She looked as concerned as he felt.
His stomach clenched. Something was wrong.
“Hey.” Jenna answered on the first ring.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Dad. They think he had a heart attack.”
Gavin swung his legs over the side of the bed, his heart sinking to his stomach. A hundred kinds of dread filled his head. “How bad is it?”
Elizabeth was right behind him, her body a lifeline. He was drowning.
“Don’t know yet. He’s at Barnes Hospital.”
Swallowing panic, he said, “I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
Her voice sounded shaky. “Did you get hold of Mick?”
“He’s on the way, too.”
“How’s Mom?”
“A mess, but trying to pretend she isn’t.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Gavin. Just get here.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
He clicked off the phone. Elizabeth was already off the bed, grabbing Gavin’s clothes.
He lifted his gaze to her. “They think my dad had a heart attack.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She came to him and sat on the bed, wrapped her arms around him. “Oh, God, Gavin. I’m so sorry.”
He took a few seconds to absorb her warmth, her comfort. Then he pulled back.
“How bad is it?”
“They don’t know yet. Everyone’s been notified. I’m going to meet them there.”
He got up and pulled on his clothes. Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at her clasped hands. “If there’s anything you need me to do, anyone you need me to call, just let me know.”
“Lizzie.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Yes?”
“I need you. Come with me?”
Silvery tears drifted down her face. “Yes. Of course.” She leaped up and went to get dressed.
GAVIN HATED HOSPITALS, HAD SEEN HIS SHARE OF them—at least the emergency room part of them—for injuries over the years. To Gavin they signaled the possible end of his career.
Right now a hospital meant something entirely different. He didn’t want to think about what might be going on with his dad. His father was a rock, the lifeblood of the Riley family. James Riley had always been invincible and indestructible. He was the strongest man Gavin had ever known. Nothing could topple him.
He was only sixty-five. Too young for a heart attack, right? Sure, his dad had put on a little weight over the years, and his mom’s cooking wasn’t exactly on the low-fat side of things. And maybe exercise wasn’t his father’s favorite thing. He liked to put his feet up and watch sports when he was home. Though he hustled plenty at the bar. And he played basketball with them when they came to visit. And he was always outside doing things.
Okay, maybe Jenna did a lot of the hustling these days behind the bar. Dad was slowing down more and more, hanging out with the customers, chatting them up, doing a lot of the PR work. They’d hired cooks and waitresses so Mom and Dad didn’t have to do so much of the labor intensive work anymore. And Mom still taught dance classes part-time, so she was always running around and staying busy. When she was at the bar, she supervised a lot of the staff and kept her fingers in the cooking. Dad . . .
Shit.
Elizabeth grasped his hand as they got out of the car and headed through the ER doors at the hospital. He shifted his gaze to hers, and her smile strengthened him. Walking in with her beside him helped. He didn’t want to do this alone.
“He’s going to be all right. You have to believe that. If you go in there with the look of doom you have on your face now, it isn’t going to help.”
He nodded. “You’re right.”
He lifted his chin and forced the fear away.
The doors slid open, and the disinfectant smell hit him first. Then the crowd of people with their expressions of worry, exhaustion, and utter despair made him wish he could turn around, go home, and pretend this wasn’t happening.
Elizabeth tugged his hand and went to the information counter.
“We’re here for James Riley,” she said.
The woman typed something on her computer. “He’s in Room 14A. Cell phones must be turned off. Go through the doors to your left. Press the button on your right and give the patient’s name. They’ll buzz you through, and you can ask for directions to his room at the desk there.”
“Thank you,” she said and pulled Gavin along. They got through the security door and to another desk.
What would he have done if Elizabeth hadn’t been there leading him through this crazy maze of doors and hallways that zigzagged this way and that? They finally found the room. Mick and Tara, Jenna and his mom were standing outside. Elizabeth let go of his hand as he stepped up to his family.
“Doctor’s in with him right now,” his mother said as he pulled her into a tight hug.
He nodded. “Any more news?”
Mick shook his head. “We’re waiting to hear from the doctor.”
Mick glanced over Gavin’s shoulder at Elizabeth, frowned, and wrapped his arm around Tara.