“Dad,” I said as I carefully touched his arm.
He slowly opened his eyes, then turned to look at me. Like my mother, he looked tired. It was scary to see how much he’d aged in the past few weeks. Fortunately, his condition hadn’t worsened any.
I wasn’t surprised when he pushed my hand off his arm. I sighed and said, “Do you need anything before I go take a shower?”
“Drk,” he grumbled.
“A drink?” I clarified.
He gave me a jerky nod. I went to the kitchen to get him the juice my mother insisted he drink more of. I half-expected him to chuck it at me, since it wasn’t the beer he probably wanted, but he accepted the glass and took a sip before setting it down on the table next to him. I hurried through my shower and then searched for something to eat. I was surprised to find that my mother had left me some of the casserole she’d made in the microwave. While she usually cooked enough for me, she often stuck it into the refrigerator, since I had a tendency to stay out until “all hours of the night.”
Of course, all hours to her meant anything after five-thirty. And since I often stayed at work longer than I needed to so that I could cuddle the kittens or help Dallas with one of his rehab patients, she was right, I was technically staying out all hours.
After dinner, I watched TV with my father for a while, only taking the remote from him after he’d fallen completely asleep. By seven, I was rousing him and helping him get ready for bed. I was sitting up in my own bed going through the finances when my phone beeped.
I smiled at the sight of Loki and Dallas popping up on the screen. I’d convinced Dallas to let me take a picture of him and Loki, but he’d grumbled (yes, silently) about it the whole time. I’d been surprised (and once again, schoolgirl giddy) when he’d asked me to also pose with Loki for his phone.
Dallas: How’s your father?
Nolan: Good. Asleep.
Dallas: How are you?
I smiled at that.
Nolan: Better now.
I regretted it as soon as I hit send. What if he read too much into it? Yes, it was the truth, but what if it crossed a line? I waited with bated breath for the response.
Dallas: Me too.
My heart damn near exploded. “Get a grip, Nolan, geez,” I told myself out loud.
Dallas: You still there?
Nolan: Yeah, sorry, I dropped my phone.
“Smooth, Nolan,” I murmured as I shook my head. “Now he’s going to think you dropped the phone because of what he said.”
It went on and on like that for a few minutes – me questioning every text I sent. But I began to relax the longer Dallas talked. We started out with our comfort zone topic of the animals and Tom Hiddleston, which then led to an in-depth discussion about which superhero universe was better – Marvel or D.C.
By the time I got the low battery warning on my phone, it was after midnight – we’d talked for four hours straight.
Nolan: My phone is dying.
Dallas: Mine too. You should go to bed. You have to work in the morning and I heard your boss is a real hardass.
Nolan: Well, his ass is pretty hard. I mean, it’s no Tom Hiddleston ass…
Dallas: Just for that, you’re cleaning up Gentry’s pen tomorrow…with a spatula.
Since I was well aware of how large and smelly Gentry’s shit was, I chuckled.
Nolan: Okay, gotta go. Turns out I have to kiss my boss’s hard ass tomorrow.
I chuckled when a gif of Tom Hiddleston saying “That’s hot” appeared on my phone.
Dallas: Night, Nolan.
Nolan: Good night, Dallas.
And just like that, I forgot about the bills and I forgot about Jimmy and I forgot about the fact that Pelican Bay and Dallas Kent were supposed to be just a temporary stop on the road to my new and better life.
My goal the next morning had been to sneak out early since Dallas had mentioned that he was going to be releasing a hawk he’d been nursing back to health that morning. Fortunately, we wouldn’t have to drive anywhere to release it, so that meant we’d be able to get to work afterward.
But my plans were waylaid when I quietly walked past my parents’ bedroom and saw that their door was open. My father was still asleep, but my mother’s side of the bed was already made and her bathrobe and slippers weren’t in their usual spot. Since I needed to get the keys from the hook near the side table in the kitchen, I had no choice but to say my good mornings and explain why I was up so early. Considering what she thought Dallas and I were actually up to, I wasn’t looking forward to her look of censure when she confronted me about it.