Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Oh Jesus. She wants me to talk to her father? I never do well with fathers.
“Katy?” I whisper. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I mean—”
Her eyes are already falling closed.
“Katy?” her dad yells now, his panic imminent.
Shit. Am I really going to have a phone chat with her dad? Is this really what’s happening right now?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
On a deep inhale of oxygen, I lift the phone from my chest, and I about fall out of my chair when I realize that somehow during the time I switched the call to speaker, and now, Katy’s managed to switch it to a FaceTime call.
That’s right. I’m face-to-face with Katy’s father. Right now. And his current expression feels a lot like he’s a man who could kill me.
“Uh…hi,” I greet while simultaneously panning the camera as far away from what looks like an unconscious Katy as possible. “I’m Mack Houston. I work with Katy at Calhoun, and I want to reassure you that she is doing fine, sir.”
He’s the opposite of what I’d expect from Type kAty’s father. Instead of an uptight accountant or suit-wearing lawyer, a man with shaggy blond hair and bright-blue eyes in an Alice in Chains concert T-shirt stares back at me. I have no idea what he does for a living, but I swear, he was a rock star in a past life. “She’s fine? Looks to me like she’s in the fucking hospital, my man. Call me crazy, but those two things don’t normally go together.”
“Yes, sir. You’re absolutely right. She’s had some stitches and some medication for the pain…” I wince a little. “Hence, why you’re talking to me, but she’s completely taken care of and about to be discharged soon.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Stitches? What the fuck happened?”
Apparently, her father doesn’t need morphine for fuck to be his favorite word.
“She cut her foot on a shell in the ocean and had to get a few stitches, but other than that, she’s good.”
“Damn,” he comments and runs a hand through his hair. “Well, that’s a shitty fucking thing to happen on your vacation.”
For the first time since this crazy video chat started, his eyes start to feel a little less murderous. Thank fuck for that.
“For sure,” I answer with a nod. “She wasn’t too thrilled with the situation, sir.”
He laughs like I’m a stand-up comedian giving my best lines, and I start to feel my shoulders settle away from my ears. “Not going to lie, Mack, I’m pretty fucking glad it was you handling Katy in the ER and not me. She’s a bear when it comes to medical shit.”
“Yes, sir,” I agree with a smile. “She gave the staff here a run for their money,” I admit, almost pridefully. “The doctor just barely missed getting his teeth kicked in when he was trying to suture her foot.”
“That sounds like my Katy,” he says, and I don’t miss the affection in his voice. “She’s as polite as a church mouse until blood and needles are involved. Then she turns into a heathen ready to brawl in a back alley.”
I smirk. “You hit the nail on the head, sir.”
“Enough with the sir,” he retorts. “Sirs are for old men and uptight assholes. Just call me Kai.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Kai.”
He smiles at that, but then his brow furrows as he searches my face. “So, wait…you guys are on vacation together? I thought she was going with her friend Anna.”
I search my mind for Annas before finally settling on Ms. Anna Franklin, another teacher at Calhoun, who, come to think of it, I’ve seen hanging around Katy more than a time or two.
“Ah, yeah. We’re not really on vacation together, so much as sharing space in a condo,” I explain, forgoing the whole long story for a much simpler account of our circumstances. “I’m not sure about Anna’s reasons, but she wasn’t able to make it.”
“Oh no.” His amused smile consumes his entire face. “I bet my Katy was pissed about that. She isn’t a fan of changes to her well-planned schedule.”
I chuckle. Somehow I don’t think telling Katy’s father that he’s just made the understatement of the century or that his daughter hates my fucking guts will help in his quest to feel secure in his daughter’s care, so I keep my mouth shut.
“We’re adjusting now,” I say instead. “She wasn’t expecting this injury either, but I can assure you, Kai, I’ll make sure Katy has everything she needs.”
“Good, good,” he responds with a firm nod that shakes his shaggy hair. “You mind giving me your number, then? That way, I can get in touch with you if she’s not answering her phone?”
“Of course,” I answer, rattling off my number for him to take down. “Feel free to call or text me anytime.”