Free Roommating (Preston's Mill #1) by Samantha Chase, Noelle Adams Page A

conversation with her
father. “He tried to downplay it, but we were getting ready to go.” Guilt
washed over him at how much time he might have cost Tom. Had he only insisted
sooner, then maybe…
    “You know how stubborn he is,” she said, and then resumed
her position against him, her head resting on his shoulder again. “I know he
doesn’t take as good of care of himself as he should. I get on him for it all
the time. But I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him, Chris. I
can’t lose him. He’s all I have.”
    He shook his head, emotion clogging his throat. “You have
me,” he said, his voice rough. “I’m right here with you.”
    “It’s not the same,” she said, but there was no bitterness
in her tone. “Ever since my mom left, my dad has been everything to me. He’s
been both my mother and my father. He’s been my friend, my confidant, my
champion. That’s the only life I’ve ever known.”
    “That’s a good life to have,” he responded, hugging her a
little closer. “You’re very lucky that you have that relationship. I don’t know
a lot of people that do. And knowing your dad, I think he would have been that
way even if your mom had stayed. He’s just that kind of guy.”
    “Maybe. I know it just about killed him when she left, and
he was struggling with his own emotions the whole time, but he always put me
first. He would sit there and listen to me cry and try to understand how my mom
could leave me. Me!” She gave a snort of disgust. “It didn’t even occur to me
back then that she had left him too.”
    “You were a kid, Heather. It’s completely natural at that
age to only see what immediately pertains to you.”
    She shrugged. “I know. And we talked about it when I was
older but…still. He’s just such a huge presence, and to see him like that…on
the floor…and…”
    “Miss Carver? Mr. Dole?”
    They both looked up at the doctor approaching them and
immediately stood. “Yes?” Chris said and automatically gripped Heather’s small
hand in his.
    “Please, let’s sit down.” He motioned back to the seats. “I’m
Dr. Mallins, and I’m assigned to your father’s care.”
    Heather squeezed Chris’s hand. “How is he? Is he awake? Was
it a heart attack?”
    The doctor looked at her and gave her a small smile. He was
an older man—in his sixties with gray hair and kind blue eyes. “He is awake,
and we’re running some tests now. From the initial EKG, we don’t believe it’s a
heart attack. There’s a blood test we can do to verify that as well. Now that
he’s awake and was able to tell us where the pain was exactly, I’m leaning
toward a gallbladder attack. That’s what we’re looking at now with an ultrasound.”
    “When will you know for certain?” Chris asked, concern
lacing his tone.
    “We’ll need a couple of hours, and we’ll be observing him
overnight as well.”
    “Can we see him?” Heather asked anxiously.
    “Not right now. He’s heading down to radiology for the ultrasound.
Why don’t the two of you go and grab something to eat, and maybe in two hours
we’ll have a room for him. I’ll make sure you get to see him.”
    “But—” Heather began to protest.
    “Thank you, Dr. Mallins,” Chris quickly interrupted. “We’ll
do that.”
    With a curt nod, Dr. Mallins turned and walked away.
    Heather pulled her hand from his and faced him. “Why did you
do that? Maybe we could have gone back to see him sooner? Maybe I could have
gone to radiology with him? He’s all alone! Someone should be with him!”
    Her voice was nearing hysteria, and Chris knew if he didn’t
put a stop to it now, she’d lose it in a matter of minutes. “That’s enough,” he
said firmly and almost smiled when her mouth snapped shut and her eyes went
wide. “The doctors need to do their jobs, and they don’t need us back there
getting in the way. Now, he asked us to give him a couple of hours, and we need
to respect that.”
    And then her eyes