Suddenly Mine, page 21
Sophie hated that she knew those statistics. It wasn’t the kind of information she wanted to share with any of them right now, because no matter how she tried to spin it, the news wasn’t good.
“What time are Uncle William and everyone landing?” Carter asked, his voice low and rough.
“Around noon,” Christian replied. “They have a car service picking them up and they’re coming right here, I believe.”
“Someone should call them,” Megan said as she fought back tears. “Maybe they landed early. They should know what’s going on.”
Christian pulled out his phone and walked out of the room, and Sophie felt like she was intruding. She didn’t want to be there without him even though she had been before. With this turn of events, she felt like an outsider suddenly.
“Sophie,” Eliza said as she tried to compose herself, “did you understand everything Dr. Fordham told us?”
Slowly, she nodded. “I did.”
“So what do you—”
“But here’s the thing,” she quickly interrupted before anyone could ask anything specific. “Until they do a CT scan, no one can say with any great certainty what’s happening. For them to know there’s a hemorrhage, they need the scan. And there are various degrees of hemorrhaging. The important thing right now is for them to relieve the pressure on his brain.”
“So surgery is the only way to do that?” Megan asked.
“I believe so,” Sophie said carefully. “I’ve never dealt directly with a situation like this. I’m only remembering scenarios from my textbooks, so please know I’m not someone with the answers. I can try to explain things, but we need to wait to hear from Joseph’s medical team to know for sure what’s going on.”
Carter gave her a sharp look before leaving the room and Megan murmured about needing to call Alex before she walked over to the other side of the room—effectively leaving Sophie and Eliza alone. She immediately reached for the older woman’s hand.
“I’m so sorry. I wish there was more I could say, but I am not an expert on any of this—it’s far too serious for me even to be commenting on. I should have just kept my mouth shut.”
Eliza wiped a tear away as she shook her head. “Nonsense. Listening to these medical professionals talk is overwhelming. I went to nursing school before I had children, but I don’t remember much from it—and certainly nothing on this level.” She let out a long breath. “But I’m not foolish enough to not realize how serious this is, and I hate it. I hate that something like this can happen without warning.” She held in a sob.
“Eliza,” Sophie said softly, “we need to be positive right now. It’s going to be a long day and you’re going to have to talk to a lot of people and listen to a lot of information that’s even more overwhelming.”
“I was snipping at him all afternoon,” she said after a long moment. “The entire time after we left Christian’s office I was nagging him about behaving himself at dinner.”
Sophie couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. At Eliza’s confused look, she said, “You should talk to Christian. He’s struggling with the same thing. And I’m not laughing to make light of it, but it just struck me how similar the two of you are.”
That brought a little smile to Eliza’s face and for that brief moment, Sophie felt better.
After that, things got hectic. Carter came back into the room, but was talking on the phone to what Sophie assumed was one of his restaurants. He was barking orders about who was in charge and what needed to be done. She wished he would have taken the call in the cafeteria and away from patient rooms.
Next, Megan walked over and announced that Alex would be flying in that evening.
Then there was Christian. He looked a bit haggard and was hanging up when he entered.
“Did you get in touch with anyone?” his mother asked.
“They just landed,” he replied. “They’re going to come here after dropping their luggage off at the hotel, but it will be about two hours before they’re here.”
That didn’t sound like much time to Sophie, but no doubt everyone was anxious to be here for Joseph.
Taking a seat beside her, Christian’s head fell back and he yawned loudly.
They were in for a long day.
* * *
“Walk with me.”
Christian looked up and was surprised to see his uncle standing in front of him. Looking around the room, he saw everyone sitting and talking quietly and wondered when he had dozed off.
Slowly, he came to his feet. “Uncle William, when did you get here?”
“Just now. Robert and I came right here and let your aunts go to the hotel and check in. I thought it was important to get here as soon as possible.” He motioned to the door. “Come on.”
Christian looked over his shoulder as he walked to the door and Sophie gave him a reassuring smile, so he didn’t feel bad about leaving her there.
Out in the hall, they began walking toward the cafeteria. “Your mother told me pretty much the same information you gave me on the phone.”
“No one new has been by,” Christian commented.
“I figured that,” William said and then slowed his steps. They were in a stretch of the hallway where there weren’t any patient rooms. He stopped and leaned against the wall. “How are you doing, Christian?”
“Honestly? I’m… I don’t know. This all seems so surreal. I mean one minute we were out having drinks, and the next…” He let his words die off.
William reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We just have to pray for the best.”
Christian knew it was the proper thing to say, but right now he wanted to vent and yell and—dammit, he was tired of trying to think and be upbeat.
“You’re scowling pretty fiercely,” his uncle stated mildly and then looked around. “Follow me.”
They walked down the hall and into a stairwell, then to the ground level. It wasn’t until they were outside that Christian felt like he could breathe.
“Okay, now let it out,” William said.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Let it out.”
For years everyone had talked about how intuitive his uncle could be, but this was the first time he was experiencing it firsthand. “I don’t know what you mean.”
His uncle frowned. “You know, you’re one of the most intelligent members of this family—and that’s really saying something,” he said. “Don’t insult us both by playing dumb. You’re angry. You’re impatient. And in typical Montgomery fashion, you want answers and you want people to fall in line with what you want.”
“That’s not—”
“That’s exactly it,” his uncle snapped. “You know what? I’m angry at your father!”
Christian knew his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “What?”
Nodding, William went on. “That’s right. I am! For years I’ve tried talking to him about taking better care of himself. His blood pressure was sky-high, he didn’t exercise, he never relaxed! He spent every waking moment in that office or talking on the phone for business, and for what?”
It was weird to hear someone else—other than Carter and Megan—saying these things.
“I love my brother,” William said with a bit more calmness. “But maybe this all could have been avoided if he’d just listened! I have been trying for our whole lives to get him to try doing things another way, but he’s always been stubborn.” He snorted with disgust. “Of course, it didn’t help that he refused to do things simply because I was the one to suggest them.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that your father and I have had a difficult relationship our entire lives. With me being older, he always thought I was trying to tell him what to do.” Then he let out a low chuckle. “Which I usually was, but it was for his own good!”
Christian couldn’t help but laugh a little too. “Dad never listens to anyone.”
“Your father always felt like he lived in my shadow. Our parents always compared us and because I tended to live by the ‘go big or go home’ motto, it meant that he had to work that much harder to compete. But here’s the thing—I never wanted that. I didn’t do things so my brothers would have to keep up. I did them because I liked them.”
“Then how did you all end up working together? I would think that you’d all do your own thing.”
“Christian, you know this story by now. I started Montgomerys and when I wanted to expand, the first people I approached were my brothers. They were the best and the smartest businessmen I knew.” He smiled. “And we did one hell of a job working together.”
“Then how do you know Dad still felt that way?”
“Because he made it clear,” William stated bluntly. “We’d talk about it all the time. One minute he’d be praising me on a job well done and the next he’d make a snarky comment about how I thought he’d never be able to beat me. It’s exhausting.”
“Tell me about it.”
“But you? He is so damn proud of you.”
Christian almost choked at those words. “Excuse me?”
William nodded. “It’s true. He bragged all the time about every single deal you made, every new client you signed. I’m telling you, Robert and I used to roll our eyes a little bit because your father was such a braggart.”
“But…that’s not possible,” Christian argued. “He was constantly riding my ass and never once did he tell me that I was doing anything right! He’d criticize and tell me how I should have done things differently. Better! So…you’re wrong. Or you’re saying things to make me feel better.”
William studied him.
“And you know what? I don’t deserve to feel better!” Christian shouted as he paced. “My relationship with my father is hopeless! While he was sitting there having a damn stroke, I thought he was drunk and I was cursing him in my head. That’s the relationship we have. He accused me of faking my trip to the hospital as a way of shirking my responsibilities, and I was ignoring what was happening to him!”
His heart was racing like mad as he stopped speaking. Hands on his hips, Christian tilted his head and looked up at the sky.
“I had no idea,” William said solemnly. “I guess I saw how the two of you were always a little tense around one another, but I attributed that to the fact that you were maybe talking business or that you had the same drive to succeed as he did.”
Christian let out another long breath. “There was never an option, Uncle William. I had to succeed. I had to work hard.” He paused. “I never got the chance to choose what I wanted to do with my life.”
Shame washed over him again. His father was inside fighting for his life and here he was speaking ill of him. What kind of son did that make him? Which was what he asked his uncle.
“I think what you’re feeling right now is not only natural but expected. Just because someone is ill doesn’t mean we forget their faults. At least, that’s how I look at it.” Turning, William sat on one of the benches next to the entrance. “The important thing to remember, Christian, is that we’re all human. We all have our faults. No one is perfect.”
“You don’t understand—”
“I’m not excusing my brother’s behavior, trust me. But you need to know there’s a lot of history behind his behavior. I’m just sorry your relationship suffered because of it. If I’d known…”
“It would have driven even more of a wedge between the two of you,” Christian said sadly, sitting on the bench beside his uncle. “I don’t know how to feel right now. I’m angry at myself, I’m angry at him. I feel guilty that I never seemed to measure up.”
“But you did,” William reminded him.
Shaking his head, Christian said, “I didn’t. He said all those great things to you to make himself look better. To brag to you that he had a son who was maybe doing better than your sons.” He shrugged. “But all he told me was how much of a disappointment I was.”
William patted Christian’s knee. “And when he wakes up and gets better, this is something we’ll all have to talk about. You know his recovery will be long and we’re all going to be spending a lot of time with him. Maybe the two of you will finally clear the air and have the relationship you always wanted.”
It sounded so easy.
Too easy.
And right now, it seemed like too much to ask for. So rather than keep harping on the whole thing, he opted to change the subject. “Are you staying at the Marriott too?”
“Yes. We thought it best so we can be there with Eliza.” He looked at his watch. “Your aunts should be here soon. I think they’ll be a great distraction for your mother.”
“She’s been holding herself together better than I expected. Of course it helped that Megan came in last night and stayed with her and now Carter’s here too.”
“And then there’s your Sophie.”
At the mention of her name, Christian smiled.
“Beautiful girl,” William commented. “And from what I’ve heard, she’s been a great help during this whole thing. A nurse! What luck, huh? First for you and now with Joseph.” He laughed softly. “She certainly came into the family at the right time.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I’m afraid that she’s going to run for the hills because we’re too much work.”
“Nonsense,” William said. “Monica raved about her when she came home from visiting with you. That girl is a natural caregiver and I think she enjoys being able to help out where she’s needed. And it’s not like she’s had to step up and actually be a caretaker to you—or Joseph. It’s been a case of being in the right place at the right time.”
“Maybe.”
“Definitely.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped the screen. “Your aunts are on the way. If you don’t mind sitting with me for a little longer, I’d like to wait here for them.”
“Sure,” he said with a small smile.
William looked him over. “You’re a good son, Christian. And you’re a gifted businessman. And more than that, you’re a good nephew. Never forget that.”
While the words were meant to soothe and compliment, Christian couldn’t help but wish they had come from his father.
* * *
So this is what a large family is like…
The Montgomerys had taken over one corner of the cafeteria and she was surprised at how much everyone talked and laughed and how even during this emotional time, they were able to carry on like this.
Her whole life it had just been her and her nana and the few relatives they had—most of whom were older than Sophie. And she could never remember a time when there were this many of them together being so chatty.
Joseph was out of surgery, but it hadn’t gone well. He’d crashed twice on the operating table and right now it was touch-and-go. Eliza had opted to get the news alone—with only William and Robert with her. That had caused Christian, Carter, and Megan to get upset. And when the elder Montgomerys had come back out looking grim, they’d only given the bare minimum of information.
Sophie had to admit that she was mildly intrigued and felt like there was something no one wanted to talk about.
Curious.
What she was discovering about this family was that Uncle William was a charmer, where Uncle Robert was much more reserved. It was almost hard to believe they were brothers except that they looked so much alike. Janice Montgomery was very sweet and had been doting on Eliza since she arrived. Sophie felt drawn to her because she appreciated Janice’s giving nature. And Monica had taken her seat next to Eliza and kept her hand in hers since the moment she sat down. Sophie warmly recalled watching the two of them laughing on the beach the morning they’d met, and it was sweet to see that there was such a deep bond there.
Megan was already someone Sophie knew was going to be a great friend. She wished they had met under different circumstances, but they were already talking about things they’d like to do together once Joseph was out of the woods and recovering. Sophie couldn’t wait to meet Alex—Megan’s fiancé, who was really her husband since they had secretly eloped. She’d been warned not to bring that up in front of the rest of the relatives. Alex was arriving later on in the day.
Next to her, Robert asked Christian if he wanted Ryder to come and help out at the office. She held her breath waiting to hear his response, because she knew that was a sore spot back when Christian had to take time off after his anxiety attack.
“That would be great, Uncle Robert. If Ryder doesn’t mind, I would appreciate the help.”
Color her surprised.
Robert stood and walked away to make the call, and Sophie turned her attention to Uncle William sharing a story about when he and his brothers were younger and starting their business.
She couldn’t help but smile. This whole dynamic was new to her and she was enjoying observing everyone, learning the different personalities and hearing their stories. It would be great to hear more about Christian and what his life was like growing up—something light and fun that didn’t focus on the stress he’d felt at the hands of his father.
He was holding her hand with a serene smile on his face as he listened to his uncle talk, and she wished she knew what was going on in his mind. Was he putting on a good show for his family and secretly obsessing about work? At that moment, Christian turned his head and looked at her. He was smiling but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Unable to help herself she smoothed a hand along the side of his face.
“How are you doing?” she asked softly.
