Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,7

he is. The least you could do is pick up the phone and call whoever you need to so—”

“Becca,” Jake said sweetly, cutting Cassie off.

Cassie turned and glared at him.

“Cass and her dad are really close,” Jake continued. “And as you can imagine, this has been a huge shock. I remember how your dad used to come to all our softball practices as a kid, so you get how important and special that kind of relationship is. She needs some reassurance he’ll be okay until morning so she can go home and get some rest. Do you think you could help?”

The frustration she felt at Jake’s interruption eased slightly as she watched the sympathetic smile appear on Becca’s face. She passed a glance at Cassie, but her focus was on Jake. “I’m not sure the doctor has time to—”

“Wouldn’t you want someone to try their best for you if it was your dad?” Jake folded his arms and leaned on the counter. Why had she not noticed Jake had biceps before? Becca noticed too, because she melted faster than a popsicle on a Manhattan sidewalk.

“Of course. Look, go take a seat over there and I’ll see what I can do. It might take a few minutes.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

“That was smooth,” Cassie said, as Jake led her to a row of plastic blue chairs pressed up against a sterile white wall.

“You always get farther with a bit of sugar. Mom taught me that.”

Cassie thought about the horror of Jake losing both parents. At least hers were still here. She let fatigue claim her and slumped into the chair. Reality slipped through the cracks of her efficient armor. Panic filtered in. An ICU bed couldn’t be good. God, was his health insurance up to date? Had Marianne provided all the details her father’s care required?

And Carter. Shit.

“Goddamn,” she muttered. “I need to update Carter. We need to decide if he should get on that flight in sixteen hours.”

Jake threw his arm over her shoulder. “Let’s wait for the doctor, then you can make a decision.”

She knew he was right. But her brain was currently the equivalent of a pinball machine, thoughts firing out of nowhere and ricocheting around. “Remember the old arcade? The one with the long wall of pinball machines?” she asked. “How Dad used to take the five of us on a Saturday afternoon?”

Jake huffed and leaned back against the wall, and she missed the warmth of his arm immediately. “Yeah. He’d challenge me and Carter on the Star Trek pinball machine. The one with Shatner’s and Nimoy’s faces on it. Never could beat him on it.”

“He tried to buy that machine when the arcade closed down ten years ago. They wanted something like three or four grand for it. It looked like he had a deal lined up, but Marianne put her foot down and refused to let him bring it in the house.”

“That’s too bad,” Jake said quietly. “It would be fun to see if I could kick the old man’s ass now his reflexes are a little slower.”

Cassie smiled sadly. “Yeah, a lot of things would be fun now if Marianne weren’t around.” The thought of everything she’d lost with her father because of his decision to marry Marianne was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and tears welled up faster than she could hold them back. She reached for a tissue from her purse and then dabbed her eyes.

Jake pulled her into his arms as more tears slipped free. “I’m so sorry, Cassie. But he’s in the best hands.”

Cassie bit the tip of her tongue hard. Giving into the stinging sensation of tears would not help her family. It wouldn’t make up for the things she’d missed out on. It wouldn’t miraculously heal her father.

“I hope so.”

“It’s going to be okay, Cass. No matter what happens next, you’re going to be okay.”

She nodded numbly against his shoulder. Her stomach clenched at the thought of losing her father. A shiver trickled through her, chilling her to the bone. The air outside was so warm, but in here, it felt frigid.

Jake untied the plaid shirt he’d tied around his waist and placed it over her shoulders, the action grounding her in the moment. It smelled of him, of the earthy scent of his cologne. It was reassuring, although she couldn’t explain why.

She slipped her arms through the sleeves, even though they were too big, and the shirt enveloped her in a warmth she hadn’t felt since the call