Annika rubbed his arm, hating how her normally robust father looked so confused, so frail. “Yes. You’re in Napa, Daddy. You rented a car and then a truck hit you. But you’re okay. I’m here.”

The nurse rushed in, took one look at Annika’s father, and said, “I’ll get the doctor!” before rushing back out.

Her father watched the nurse go. “The doctor?” he said. “I think that’s supposed to be me.” He grinned at Annika. That’s how she knew he was going to be okay.

chapter twenty-one

Because her father was her father and was able to articulate eloquently and at length why he would thrive getting care closer to home, the doctors agreed to transfer him to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where he’d practiced for decades and felt more comfortable. His brain swelling had completely subsided, as far as the doctors could tell. The only symptom of the injury to his temporal lobe was short-term memory loss. His spleen would recuperate perfectly as well. In other words, he’d gotten massively, massively lucky.

“So, are you going to sue the drunk driver who hit you?” Annika asked. She and June sat beside her father’s bedside, watching him eat minestrone soup while propped up against the pillows. Suing was something she and June had talked about, but of course, it was ultimately her dad’s decision.

He looked up at her, his poor bruised face contorting into a small smile. They’d given him glasses because he’d made a quip that he liked to see the food he was eating, even if it was hospital food. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Ani. They tell me the poor man had been sober for twenty-five years and fell off the wagon because his only daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head slowly. “I suppose we all have our burdens to carry in this life.”

“How did you find that out?” Annika asked, frowning.

Her dad grinned and continued to eat his soup. “People tell you all kinds of things when they find out you’re a doctor.”

Annika shook her head, smiling. “Hey,” she said to June. “You should go to the hotel and get packed. Our flight’s in a couple of hours. I’ll meet you there in a bit.”

Her father would be using a medical transport since he was still a little weak from all the time he’d spent unconscious, but since he was doing so well otherwise, he’d told Annika to fly home with June separately.

“Okay.” June hopped up from her chair, slipped her phone into her pocket, and pecked Annika’s dad on the cheek. “See you on the flip side, Dr. Dev.”

“Bye-bye, June.”

After she was gone, Annika’s dad turned to her, his expression serious. He set his spoon down. “Annika, I need to say something.”