Her father glanced down the hallway at the closed door Kendall was hiding behind. “Maybe she just needs a little more time.”
“Every day, she looks worse and eats less. If that keeps up, we’ll have to hospitalize her. That’s the last thing I want to do.” Over the past four days, he’d gotten to know the man, and liked him a lot. He was the kind of father Cooper wished he’d had. “I talked to Dr. Croft this morning, and she agrees that a change might do Kendall good. She gave me a name of someone in Myrtle Beach Kendall can talk to.”
“What if she doesn’t want to go?”
“I’m not going to give her a choice, Frank.”
The man’s troubled eyes met his. “What gives you the right to make decisions for her? I’m her father. That right should be mine.”
“I’m not trying to take away any rights you have as her father, but I’ve had friends, soldiers I served with, who had PTSD. I have some experience with the syndrome, and one thing I learned is that sometimes a little push in the right direction can make all the difference. Closing herself up in that room every day isn’t helping her.”
Frank sighed heavily. “I just want her to be okay again. I miss seeing her smile, hearing her laugh.”
He placed a hand on Frank’s shoulder. “She’ll smile again. She just needs a reason to.”
“Maybe I should come with you.”
“I think for a few days, she needs to…” How did he put this without hurting the man’s feelings? “For a few days, she just needs to focus on herself. Maybe sit on the beach, feel the sun on her face, watch Livie play. Why don’t you plan on coming up next week?”
Frank looked at him as if trying to see into his mind. “Maybe I will. You’ll take good care of my girl?”
“I will. I care for her very much, and I want to see her laugh again as much as you do.”
“Are you going to take Livie away from her?”
“Never. That’s a promise.” He did want to keep them with him in Myrtle Beach, but until Kendall agreed to that, he’d keep that to himself.
“Maybe she does need to get away. What if she refuses to go?”
“She won’t.” He wasn’t going to let her refuse. “I’ll go talk to her now.”
“I guess you mean to leave today?”
“Yes.” He walked down the hallway to her door. He knocked, and not receiving a response, he shrugged as he opened the door and went in. She was sitting by the window, staring blankly at the world outside.
He kneeled next to her. “Hey. I want to talk to you about something.”
“I don’t feel like talking,” she said, not looking at him.
“You don’t have to. I’ll do the talking. We’re driving back to Myrtle Beach today.” She didn’t respond. “Livie misses you.”
“She needs to come home.”
“No, she’s happy there, so we’re going to her.” He thought she didn’t really care whether Livie came home or not, and that concerned him more than anything. Livie meant everything to her, and this apathy was a clear sign of PTSD. He stood and got her suitcase out of the closet. She ignored him as he packed her things. If he had to pick her up and carry her to his truck, he would.
After he loaded her suitcase in his truck, he returned to her room. “Time to go, Kendall.” When he’d talked to Dr. Croft, she’d told him not to treat Kendall like a wounded bird to be tiptoed around. The doctor had said that would only give her permission to hold on to her depression. He agreed.
She darted a glance at him. “I’m not going.” Her attention returned to the view outside the window.
Her father came into the room. “Go with him, Kendall. You have to be tired of staring out that window. A change of scenery will be good for you. I love you, honey.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then walked out.
Cooper understood how hard it had been for Frank to send her off, and he was grateful for the trust her father was giving him. “Let’s go,” he said. “Livie misses you, and she’s starting to think you’ve abandoned her.”
“I would never.”
“You know that. I know that. Livie doesn’t. You have two choices here. You can walk out on your own two feet, or I can toss you over my shoulder and carry you out.”
“I hate you.”