Page 88 of Duke

“I’ll take care of it. Rent out the house; I can take out a business loan.”

“No. Don’t you dare, I won’t take your money. This is my fight.”

“Shanna… it’s mine too. We haven’t stepped in a church, but I vowed to God that you are mine every damn night. We’re a family. He’s my dad now.”

She giggles, “You need to go in there and tell him that. That will wake him right the fuck up.”

Relieved she’s coming out of it a bit; I stand tugging her with me. “You need to eat. We’ll come back in a bit. I’ll tell him then. He’s a tough old bastard. He’ll pull through.”

Her hand comes up to my chest; she lays her head on my arm. I swallow, hoping I’m right.

“What’s up?” Meat’s at the door hesitant to come in. I’m rinsing vegetables in the sink to make Shanna a fresh dinner for when she comes home.

“I just went through Colin’s finances. His office is a goddamn mess. It’s not good. I thought he paid his house off decades ago. It turns out he took out a reverse mortgage on the place using it to bankroll that tart in LA. The rest… he was saving to surprise Shanna with. He was gonna pay off her student loans.”

“Christ. There’s not enough to hire a full-time aid is there?”

“Not even close. You know that she might not leave him for LA—even for you.”

“I know. She’s as stubborn as they come. I wouldn’t love her so damn much if she were any other way though.”

“The two of you are good for each other. It’ll work itself out.”

“It better. Too much shit’s gotten in the way of us. I hope he recovers, I do. But I’m not giving her up.”

He pats my arm, “Come on. I have news. He’s awake. The hospital just called. They called Shanna, first of course.”

With the dishrag over one shoulder, I glance at my phone.

“Shit. She texted, telling me to meet there.”

With a sigh, I turn the oven off and place the meal I had planned back in the fridge. “Did they say what kind of condition he’s in?”

He shake’s is head.

“Alright let’s go find out.”

“So, you pulled through. You old-bastard,” I grin taking a seat next to Colin’s bed. “Shanna’s on her way. She was in class when the doc called.”

The left side of his face sags. He looks like shit. But he’s alive.

“You all there?” I needle.

“Fuck off,” he rasps removing his oxygen mask before placing it back on.

“Daddy?” Shanna barrels in with hopeful eyes.

“… h-h-haven’t called me th-th-th that in… ov-ov-over eighteen years.” He finishes punching the bed in frustration.

“Oh, Daddy. I’m so sorry. I’ve been a complete bitch.” Shanna throws herself on the bed, crying softly against him.

Kissing the top of her head, I leave quietly, giving her the time alone with him she needs.

Colin stayed in the hospital a few more weeks. Shanna wouldn’t hear of putting him in a home. The cost was ninety-grand a year anyway for round-the-clock care. I could cover a year or two but not much after that without selling my house and business. She wouldn’t let me do that anyway.

I put Smith in charge of the shop and Will the club. Meat and I rented a hospital bed and turned the downstairs living room into a bedroom. If Shanna’s determined to see this through, I’m gonna do my part too. When she’s at school during the day, I get to work. It took me a day to demo the downstairs bathroom. I’ll be done turning it into a fully equipped handicap bathroom with a walk-in shower in two weeks.

She had a fit that I already paid for it all. I told her it was my gift to Colin, not her. She sputtered a few curses, but I got my way.

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