Chapter Thirteen
Hunter
Vince had always been a morning person, but he was still in his room. It had been a week since he’d gotten sick and things got better for a while, but he seemed to have relapsed somehow.
I had talked to his teacher, telling her about his condition. He was still nauseated and dizzy, but he persisted on going back to school. The teacher understood his situation and wanted Vince to take some days off rather than going back and lapsing into sickness again. She promised to get him some notes for him to study at home.
I walked toward his room and caught sight of him lying on the bed with his hand on his stomach. He looked pale again, as if his fever had returned.
“Hey, buddy. Are you okay?” I asked, seeing him half awake.
He shook his head. “My head hurts, Dad. Even my stomach, my body, everything.” He groaned, his hands pressed hard to his stomach.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m right here.” I excused myself to call Garren. I had to take off another day.
“Yeah, man. You should take Vince to the doctor. Don’t worry about the shop; I’ll take care of it.”
He was right. Time to get some help. It wasn’t a small flu bug that would disappear on its own.
I dressed Vince, carried him in my arms, and put him into the car. I should have done this a long time ago at the first sign of his illness, but things were too hectic for me, and honestly, I’d expected it to just go away.
I drove to the hospital as worry filled my insides. Please let my little man be okay.
As we arrived at the nearest hospital, the nurses assisted me as they took Vince to the emergency room. He was still curled into a ball, pressing his tummy, talking about the pain he was in. I held his hand tight, being the only thing I could do to support my son. I wished it was me in pain instead. Seeing him suffer broke my heart.
“Kindly wait here, sir. We can take it from here.” I watched as they checked on Vince, the doctors, and nurses attending to his pain. He was very responsive, telling them everything he felt. They seemed relieved since it made it easy for them to pinpoint what meds to give him. After a few minutes, he looked calmer, less in pain.
One of the doctors approached me. “How long was he feeling this pain?”
“About a week ago, Doc.” I felt embarrassed answering his question.
The doctor scratched his head. “Right now, we can’t tell what’s going on, but we’ll take some blood and figure it out. We need to run a few more tests to know what put him in this situation.”
“I understand.” I nodded, feeling like shit.
“Whenever things get a little out of hand, you should take him here immediately. You should check on your son and see if things are still in the normal range. An on and off fever that keeps up after a week is too long, Mr. Yonnie.” He left me alone in the hallway, walking back inside the emergency room to attend to the other patients.
I wrapped my arms around myself and pressed my back against the wall. How could I have let Vince be sick this long? What the hell was I thinking?
I wasn’t thinking… Focusing on ensuring my business was successful and bringing in loads of money was my top goal. I had neglected him, and now he had to pay the price for my mistakes. It simply wasn’t right. I couldn’t bear seeing him suffer due to my bad decisions. He deserved so much more. Damn Linda for leaving us both. I hated her with a passion, though doing so only made me feel worse.
“Mr. Yonnie, can you come over here and let’s get some lab work for Vince today? Everything is in-house, so it should be pretty fast, pretty easy.” A pretty nurse waved me over to her station.
“Yeah. Sure. Thanks.” I walked over and set up the appointments, ready to see my boy again and find assurance that he was going to be okay.
The entire day was spent running tests for the doctors to determine Vince’s illness. He looked so much better a little while later, and it appeared as if his pain was finally gone.
After the last test had been done, the two of us were supposed to meet with Vince’s doctor again. I knocked on his office door, hoping he was inside.
“Come in.”
Vince and I went inside and sat down, nerves tearing up my insides. It was just the flu, right? Had to be.
“Let’s see what’s going on inside of you, little guy.” The doctor unsealed the envelope to look at the results of the various tests inside. It took him several minutes of scrutinizing the contents of the results, reading through the findings. At last, after a long period of silence, he began to speak again.
“Okay. Vince, is that medicine helping a little?” the doctor asked.
Vince nodded and gave a lazy smile. “Yes, sir. I’m just still a little tired.”
“Yeah, I can see that here.” He glanced over at me. “He’s got a really bad strain of the flu, and we might want to test for some autoimmune issues in the future, but for now, lots of rest and fluids. He should recover and be just fine.”
“Thank God,” I mumbled and ran my fingers through my hair. A strong strain of the flu? Jeez.
After talking to the doctor for a few more minutes about autoimmune issues, Vince and I were free to go. I grasped his hand as we left the doctor’s office, walking out of the hospital together.
I was thankful to see Vince feeling much better now and felt like shit knowing that it was mostly an issue of not giving him enough fluids. I was the worst parent in the world. I couldn’t look at him. I felt so ashamed of myself.
“Dad, are we going home now?” he asked, looking at me with hopeful eyes. I knew he hated the hospital. There was this frightening aura that lingered around that place, making him feel uneasy to be in a place where needles and knives were used to cure people. Seeing his face was heartbreaking.
“Yeah, buddy. Everything’s fine now.” I held his hand tighter as we exited the hospital, walking toward the parking lot.
Going home, I had a heavy heart. It had been a long day, and I was weary as hell. Linda would have known what to do when he first got sick; my ex-wife would have understood the signs and symptoms.
I asked the same questions I’d asked a million times. Why weren’t we enough for her?
As soon as we got home, I looked over and noticed Vince was sleeping beside me. I didn’t wake him up, but instead carried him into the house and took him straight to his bed so he could rest.
Just when I was about to leave his room, I heard the doorbell ring. I walked to see who it was and found my beautiful neighbor standing on the porch. Kylie. I opened the door, and she stood before me, beautiful yet simple in her usual, cowgirl getup. My day brightened up almost immediately.
“Hi,” she spoke, smiling at me. She had a container of something in her hands that smelled like heaven.
“Hi, pretty girl.” I moved back and let her in. Before she set a foot inside, she handed over what she was holding in her hands. “What’s this?”
I opened the lid of the container, curious to what’s inside.
“I made some stuffed chicken and mashed potatoes, and I thought Vince would love to try it out.” Her cheeks were flushed, bringing that rose color to her fair white skin.
“Thanks for these, I’m sure they are good.” My stomach rumbled, and I reached out, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. “Stay for a little bit?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.” She walked into the living room and took a seat on my couch, looking like she belonged there. She looked around as if searching for something. “Where’s Vince?”
I gave her a pitiful look, recalling my poor parenting. “He’s still down with the flu. We spent the day in the ER because I was so worried about him this morning.”
Fear raced across her pretty face. “Oh, no! Is he okay? Can I see him?”
It warmed me to know she wanted to. “Yeah. He’s better. Come on.” I walked her to Vince’s room. He was still sound asleep, sawing logs.
“Poor baby.” She walked in and got on her knees, leaning over and kissing his forehead. Foreign emotions filled the center of my chest. I was falling in love with the girl. She got up and joined me back in the hall, the worry in her eyes matching mine for sure.
“I guess you’re forced to share the dinner with me instead,” I kidded.
She looked pleased with the suggestion and went to follow me back into the kitchen. “I swear it’ll make another dish of it tomorrow for Vince to try out.”
“That sounds great. I need to take him back up to the doctor’s office tomorrow instead of the hospital just for a quick check up. They’re wanting to watch him until he’s back to being a hundred percent.” I unpacked the meal she brought. It looked inviting and tasty. “This look great, Kylie. You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.” She put a few things on the table and sat down, a smile lifting her perfect lips.
I grabbed a bottle of wine from my pantry and two glasses and joined her. Something about having her there was so right. It left the day not feeling so damn gloomy.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s eat.” It felt like a candlelight dinner out at a five-star restaurant except that we were here at my dining room table instead. Despite the simplicity of the ambiance, the vibe felt romantic; it felt right. It was one of the simplest yet best things in life. Free and beautiful and unforgettable.
“So, Vince just has the flu?” She took a bite of her meal and watched me.
“Yeah. We’re going to do a few tests soon to make sure it’s nothing else, but the doctor seemed pretty confident.” I licked at my folk and watched her closely. “Did you see the side yard when you came up today? Those damn hogs tore it up again.”
She laughed hard. “Those hogs have been tearing up both of our lands for a while, Hunter. Someone needs to get out there and turn them into bacon.”
“That is not bacon anyone is going to want to eat.” I snorted and reached for her hand. “I haven’t gotten them yet, but I swear I’ll make them suffer.” I sounded villainous, but she found my teasing amusing.
“I would love to watch you do that.” She finally gave her laughter a rest and posed a pretty smile instead.
My pulse picked up as I studied her. She was far too beautiful for a man like me, too innocent, though I’d taken her virginity as my own already. I wanted her again, the voice in my screaming for me to reach out and take her.
“Yeah, I’ll make sure to put on a show for you when I finally get to it.” I smiled, but the expression faded as my thoughts shifted back to Vince.
I had promised him a lot of things, including the promise I made to go hog hunting with him. That, up to now, remained a broken, distant promise.
“What’s the matter?” Kylie asked, her voice so soft.
I straightened up, trying my best to cover the sadness in them. It was difficult, but I didn’t want her to see me as a bad parent. What would that say about my ability to be a father to her kid? Assuming she wanted some. Assuming we would end up together. My cock twitched at the thought.
“Nothing,” I answered coldly.
I looked into her eyes, meeting me with a flash of hope and sincerity. It felt like I could vent to her. It felt like she would listen and understand. “You can tell me anything, you know.”
I took a deep breath and looked down at my plate. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I need to work and manage the shop, but my son needs me now.” I cupped my chin, still torn between the two priorities battling their way to be at the top. I could figure out a good solution and quite honestly felt out of options.
“Hunter, don’t worry. I can help you out. If you need me, I’m just a call away. Also, I love listening to Vince’s stories. He’s such a joy to be with,” she offered. As much as I wanted to decline her kind offer, I was trapped in the middle. I nodded instead, thankful of her support for me and my son.
“I’ll come by tomorrow to join your visit to Vince’s doctor,” she replied, her eyes candid and caring. I couldn’t be more thankful for her.