Free Chain of Love by Anne Stuart Page B

seen him?” She hopped out of bed, the receiver tucked under her chin as she rummaged through her sparsely filled closets. “Can
    he have visitors? How does he look?”
    “He looks fine.” Meg chose to answer the last question. “A little tired, but not bad otherwise. He’s resting right now, and the
    doctors think the fewer people here the better.”
    “But surely that doesn’t go for me?”
    “I’m afraid so.” Meg’s voice was uneasy with regret. “He really does need his rest, Cathy. I’m sure the doctors will
    let you in for a few minutes this evening. After all, you won’t have another chance to see him for three weeks. Our plane leaves tomorrow evening and
    on this short notice I doubt we could change for a later flight.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Meggie! I have no intention of going to the Caribbean when Pops is sick,” Cathy shot back. “I wouldn’t
    be able to enjoy myself.”
    “You won’t be able to enjoy yourself out at the house. Not with Travis breathing down your neck and Georgia set on an improving course. Pops
    will have a private duty nurse, and there won’t be anything for you to do but sit in the middle of family squabbles. Besides,
I
need you,
    Cathy.”
    The thought of her resilient, self-sufficient sister needing her younger sibling was beyond comprehension. “Don’t be silly—you’re
    more than able to take care of yourself, and always have been. And besides, you’ve got Charles. Pops has no one that he can really trust.”
    “How do you think he’ll feel, with a tug of war going on around him? You and Travis can never be in the same room for more than five minutes
    without being at each other’s throats. And Georgia’s getting impossible—she must be going through the change of life.”
    A reluctant laugh was drawn out of Cathy at the thought of her elegant sister allowing her body to betray her. “Don’t be
    absurd—Georgia’s only forty-three.”
    “But with her disposition she’s old before her time,” Meg shot back. “And she’s more than capable of keeping the house in
    running order while Father takes it easy. You have to come with me.”
    “I can’t.”
    “But what will Charles and Sin think?” Meg wailed. “They’ll be expecting you to meet them there.”
    “Then their expectations will have to be dashed,” Cathy replied coolly. “I can’t leave when Pops needs me.”
    “Even though I might need you more?” Meg’s voice was distraught.
    “Meg, I can’t! You, of all people, should know I have to be with Pops when he needs me.”
     
    But Brandon Whiteheart seemed to have little need of his youngest daughter after all. He greeted her from his hospital bed, looking deceptively robust
    despite the faint, grayish tinge around his mouth, with a gruff, “What’s all this idiocy about not going to St. Alphonse with Meg?”
    Unintimidated, Cathy shot back, “And what’s all this nonsense about another heart seizure? I expected to see you flat on your back, looking at
    least slightly cowed, and instead you sit there looking hale and hearty. Faking again, Pops?” she queried as she bent to kiss his cheek.
    “You know me, daughter, always looking for attention,” he replied gruffly, pleased by her concern. “My doctor tells me I’ve been
    working too hard. Too much stress, he called it. As if anyone could live without stress in this crazy world today.”
    “I’m sure he’s right. Travis has been telling me you’re up to your ears in intrigue—secret meetings, mysterious phone calls
    and the like. What’s going on, Pops?”
    “None of your business. Since when have I confided in a young thing like you about my personal affairs?”
    “Don’t try to look fierce with me, Pops,” Cathy replied, unmoved. “Though I know from long experience that if you don’t want
    to tell me anything I may as well not even bother asking. When are they going to let you out of here?”
    “Tomorrow afternoon. And don’t you bother about coming to see