Page 89 of The Breakaway

“Shit, Shar. He’s always right in front of you. Messing with Logan. Trying to get your attention. You’ve never noticed?”

My mouth went dry. “He likes messing with Logan.”

“Yeah. Because you’re there.”

“I—”

“Trust me, I’ve been to Ranchmans when you couldn’t come. He’s completely different.”

I sank to the floor, resting my head against the cabinets.

“You should come stay with me for Christmas,” Crystal said. “Seriously. The second he sees you, he’s going to know you read it.”

I scoffed. “I have a couple of hours to pull myself together.”

“Shar. You’re a terrible liar. You’re going to get all weird. All happy and creepy.”

I laughed. “I am not!”

“That’s how you always get. That one time when you lied about missing rehearsal?”

“Franck believed me.”

“No, babe. She didn’t. She let you off because she likes you.”

I spluttered. “Franck doesn’t like anyone.”

“Okay, whatever, but seriously. You should pack your bag and take a taxi over. Or I can borrow my dad’s car and come pick you up.”

I chewed on my lower lip.

“Crystal! We’re going for lunch!” a voice called in the background.

“Got it!” she shouted back. “I have to go.”

I nodded. “Kay. I’ll phone you later.”

“Think about it.”

I sighed. “I will.” I stood and replaced the receiver, but the phone immediately started ringing. I tensed, thinking about the last time that happened. Logan.

There was no way he’d be calling from Europe, was there? My heart thudded as I picked up. “Hello?”

“Sharla, your dad had a little complication.” My mom’s voice. “They had to take him back to the hospital.”

My blood turned to ice. “What happened? Is he okay?” I started to pace.

“They were able to place the stent successfully, but there were some complications with his blood pressure. He went in last night.”

I pressed a hand to my temple, trying to make sense of her words. “Why didn’t you phone me sooner?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I wanted to make sure everything was under control before I?—”

“Mom, this is Dad. I need to know what’s going on.” My voice was shaking. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Yes, he’s stable now, but they had to admit him. They’re keeping him for observation.”

“I’m coming.” I didn’t wait for her to respond before I hung up and dialled Rob’s pager number. Conditioning was typically only an hour, so he was probably finished by now.

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