Page 79 of A Case of You
He heard Brandon’s sigh from the other end of the connection. “Nowwill you please quit fighting us on this?”
He closed his eyes. “Yes, Sir,” he softly said.
“Thankyou. Tracey’s agreed to hang out until after dinner. By the time I get home, you’d better have a doctor appointment scheduled for as soon as he can fit you in. If he says you’re getting another PICC line, you’re getting one. I’m done screwing around and being a nice guy about this. You’re putting your health at risk, so I’m playing both the Master cardandthe husband card. And this time, you’re not talking me out of it. It was against my better judgment to let you go back to work, except I knew how miserable you felt being at home all day. This isn’t helping—it’s only hurting you, in very bad ways. So now you tried it, it’s not working, and you’re going to listen to me. Deal?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Sir.”
“Give the phone back to Tracey, please.”
He didn’t open his eyes as he held it out.
She took it. “Yeah?” He heard her talking to Brandon as she walked down the hall toward Emma’s room.
If he opened his eyes, he knew Grace would still be staring at him with whatever look she was going to give him.
Probably a look full of condemnation andI told you so’s. Which he fully knew he deserved at this point.
Didn’t mean helikedit.
“Just say it,” he finally said.
When he heard her sit on the far end of the couch, he finally opened his eyes.
“We love you,” she gently said. “You aren’t the only stranger to medical problems, okay? How do you thinkIfeel sometimes? You think Ilikenot feeling secure enough to drive yet and having to rely on people? When I was little, there was a lot of stuff I couldn’t do, and it upset me. I finally got around it by figuring out what I could do and getting really good atthat.”
“Like what?”
“My brain, for starters. You’re not a stupid man. I know Pop and Stu would be happy to send you to college. You don’t have to have a job that’s physically taxing. Start a car blog or something. Write about stuff and monetize it with ads and affiliate links to Amazon. Write about the local car club scene. Blog about the work you’ve done on the Edsel. You’ve taken all those pictures as you’ve worked on it. Write blog posts. Use your imagination. I can help you with the website stuff, teach you how to set one up. It’s not hard.”
Tracey returned. “We have our marching orders. You two get your homework done and then I’ll help with dinner. Brandon’s going to try to get home earlier than he’d planned, and he’s calling Stuart.”
“They don’t need to do that,” Jeff said, now feeling worse that they were also disrupting their work schedules over him.
Three people who had jobs who he was now inconveniencing.
She pointed at him. “Youhave a doctor’s appointment to make.”
He sighed, retrieved his phone from the coffee table, and made the call. They could fit him in the next afternoon at four.
“What about getting his truck?” Grace asked Tracey.
“Brandon said we’re leaving it there. He and Stuart will go get it later tonight or tomorrow.” She retook the seat she’d occupied earlier. “I have a feeling he’s going to hide your keys,” she said to Jeff. “And I don’t blame him.”
“I’m not a child,” he muttered.
“No offense,” Em said, “but you’re acting like a big damn baby.” She walked over and kissed the top of his head. “Get used to being taken care of, like it or not. We’re not letting you do this again.”
Grace stuck her tongue out at him before smiling. When she got up, she also kissed the top of his head before following Em into the dining room to do their homework.
Tracey wore a playful smirk. “What?” he finally asked.
She shrugged and dropped her voice. “I have a feeling there’s a bad spanking in your future, once you’re feeling up to it.”
“I’m sure there is.” He settled in to try to nap, knowing he’d face an ass chewing, at the very least, when Stu and Bran got home.
