Once Upon a Groom. Karen Smith Rose

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СКАЧАТЬ much fun. Though from what he’d said last night—

      He approached her until he stood close enough to touch. “I left L.A. in a rush. I have lots of loose ends that aren’t tied up.”

      Including a relationship with a woman? she wanted to ask, yet didn’t. The one thing she’d learned long ago was never to make the same mistake twice. That was how she’d learned to accept disappointment where her dad was concerned. That was how she’d learned to move on, always looking for a new way to solve a problem, a new way to handle a loss. She’d lost Zack once. She wouldn’t make the mistake of feeling too much for him again. It really was as simple as that. Practice had taught her well. Now she had to just keep her wits about her and pretend that being this near to him didn’t send a tingle of awareness through her body.

      Since she couldn’t—wouldn’t—ask anything personal, she forced a smile and inquired, “Do you really have a house in Malibu, a penthouse in L.A. and a condo in Vail?”

      “Now where did that come from?” His forehead furrowed but there was a sparkle of curiosity in his eyes.

      “I’m just wondering how much of the tabloid stories about you I can believe.”

      “Well, at least the real estate I have is one thing they got right. Yes, to all of the above.”

      “And you’ve been to every continent?” she pushed.

      “I have, for either work or pleasure.”

      “You actually vacationed in Antarctica?”

      At that, he let out a chuckle. “Yes, I did. Why are you so amazed?”

      “Because I can’t imagine why anyone would want to vacation there.”

      His blue gaze became more probing. “Jenny, don’t you want to see the world?”

      “Why would I? I’m happy here.”

      He shook his head as if he couldn’t understand that philosophy at all. “Don’t you want to know how other people live? What work means to them … what gives their lives meaning?”

      “Does your curiosity get satisfied in your travels?”

      He considered that. “I don’t know. But I always find answers to some unanswered questions I didn’t even know were lurking in my mind. That probably doesn’t make any sense to you.”

      She could see he wasn’t talking down to her, but really trying to clarify his point of view. “When I want an answer, I just work at finding it right here. But then I guess that’s why I gentle horses and you make movies.”

      “The movie-making might change now.”

      “How? Why?”

      Suddenly, Zack’s focus shifted from her to the doorway. When she peered around him, she saw Dr. Murphy, Silas’s cardiologist. He looked serious and she couldn’t tell from his expression exactly what had happened.

      The cardiac surgeon said, “Zack has signed appropriate forms and instructed me you’re to be kept up-to-date on everything that concerns his father’s condition.”

      She murmured to Zack, “Thank you.”

      His gaze briefly met hers and she gained a momentary glimpse of the young man she’d once loved. The next moment his attention focused on the cardiologist as he asked, “Good news or bad?”

      Although Zack might be a visionary behind the camera, Jenny realized he was a pragmatist, too.

      “A little of both. There has been heart muscle damage, which we suspected from the myocardial infarction. But we inserted two stents and with a change in lifestyle, I think he’ll regain his energy and maybe some of the verve he’s lost in the past few months. He’s a lucky man … lucky this happened when someone was with him and fortunate an ambulance got him here as soon as it did. No one is ever happy about life changes they need to make to continue good health, but your father seems like a practical man. I’m hoping with the two of you to help convince him, he’ll see this as a positive life change, not as something he has to dread. I’ll have a nutritionist talk to him before he leaves.”

      “Can I sit in?” Jenny asked. “He has a housekeeper and I’d like to relay any information to her. Maybe we can devise meals that he doesn’t think are too boring.”

      The doctor smiled. “Diet and exercise will be the two main components of his life changes and …” He motioned to Zack. “Zack told me you’d be a big help with that.”

      “What about a cardiac rehab program?” Zack asked.

      “I’ll be speaking with your father about that, too. There are a couple of different ways we can handle it. He’ll have to choose what’s right for him.”

      “He’ll probably want a private nurse and a home gym,” Zack muttered.

      The doctor didn’t look fazed. He just said, “Whatever it takes.”

      Jenny knew he was right. She would do whatever it took to keep Silas on the road to good health. Seeing how quickly Zack had responded to her call, she was hopeful he would, too, even if it was only so he could get back to his own life.

      “How long do you think it will be until he’s able to do the things he wants to do again?” she asked.

      “We’re going to have to see how his recuperation comes along. But if you’re asking in general terms, I’d say four to six weeks at least. Maybe longer until the changes he makes take effect.”

      Jenny saw Zack frown and didn’t know what that meant. Would he consider staying in Miners Bluff that long? If so, why? Did he feel she couldn’t handle Silas on her own? Or was he simply worried about his father and didn’t want to admit it?

      “I’m going to keep him in CICU for today. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I’ll transition him to an intermediary room. I want to keep an eye on his blood oxygen level. Then we’ll decide what happens next.”

      Zack extended his hand to shake the cardiologist’s. “Thank you.”

      Jenny did the same, saying, “I wish we weren’t so far from the hospital.”

      “Miners Bluff has a superior urgent care center. Don’t hesitate to go there or call me if there are any problems.” The doctor moved toward the door. There he stopped. To Zack he said, “Your dad is a tough customer. It might take both of you to convince him to do what he needs to do.” Then he exited the room, leaving Zack and Jenny alone—each wondering what came next.

      Four days later, Jenny stepped through the mahogany French doors to Silas’s parlor, surprised to see Zack cleaning out the cupboard behind the wet bar. “What are you doing?”

      Zack didn’t know if this was going to be a fight or not, but he wouldn’t back down from it. He stacked bottles of liquor into a carton. “I’m clearing away temptation. Dad’s resting, I hope?”

      They’d driven into Flagstaff together to pick him up when he was discharged. Both wanted to hear what the instructions were for after-care. He was supposed to take it easy for the next week. Zack wasn’t СКАЧАТЬ