Page 104 of Dirty Player
“Sean Powell’s family?” one of the doctors asked.
“I’m his wife, Grace.” She stood and held out her hand, smiling as if she wasn’t terrified out of her mind. There was something in her eyes, something that hit me after I’d watched all of this play out. She had been calm. Too calm and it didn’t feel right. She was either a chunk of granite in the face of horror, or she knew something she hadn’t shared. “How is he?”
The doctor smiled, tugging down his mask so it bent beneath his chin. “Sean’s going to be fine, Mrs. Powell. But he shouldn’t have been traveling—not so soon after his last heart attack.”
I gasped. Heart attack? Oliver had never said anything.
He shot her a look full of recrimination, and she rolled back her shoulders. “You try telling that man not to be there for his son’s games.”
I choked on a laugh, equal parts shocked and amused at the tone she’d just taken with the doctor when he sighed. “He’s still sleeping, but we can show you back. You know what this means, though, right? Did your doctors in Savannah explain it?”
“Surgery…stints…” Her voice trailed off as she flicked out her hand. “I’ll make sure he listens this time.”
“See that you do.” His voice went soft and kind and he reached out, squeezing Grace’s hand. “The next time he won’t be lucky. He won’t get a third chance, Mrs. Powell. There’s too much damage to his arteries.”
She turned to us then and fear flickered in her eyes as well as her remorse. “We didn’t want Oliver to know,” she said as she met my eyes. “He would have told us not to come, and Sean—well, Sean said if he didn’t have much time, he needed to see one last game.”
“I understand.” I didn’t. Oliver was going to be furious and it was warranted. I nodded toward the doctor. “You should go see him. I’ll send Oliver back when he gets here.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “Thank you for being so kind and loving my boy.”
I smiled with tears in my eyes. “It’s my pleasure.”
As soon as she’d disappeared behind the double doors and Melissa had her arms around me, I was quickly pulled away and my shoulders gripped by strong, firm hands. “What in the hell happened, Shannon?”
Oliver’s grip was so strong, so fierce, my head snapped back and my eyes flared.
“Oliver…” Melissa started as I winced from another hard shake. “Calm down.”
“Stay out of this,” he clipped, his hazel eyes flaring with fury. “What the hell happened? And why didn’t you call me? They could have gotten me during the game. I should have known what was going on. How could you let me go out on the field, knowing what happened and you knew how worried I was about him?” He scrubbed his hand through his hair and shouted at me. “I told you to watch him!”
I stumbled backward, rubbing my arms where he’d gripped them so hard they might bruise. Tears dripped down my cheeks and I swiped them away. “I did watch him, and your mom told me not to call you. He said it was heartburn.” I inhaled a long breath before exhaling. “He’s fine, though, Oliver. The doctors just came out and talked to us. He had a heart attack, but he’s fine. Sleeping. Your mom just went back there.”
“Damn it.” He swiped a hand through his still-wet hair and cursed again. “I knew it. I knew something wasn’t right. How in the fuck could this have happened?”
I shook my head, unable to comprehend the vitriol he was shouting at me. He was scared and hurt. Probably terrified. I’d take his anger for him if it helped him.
“I tried, honey,” I whispered, reaching out for him.
He jerked away from my touch and scrubbed his face with his hands again and then tugged on his hair. “Not well enough,” he barked. “I’m going to go see him.”
“Do you want us to wait?”
“No,” he said. Any emotion he had for me this morning was now gone in his cold, angry eyes. “I think you’ve done enough. Just go.”
I gasped, my fingers flying to my mouth when he turned and hurried away. He talked to a nurse before she opened the double doors for him, smiling at him with stars in her eyes while he rushed down the hall and disappeared.
“He didn’t mean it,” Melissa said, pulling me into her arms and squeezing tight. “He didn’t mean it. He’s just angry and scared. You’ll see.”
I’d seen Oliver lose his temper and say shit he didn’t mean often. He was usually quick to apologize.
I reminded myself of that, focused on the truth Melissa spoke, and hoped like hell I was right.
He’d realize that in his anger he’d just been an asshole to the woman he loved, and he’d make it right.
Chapter TWENTY-FIVE
SHANNON
