"Hey. Is Grandma okay? Dad just told me that she's been admitted—"
"I haven't gotten to see her yet. The attending physician is still with her, examining her," Dr. Dan said, interrupting me.
"Okay. I'm on my way."
I hung up the phone, putting it back into my purse. "I have to go."
"I know. I just really dislike this." Dr Miller's entire body seemed to be filled with intense frustration.
I walked over to him and reached up to gently cup his face. I pulled it to mine so we were only a breath apart. "I want what we discussed," I told him, letting him know I would return to him.
He kissed me intensely before reluctantly pulling away. "Don't clean up. If you're leaving this house without me, the lingering traces of our time together should stay put."
I should have been appalled, but I wasn't. I liked that I still smelled of him. That when I left, a part of him was coming with me. I nodded, making my retreat into the bathroom.
I quickly put my dress and shoes back on. I tossed Dr Miller's shirt onto the bed. When I entered the bedroom, I saw Dr Miller was also dressed and was just pacing back and forth like a confined animal.
" Miller." My voice made him stop and turn to look at me.
I couldn't read the look on his face, but I reached out, wanting him to come to me.
He walked over, his large hand enveloping mine.
I led him down the hallway and to the front door. I opened it and saw my father still standing there.
Turning back to Dr Miller, I squeezed his hand. "I'll call you when I have an update."
"You'll call me hourly," Dr Davies Miller corrected, but he wasn't looking at me. He was in a staring match with my father.
"Okay, I'll call you hourly." Which I would if it would calm him down a little and put him at ease.
"I don't know what your strategy is, local politician, but I'll figure it out. And when I do, I'll expose you."
"Stick to things you know, Dr Miller. Like patient care. You don't want to get involved with me." My dad looked down his nose at Dr Miller, something he did to many people, and it made me want to lash out.
Now was not the time to get on his bad side when he was standing between me and my grandma.
"We're already involved. You show up on my property, take Sheryl, and don't think that's all there is to it? Perhaps you're the one who's not too perceptive."
"Enough." I stepped into the middle of their confrontation, which I knew would only escalate. "Let's go, I want to get there before the doctor leaves. I want to hear what he has to say."
I started to walk off the porch, but Dr Miller pulled me back to him, kissing me intensely and possessively.
"Take this." He handed me his phone.
"I have mine." I gestured to my purse under my arm.
"I want you to take this one." I could tell by his tone that there was no arguing. He grabbed my purse, taking my phone out of it, and handed the purse back. "I'm keeping yours. You can reach me on it."
I didn't know what he was doing, but I just went along with it. I took one last look at Dr Miller as I got into my father's car.
As the car pulled away, I expected him to lecture me about Dr Davies Miller and Mr. Peterson, making threats and demanding I reconcile with Mr. Peterson, but he didn't. He took a different approach.
"Davies Miller will get you nowhere in life, Sheryl. I just want what's best for you. I thought if I encouraged you to marry Mr. Peterson, you'd see he was right for you. He'd be good for you. He's ambitious."
"He's not." My response was flat and without emotion. It was right there in his words. Mr. Peterson was ambitious, and I was guessing my dad wanted to benefit from those ambitions.
I had no idea what he was playing at with this soft, caring approach. This was nothing like how he had been days ago when he was telling me what I would and wouldn't be doing.
He sighed deeply, making me look over at him. I saw him glancing at the cell phone Dr Miller gave me, making me grip it tighter before I put it into my purse.
"We'll discuss this later. Let's just get back to the hospital and see how your grandmother is doing."
It was silent the rest of the twenty-minute drive to the hospital. I was out of the car before it even came to a full stop, rushing into the front entrance as fast as my heels would let me. I dashed up the stairs and headed for the east wing, and I was out of breath when I reached her hallway.
When I got to the door, I saw my god-brother sitting outside, still in his doctor uniform, his eyes meeting mine.
"The doctor just left. Grandma's resting."
I was relieved and sad. I wanted to see her, but if the doctor left and wasn't having her transferred to a specialized unit, then she must be okay.
"What happened?" I turned to see if my father had followed me, but he hadn't.
He hadn't seemed too concerned about Grandma, but he didn't care about any of us unless he had a use for us. It was clear from his not coming to check on her that she didn't possess something he needed at the moment—except perhaps her financial assets.
"She had a dizzy spell, had a little fall, and hit her head. Thankfully, she didn't break anything, and she just has a small bruise on her forehead."
"Oh, thank God."
Dr. Dan pulled me into his arms, giving me a hug. "She's fine. Why don't you go lie down, and you can see her first thing in the morning." I nodded into his chest, but for some reason, I felt like he was trying to get rid of me. It wasn't something I wanted to contemplate right now, so I let it go. This day had been long and filled with more emotions than I could handle. I needed to rest, and my bed was calling me.
I wished I could be in my man's, my Mil
ler's bed, but this one was close to Grandma.