Cassie made eye contact with him and gave him a small nod and a little smile before she went back to arguing with her father, who was having none of it. There was fiery spirit in her eyes, and it did Samson’s heart good because he could remember times when Jorge had succeeded in dominating her sweet nature.
“No, Dad. I don’t care who brought you over here,” she said, eyeing a couple of the men who had aged in the years he’d been gone but whom Samson recognized. “Mom needs her rest, and she doesn’t want you here. Why would she?”
Mr. Villalobos glowered at her, and his jaw jutted forward. “I didn’t raise my daughter to be so disrespectful. It’s time your mother came to her senses and resumed her place in the family.”
“As what? Your servant? Don’t you remember you were the one who divorced her?” Cassie asked, her frown deepening as she glanced at her uncles, who shrugged. Samson recalled her telling him it had been many years.
“I don’t care what I did. She should come home.”
Cassie arched her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “So you can take care of her?” She glanced at the aunts and uncles, who looked down guiltily. “Or so she can take care of you? Cook and clean for you? Drive you around and do your laundry for you? I think she’s done enough for you, and you’ve definitely done and said enough to her. You should hire a housekeeper or find a girlfriend.”
“She is your mother and my wife. I want her home!” he shouted. His hands were fists raised in the air as if he was about to have a temper tantrum.
Another nurse hurried into the waiting room. The name on her hospital ID tag identified her as Tracey. “Sir, this is a hospital, and there are sick people here recuperating from surgery or illness. You’re upsetting many of them with all this ruckus. Now, do I need to call security, or are you going to settle down?” She set her hands on her hips, looking capable of subduing him all on her own.
Mr. Villalobos grunted dismissively and then nodded at the nurse, who rolled her eyes and then pegged him with a look that would’ve made any Dom proud. Mr. Villalobos raised his hands and waved them as if in surrender, and she nodded and walked away. A security officer appeared in the opening door of the elevator and settled his gaze on the waiting room, not advancing but waiting to see if he was needed, if the noise level rose again.
Seeming defeated, Mr. Villalobos sank into one of the chairs and put his head in his hands. Cassie reached out and took Samson’s hand, a concerned frown on her face as she watched her father. She glanced at him and said, “When he’s mean as a snake, I know how to deal with him, but this…”
“He seemed confused earlier. His memory…” He hated the desolate look that entered her eyes.
“I know.”
One of the uncles, Antonio, he thought, came over to them. “Cassie, he’s been like this for several days. The forgetfulness is worse lately. When he moved in with us, we didn’t realize how bad he’d gotten.”
“What? With his memory?” she asked, her brows rising.
“No,” Antonio’s wife, Rita, whispered. “He’s horrible to our grandchildren when they come to visit. He yells at me when I don’t cook everything the way he likes it. He’s mean.”
Cassie narrowed her eyes and stared at her uncle and aunt. “That’s how he’s always been, and only just now the two of you are concerned? Try being raised by him.”
Antonio looked at his hands and then glanced at her. “We thought he complained all the time because you were a difficult child and teenager. Sorry.”
“Out of sight, out of mind,” Cassie said with a grimace before she rolled her eyes. “So what are you saying?”
“Well, if he can’t come live with you, we think he should move into an assisted living community.”
Even Samson cringed at that thought. If things weren’t perfect enough for Mr. Villalobos in the bosom of his family, being in a facility would be a misery for him and everyone who had to deal with him.
Cassie blinked at her uncle and shook her head as she pointed toward her mother’s hospital room. “Right now I’m more worried about my mother, Uncle Antonio. If I move her in with me, I certainly can’t have him in my home, too. I’d never have any peace.” She glanced at Samson, apology in her eyes. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s not a done deal yet. We’ll talk more about it once I’m finished here.”
“Of course,” Samson said, hoping she understood he’d never give her trouble for taking care of her ailing mother. Family was the foundation of everything, and he’d always liked Delicia. “Whatever you need, chiquita.”