Chapter Twenty
Wyatt made his way in the dark to the dresser and grabbed a change of clothes before taking a shower. He cursed when his shin connected hard with the wood drawer.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
The light flicked on. He blinked at the sudden brightness. Maddie sat back against a stack of pillows. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Is that why you slept in the other room last night? Because you didn’t want to wake me?”
A wealth of hurt radiated in her eyes. Shit. He hadn’t meant to upset her. He just needed… Hell, he didn’t know what he needed. Didn’t know where they’d go from here.
Liar.
Wyatt closed his eyes and sucked in some much needed air. Yeah, he was a liar, all right. He’d figured out a solution to their problem. He could let her off the hook. This family thing had been his idea and he’d pretty much forced her to agree. The trouble was, he couldn’t walk away. Not for anything. And how pathetic was that? He loved Maddie and he didn’t know what to do about it.
Maddie’s phone buzzed. She grabbed it. “It’s Bryce. I have to take this.”
Wyatt threw his hands up in the air. “For God’s sake. The sun’s not even up yet.”
Maddie tossed back the covers and hopped out of bed. Squaring her shoulders, she held her head high and walked out of the room.
Wyatt dragged unsteady fingers through his hair. Way to go, jackass.
#
Damn it, damn it, damn it. Wyatt still didn’t trust her when it came to Bryce. Speaking of the devil incarnate, Maddie slid her thumb across the screen sending Bryce’s call to voicemail. She couldn’t deal with him right now.
Striding down the hall, she peeked in on Jacob and found him fast asleep. Thank goodness. It was too early for him to be up and she needed some time to get his things together before they went back to Scott Hill. She was sure Bryce had been calling to see when she’d arrive.
The fire hadn’t gotten to the property line last night, but who knew how much smoke damage they’d incurred? She’d have Steve, her operations manager, analyze some of the grapes today and determine if any of the marker compounds were present, but they wouldn’t know for sure until they taste tested closer to the harvest.
Maddie yawned as she padded downstairs. Coffee, her brain screamed. Full octane with an IV drip directly into her system. Good grief, you’d think she’d be used to only a few hours of sleep with a five-month-old. Not anymore. It was amazing how fast she’d grown accustomed to Wyatt helping with Jacob’s nighttime feedings now that she pumped extra breast milk and stored it for later.
Maddie gritted her teeth. Lord, what was wrong with the man? The mention of Bryce’s name had his jaw clenching and his body stiff as a board. She’d chalked up his sudden distance before she’d left for Scott Hill last night to everything going on with the fire, but finding him asleep in Jacob’s room when she’d returned, and the way he’d reacted this morning…
How they hell were they supposed to make this thing between them work if Wyatt couldn’t trust her?
Her phone buzzed again. Maddie sighed and connected the call. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, Bryce.”
“This isn’t Bryce. It’s Dr. Clayton, Ms. Scott-Smith.”
Gramps’s oncologist. Crap. “What’s wrong?”
“Your grandfather is experiencing some concerning symptoms, and we need to do more tests.”
Maddie rubbed her eyes and tried to get her brain engaged. “What kind of symptoms?” “Concerning” didn’t tell her what she needed to know.
“He’s disoriented and having trouble remembering why he’s in the hospital. He started pulling out his IV and became hostile when the nurse tried to stop him. We’ve sedated him for now. I’d like to do an MRI and see if we can figure out what’s going on. Can you come in this morning and sign the paperwork?”
What she wouldn’t do right now for that cup of caffeine. Maddie needed something quick to clear the cobwebs. “I don’t understand. Why can’t my grandfather take care of this?”
“He can’t make the decision in this state.”
Gramps wasn’t capable of making decisions? Maddie dropped into the kitchen table chair. “Are you declaring my grandfather incompetent?”
“While his memory problems persist, yes.”
Her heart sank. This was much worse than she’d expected. “Wh—what do you think is causing the trouble?”
Maddie held her breath and waited, dreading the doctor’s answer.
“The cancer has metastasized to his brain.”
No. No way. Dr. Clayton was wrong. Only a few days ago Gramps was doing better. The chemo was working and…
Oh God, what if he didn’t make it?