Heath's Hope (The Brothers of Beauford Bend Book 5) Read Online Free

back to the present.
    The sooner the better.
“I left my ticket open-ended, but I’m planning on tomorrow.”
    “That soon?” Neyland looked confused. “Aunt Polly said you were taking a leave of absence from work.”
    “No. When she called me, we didn’t know what was going to happen and she asked if I
could
take a leave of absence. I told her I could, if there was a need, but there isn’t. Daddy will be in the hospital until he’s transferred to rehab. When he comes home, I might need to come back and help out for a few weeks.” That sounded good, but right now, she really wanted to run to the other side of the world and never come back.
    Neyland nodded. “I misunderstood. I thought you were going to be here for at least a month and it was a done deal.” She laughed. “In fact, I told Noel you might want to move into her old apartment above Piece by Piece. We love our parents, but I think you and I are of the same mind about living with them.”
    “You’ve got that right. Though, if I do need to come and help with Daddy, I would probably need to stay with him and Mama. But I appreciate your looking out for me.”
    “Sure thing. I’ll tell Noel I was mistaken. Gabe plays Monday night this week, so I can take you to the airport tomorrow.” Gabe Beauford played pro ball for the Nashville Titans.
     “That would be great. After I talk to Mama and Daddy, I’ll book my flight and let you know the time.” Hope gave her cousin a brief hug and waved as she drove away.
    Most people hated hospitals, but Hope didn’t. She liked the order, the quiet, and the cleanliness. She supposed even tiny Beauford General had its share of chaos and trauma, but she’d never seen any of it. Here, she’d been held up to the nursery window to see her newborn cousin Todd, and gotten lots of attention when she’d had her tonsils out. Even today, though it had been stressful and exhausting, Daddy had never been in any danger.
    It was certainly a better place to be than in Heath Beckett’s presence, but that never had to happen to her again. This time tomorrow, she’d be safely back in Charlotte, and while it was unrealistic to think she could stay away from Beauford forever, she could avoid Heath.
    Not wanting to startle her mother or wake her father, Hope lightly tapped on the door before stepping inside.
    But she needn’t have worried about waking him. He was wide-awake, talking on his cell phone, barking orders from the sound of it, as her mother sat flipping through a magazine. He was a big, robust, healthy man, and the setting didn’t do much to diminish that.
    “Oh, here she is. I’ll call you back,” her father said.
    “Yes. Here she is. I hope I wasn’t gone too long.”
    “Of course not.” Polly MacKenzie put down her magazine. “You needed to get out.”
    Hope laid a hand on her father’s shoulder. “How are you?”
    “Oh. So-so. The pain meds help.” He covered her hand with his. “I can’t tell you, baby, how much I appreciate you. At least I don’t have to worry about the bank while I’m being held prisoner.”
    “What?” That made no sense whatsoever. Hope had heard that, after surgery, sometimes people didn’t make sense.
    “Not prison, Mac,” Polly said. “Rehab. And you’re lucky you didn’t break your neck.”
    “
Lucky
is not a word I would apply to myself right now,” Mac said. “Except that I have the most perfect daughter in the world.” He met Hope’s eyes. “I was on the phone with Greta Jo.” He named his longtime, long-suffering secretary. “She’s tidying up my desk so it will be ready for you Monday morning.”
    No. Either Daddy was delusional, or she had stepped into an alternate universe. Must be the pain meds or the aftereffects of the anesthesia. Hope looked at her mother for help.
    But Polly nodded in agreement. “We are so relieved that you agreed to take a leave of absence so you can help out.”
    Oh, no. Oh, hell. Oh,
hell no!
They wanted her to run