To top it all off, her father had kept her so busy most of the time by asking questions and having her show him all the plans she’d made for the ranch, on and on, that she hadn’t managed to sneak off and find Colt anywhere. She knew her favorite ranch hand was a busy man, but she was just so used to seeing him every day, and every night.
The visit had been good, but she was ready for her father to leave. It didn’t help that he seemed to be bonding with her foreman. If her dad got too attached to the old fellow and decided never to leave, that would end her sex life forever.
No. She was a grown woman. If her father didn’t go away soon, she was going to say to hell with it, march Colt right into the house and lead him into her bedroom, slamming the door behind them both. Yeah, somehow she knew she wasn’t brave enough for that. It was so bad, though, that she’d even searched the Internet, trying to find out whether sexual frustration could cause permanent damage.
Nope. So far, she hadn’t found a valid medical reason why she had to have sex. She did learn, however, that making love burned a lot of calories. If she suddenly became fat, she could so blame her father for preventing her from getting enough exercise.
When her father’s cell phone rang for the third time, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She picked it up, hit the button, and answered.
“Is Richard Storm available?”
“He’s out of the house right now. Can I take a message?” Brielle looked around for pen and paper as she used her shoulder to hold the phone to her ear.
“Are you one of his emergency contacts?”
The woman sounded so efficient, Brielle was wondering whether she should salute. “Um…I don’t know. I’m his daughter, Brielle Storm.” What could this be about?
“One moment, please.” The woman placed her on hold, and Brielle seriously considered hanging up. She wasn’t her father’s secretary.
When the woman came back on the line a few moments later, Brielle wouldn’t know for quite some time whether she was happier she’d waited or if she wished she had just hung up.
“Yes, Ms. Storm, I do have you listed as a contact. Your father’s newest test results have come in, and there’s some conflicting information in them. Dr. Sorenson would like to have him come back in right away for a few more tests. Would this coming Friday work?”
“Wait. What test results?”
“For the prostate cancer.”
The woman spoke as if Brielle knew all about it. Cancer? This had to be a mistake. Her father hadn’t said anything about cancer. She wanted to shout into the phone, demand answers. But right then her father walked through the doorway, a smile on his face.
Brielle looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since she didn’t know when. Yes, he seemed to have lost weight, but that was a good thing, right? There didn’t seem to be any other signs of cancer. No hair loss, no… Wait. She knew nothing of cancer, didn’t know what the signs were.
The smile fell from Richard’s eyes when he noticed that Brielle was holding his phone. Her eyes must have looked wild.
“Who is it, Peaches?”
Brielle couldn’t speak, so she just handed her father his phone, barely managed to move over to the kitchen table, and dropped down into a chair.
She heard her father speaking into the phone, but it sounded more as if his voice were coming through a tunnel. Prostate cancer. That was bad, right? Didn’t that take a lot of lives? Of course, all cancer was bad — it killed people every single day. But why hadn’t he told them that he had cancer? Then the past year and several months slammed into her with the force of a sledgehammer.
He’d been so sad that day in his house when he said he needed them to make a difference in their lives. He’d spoken of changing before it was too late. When Brielle looked up, with tears filling her eyes, she found her father sitting next to her, his phone put away and a resigned look on his face.
She knew.
“You have cancer.” It wasn’t a question.
“Brielle—”
She cut him off before he could lie to her. “Don’t!” she screamed, her voice coming back full force. “Why would you do this to us? Why would you make us care if you’re planning on leaving us?”
“That’s not what I’ve been trying to do.”
Brielle wasn’t listening. “You’re going to leave us, aren’t you?” When he was silent, she leapt to her feet. “Just like Mom. You’re going to leave and never come back. You left us alone for years! For years, Dad! And then you bring us all together, and you make us care again! You did all of this just so you could rip our family apart permanently!”