I held up a hand before he could say anything. There was nothing he could say I hadn’t already thought. “She’s safe, Dad, and she’s leaving to come home in a few hours.”
“She is?” Mom started to smile.
“Yeah. The storm cleared out sooner than they thought so she’s getting on a plane in a few hours, but she isn’t coming alone.”
I launched into what had happened since he was knocked unconscious. I told him everything from what I knew about Skye’s dad to the plan to make a stand against Norwood. I filled him in on Elias, and how he had dicked us all over. Dad listened quietly, absorbing everything I said.
When I finished, he shook his head in amazement.
“I'm proud of you, Remy,” he said sincerely.
My breathing hitched as emotion swelled in my chest. It wasn’t the first or fiftieth time he had said those words to me, but somehow it meant more now. Maybe because I had been questioning myself so much lately.
“You’re doing exactly what I would have done,” he added, practically in my damn head as he spoke the words I needed to hear. “Hell, I think you’ve thought of some things I never considered. Using the new housing development is smart.”
“That was mostly Katy,” I replied.
“Yeah.” Dad sighed quietly before turning to Mom. “Can you give us a second, baby?”
“Of course.” Mom kissed him before sliding off the bed and leaving the room.
Once she was gone and the door closed, Dad gave me his full attention.
“You know, I always figured we had a few more decades before you took over,” he started with a wry smile. He gestured to his body laying on the bed. “But here we are.”
“Mom said you’re going to make a full recovery.” I frowned at him, my eyes already scanning his body to check for any injuries I might have missed.
“I will. Eventually.” He exhaled, his wide shoulders lifting and falling. “But I’m in no shape to be Alpha right now, Remy. We both know that.”
I ground my molars together defiantly. This man was my hero; he was the guy who was infallible.
Seeing him in a hospital bed with pale skin and tucked under sterile white blankets made him look almost mortal. Almost human.
“It’s not just the busted arm and ribs, or the knock on the head. Doc says I have a compressed nerve in my spine,” he added lowly, like admitting that being hurt by a thousand pound steel beam was somehow avoidable. “They’re going to have to do surgery on it. At least one, maybe two. Yeah, I’ll be okay, but not today. Hell, probably not this month.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I sighed.
“I’ll tell my council that you’re keeping control of the pack. Hopefully that will help smooth things over.”
I scoffed. “Too late. First thing Lodge did was challenge me.”
“Fucker,” Dad muttered, shaking his head. “How’d that go?”
“Kicked his ass,” I replied, smirking.
“That’s my boy,” he said with a wide grin. After a second, it slipped away and his expression became serious.
“Remy, you’re the best man I know. There’s no one else I trust to lead this pack.”
I mashed my lips together, blinking hard and fast to keep the sudden flood of emotions in check.
“Trust yourself,” he advised, reaching out and laying his hand over mine. “You can do this, son.”
“Thanks,” I whispered, rising up to lean over and hug him.
His arm wrapped around my back, gripping me tightly. His strength wasn’t completely back, but then Gabe Holt’s strength wasn’t just in his muscles. It was in his heart, his soul.
I just hoped I could be half the Alpha he was. Maybe then we would have a fighting chance.
28
Remy
Dad was smiling and laughing, telling me a story about him and Mom when they were kids when Katy and the twins arrived with food. Dax and Sam left the room and came back pulling three chairs that we awkwardly squeezed around the bed so we could eat together.
I chewed on the breakfast sandwich that Katy had given me while Dad unwrapped his burger.
Mom shook her head. “It’s barely nine in the morning. I can’t believe you’re eating a burger.”
“It has bacon,” Dad pointed out with a smile as he took a huge bite.
“Addie was at the cafe,” Katy said, sipping her latte. “Skye already called her and told her that she’s coming home soon. She seemed really happy about that.”
I nodded, wondering if Skye had mentioned her father would be coming with her. Based on what Addie had told me the other day, I had a feeling she might not be happy about that.
“Anyway, she said she’ll be by with lunch later. If Dad has a special request, you can text Zoe. She’s handling the afternoon and evening shift.”
Dad’s eyes lit up at the prospect of having whatever he wanted.
“Is she sending people out to the site again?” I asked my sister, wanting to be sure the workers were taken care of.
Katy nodded. “Yeah. They were prepping lunch for everyone. Addie was going to run it up with some people in a few hours. They already dropped off a bunch of coffee urns at the food tent this morning.”
I nodded slowly, finishing my sandwich. “I can head up there when I’m done here.”
“No, you have that phone call with Griffin and Dante in a few hours,” she replied. “I’ll meet Ryder at the site and let you know where we’re at this afternoon. I already talked to Lark. She’s getting the twins their assignments for today.”
Dax groaned. “Seriously? Can’t we have, like, a vacation day?”
“You get an entire summer of vacation,” Katy retorted. “If you need help, Larkin said she’ll help you tonight.”
Sam sighed. “I was going to ask her to help me with geometry anyways.”
I groaned, remembering how much I hated that class. I’d had to ask Larkin for help, too, so I could pass it.
“It’s like they don’t need us anymore,” Dad said with a chuckle.
Mom stared at us in wide-eyed amazement. “When exactly did my babies grow up?”
“Maybe this means we can take that long vacation I was talking about,” he murmured softly.
Her lips curved into a smile as she looked at him. She traced his jawline. “I love that plan.”
Dad grinned back, nipping at the tip of her finger. “Some place warm so clothing is optional?”
Dax made a gagging noise and Sam looked more than a little disturbed at the open display of affection between our parents.
“Is it too late to go to school?” Dax asked, only half-kidding.
I balled up the wrapper my sandwich had been in and tossed it into the trash can. “Nope. I need to head out now if you want a lift.”
“You all don’t have to stay,” Mom said gently. “We’re fine here.”
“Mom’s right,” Dad agreed, hiding a yawn behind his fist. “I’m probably going to go back to sleep.”
Sam and Dax exchanged one of their twin looks. Those two could say more in a glance than most people could in a ten minute conversation.