“I need to make the time,” he told her.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. Your father was saying the same thing the other day.”
“Yeah, uhm, about Dad . . . is he there?”
“Of course.” She paused. “Is everything all right? You don’t sound yourself.”
“I’ve had a long day and I need to talk to Dad.”
“All right, I’ll go get him.” He knew his mother was tuned in to his problem.
He heard the muffling of the phone, his mother speaking to his father, but not the words that were spoken.
“What’s the matter, son?” William skipped hello and how are you.
“Have you watched the news today?”
“I’ve been in court all day. Why? Are you in trouble?”
“No, Dad. I’m not. C’mon.” Wyatt took a deep breath. “I met this woman . . .” For the next ten minutes Wyatt told his father briefly about Melanie, about Hope . . . about the past twenty-four hours.
And he told him about Nathan. “He’s a weasel, Dad. He doesn’t give a crap about his daughter.”
William chuckled. “Most lawyers are weasels, son.”
“Yeah, you’ve told me that before. But this guy. He’s going to cause trouble. I feel it. The thing is, I don’t know why. It wasn’t like Mel was going after him for a dime.”
“Have you considered him having a change of heart about his kid?”
“He caused chaos in the ER, stressed out Hope, made a scene. Does that sound like a man caring about the health of his kid?”
“No. Sounds like a man trying to make a scene and gathering witnesses.”
Wyatt hated that he’d picked up on that.
“You told me once that half your job was being a private investigator. Can you look into him for me?”
“Consider it done. What else can you tell me about him?”
He told his father what he knew, which wasn’t a lot. “I know a few people that know a little more. I’ll e-mail you the details I can find in the morning.”
“Sounds good.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Oh, and Wyatt?”
“Yeah?”
“This Melanie . . . is she someone your mother and I might meet someday?”
Wyatt read through the lines of the question and smiled.
“Yeah . . . I think maybe you will.”
“Mommy?”
Melanie had fallen asleep in the recliner chair that sat beside Hope’s ICU bed and woke with a start when she heard Hope calling.
“Right here, baby.” She wiped the sleep from her eyes and scrambled to her daughter’s side.
“I’m hungry.”
Two words.
Two perfect words.
It was four in the morning, but that didn’t hold a lot of concern for a little girl who had last eaten the morning before.
“I’ll get the nurse, see if we can get you something.”
Hope looked around the room. “I’m in the hospital?”
“Yes, baby.”
“And I fell and broke my arm.”
“You did.” The fact that Hope told her instead of asking was a huge improvement. Her little girl was living up to her name.
“I’ll be right back.”
“’Kay.”
The ICU was in the shape of a U, with rooms surrounding a central nursing station that had a half dozen nurses working behind it. She found the night nurse in charge of her daughter’s care and told him Hope was asking for food.
Phillip put the chart he was writing in aside and stood. “Let’s go talk to her.”
They walked back into the room and found Hope smiling. “Hi, Hope. Do you remember me?”
She squinted her eyes then smiled. “Phillip.”
“That’s right.”
Instant tears sprang to Melanie’s eyes. The doctor had told her that Hope’s scrambled head was temporary, but she had a hard time believing it.
Until now.
“You okay, Mommy?”
“I’m fine, sweetie.” She wiped her eyes and turned away. “I need to find a bathroom. Are you all right here without me for a few minutes?”
“I’m okay.”
Melanie looked at Phillip. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time,” Phillip said with a knowing smile.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. She just needed a few minutes to remove the emotion from her face.
When Melanie walked outside the double doors of the ICU, several familiar faces were in various positions on the couches and cushioned chairs.
Miss Gina noticed her first and shook the blanket from her lap.
Then Wyatt opened his eyes and caught hers. It took a second for the smile to come. When it did, both Miss Gina and Wyatt released a deep collective sigh.
“She’s awake, making sense.”
“Oh, hon.” Miss Gina took a few steps and pulled Melanie into her arms.
Wyatt ran both hands through his hair before he stood and took his turn hugging her.
Luke woke next and placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder.
When did she show up?
Zoe jumped, saw Melanie, and scrambled off the couch. There weren’t any words . . . just Zoe taking both hands and holding Melanie’s eyes with a stare.
Then she hugged her . . . hard.
“You didn’t need to come.”
Zoe pounded on her back. “Bite me.”
The one face missing from the room was Jo’s.