Carly Phillips - Lucky Streak

He’d been a fool, he thought, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He’d been too afraid to face his feelings before, because if he let himself love her…His thoughts trailed off and he broke into a sweat.

Afraid if he let himself love her…what?

Alone, Mike walked to the end of the sidewalk where the bus station ended. He and his friends used to hang out in the empty lot here. For Mike, the place had been an escape from his tense family life-at least until he and his mother had moved out. An escape from the arguments between his parents and the uncertainty of his father’s mood swings. Mike had never known what he’d come home to. He’d always been afraid of ending up just like Edward, pushed to the edge by the curse. Or loving someone too much.

Amber had pushed and pulled. She’d abandoned him in Vegas, taken his money, left him alone only to show up again in Boston. With every lie by omission, every little truth finally revealed, Mike had suffered one punch to the gut after another.

He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. His father had the power to put him on that painful roller-coaster ride because Mike loved the ornery old man.

Amber had the same power over him, he realized now, because he loved her, too.

He glanced at his watch and wondered if he could get to Boston before her bus. If not, he’d probably be able to head her off before she boarded the next bus out West.

He ran for his car only to be stopped by the cop he’d questioned earlier. “Corwin!” the other man called.

“Yeah?” Mike turned, trying not to sound annoyed.

Now that he’d made his decision, he wanted to find Amber immediately.

“Dispatch just radioed in. Your father was taken to the county hospital. Possible heart attack,” the officer said. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Thank you.” Mike glanced up at the sky and swore aloud. When in the hell would he catch a break?

He dialed Amber’s cell phone, but it went directly to voice mail. He didn’t leave a message. What he had to say could only be done face-to-face.

After he made certain his father was okay.

With the police car leading the way, Mike sped to the hospital, raced into the emergency entrance and ran through the doors leading to the patients. All the while, his heart was lodged dead center in his throat. Because, for all the aggravation that went along with being Edward Corwin’s son, Mike loved his father. And he did not want to lose him.

He heard his family’s voices immediately and zeroed in on his cousin Derek’s, the one person he could trust to be a voice of reason.

“What’s going on?” Mike asked, winded from his panic.

“He’s okay,” Derek assured him first. “After you took off, his agitation increased. He started complaining of chest pains in between his ranting about the damn curse again. I brought him right over.”

“Thanks.” Mike sapped his cousin on the back. “What’d the doctors say?”

“They ran some blood work and said Edward hadn’t had a heart attack. But they need to check it two more times. Some kind of protocol. He’s hooked up to a monitor.”

Not a heart attack. Thank God.

“What do they think it is?” Mike asked.

“Too early to say, but my guess is a panic attack.” Derek shook his head. “I’m only surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.”

“I know. I’m sure it was the stress of being in public with Clara, the reporters surrounding them…”

“Finding out about Gabrielle’s pregnancy, Amber leaving, you going after her because she was in trouble,” Derek continued. “Your father’s had a lot to deal with today in the one area of his life he doesn’t cope with well.”

Mike nodded. “I’m just glad he’d okay. I’ve made an appointment for him with Dr. Shelby.”

“You might not need to go. Dr. Shelby was called in to consult. She’s going to evaluate him before they let him go home, assuming the rest of the tests come back negative, too.”

Mike exhaled a long breath. “I need to see him.”

Derek pointed to the closed curtain. “They gave him something to calm him down and he’s sleeping. Gabrielle’s standing watch outside as you can see, and Clara’s sitting beside him inside.”

“I take it there was no telling her ‘family only’?” Mike asked, laughing. The other woman had reinvaded his father’s life and obviously decided she was staying.

Mike was grateful. His father needed someone to love him. After all his years alone, he deserved that. Mike just hoped Edward would be able to enjoy it someday.

“I hate to bring this up, but what happened with Amber?” Derek asked.

Mike shook his head, still in shock himself. “When it rains, it pours, my cousin.” He filled Derek in on the events of the last hour, including how Amber had taken off before they could connect.

“In other words, she bolted before you had the guts to face her.”

He laughed at Derek’s uncanny accuracy. “That’s right. Now shut the hell up and let me think.”

“About?”

“About the fact that I can’t get out there until I get Edward settled. Which means Amber’s going to have a three-day bus ride to build up her walls and begin to hate my guts.” His stomach tightened at the unavoidable thought.

Derek hung his arm around Mike’s shoulder in a how of support. “Look, she’s smarter than you are. Maybe she won’t hold it against you.”

“Funny. She’s female, isn’t she?”

Derek grinned. “Last time I looked.”

“Then she’ll hold it against me,” Mike said. He’d earned any grudge Amber chose to hold on to.

She’d offered him everything and he’d turned her away. Why would she believe in him now?

THREE DAYS AFTER Edward was admitted and evaluated, Dr. Shelby discharged him. Mike was relieved and met the doctor in his father’s room when she told him the good news.

“Mr. Corwin, we’ll be releasing you today,” Dr. Shelby said to Edward, who was sitting up in his hospital bed. “I’m sorry it took this episode for us to meet. But as I explained to your son earlier, I’d like to start you on a medication for mild anxiety. We’ll meet at my office next week and see how you’re doing on it, if that’s okay. I’m hopeful that with weekly visits and the proper medication, we can improve how you’ve been feeling,” she said.

Edward, normally blustery and talkative, remained sullen and quiet.

“Dad?” Mike sat down on the chair close to the side of the bed.

For the last few days, Edward had refused to even look at Mike. Yet despite his behavior, Mike held out hope that his father was finally getting the treatment he needed and that things would finally improve for the older man.

“Did you hear that? Your heart’s fine and you’re going home,” Mike clarified.

Silence.

“Edward, your son’s talking to you,” Clara said, no edge in her tone.

Because she wasn’t immediate family, she hadn’t been permitted to spend the nights at the hospital. But she’d been by his side every waking minute since Edward had been admitted.

Edward shrugged. “I got nothing to say to him. He thinks I’m crazy.”

“No, I think you’re sick and you need help,” Mike said with much less patience than Clara exhibited.

The doctor stepped up to Mike and tipped her head toward the door. “Can we talk?”

Mike followed her into the antiseptic-smelling hallway.

“Don’t worry,” she said after she shut the door quietly behind her so Edward couldn’t overhear. “Your father is fine. He’s now on an anti-anxiety medication, which has calmed him down and let him feel for the first time in ages,” the doctor explained.

“So he’s feeling anger. Toward me. The only person who’s stood by him?” Mike asked in disbelief.

Confusion, frustration and anger overwhelmed him, an impotent mix of feelings he didn’t have the first clue how to handle. Because along with those feelings came the guilt for being angry at a sick man.

“Welcome to the world of therapy, Detective Corwin.” The psychiatrist placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s always really bad just before it gets better. But it does get better.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Sometimes counseling can help family members, too. It’s not easy to deal with the changes in their loved one.”

Mike let out a rough breath. He didn’t need counseling, he needed Amber.

Needed to tell her he was sorry, that he loved her. That he didn’t want to end up like his father, alone and afraid. He should never have sent her away. Mike wanted Amber in his life now and forever. And the sooner he told her those things, the better, as far as he was concerned.

But Edward was his first priority. And as much as that frustrated him, it was the way it had to be. “What does he need from me now? Can he stay alone?” Mike asked the doctor.

She shook her head. “But his friend Clara offered to move in and make sure he takes his medication and things like that. He seems to respond well to her so I have no objection if you don’t.”

The knot in Mike’s stomach eased. Not just because he wanted to hop a plane to Vegas, but because Mike feared for his own sanity if he had to move in with his father.

“Selfishly, that works for me,” he admitted.

The doctor nodded. “I understand. It saves you having to disrupt your life until we know if his medication is correct and he’s able to function on his own.” She scribbled a few notes on her chart as she spoke. Then she glanced up at Mike. “Any other questions?”

“Actually, yes. About my own life…” Mike paused, feeling extremely self-centered for what he was about to ask. “I need to go out of town for personal reasons. But I won’t go until you say it’s okay.”

“Detective-”

“Mike, please.” He had a feeling they’d be seeing a lot of one another.

“Mike. Your father is going through a rough time, and clearly he’s taking his anger out on the one person he trusts enough not to abandon him. That’s you.” She smiled, reminding him of his warm, caring mother. “That said, because he is angry, it wouldn’t hurt if you put a little distance between you. As long as Ms. Deveaux makes sure he takes his medication and contacts me if there’s a problem, you can feel comfortable taking your trip.”

Her words took him off guard. “Really?”

She nodded. “As much as you feel responsible for your father, he’s safe. He’s cared for. And he’s on the road to being healthier than he has been in years. I can’t promise, but I can say with ninety-nine percent certainly based on experience, he will come around. Edward knows he can count on you.” She touched his shoulder. “You’re a good son.”

Unbidden, a lump formed in his throat. “Thank you.” He forced the words out.

She inclined her head. “I’m just telling you like I see it. You’re a good influence and your father needs you.”

Grateful, Mike shook the doctor’s hand.

He’d help Clara get his father settled at home, then he’d see about booking a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada. The state where he’d met Amber, the city where his lucky streak had begun. With everything inside him, Mike hoped the streak didn’t end in the same place it had started.

His fate was in Amber’s hands.

BY THE TIME the bus pulled into Vegas, Amber’s body ached from the long hours of travel. Her heart ached even more, but she would have to learn to live with that. She didn’t go home first, but took a cab to the nursing home to visit her father. She doubted he’d know she’d even been gone, but she needed to see him and pretend for a little while that he was healthy and she was still his best girl.

Because it was the summer, his floor nurse had taken him outside for some fresh air, and after checking in, Amber wandered out back. She found her father sitting in a lawn chair, staring out at nothing.

She pushed aside the expected pang of sadness and put on her brightest smile. Pulling up a chair, she seated herself beside him. “Hi, Dad.”

She took his hand. As she’d gotten into the habit of doing, she didn’t wait for a reply.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been here in a while. My life got a little crazy.” She laughed at her bland description.

Also keeping with her promise to always keep things positive with her father, she omitted any mention of her problems with Marshall or King Bobby.

“I met a man,” she said instead. “A good man. You’d like him.” Visions of Mike entered her head.

Mike, looking sexy in his navy T-shirt as he’d rescued her from Marshall in Vegas. Mike, his face in shock when he’d found her sprawled on his bed in Boston. Mike, holding her after they’d made love. No matter how hard he fought it, he’d always come back to her.

Until now.

“Anyway, things between us didn’t work out,” she said to her father. “Guess what, though? I’m going to put out feelers to see if I can get a concierge job at one of the big hotels in Vegas. That’s what you always wanted, right? Me working close by?” she asked, a lump in her throat.