What She Wanted Read Online Free PDF

so sorry I wasn’t here when you walked in. Why are you alone? Where’s Dean?”
    “Parking, I think.” It seemed like forever since I’d entered the building. “I don’t know.” I bit into my tongue. If I said I didn’t know to one more person, I’d punch myself in the face. Get it together, Katy. “Heidi and her mom are on their way.”
    “Okay. That’s good. I’m going to stay with your granddad. I know a little about his medical history, and I might be useful. He’s in good hands. Dr. Murphy’s an excellent cardiologist.”
    “So, he’s not…” I frowned, unable to say the word.
    A minute later, she gasped. “Oh, no. No, sweetie. He’s being moved to ICU for monitoring. They’ll do all they can and bring you back as soon as it’s safe to do that. Are you okay out here on your own? I can stay if you need me.”
    She didn’t say everything would be fine. Dean had told me everything would be fine. Maybe she knew that was a lie.
    “I’m fine,” I lied.
    “Ask the nurse at the desk to call for me if you need anything, and I’ll come right back out.”
    I nodded.
    The sliding doors parted and Heidi walked in with Dean on her heels. I jumped to my feet and ran to her. I had no idea how much I’d needed to see her until she appeared. She wrapped me into her arms and Dean pivoted away, meeting his mother at the desk. I buried my head in Heidi’s wild hair and cried. I didn’t even know why. Everything seemed too large for a reason but also surprisingly accurate.
    We retreated to a set of chairs in the farthest corner of the room and waited.
    Time moved more slowly in the ER waiting room. I emptied a box of tissues, trying to pull my shit together, while Heidi did her best to distract me from a spiral of negative thoughts. Dean never came to see me. He spoke with his mom and left. Heidi’s mom made three trips to the cafeteria for drinks and snacks. The world inside the hospital had smelled like bleach and old flowers until she arrived—sterile, with a hint of people-die-here. She’d slowly added the bite of stale coffee and tang of aging barbecue chips to the bouquet.
    “Why don’t you stay at my house until they release him?” Heidi asked.
    “I just want to go home.”
    Her mom lifted her gaze from a tattered magazine in her hands. “You shouldn’t be alone. Maybe Heidi can stay with you.”
    I shook my head. “I need the night to process.”
    They didn’t push, and I slouched against the vinyl chair back. “My dad was on the porch when I got there tonight. I didn’t talk to him, but Mrs. Wells said he and Mark were arguing when Mark had his heart attack.”
    Heidi paled. “He’s here?” she whispered. “He’s back?”
    “He was outside my house when I left for the hospital. Who knows where he is now?”
    Heidi moved to the edge of her seat. “Did he say anything to you? Did he recognize you?”
    “Oh, yeah. He knew me right away. He tried to talk to me, but Dean helped me get away from him. I can’t handle more drama right now. I mean, what is he even doing here?”
    Heidi scanned the room. “What does he look like?”
    I shrugged. “Shaggy brown hair, narrow face, tall and lean. Dresses like a scarecrow.”
    “I’ll keep my eyes open.”
    It was after midnight when Mrs. Wells returned to me. She looked like I felt: overwhelmed, exhausted, and edgy. “Mark had a massive heart attack. He’s stable but sedated. His heart suffered some damage from the attack, but we’ve also found a significant blockage. The attack could be a hidden blessing. Without a trip to the ER, he might not have known about the blockage until it was too late.”
    A massive heart attack seemed to qualify as “too late” to me. “Are they sending him home?”
    She stroked my hair. “No. Dr. Murphy recommended a coronary artery bypass.”
    “Oh.”
    She described the accumulation of plaque in veins and how our arteries can harden over time. Heidi’s mom looked appropriately horrified.
    I made