Page 70 of Doctor Mile High
I meet his handshake, giving it a firm squeeze. “I want you to know I’ll always save her. There won’t be a day when I won’t.”
“I know. You’re a good man. I couldn’t be more proud to call you my son-in-law.” He tugs me forward, taking me by surprise. “And I know what you did,” he whispers so only I can hear him. “I know you paid off the mortgage and our debt.”
“I’m taking care of my family,” I state. “Dove’s family is mine and my family won’t struggle.” I don’t leave room for an argument. This isn’t a pissing contest. I’m not trying to prove myself or wave my money around. “I apologize if you think it was disrespectful. That wasn’t my angle. I truly only wanted to help Dove. She kept tell me how badly you two want to travel but you couldn’t, so I won’t be sorry for doing it.”
“I’m not mad. I’m appreciative. Thank you, Winston. And how did you know our bank accounts?” He lifts a big bushy brow.
“Dave,” I chuckle. “You don’t want to know the answer to that.” I wink.
“And the extra three hundred thousand dollars that’s in the account?”
“Yours to do with as you wish. Every month, that same amount will be applied. I also have stocks in your name, so you’re set for the rest of your lives.”
He clears his throat, covering our hands with his other one, giving it a good pat as he fights his emotion. “I appreciate you. Thank you. You’ve changed our lives and I’m still getting over my pride about it, but I won’t fight it either.”
“This is just the best day,” Dove’s mom sniffles, cradling baby Winston. “I’m Diane.” She waves at me, her nose red from the crying she’s been doing for the last five minutes.
I walk toward her, bend down, and kiss her on the cheek. “It’s nice to meet you finally, Diane. Thank you for watching baby Winston while we go to this gala.”
“Are you kidding? I’m so excited to have him here. He gets to spend the night, right?”
“Yes, mom.” Dove chuckles. “Is Ethan here?”
“He’s working the night shift right now. They changed his schedule.”
“That explains why I haven’t heard from him as much,” Dove mumbles.
“Are things better with Hanson?” Dave asks her.
“No, but that’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Dove bends down and kisses our son on the forehead, rubbing his chubby cheek with her finger. “I don’t know if I can leave him for a whole night.”
“How about when your party is done, you video call? You can see he’s alive and well,” Dave offers.
“That would be great, Dave. Thank you so much,” I say.
“I hope this means we’ll see more of you?” Diane lifts her watery eyes from Winston to Dove.
“Yeah, Mom. I’m sorry about that. I thought I had to do everything on my own and I shouldn’t have felt that way. I pushed you all away and I shouldn’t have.”
“She’s moved out of that small apartment and into my house. We should do weekly dinners and weekend brunches. I’d love to plan more,” I say, checking my watch to see that we really need to go. “I’m sorry. Dove, we need to go. I have to get there soon,” I say, kissing her temple. “I don’t mean to drop the baby and run?—”
“You’re an important man. Important men always have to do important things,” Dave says. “You guys go. We’ll be okay. We’ve raised two kids of our own. We might know what we’re doing.”
Dove reaches into the back seat for the diaper bag. “Okay, I have all of his favorite things. I pumped so much milk. He shouldn’t need more. He likes to fall asleep to crickets chirping. I don’t know why or how, but that’s what we play now to get him to sleep.”
“Who doesn’t like to fall asleep to crickets chirping?” Dave mumbles.
I open the passenger side door for Dove. “I hope to get to know you all better soon rather than just ditching the grandchild with you.”
“Don’t worry about it. We love it. You two look wonderful. I couldn’t ask for a better life for Dove. Thanks for taking care of her.”
“I always will.” I shut the door as soon as Dove climbs in.
I kiss my son goodbye and run to the driver’s seat, giving one last final wave before I sling my arm over the seat and turn to look over my shoulder to reverse out of the driveway.
“I didn’t think it would be so hard leaving him,” Dove whispers, staring out the window until we’re far enough away that she can’t see him. “It’s so hard.”
I take her hand in mine. “I know. I miss him too, but we don’t need to stay long at the gala. We can make our appearance and leave to go get him if you want.” I kiss the top of her hand, loving how soft her skin is.
