A Wedding on Lilac Lane by Hope Ramsay (best book clubs .txt) 📕

him an annoyed look. “Doctor Andrews. And your dad has already gone off to pester him, but a stroke came in five minutes before Ms. McMillan. In the meantime, the doc ordered IV digoxin and fluids as well as a cardiac ultrasound.”

In short, Brenda was relatively stable and was getting the appropriate care for a patient presenting with A-fib. He should stand down and go hold Ella’s hand, but he couldn’t do that in public, and besides, he wanted to make sure Dad was okay.

Dylan backed away and went in search of his father, finding him in a cubicle on the other side of the ER, assisting Dr. Andrews, who suddenly had his hands full with the stroke and a newly arrived patient suffering a compound fracture.

Suddenly, Dylan and his father found themselves stabilizing the fracture patient, who was bleeding pretty badly, while the on-call orthopedic surgeon was summoned. It took half an hour before they got back to Brenda’s cubicle, but by that time, she’d been whisked away for the cardiac ultrasound that Dr. Andrews had ordered. Ella was missing too, but Dylan figured she was probably back at reception providing health insurance information.

Dad collapsed onto the single hard chair in Brenda’s cubicle and dropped his head into his hands, then scrubbed at his unruly hair for a moment. Finally, he pressed his fingers into his eye sockets as if he was trying to hold back tears.

Dylan’s chest constricted. He hated it when people cried. But seeing Dad cry was more than he could bear. It took him back to an ancient memory of that night when he’d found Dad sobbing in the kitchen. It had been a few days after Mom’s funeral. The family had finally departed, and Dylan and Dad had been left alone in the house for the first night.

Seeing his father cry like that had rocked Dylan’s world. Up until that time, he’d been like every other ten-year-old, absolutely certain that Mom and Dad would always be there. That they would always keep him safe. That they would be available to comfort him and listen to him and take care of him.

But not that night. That night he’d learned that it could all come crashing down. And it had scared him silly. He didn’t know how to make Dad feel better that night. And because he was powerless to help his father, he’d run away from it.

He’d gone back to his bedroom and folded himself into a tiny ball and hid under his covers. He’d cried too, but in shame, not grief. He should have done something to comfort his father.

He’d promised himself the next morning that he would never abandon his father again. Dad needed him, so he’d dedicated himself to being good for Dad. He’d learned stupid one-line jokes that he told all the time to make Dad laugh. He went fishing with Dad because it pleased him. And he’d never wanted to be anything other than a doctor because that’s what Dad wanted.

He’d given up Lauren so he could come back to Dad. Hell, he’d even tried to like Tammy because Dad seemed to like her.

But now Dad had found someone new. Someone he truly loved. And in a misguided attempt to keep Dad safe and happy, all Dylan had done was make things harder for him. Dylan needed to stop interfering in Dad’s love life. Now. And hadn’t Ella been telling him this from the get-go? Yes, she had.

“Dad?” he said, his voice cracking with emotion.

“I’m okay.” Dad sounded gruff as he brushed an errant tear from his cheek.

That single tear tore Dylan to shreds.

“She’s going to be okay,” Dylan said.

Dad nodded, his chin trembling. “I hope so. Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if I ever lose her.” He looked up at Dylan, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. “I know she’s turned everything upside down for you. I know this has been hard, but Brenda is exactly what I needed in my life. Son, I was in such a rut. I had forgotten what it was like to share the simplest things with someone, you know? Like walking on the beach or watching some British murder mystery, trying to figure out whodunit. It’s the little things that matter.” He wiped another tear from his eye and turned to look at the blank wall.

“I can’t lose her,” Dad continued a moment later. “I can’t go through that again. I love her so much. She makes the sun rise in the morning.” Dad sank his face in his hands, and his shoulders shook.

Dylan should go comfort him. At least say something. But he couldn’t do it. He was that little boy once again, who needed to run and hide from his father’s emotions. He couldn’t bear to be in that room. He had to get away.

So he slipped from the cubicle, intent on going outside and getting some air, but Ella intercepted him as she came down the hallway from the reception area carrying her mother’s wallet in her hand.

Her big anime eyes were puffy and red. She’d been crying too.

That ravaged look on her face froze him. He couldn’t move. He could hardly breathe, because right then he understood on a deep, almost cellular level what Dad had just said.

Ella had turned his life upside down, and he was so grateful for it. He loved her music, and her wild red hair, and the way her mouth curled when she was amused. He loved her rhythm at night, and the curve of her hip, and her creamy skin. He loved her. Body, soul, heart, and mind.

He finally broke through the uncertainty that had been holding him back and stepped forward, ready to pull her right into his arms and tell her that he’d fallen in love with her.

But she stopped him, holding out her hand at arm’s length. “No!” The word was urgent. “Not here. Not now.” She paused, biting her lip. “Not ever, Dylan.”

“What?”

“Look, I can’t