Page 67 of Love Off Course

Now she’s our girl.

And why did my heart twist inside my chest at that proclamation?

“How is he?”I ask Regina as I sign in at the front desk.

“Smiley’s good. Question is, how are you, Mr. Jet Setter?”

“Been busy with work. Hurricane Rodrigo derailed our plans a little.” Understatement of the year.

“I heard that hurricane beat up Mexico quite a bit. Your momma and family okay?”

“Perfect,” I tell her with a forced smile, not at all ready to get into the drama that was this past week.

Regina guides me down the hallways that smell like ammonia mixed with pine. We reach Dad’s room and push inside. He’s sitting in his usual spot in his wheelchair, staring out the window up at the sky.

“Mr. Zaragoza,” Regina says. “Your boy’s here to see you.”

Dad doesn’t turn to look. He doesn’t do much these days. I walk over to him and squat down in front of him. Regina gives me a wink before leaving the room to give us our privacy. I take Dad’s hand, but his attention is still fixated on the sky.

“Missed you,” I tell him. “Sorry I didn’t come here first. The Klein were cooking and I went to go see them.”

No response.

I’m still not used to that after all these months. Dad was my best friend. My confidant. My everything. He took my dream and made it his own. We did this together. Every step of the way.

“Mamáis doing well,” I say, hoping to pique his interest. “The hotel took some storm damage, but she’ll figure it out. She always does.”

Dad keeps staring outside. I let my gaze roam over my father. He’s still young. His black hair only has a few streaks of gray. He’s lost some of his muscle mass over the past few months, but you can tell he’s still a strong man. It’s his mind that’s a mess. The stroke fucked him up. I miss our talks, but he hasn’t said a word since the stroke. I know he’s in there because I can see it in his eyes.

“I met a girl.”

He turns his head and those dark eyes latch onto mine. They’re sharp and intelligent and loving like always. My heart thunders in my chest. I wish I knew how to fix him.

“Of course hearing about a girl would get your attention, Dad,” I tease. “Still so much a romantic.” Before the stroke, he was riding my ass about saving a little room in my heart for love too. A career isn’t everything. “She’s great.” I can’t help but smile thinking about her. “And a total psychopath.”

His dark eyes twinkle with barely contained delight.

“Don’t act so pleased about her being crazy, man,” I say with a chuckle. “She’s mean. Yells at me a lot.” I can’t wipe the stupid smile off my face. “We live far apart, though. Long-distance relationships never work.”

He, of all people, knows this.

The room grows silent and all I can hear is the steady sound of our breathing.

“I wish I could figure out a way to keep this girl,” I say out loud, not just for him but for myself. “She’s worth finding a way. Beautiful. Smart as hell. Funny without even trying.”

When I look up, my dad is smiling. Well, a half smile anyway. His smiles used to light up his whole face. Now it’s rare andonly partially reflects his happiness. A single tear rolls down his cheek. I take his hand and squeeze it.

“I love you, Dad. You know that, right? You gave up so much for me, includingMamá, and I will never forget that. You’re my best friend.”

His hand clutches mine.

“Oh, so I’m chopped liver,” I joke. “You want to hear more about the girl. Fine. I’ll tell you all about the Sheridan Reid. About how her hair is smooth like silk but her tongue is sharp as a whip. She’s really bossy, you know.”

Dad continues to smile as tears keep rolling down his face.

I tell him all about her. Regina comes in to feed him some supper. She hooks me up with some pudding. Then I continue on telling them about Sher. Once Regina is gone, I pull out my phone and look her up. All I can find are pictures of her for her company, RT Corp. Her dad is an older version of her, but not as stiff looking. In every photo, Sheridan’s back is board straight and she doesn’t smile.

I saw her smile plenty. I knew it was something special, but seeing these photos makes me realize just how rare it was for her to let go and be free.

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