn't comment as they walked into the emergency room entrance together.

Greg went up to the nurse's station. "We're here with Roger Mitchell. The ambulance brought him."

"Family?"

"Yep. His sons." Greg didn't even hesitate to include Isaac. They might not have let him in to see Roger if he didn't, and Isaac deserved that, probably more than Greg did. Greg hadn't been Roger's son in years. Maybe not ever. Sharing DNA didn't mean shit.

The nurse told them to have a seat in the waiting room, and someone would update them on Roger's status.

As they sat down next to each other, Isaac leaned over and whispered, "Thank you."

Greg held his hand out, his palm open and inviting. Isaac took it without hesitation.

Leonard probably hadn't ever broken a rule a day in his life, but he walked into the waiting room with Kyler right behind him in less than half an hour. With him picking up Kyler, he had to have broken a few laws.

Greg let Isaac's hand go and stood. Seeing Leonard tore the numbness loose, sending it into a million little pieces until it dissolved. In its place was something Greg hadn't felt in a long time. Loss.

He'd resolved to stop caring after he'd gone to live on the Heath farm, and Leonard made that easier by merely giving him love.

Greg let himself fall into Leonard, sink into his guidance even though he knew it wouldn't bring any of the numbness back. Tears pricked his eyes, but he fought them.

Leonard didn't say anything. He simply held Greg in a way he hadn't since those first few months after Greg had moved in with him.

"Promise me." Greg fisted the flannel of Leonard's shirt, and he held him tighter. "You're the only good one I got. So fucking promise me that will never be you."

Leonard tried to pull back, but Greg tightened his hold. "You look at me right now, boy."

Greg hesitated before he let Leonard go. Leonard cupped Greg's cheeks with both hands. Their gazes met and held.

"I'm right here."

"I don't need anything from him, Leonard." Greg kept his hand on one of Leonard's bony shoulders, feeling how age set into his bones. And yet, the solidness of his presence calmed him, at least for the moment.

"He knows that."

Greg shook his head. "No. You don't get it."

Leonard's expression softened. "Yeah, I do. You don't need anything from him because you have me. I get that, boy. And I ain't plannin' on going anywhere anytime soon."

Greg let out a shaky breath, and the tension in his body eased a bit. He nodded. "Yeah."

Kyler stood next to Greg and put an arm around his waist. "Sorry, man."

"Thanks for coming." Greg pulled Kyler into his side, taking the comfort provided.

"I'm here for you. Always," Kyler smiled and then let Greg go in favor of sitting next to Isaac. Greg heard Kyler introduce himself and then the low murmur of voices.

Leonard got his attention again. "Tell me what you know."

"Not much. He had low blood pressure, and he wasn't taking enough breaths. We found him unconscious. He has cancer. Had it for a while, I guess. The doctors haven't told us anything more yet." The doctors didn't need to tell him that Roger had days left at best. Maybe not even that long. Greg had been around animals enough to know death when he saw it. The species didn't matter.

Leonard nodded. "I guess we'll have to wait to find out more."

Greg sat next to Kyler.

Leonard sat across from them.

"Leonard, this is Isaac. He's close to Roger."

Leonard nodded. "You own that construction company that popped up in Pickleville, right?"

"Yes, sir. Shannon Construction."

"You got a good reputation around town."

Greg tuned Leonard and Isaac out, laying his head on Kyler's shoulder. "Brian and I had a thing. In the barn. We have a date. And I tricked him into marrying me three years from now. Not that he knows it yet."

Kyler turned, upending Greg. His mouth hung open, and he pushed at Greg's shoulder as if he were offended. "You can't drop a bomb like that here. So not fair."

Greg chuckled and let Kyler have his dramatic reaction. "I'll tell you all the good stuff later."

"Tell me how you tricked him. And marriage, Greg. That's a little too quick."

"I read a book once. And the marriage thing was sort of a joke."

"I sometimes forget how fucking smart you are." Kyler sat in his seat, facing forward again.

Greg returned his head to Kyler's shoulder. "Thanks for coming."

Kyler shrugged. "I love you. You know that."

Greg made a noise in the back of his throat.

"And I get why you're here. I think you need to do what's right, even if that means forgiving Roger and Sherri. Honestly, I'm a little envious. I wish I knew my dad to forgive him in the first place. Man never gave a crap about mom and I, or I would know who he is, right?" When Kyler got on a conversation about his dad, it was hard to get him to let go. Truthfully, Greg didn't want him to. Greg needed Kyler's voice to take his mind off where he was and why.

"Maybe you should get Andrew, the new chief, to investigate a little bit."

Kyler stiffened. "What kind of guy moves to a small crappy town like Pickleville anyway?"

"The kind that's seen way too much. That shit probably sticks with a person." Greg knew something about the effects of violence and how it burrowed in until it became a part of a person, like bone marrow.

"Yeah well. He's an asshole."

Greg raised his eyebrows, but he didn't say anything.