there was nothing she could do, except to trust Andie and whichever doctor was on emergency call.
That and be thankful that Matt had been available to help.
Liv swallowed as she felt tears starting to build up.
Nope. Was not going to cry. She was going to calmly drive to the hospital and if by heaven’s mercy her father recovered, well, she might just have to hurt him for being so damned stubborn.
Matt’s truck wasn’t in the lot when Liv drove in. She parked in the first spot she found and entered the hospital. Andie came through the emergency room doors just as Liv walked inside, her expression grim. She immediately went to Liv and looped an arm around her, steering her to the plastic chairs in the waiting area. Liv refused to sit.
“What is it?” she demanded.
“Acute cholecystitis.”
“A gallbladder attack?”
“That’s not the big problem. The real danger is that he’s got a pretty major infection because apparently he’s been muscling his way through the attacks and because of that he’s developed abscesses, which created the infection.”
“I’ll kill him,” Liv muttered, then put her fingers to her lips when she realized what she’d just said.
“Yes, you’ll most probably get the chance to do that,” Andie said.
Liv’s heart knocked against her ribs. “Most probably?”
“There’s always a risk with surgery. You know that. We have him on Demerol for the pain and intravenous antibiotics. Once his fever goes down, we’ll operate.”
Now Liv did sit. “When?”
“Within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The sooner the better. Dr. Bates will do the surgery.”
“Can I see him? Dad, I mean?”
“He’s a bit confused and out of it.” Andie sat down beside her. “You can see him, talk to the doctor, but then you should probably just go home.”
“But—”
“I’ll make certain you’re called if there’s any change.”
“I’ll stay for a while.”
Andie smiled wearily, touched Liv’s hand. “You’d be better off going home rather than sitting in these chairs until your legs go numb.”
“I’ll stay.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE DRIVE HOME was lonely and dark, made lonelier by the fact that Liv had no one waiting for her when she got there. Not that long ago, when she’d lived in Billings, arriving home to an empty house was a normal occurrence, but not at the ranch. Tim had always been there. Now he wasn’t.
He’d be back.
She hoped. While waiting for a chance to see him, she’d done research on her phone about acute cholecystitis, which was usually only life-threatening once infection set in. Good job, Dad. Way to take something treatable and turn it into a crisis.
Why? Why not just go to a doctor? Get treated. He’d obviously been in pain for a long time.
As soon as he was no longer loopy from medication she’d get her answer. Because he was in good hands and he was not going to take a turn for the worse. Oh, no, he was not.
Liv wiped moisture from under her eyes with the back of her hand. Stubborn old—
An owl swooped from out of nowhere into the headlights, startling her. Heart thumping, she slowed the truck to a crawl, took a deep breath. At least now she knew what was going on with her father and that was a blessing. Better than wondering if he had cancer.
Liv pulled into the driveway fifteen minutes later and bumped over the cattle guard. Her eyes felt swollen, as if she’d cried rivers, when in actuality she’d only allowed a few tears to spill over before regaining control. Crying wasn’t going to help her. Wanting to throttle her stubborn father wasn’t going to help, either.
The problem was that nothing felt like it was going to help.
Time. That would help. As long as her father survived, that is. She needed Tim to get through this operation and on the mend. Then she could relax. Maybe even let herself cry. Right now all she could do was to feed the blasted steers and go to bed. Trust her father to be on death’s door, confused and out of it, and be worried about the cattle.
She rounded the corner of the barn and then immediately slowed to a stop. Matt’s pickup was parked under the elm.
She wasn’t ready for this. Not on top of everything else, but she owed Matt a huge debt of gratitude.
Slowly, she eased her car forward and drove past the barn, where light shone through the windows. She’d barely taken the car out of gear when the door opened and Matt came out, turning off the light before he