Page 74 of Cru's Crush
“I’m sure you’ve been very worried about him.”
“Your sweet mum has given me updates, but you’re right to say I worry.”
“We, meaning my mother and I, were wondering if you’d like to meet us for lunch tomorrow. Maybe somewhere near the hospital? That way, we can tell you more about what’s happening in person.”
“Oh, I’d love that, dear.”
“Also, would you mind bringing a list of the current board members with you? I’d like to contact each one personally.”
“You’re so much like your dad. He would want to do the same thing.”
“Thank you so much.”
“It’s my pleasure, dear. I’ll also bring the dossiers I was preparing for Mr. Cullen about the current board members.” She cleared her throat. “That Dorian fellow, in particular.”
“You’re a wonder, Mrs. Stanhope. Thank you again.”
“I’d have to be to keep up with your father, Daphne. Mr. Dorian and some of the other men on the board thought they could pull one over on him, but they were wrong.”
“See you tomorrow, then,” I said after she suggested a place to meet.
My mum was still standing in the doorway when I rang off.
“Mrs. Stanhope is right about one thing. Actually, more than one. First, you’re just like him, and second, he would be very proud of you.”
“I guess you overheard.”
“Of course I did, sweetheart. The woman is eighty if she’s a day and speaks at the same volume she wishes others would so she can hear them. The other thing she was right about was that, while Dorian thought he was getting away with something, your fatherwouldhave stopped him.”
“It’s now my gauntlet to carry, and I won’t let you down. You and Dad have worked too long and too hard to build Cullen House to let someone steal it out from under you.”
She came over and sat next to me on the bed. “Daphne, I appreciate how much you’re taking on, and even though your father can’t say it yet, he will too.”
“What else would I do? I’m your daughter.”
She hugged me. “Some might not be so willing to set aside their own lives—their hopes and dreams—to help their family.”
I nodded. That’s exactly what I was doing. Setting my own life aside. Not just that, but I was turning my back on love too. But wouldn’t they have done thesame for me? Hadn’t they given up a lot to raise me and make sure I was able to attend university? Live halfway around the world?
And what of Cru? He was doing the same thing in essence. He was the only one of the Avila siblings willing to take on their family’s winery. More, their heritage. I was happy to hear Bit was helping, but how long would that last? Cru would never be able to do what Brix did. He’d never be able to tell his brothers and sister that he was moving out of California and someone else would need to run the family business. Not only couldn’t he, but he wouldn’t want to. Los Caballeros was his life.
The more I realized what was at stake here in Perth, the more I accepted that the fate of Cullen House lay solely in my hands. It was my heritage, and I had to be the one to save it.
When we arrivedat the hospital a few hours later, my father’s doctors were waiting for us.
“We believe he’s ready to be gradually taken out of the coma,” the lead physician told us.
“What’s involved?” I asked.
He explained sedatives were keeping my father in a state of unconsciousness and, when the dosages were lessened, he’d become more and more alert. “The first thing that will happen is he’ll open his eyes. From there, we’ll see how he responds to speech.”
I’d brought both my laptop and a book with me to the hospital but found I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than waiting for my dad to come to. My mum was the same way.
Thinking about him opening his eyes and the first thing he saw being the two of us staring at him, made me laugh. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. At first, my mum glared at me, but when I explained why I was chuckling, she got the giggles too. So instead of two people staring at him, my dad opened his eyes to his wife and daughter laughing uncontrollably.
“Noah!”My mother gasped. She stood and stroked his brow. “I love you so much,” she said before bending down to brush his lips with hers. My dad blinked a few times but didn’t say anything.
I stood on his opposite side and, like my mum, told him how much I loved him, then kissed his cheek.
