Page 107 of RomeAntically Challenged
Then again, loving someone meant trusting them, and one couldn’t exist without the other. He trusted Annie implicitly. He trusted her more than he trusted himself, and that was saying a lot for a guy whose life often depended on following his instincts. And his instincts were telling him that in this case he didn’t think it was atrust before lovekind of situation.
If he trusted her, then he must also be feeling the other half of the equation.
His phone vibrated and he glanced down.
He texted back the completely expected response.
Emmitt wondered if she’d come back with another expected response when he noticed a man who looked suspiciously like his dad. He was dressed in white sweats that were held up by a belt around the waist, a polo and—what the hell—was he wearing house shoes?
Chapter 26
“Don’t you run away from me, Leslie Jacobs. I know what you’ve been up to,” he hollered, confirming Emmitt’s suspicions that the man charging through the hospital lobby like a madman was, indeed, his father.
It wasn’t so much his voice that gave him away, because he sounded winded, but the fact that he was wielding a cane like a sword and charging at some unsuspecting passerby.
Les hadn’t noticed him yet, and Emmitt considered slipping out the back exit to avoid running into him, except his dad wasn’t just winded, he was having a hard time keeping his balance. Emmitt looked around for a nurse, but the lobby was completely empty.
Except for Les, who was looking as if he was gasping for breath.
“Ah shit.” Emmitt pocketed his phone and went over to make sure his old man wasn’t going to stroke out. By the time he made it across the lobby, Les was leaning heavily against the wall, gasping for oxygen.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fit as a fiddle,” Les said, not able to lift his head to look Emmitt in the eyes, which told him just how bad off his dad was. Les had taught him that a self-respecting man always wore a belt and looked people in the eye when speaking.
His situation couldn’t be too dire, Emmitt thought. He’d managed to get the belt part down.
“Let’s take a seat over here,” Emmitt said, taking his dad by the elbow, shocked at how frail Les felt. He didn’t have time to consider much else, since Les jerked his arm away.
Not willing to go head-to-head with his father’s stubbornness—he was still seeing stars from the last time—Emmitt stood back and, hands up in surrender, let Les work it out on his own.
Silently, Emmitt took the seat next to him and waited. And waited. A good five minutes passed before Les spoke.
“Did Annie send you here?” Les began. “I knew I couldn’t trust that girl. She’s too sweet on you.”
“Why would Annie send me?” he asked, and Les closed his mouth so tight it looked as if he’d lost his teeth and forgot to put in his dentures. Then again, Emmitt hadn’t a clue if his dad wore dentures.
Something he’d have to rectify since Les was now a part of Paisley’s life, and Paisley seemed to care about him. If he was serious about the things he’d said to Gray, which he was, then he’d have to come to some kind of understanding with his dad.
For P’s sake.
“And you can trust Annie,” he assured Les, not sure how or why his dad knew Annie—he’d get to that question when Les didn’t look like he was two heartbeats into cardiac arrest.
“I got to get going then,” he said, using the armrests to stand as if they were an extension of his hands. “If I sit idle too long, I’ll lose my namesake and they’ll try to give me a hysterectomy. Bad enough they want to fiddle with the boys—they aren’t giving me a hysterectomy!”
Les was on his feet before Emmitt could ask him a few simple questions: What year was it? Did he recognize Emmitt? Did Santa Claus visit him regularly? Les sure was spry for a man who’d lost his marbles. It took Emmitt some effort to catch up to him.
“Where you going?” Emmitt kept pace next to his dad.
“Chasing a pretty blonde.”
“What’s new?” Emmitt laughed. His dad had always had a thing for blondes. So had Emmitt until he’d met his new roommate. Now he had a thing for Annie. “Whoa, slow down. You’re going to trample someone if you’re not careful.”
Actually, Emmitt had no such concern. Les running into a wall and knocking himself stupid? That was a different story.
“Last time I slowed down, she got away.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be caught.” Then again, when it came to women, Les and Emmitt were cut from the same cloth. So his dad wouldn’t be giving in until he found his lady.
