“How’d you really fall?”
Stan glanced over at Stella before meeting Xander’s gaze once more.
“I was heading out of the RV, planning to sit outside and watch the sun set. While I was walking, I had a sharp pain in my chest that stole my breath there for a moment. I guess I lost my balance, and that’s when I took a tumble down the stairs.”
Xander swallowed hard, glancing between his mother and his father. Stella had purposely left off the fact that his father had had chest pains. He wasn’t sure whether he should be grateful or pissed. He’d have been on a plane in a heartbeat if he’d known that. And maybe that’s what she’d been trying to keep from happening.
And Xander realized then that his father had been the other reason for his melancholy mood that morning. He had known something had happened. Something more than his father just falling. Knowing didn’t do anything to settle his fears though.
“Did they do any tests?” Xander asked, not caring which of them answered him at this point.
“Yes, they did tests,” Stella assured him. “Everything is fine. He didn’t have a heart attack.”
Xander wasn’t sure he was breathing. He was looking at his father, a picture of good health and wondering just what the hell he would do if something ever happened to him.
Throughout his life, Stan Boone had been a stalwart supporter. He’d been right there beside him, rooting him on through all of the sports he played throughout his childhood, right up until college when he accepted a full scholarship. To play football. Stan had even been there when Xander decided football wasn’t what he wanted to pursue anymore.
Sure, he was close to his mother, talking to her every single day, but Xander would be the first to admit that Stan Boone was the role model he’d mirrored himself after.
The idea of not having his father in his life had the potential to bring Xander to his knees.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Mercedes wanted to reach over to Xander and hold his hand. It was a strange feeling, but she couldn’t seem to shake it.
As she listened to the conversation between him and his parents, she caught a glimpse of a much younger Xander, the one who looked up to his father as though the man had hung the moon. When Stan mentioned he’d had chest pains, Xander’s entire demeanor had changed and right before her very eyes, he let down that guard he kept in place at all times.
She’d wanted to wrap her arms around him so that she could latch onto him until the moment passed.
But she didn’t.
And then, as though nothing had happened, Xander’s walls fell back in place, and he transformed into the professional she knew him to be. Even if this was as far from a business setting as they could get.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Stan assured Xander. “I’ve gone in for a few more tests and they haven’t found anything.”
“I don’t want you to hide that from me again,” Xander stated bluntly, the full brunt of his fear on his father.
Mercedes couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.
“You’ve got more important things to worry about than me,” his father told him.
“Bullshit,” Xander ground out through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowing. “Nothing is more important.”
Mercedes knew that Xander loved his parents. He was close to them in ways Mercedes had never known personally. She’d been introduced to Stella and Stan years ago, spent plenty of time with them when they were in town because Xander was always inviting her.
As she watched them, she had a craving to feel that emotion he very rarely showed to be turned on her. Would he look at her as though the entire world revolved around her?
Did she want him to?
The last question wasn’t easy to answer mainly because she was confused. About everything.
“How’re things with you?” Stan asked, and Mercedes realized he was talking to her.
“Good. Really busy right at the moment.”
“The housing market’s making a comeback, huh?”
Mercedes knew Stan wasn’t all that interested in talking about real estate, but she sensed he was doing his best to change the subject, so she responded, “Looks that way.”
“Tell us about Ohio,” Xander interrupted, saving Mercedes at the very last moment. When she looked up into his eyes, she saw something she’d never seen before.
And this time, she was the one whose chest was tightening.
But this had nothing to do with pain.
An hour and a half later, Xander was walking Mercedes back to the limo. They’d both walked his parents to their car, and after Xander said a few brief words to his mother, they were on their way.