Seaside Surprises_A Sweet Romance by Stacy Claflin

Author:Stacy Claflin [Claflin, Stacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-03-15T07:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

Jake felt a hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breath, looked up, and wiped his wet eyes. His aunt Alicia squeezed his shoulder. "He's asked about you a lot. It's good to see you."

Jake stood and gave her a hug. He then said hi to his brothers and turned back to his dad. "I've kept the shop going. It's going better than ever. You don't need to worry about the bills. Everything is going to be just fine." He sniffed, and then wiped his eyes again.

His dad nodded and mumbled something.

"Shh. Don't worry about speaking." Jake kneeled, and slid his hand in his father's. "Get some rest, Dad. We're all here for you, but you don't need to do anything except get better."

"Jake… I love you."

Tears filled Jake's eyes. "Dad, I love you, too." He blinked the tears away, and stared at his father who looked ten years older than he had the other day. He'd already aged prematurely after Sophia's passing, and now he looked old enough to be Jake's grandpa. His hair was significantly grayer and his wrinkles were deeper. Maybe it was only the lighting, and he would look better once at home.

His dad squeezed his hand. One half of his mouth smiled.

Jake's heart ached. "Rest, Dad." He couldn't take his eyes off his dad.

Would he really be okay? He hoped Brayden was right, and that it was only a matter of time. Jake leaned his head against his father's arm again. Would life ever return normal? Or would his family die off one by one? First Sophia, then his dad, followed by his mom? Who next?

He closed his eyes. Soon, conversation started around the room. Jake recognized who spoke, but couldn't make sense of anything said. All he could think about was how he didn't want to lose his dad. He hadn't even had a chance to properly mourn his sister.

After a while, Jake looked up to see his dad sleeping. Jake turned to his mom. "Why don't you let me bring you home? You've been here since last night. Get cleaned up, and sleep in your own bed."

"I can't leave his side."

"You have to take care of yourself. Someone will be here with him at all times." Jake looked around the full room. "Right?"

Cruz sat up and took his coat off, showing his heavily-tattooed arms. "I'll be here, Mom. If he needs anything, I'll get it. Jake's right. You need sleep. I haven't even seen you sit down since I got here."

Zachary stuffed his phone into his pocket, nodding to their mom. "I'm not going anywhere either. Dad's well taken care of, and you know what? He'll be glad you're home resting. He doesn't want you wasting away in that chair."

"They're right, Mom," said Rafael, pulling on the sleeves of his designer shirt—one that he had probably created himself. "The three of us will take care of him. You can send in Brayden, too, when he wakes up. I saw him sleeping in the waiting room.

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