Tristan turned off the water in the shower in time to hear his phone ringing in his bedroom. Maybe it was Syn. After their argument, he’d called a few times to talk to her, but no luck. How had things gotten so screwed up? Because you should have told her how you felt sooner.
Well, he had told her. If he’d told her how he felt at the beginning, would she even have gone to Vegas with him? Would that night in the elevator have happened? Maybe she would have given him a shot. Maybe not.
But instead of Syn, it was his father.
“Dad?” He frowned.
“I hope this isn’t a bad time.” His voice was gruff.
If his father was calling him at home, something was going on. “What’s the matter, Dad?”
“It’s your mother. She had an accident.”
The breath rushed out of his lungs. “I’m on my way.”
“Tristan, we’re in Santa Barbara.”
“What?” His parents lived in Beverly Hills. They did have a vacation house up north, though.
“It happened at the house.”
“Fine, text me the hospital info.” He hung up without another word and tossed on the nearest clothing he could find and didn’t give a thought to how wrinkled it might be. The two-hour drive north was made in a haze.
When he finally got to the hospital, his father met him in the waiting room.
“Dad, what happened?”
He frowned. “Your mother fell down the stairs at the new house.”
His stomach dropped. “Oh no.”
Tristan’s father held up a hand. “Don’t overreact. She’ll be fine.”
Tristan curled his hands into fists. Then forced himself to unfurl them. This was deliberate. The old man had used his mother to get him out of LA and away from that presentation. Fury bubbled under his skin. He’d deal with his father later. “Where is she?”
The old man sighed. “Room 102.”
When he arrived at his mother’s room, she turned to him with a smile. “Oh, Tristan, I told your father not to call you. I know you had that big presentation going on today.”
“It’s okay. My co-presenter will handle it. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“It was silly. I fell off a ladder as I was trying to install a new chandelier and lost my balance. He shouldn’t have called. He knew how important today was for you. Taylor told him. You could have come after.”
His stomach sank. It didn’t matter now anyway. He was here and his mom looked okay, but she was in traction, so it was serious. And he was glad he’d come. “Don’t worry about it. I should be here and I am.” He just prayed Syn had gotten his messages. In the meantime, he and his father were going to have a little chat.