move on, not take it out on everyone around me.”
Eyes looked at him for several seconds before he reached out and patted Brackish’s shoulder. “Women make us crazy. I understand that,” he finally said. “But if we use our skill and training on idiots, we aren’t fit for this job.”
“I agree. It won’t happen again,” Brackish assured him.
“That’s good enough for me,” Eyes said. “We don’t have to bring it up again.”
That was the end of the talk. They drove away from the facility, knowing they wouldn’t be able to go back there again — not ever. They weren’t exactly the kind of men who were easily forgotten.
“I guess my golfing career is over,” Brackish said after about ten minutes of driving. Eyes looked over at him and burst out laughing.
“I don’t think the PGA is too concerned about that,” Eyes replied.
Brackish certainly wasn’t back to himself, but the day had improved his mood. He’d figure it all out, and he’d give himself a bit of a break. Love sucked. That was one thing he knew for damn sure. He hoped he didn’t fall into the love trap — right now it was nothing more than lust and like. If it turned into love, he’d be screwed.
Chapter Fourteen
Joseph Anderson considered himself a reasonable man. Others might laugh at that, but he considered himself a man who thought of all sensible outcomes, weighed a solution, and then dove in. He was a businessman, and he thought on his feet, but not without reason — most of the time.
When it came to Joseph’s wife, all reason went out the window. He’d sacrifice anything for Katherine — anything at all. And when she was hurt, or he didn’t have the answers on how to take her pain away, he certainly went a bit crazy. She was the love of his life. Sure, people said that all of the time. They’d say, I’ve met my partner, my one true love, the love of my life. He rolled his eyes.
Those who used terms such as that didn’t know what they were talking about. If they did, divorce rates wouldn’t be through the ceiling, people wouldn’t give up at the smallest inconvenience. True love, the kind of love Joseph shared with Katherine, was eternal. It was kind, beautiful, and it survived all odds. She really was the love of his life. If she weren’t there with him, a part of his soul would be ripped away. That was a soul mate, the love of a lifetime.
“What in the living hell is taking so long?” Joseph asked as he wore a hole in the floor of the hospital corridor he was currently pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth for hours upon hours upon hours.
“Dad, if you don’t calm down, you’re going to be in the bed next to Mom,” Lucas, Joseph’s oldest son, said. “Come and sit with me. Mom will be just fine.”
“I’d love to be in the bed next to her,” Joseph exclaimed. “And I know she’ll be fine,” he bellowed, his voice rising as he continued to speak, making several heads turn as he picked up his pace. “She’s been in there eight hours. I can’t take much more of this.”
A nurse had been out twice since Katherine had gone in for her brain surgery. She’d told them it was going well, that they were getting the tumor, and that her stats were looking good. But Joseph wouldn’t be okay until he could see Katherine. He needed to see her, to touch her, to feel her warm skin against his. He needed her to open her eyes, to tell him this nightmare was over. The only person who could comfort Joseph right now was his wife.
“They told us the surgery would take all day,” Lucas warned.
“Dammit, I don’t need comforted. I need my wife,” Joseph thundered.
“Dad . . .” Mark, his youngest son, began. But before he could add more, the main doors opened and Dr. Spence Whitman stepped through them alongside Dr. Manstein from Johns Hopkins, and Dr. Raul Molina from Barcelona. All of them had joined together, the best of the best, uniting for this surgery to save his wife.
“Joseph,” Spence said as he confidently moved forward, neither a smile nor frown on his face. Joseph met him halfway, staring him in the eyes. He was demanding good news. Nothing else would do.
“Don’t skirt around this, Spence. I want the truth,” Joseph said, stopping only a few feet