CHAPTER 3
Present Day in McKenzie Ridge…
Doc’s hand gently stroked Everly’s back, bringing her back to present. He was watching her, his stare full of worry. She gave him a weak smile to assure him she was okay and received one from him in return. He hadn’t left her side for more than a minute since they returned. Though she didn’t voice it, she was damn glad. She needed him.
Back from her dream like state, the rest of the memory from the day of Gran’s heart attack passed through her mind. She remembered waking on a hospital gurney, surrounded by the people she adored, each staring at her with fearful eyes. Then it hit her, the reason she was there, and why she apparently blacked out.
Everly began to sit up, tossing the light hospital blanket from her lap. “Gran!”
Strong arms embraced her from behind, and held her close, rocking her from side to side while shushing her and saying, “She’s okay, she’s alive,” over and over.
“Honey, I am so sorry to have scared you,” Sam said, choking on a sob. “Gran is alive. She is in ICU, but alive.”
A sudden wave of relief washed over Everly. Gran was alive. Oddly, the part about being in the Cardiac Care Unit – ICU for heart patients – didn’t even faze her after the scare she had just moments ago. The thought of losing all that she had left in the world had overwhelmed her, literally knocking her to her knees.
“But you said – and Doctor Sterling said…”
“I know, Ev. We were talking about Mrs. Burton. June Burton? She came in yesterday in full arrest. Heart failure finally claimed her, honey. She’s passed,” Sam calmly delivered, knowing June’s passing would sting as well.
As quickly as the hint of joy came at knowing Gran was okay, it left again. They all knew June was on borrowed time, but hearing of her passing was no less of a blow. The loss sat in Evie’s gut like a heavy brick while she contemplated life’s crazy game. Two lives were gambled, one lost, one still in play.
June Burton was an elderly woman who lived off the grid in the woods. The town’s people referred to them as The Woods People
. They lived away from society, many without indoor facilities, electricity, or running water. They lived off the land and, typically, sold crops or wares in town to earn what little money they had to get by. It was a chosen lifestyle – the only one they grew up in and any of them ever knew.
The gang each held positions in fields that benefited these people. From fire, to police, with Doctors and EMT’s in between, they all brought something to the table, especially with their extensive training as Search and Rescue. They volunteered their time and made their rounds, checking in on the people who would allow them near. They brought basic medicine, first aide, and food when available through town donations. A very primitive lifestyle, but a common one in areas such as these.
June Burton was a lovely lady who happily lived this lifestyle along with her son, Clyde. He was Everly and Sam’s age, and went to school with them through middle school before dropping out. He was quiet, introverted, but sweet and kind. Everly always had a fondness toward him, defending him when the other kids would pick on him for having strange clothes or smelling like the woods.
When Everly’s parents passed, she withdrew. She returned to school not long after the accident, but didn’t interact with any of the other students, or staff…she was broken. At recess, while all of the other kids played ball, or chase, she sat alone on the swings. Clyde would find her every morning and sit on the swing next to her. He never said a word, would just toss her a friendly smile and sit there with her, a silent bond between them.
June was equally kind. She had made special visits to town to check on her and Gran, bringing her special beeswax candles, her special honey, or preserves for pies. They were simple people, but kind people. They got by, selling those very items in a few of the town’s shops, and the seasonal Farmers Market.
When June fell ill and her heart was failing, they tried to get her the care she needed, at no cost to her, but her pride wouldn’t allow it. She said she would go willingly when the Lord called her home, what was meant to be would be. They all spent as much time as they could with June, trying to make things easier for her, but the decline was rapid and she lost her battle quickly it seemed.
Today they were burying this kind and gentle soul, June Burton. Everly felt the loss deeply. She adored June. She also felt guilty. She knew better than to think that getting into heaven was a matter of standing in line and that June’s passing meant Gran got to stay, but…what if? She wouldn’t wish this outcome on anyone, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful to be at someone else’s funeral and not her grandmother’s. The guilt was two-fold as she sat and watched Clyde Burton weep over the loss of his mother, when her loved one was still alive, albeit, in a fight to remain so.
Gran had been hospitalized for two days in a medically induced coma. Though she had surgery, she wasn’t responding as they wished and this was the only way to control her vitals. She was a fighter, not one to sit still, so Ev had a hunch that she was her own worst enemy while trying to heal. Bed rest and low key were not words to describe Louise Shaw, hence the medically induced coma. Her body needed rest, needed to heal.
Everly hadn’t left the hospital, but once to shower and change, since being back. It was to change for the funeral of June. She hated being away from Gran, and standing over a grave wasn’t easing the anxiety of being away any easier. She had come so close. This could have been Gran if not for the immediate care she received from their dear friends who happened to be on duty when the call came in. Interesting how that worked out.
The service came to an end and everyone went their separate ways after paying final respects to Clyde. The gang gathered to the side and quickly discussed who was going to see Gran and who was grabbing food to keep everyone fed. Nobody wanted her left alone, and everyone felt the need to stay close.
“Clyde, I am so sorry for your loss.” Everly embraced him in a sweet hug, her condolences sincere.
“Th-thank you, Evie. I appreciate that. I heard about Lou. I am sorry she fell ill. I hope she pulls through okay. Please give her my best,” he replied with a brief smile.
“She’s not awake yet, Clyde, but I’ll still tell her. They say, even in a coma state, patients can hear you. And I know she’ll be glad to know you’re thinking about her.”
He looked at her for a moment, as if searching for words, not sure what to say next. All he could conjure up was, “Thank you.”
“Of course,” she smiled. “If you need anything, you know we are all here for you, right? Even if it’s just to talk.”
He nodded and looked at his feet, the conversation getting entirely too personal for him. “Yeah, I do. Thank you. I’ll be okay.”
With her hand still on his shoulder, she gave it a squeeze and offered a sweet smile as Doc came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I know you will, Clyde. You’re going to be just fine.”
Doc reached out to Clyde to shake his hand. “I’m really sorry for your loss, man. Your mother was one of the finest people I knew. She will be missed.”
Clyde’s eyes remained at his feet with his head bobbing up and down. His hand rose to his face, pinching his eyes, and he wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill over. “She was, Doc, she sure was. Thank you. I already do miss her somethin’ fierce. Guess no matter how much warnin’ you get, it’s still tough.”
“I understand,” Doc offered, “If there is anything we can do, if you need anything
…well, just know you aren’t alone out there, okay?”
With no words to follow up with, Clyde pinched his lips together in a straight line, and nodded, fighting the emotion before walking away with a quick wave.
Doc and Everly stood there and watched him climb into his old pickup truck and drive off in the direction of the hills that lead to where they lived in the woods.
Evie laid her head on Doc’s shoulder, and let out a deep sigh. “You’re a good man, Mason Charles.”
Tipping his head to plant a kiss on her forehead, he whispered, “A man is only as good as the woman at his side.”
She wrapped herself in those words and all the comfort and ease they granted. Any other day, she would have brushed his arm from her waist, told him to stop talking like a pansy, and remind him she wasn’t his woman. Today, though, she needed him, just like she had the previous handful of days. He made everything better. He spoke for her when she was all out of words, held her when she needed comfort, stayed awake when exhaustion claimed her in the wee hours of the night. That man practically breathed for her, and she was sure he would find a way if she really needed him to.
“Are you guys going back up to the hospital?” Sam asked, bringing Evie back to the conversation.
“I think we’ll…”
Everly quickly interrupted Doc. “I need to. We’ve been gone too long. I don’t want to miss rounds or…anything else.”
“You don’t want to go home and change? Get more comfortable?” Doc knew she wanted to be close to Lou but also knew she couldn’t stay holed up in that hospital all day, every day, without compromising her sanity. Watching a person in a coma was like watching grass grow.
“No, I’m good. I’ll be fine,” she rambled with an anxious tone.
Truth be told, Everly was struggling with the guilt of being so far away when Gran needed her most. Of course there were no warning signs or indications that Granny Lou was on her way to a severe medical crisis. It just happened, that’s how it went sometimes. But she couldn’t help but feel the way she did, and regret not being there sooner.
“Look, we need to get home to check on the kids. How about I head up there in a bit, and I’ll grab some things from your house on the way?” Sam offered as a compromise.
“That’s a good idea,” Blake chimed in. “I was going to bring Moonshine up to see her. I read that animals are good for that kind of thing, you know, with sick people. Good for healing. Therapy dogs or whatever.”
Colton, the animal lover of the group, who had his own menagerie of misfit pets with varying disabilities, smiled. Blake was speaking his language. “You’re right. Good call, man. It will be good for both of them. Meg and I can grab some food, meet you all there.”
Having a toddler daughter who was the light of their lives, Meg and Colton had their hands full, adding to the equation the animals they’d rescued. Especially since he was a firefighter, working on the same engine as Jessie Clarke, and Meg owned the local floral shop, Blooming Grounds that doubled as a coffee shop. Meg had moved to McKenzie only a handful of years back, looking for a do over
after a comfortable life as a New York socialite that felt tawdry compared to her new life the two enjoyed.
“Oh, I got food!” Jessie interrupted, her eyes on Blake. Their relationship was like water and vinegar on the outside, but everyone knew there was a deep affection there. Everyone but them.
Jessie being Jessie, rude, crude, and a basic asshole, couldn’t let a moment pass with anyone thinking she was kind. “Besides, Fancy Pants there will probably bring some of that macrobiotic green sludge shit that no one likes. How about pizza?”
“You called it macrobiotic! You have
been paying attention!” Meg clapped her hands, pleased with her normally filter lacking friend’s slip of knowledge.
Jessie rolled her eyes, her intentional lack of filter back intact. “Whatever. It gives everyone the shits, we aren’t eating it.”
“Oh, that’s just the detox par…”
“Nobody cares, Princess. Pizza. See you guys there.” She walked toward the parking lot before looking over her shoulder, tossing them a final thought. “Someone sneak in beer.”
Beck shouted, “Got you covered, Jess!”
Laughter erupted for the first time in days. It felt good to laugh a bit, but it also felt wrong without the family of friends’ matriarch at the helm. At least they had each other, and they could include Gran in their own special way.
Everyone went their separate ways, each with their own mission to accomplish. It was family dinner night with Gran – pizza at the hospital.