Chapter 13

13

" E xcuse me, are you Peter Jamieson?" asked an airline employee.

"Yeah, I'm Peter Jamieson," he answered slowly, a bad feeling creeping over him. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but there's been a medical emergency back in Los Angeles. Your mother called and asked us to locate you. You need to return to LA as quickly as possible."

"What happened? Who is it?" Panic hit him full on. He searched Roger's face for information neither of them had.

"Is it my mom? Is she okay?" Peter stood, oblivious to the dozens of curious passengers in the terminal. The only reason his mom would make him come home was if something terrible happened .

"I'm sorry to tell you that your father suffered a heart attack. I believe he's in the emergency room at Cedars Sinai."

Peter's world fell away. His dad. The man who pushed him to be his best. He couldn't be sick; he was the rock of their family. Peter looked to Roger for support, terrified for his father's life.

"How soon can we get out of here?" Roger said, taking control.

"We're holding a plane that's headed to Denver. Then you'll transfer to LA. You can board now."

"Let's go," Peter responded. "I'm calling Garrett."

Stiff-jawed, he tapped the buttons on his phone as he followed the officials through the terminal to the waiting plane.

Garrett answered on the first ring. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm on my way now. We just landed in Madison, but they're holding a plane. How is he? What happened?"

Peter didn't recognize the flat tone of his own voice. He fought tears as he rushed down the concourse. His invincible dad had always been healthy. This was all wrong.

"He was walking across the yard and collapsed. Mom gave him an aspirin right away. The paramedics said it probably saved his life."

Peter held the phone with one hand and pushed his hair out of his face with the other. He struggled to grasp what Garrett was telling him. "Is he okay? Where is he now?"

They arrived at a gate where airline agents waited. One agent handed him a boarding pass and cleared him through without delay. Peter nodded his gratitude as he listened to Garrett.

"They're doing a lot of tests. He's hooked up to a bunch of machines. Mom's with him."

"Is he going to be okay?" Peter couldn't believe he needed to ask this.

"I don't know, Pete," Garrett said softly. The worry in his voice scared Peter even more.

"Is Adam with you?" Peter stepped onto the crowded plane. Impatient passengers watched. He and Roger were guided to seats near the front.

"Yeah, he's right here. How long until you land? Damn it, Peter. You should be here."

"I know. I'm on my way. A couple hours to Denver and a couple more to LA. Hopefully by midnight." He checked his watch and dreaded the idea of being stuck on a plane for the rest of the night helpless to do anything. He needed to be there. Now.

"Just get your ass home. You never should have left. She isn't worth it."

Peter ignored the barb. Garrett was scared and angry. So was he. "I'll be there soon. I'll call when we land in Denver."

The door closed, and the plane taxied the short distance to the runway. "Garrett, don't let him die." He spoke softly, not wanting to hang up. There was no reply for the longest time as the two brothers shared a frightened silence.

"Just hurry." The tone of Garrett's voice told Peter all he needed to know.

Peter ended the call and sniffed back his emotions. His throat tightened and he closed his eyes to fight back his tears. Roger squeezed his arm in support.

In private, Peter might have hugged the big man and cried. Instead, he put on a brave face as the flight attendants finished the safety talk and did their final check for takeoff.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. "Libby!"

Damn it, he'd forgotten all about her. He opened the phone again, about to press dial, when the flight attendant stopped him.

"I'm sorry. You need to turn that off. We're about to take off and it interferes with in-flight communications."

"But it'll only take a second. It's important." He had to make a call to Libby. He couldn't leave her standing at the dance alone, wondering where he was. They'd worked so hard to make this happen. She'd suffered so much in the past year, and he wanted to bring her happiness. Instead, she'd be devastated.

"I'm sorry, but it's airline policy. No exceptions. "

"Put it away, Peter. She'll understand," Roger said calmly.

Peter didn't like it, but he turned the phone off and slid it into his pocket. He slammed his head against the cushioned first-class seat in frustration.