Casanova(98)
“Your behavior, you mean.”
“Fuck off.”
She laughed. “He has published some right zingers about you. Didn’t Dad get free advertising as part of that deal though?”
I shook my head. “Twenty percent off. That was the agreement they came to, but Dad gets first pick. Why do you think there’s a full page ad for the bed and breakfast every summer when the tourists are here?”
“Makes sense.” She propped her chin on her hand, her elbow pressing into her knee. “I still don’t get it.”
“I know. His business literally exists because of Dad. He has no reason to do something like this.”
“Maybe he wants the money to buy the building back,” Cam suggested.
“Ridiculous. Dad would never sell it back to him now. He’ll be lucky if Dad isn’t already on the phone to his lawyer to see about terminating his lease.”
Cam sighed and stretched herself out onto her side. She soon flopped back onto her back with another heavy sigh. “Next time you have sex with a random girl, triple check for cameras.”
I snorted. “No more sex with random girls.”
“What about when Lani leaves?”
“I don’t think she is,” I answered slowly. “I think she’s staying.”
“But she works for that turnip. What’s she going to do if Dad cancels his lease? She won’t have a job. Dad still owes her for the other half of the articles, bu—”
“The articles are useless now,” I interrupted her. “They worked when this didn’t exist.” I smacked the sheet of paper. “Now they’re just a smokescreen for all the bullshit. He’ll pay her because he keeps to his word. And it’s when Dad cancels the lease. We both know he’ll find a way to break it no matter what happens.”
“But she still won’t have a job. She didn’t get a degree to come home and do nothing whether she’s dating you or not.”
“Stop giving me more things to worry about.”
“I’m just saying.” She turned her head to the side and looked up at me from the other end of the bed. “You’re gonna have to deal with that sooner or later.”
“Can we please make it later? I think I have enough of an issue right now.”
“Because you can’t get hold of her?”
I stared at her flatly. “You know what would be real helpful, Cam? If you fucked off. Right now.”
She rolled her eyes as she sat up. “I’m trying to help.”
“Yeah, except you’re doing a fucking terrible job of it. I appreciate the effort, but next time, raise your points to yourself in the mirror and see how you feel when you’re done.”
My sister stopped in the doorway and looked at me over her shoulder. “You’re an asshole when you’re annoyed.”
“You’re an asshole all the time.”
“Whatever. Jerk.” She flipped me off before she slammed my bedroom door behind her.
I rubbed my hand down my face and closed my eyes. “What the fuck do I do?” I asked the empty room as if it would have an answer for me. When the only sound was of me sighing out a breath, I said, “Yeah. I don’t know either.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LANI
Two light knocks sounded at the door to the room Connie and I were in. She was fast asleep, so I quickly got up and ran to the door. I checked on her to make sure she wasn’t disturbed and opened it.
“Is she asleep?” Dr. Gordon asked.
“Yeah. She finally settled after the injections.” I pulled the door shut and hooked my thumbs through my belt loops.
“I have her results here.” She waved the folder. “You’re listed as her next of kin, so if you’d like, I can share them with you now.”
“Sure.” I was her next of kin?
Dr. Gordon opened the door to the next room and motioned for me to step inside. I hesitated at the thought of leaving Connie completely alone, but the doctor’s gentle smile coaxed me inside.
She shut the door and opened the file. “She has a kidney infection. I looked over her records, and aside from a regular UTI at the beginning of her pregnancy, she hasn’t shown symptoms, that I know of, or had any infections detected in her urine.”
“Is that the reason she’s in labor already?”
She rocked her head from side to side. “I can’t say definitively, of course, but it is a cause of premature labor. In this instance, I would have to say yes, as the infection is pretty bad. The good news is that we can treat it and hopefully, combined with today’s efforts, we can solve the problem.”
“Is there anything else wrong with her?”
“Her blood pressure is a little high, but that’s to be expected with the stress of the situation. We’ll keep checking it. Her bloods came back clear, so I’m fairly certain it’s just a matter of treating the infection and handling the immediate situation.”
“Okay, thank you. What about when she leaves?”
“Bed rest until the end, I’m afraid.” She smiled sadly. “If her labor starts again and it’s too early, we may not be able to stop it in time. She’s got a long couple of months ahead of her. Can you stay with her?”