soon.
As far as I was concerned, every problem had a solution. The alternative was chaos, and I had no tolerance for any theory where chaos reigned. Yet, if there was a way for me to take away Thea’s pain, I couldn’t see it. From what the doctor had said, it was a matter of time and patience. God knew, patience wasn’t one of my virtues. I wanted to fix it, now.
After filling a tall Styrofoam cup with coffee and creamer, I walked past a case with pre-packaged snack foods. Spotting a row with Teddy Grahams, I snatched a bag. It wasn’t quite the same as offering Thea a cuddly bear with a cast on its leg, but it would have to do for tonight.
I was taking a seat at one of the small tables clustered outside of the store when a familiar form walked through the front doors of the hospital. Shit.
Hurrying after my dad, I caught up with him at the elevator bank. “What are you doing here?”
He turned, every piece of his tuxedo still in place, like the evening had just begun. “To check on Thea, obviously.”
“How did you know?” I certainly hadn’t called him, and I doubted Leo or Tristin had either.
“When all of my children disappeared from the most important event of the year, I was concerned.” He gave me one of his famous disapproving frowns. “I had to hear what happened from a police officer.”
One of the elevator doors opened, and he started toward it. I stepped in front of him, stopping him. “Why don’t we speak outside?”
He looked like he was going to argue, but then he gestured for me to lead the way. I walked until we were far enough from the entrance to not be overheard. Then, I jumped in. “What game are you trying to play?”
My father’s expression didn’t change. “I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.”
“Why did you set Leo up with Jillian Green?”
I wanted to ask more, to finally confront him about the threatening letters we found in his safe, but now wasn’t the time. And I had a feeling Thea might never speak to me again if I went against her wishes on this issue.
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.”
“Are you trying to acquire Green Industries again after giving up on the hostile takeover years ago?”
This time, his expression did change, and he looked slightly impressed. “How do you know about that?”
“I know a lot more than you give me credit for.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but you’re wrong about Green Industries. I gave up on acquiring it long ago.” He crossed his arms over his chest, which usually meant I was in for a dressing-down. “Jillian is the stepdaughter of the Harbor U athletic director, and I took advantage of the fact that he wanted to get on her good side by offering her a ticket and a date with her crush to the ball.”
Well, shit. I remembered seeing something about Jim Green’s divorce in my research about the family, but I hadn’t dug any deeper on the topic. And I definitely hadn’t known that his ex-wife was remarried to the athletic director.
Thea and my brothers were so quick to believe the worst of Dad, and I’d fallen right into the trap that way of thinking set. He’d done exactly what he’d claimed—he’d made a deal with the athletic director to get Leo’s suspension dropped. There wasn’t anything more to it.
“When did you become so suspicious?” Dad asked. “It isn’t a good look on you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
He moved, as though to head back the way we’d come. “Does that mean we can go back inside now?”
“Of course.”
The walk to the waiting room was silent. It occurred to me that he couldn’t be that concerned about Thea’s condition, since he could have just asked me. But I had no desire to start something with him again, so I kept my mouth shut.
Not much had changed in my absence, except Leo was now leaning against one wall, a scowl on his face.
“What’s going on? You still can’t get in to see her?”
He shook his head. “She only wants to see you.”
I turned a thumb on myself. “Me?” That couldn’t be right.
“Yes, genius. You.”
As I started walking toward the double doors, Petra gave me an encouraging smile. Apparently, she wasn’t pissed at me. Tristin, on the other hand, hadn’t even glanced up during the exchange.
A nurse let me in and pointed me in the direction of Thea’s