The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) Read Free Page A

car.
    “Yeah,
good luck, Uncle Gavin!” Rocco hollered as the door was closing behind us. “And
maybe if you do a good job we can go on a pony ride this weekend!” My backwards
glance revealed a spoonful of cereal spewing from Gavin’s surprised mouth onto
the linoleum floor.
    One
guess as to who’d be cleaning that up later.
    Poop!

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
    If It’s Good Enough for a Caveman…
     
    Nate
    “I
think that about covers it,” said the nurse, handing over the discharge papers.
“Any other questions?” Her pleasant smile passed over my mother, sister, and
me, finally coming to rest on my father who was perched on the side of the
hospital bed.
    “I
think we’ve got it from here.” My mother breathed in deeply and released it in
a resigned sigh. “Plenty of rest, no alcohol, healthy diet, and no stress –
easy enough.” She tried for a small smile with limited success, although it was
unclear whom she was trying to reassure, us or the nurse. Nothing about this
mess was easy.
    My
father spoke up from his seat on the bed. “Are you sure about this whole no
red meat thing?” His hand swung up to point a finger at me, as if this had
all been my idea. Not likely. “What the hell do you think cavemen ate, bean
sprouts? No! I’ll tell you what they ate – meat! And then when they were done
with that, you know what they ate for dessert? More meat! And you think they
weren’t stressed? Of course they were; they were being chased by lions and
wooly mammoths and who the hell knows what else as soon as they set foot
outside the cave. Talk about stressful.” His finger made sure to single out each
occupant of the room before his tirade finished.
    Bailey
stepped forward. “Props to your cavemen brethren and all, Dad, but you’re
forgetting one tiny , important detail,” my younger sister interjected
while holding her thumb and index finger close together. “They all lived to the
ripe old age of twenty and were about four feet tall.”
    “I’ll
leave you all to it. Feel better, Mr. Murphy!” The nurse retreated to the hall.
    It
was time to wrap this shit show up. “Alright, Dad, let’s get the hell out of
here and get you home.” I put my arm around my mom’s shoulder and gave her a
squeeze.  She leaned into me with a hesitant smile.
    “It’s
about damn time,” my father grumbled.
    I
couldn’t blame him for his less than chipper mood. If I’d had my chest cracked
open days earlier and had to endure a week of bland hospital food and
non-breathing plastic sheets, my disposition would be pretty damn sour too. Is
there anyone on earth who doesn’t hate hospitals?
    In
truth, seeing my old man lying on the bed with his body stuck full of tubes and
wires when I’d arrived last week had really done a number on me.  His normally
robust presence had been completely absent and a frail and extremely, well, mortal looking figure had taken my dad’s place. The shock of it was extraordinary. After
that, it had taken very little time for my brain to catch up with my gut. Priorities
automatically began to shift in my mind, and decisions that were once complicated
and difficult instead became simple and quite inevitable. I was home, and I was
here to stay.
    ***
    “Soooo,”
Bailey began once she and I were seated at the dining table in my parents’
home, the same home we’d both grown up in just outside of Greensboro. The topic
at hand? The family business. “What the hell do we do now?”
    I
brought my hands together on the tabletop as I took in the familiar
surroundings, all of my mom’s small touches noticeable throughout the space –
the Lladro statues lining the sideboard, the dried flowers arranged among the
dishes in the china hutch, and a few of Bailey’s paintings hung carefully on
the opposite wall. I brought my eyes back to my sister. “Not so fast, Bay. I’ve
been here a week – don’t think you’re dumping this whole thing on me as if I
have all the answers. I don’t know what