Read Online Fire Me Up by Kimberly Kincaid - Free Book Online Page A

grabbed a carton of orange juice from the cooler next to the beer fridge. After a few sips, his pulse evened out a little, but Teagan’s mind was made up.
    â€œI’m calling the station. I want you to go to Riverside for a workup.” Nick Brennan, their bouncer and backup bartender, would be here in a few minutes. He and Lou could at least get the rest of the afternoon prep done and call Tommy in while she got her father squared away.
    â€œI’m not goin’ back ta Riverside.” Her father clipped out each word, precise and hard. “I don’t need any more tests.”
    Teagan stared, her movements grinding to a graceless halt. “What did you say?”
    Her father frowned, but didn’t stand down. “I don’t need any more tests. I’ve already been poked, prodded, and turned into a pincushion a coupla months ago.”
    â€œAnd you didn’t tell me?” It wasn’t like forgetting to deliver a phone message or blanking on which days he’d scheduled her to work. This was huge, and he’d kept it from her on purpose.
    â€œI’m in good hands. I’ve got a pretty lady doctor in charge of me now, Dr. Riley.”
    â€œI know her.” Teagan’s knees shook and threatened to give way, so she parked it next to her father on the floor behind the bar. Michelle Riley was an endocrinologist at Riverside. They called her down from time to time for consults on patients who’d been brought in with complications from things like Type 2 diabetes and renal failure.
    Oh God.
    Teagan grabbed her father’s hand, hating with all her might how hers trembled. She was supposed to be taking care of him, for Chrissake. How could she have missed something so utterly major?
    â€œDa.” Teagan dragged in a pathetic excuse for a breath. “Why have you been seeing Dr. Riley?”
    Her father dropped his gaze to the carton of juice in his shaking fingers. “The regular doc at the hospital told me I needed a specialist. He sent me to her for all those tests, and she told me I’m diabetic. She’s treating me for it, and a coupla other things. I go see her at Riverside every few weeks.” He paused over a laborious breath before continuing. “But don’t go gettin’ all twisted up on it, now.”
    Her jaw tightened enough to make her molars beg for mercy. “You hid this from me!”
    â€œOnly because I knew you’d worry, and you’ve got enough on your plate without thinkin’ of your old man.”
    Teagan barked out a humorless laugh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to fix this, one step at a time. “Okay. First things first. Where’s your blood glucose meter?”
    â€œI don’t need—”
    â€œWhere?” she repeated, soft yet deadly serious.
    â€œBehind you.” He nodded to a small, nondescript box beneath the bar, the kind that usually housed cocktail napkins. Even though it sat far apart from the other inventory, Teagan must’ve passed over it a thousand times in the last few months, too caught up in the crush of helping customers or stocking the bar to give it a second thought.
    She unearthed the meter, giving her father’s ring finger a vigorous rub before placing the lancet into position as she’d done no less than a thousand times for various patients.
    But this was no ordinary patient. No way could her father keep up with everything at the bar like this.
    â€œWhat else?” Teagan bit out, forcing her focus into the task.
    â€œWhat do you mean, ‘what else?’”
    â€œWhat else is Dr. Riley treating you for? And don’t tell me not to worry about it. It’s too late for that.”
    Her father nodded, resigned. “High blood pressure and high cholesterol. I got all kinds of colorful pills for my troubles. Of course, they gave me a whole new set of troubles.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Teagan checked the digital