Eight

 

 

 

 

 

Colt knew where the hospital was thanks to Keegan’s tour of the town. He pulled up to the emergency entrance and honked the horn. Gilly came running outside through the double doors with Quentin trailing behind pushing a gurney.

“I found her like this, unresponsive, high fever, nauseated,” Colt blurted out. “Earlier in the day she woke up feeling sluggish and sick. She thought it was a hangover from too much wine last night. Now, I’m sure it’s something else.”

“Let’s get her on the gurney,” Quentin commanded.

Colt scooped Naomi up and transferred her to the stretcher then followed Quentin and Gilly through the double doors to a cordoned-off area with a bed and a curtain.

“Naomi works at the bank,” Gilly told Quentin. “Could she have come into contact with Bill Schiebel?”

“Who’s Bill Schiebel?” Colt wanted to know.

“Fern’s father was admitted Thursday with an advanced stage of the flu. Mr. Schiebel is our first case of the season. He’s in isolation.”

“No one’s allowed in or out of there except hospital personnel,” Gilly added. “That’s how contagious this stuff is.”

“The strain this year is ugly,” Quentin went on to explain, holding his stethoscope up to Naomi’s chest. He held one hand up for silence so he could listen to her raspy breathing. When he was done, he took a penlight from his pocket, held up one of her eyelids, and shined the light there, then did the same with the other one. “I don’t like the fact that she’s unconscious. Plus, I don’t like the way her lungs sound.” He angled toward Colt. “Do you know if Naomi got a flu shot since she’s been in town?”

“I have no idea,” Colt confessed. “I could ask around, ask Nick and a few of her friends.”

“Do that. Was she complaining of a headache?”

Colt nodded. “A raging headache and sick stomach.”

Gilly stuck a digital thermometer into Naomi’s mouth. “Her fever is at one-oh-three. Should we put her in the isolation unit with Mr. Schiebel?”

Quentin’s brow creased into a frown. “Not yet. Let’s start an IV with fluids and add in oseltamivir.”

“What is that?” Colt asked from the doorway.

“Tamiflu.” Quentin continued ticking off instructions. “Give her a shot of Toradol to get the fever down and make her more comfortable. Let’s see if she responds before taking her to x-ray to find out what’s going on with her respiratory system.” He cut his eyes toward Colt. “It’s a good thing you brought her in when you did. She likely has the flu. She won’t be going home any time soon. Which brings me to a question for you? Have you had a flu shot?”

“I’m never sick, not ever. I’ve been all over the world and had all kinds of inoculations for a variety of bad stuff. I’ll be fine.”

“That may be, but before you leave here tonight, you’ll get a flu shot,” Quentin commanded, holding up a hand. “Don’t argue. One more little shot won’t hurt one bit and it might be just the thing that keeps you from this dangerous bug going around. I don’t want a flu epidemic in my hospital.”

“Yes, sir,” Colt muttered and looked at Gilly who had a big smile plastered on her face. “You were just waiting to stick me, were you not?”

“There are huge benefits to this job. Sticking you is one of them,” she cracked. “Let me get Naomi settled in a room and I’ll come back for you. Don’t leave. I’ll hunt you down if I have to.”

Colt rolled his eyes. “You think I’m afraid of a little needle. No way. Besides, I’m staying around for Naomi until she’s awake.”

“Colt, if she goes into the isolation unit, you won’t be able to see her.”

“She doesn’t have any family. She needs somebody to care about her while she’s here.”

Gilly touched his arm. “Hey, we care. Quentin, Gideon, me…and the rest of the nursing staff…we care about all our patients. Now take a seat in the waiting room and I’ll be right back.”

He did as he was told. But he didn’t like hospitals and didn’t understand how anyone could work in one. The smell of antiseptic or maybe the smell of sickness got to him every time.

While he waited, he removed his jacket and got comfortable in one of the chairs. He put in a call to Nick, going over the situation in detail. “The doctor wanted to know if she got her flu shot.”

Nick let out a sigh. “Not that I know of. I sent out an email as a reminder to everyone on staff they needed one, though. With the renovations on the house, I bet she forgot. She gets so wound up in this remodeling mess that she’s been off her game lately. What can Jordan and I do for her?”

“For one thing, put her at ease about missing work. If I know anything at all about Naomi, she’ll start worrying about money right off the bat. Hell, she’s probably in there now trying to figure out how she’ll pay for this. Has her insurance kicked in yet?”

“Of course. The bank has a no-waiting-period policy.”

“Okay. That’s something. How about her sick leave?”

“Jeez. Are you kidding me? Make her understand she won’t lose her job because she’s sick.”

“I’ll try, but the woman doesn’t like to disappoint anyone or think she’s letting anyone down, most of all you.”

“Me?”

“You’re her boss. She practically had a meltdown because she missed that dinner thing.”

“It wasn’t mandatory.”

“I don’t think she knew that. Maybe you should try being less of a tyrant.”

“Naomi thinks I’m a tyrant?”

Colt started laughing. “Nah, that part was from me.”

“Asshole. How long have you been in town now?”

“Ten days or so. Why?”

“You move fast, buddy. Always have.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Just remember, though, I knew you way before you got all domesticated. You didn’t always have the wife and kids. Same goes for Simon.” 

“Things never stay the same. Circumstances are forever changing.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“I’m just saying that you’re better off with that realization and heading off disappointments down the road. I didn’t spend sixteen years in the military. The adjustment has to be hard for you. If you need…”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Colt snapped. “I’m perfectly capable of adjusting to civilian life.”

“Fine. Do I need to come down to the hospital?”

“No, she can’t even have visitors yet, especially if she’s contagious. She might even have to go to isolation. I’m only hanging around because I’d like to see her wake up before I leave for the night.”

“Okay. Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

After ending that call, Colt bought a bottle of water out of the vending machine at the end of the waiting room. He strolled outside to move his truck and check on Deke. The dog seemed happy to see him.

From the bed of his truck, he pulled out a clean plastic painter’s cup and poured the water into the bowl. The dog lapped up the entire sixteen ounces in a matter of minutes.

Colt wrapped Deke in a hug. He decided then and there he’d better phone Drea. He knew the two women were close and the florist probably needed to know that Naomi was looking at an extended stay in the hospital.

He didn’t expect Drea to freak out. “Oh, my God, I’ll be right there.”

“There’s no need for that. You won’t be able to get anywhere near her.”

“Really? She’s that sick?”

“Yeah. Did she mention anything about a flu shot?”

“Not to me. But Naomi’s been super busy at the bank. From the first day there, she had to hit the ground running. It meant making her way through stacks of paperwork. The mess at the house doesn’t help any. So far, her bedroom is the only place that has any real furniture.”

“And a small TV,” Colt added. “There’s a couch in the living room.”

“Yes, but not much else, other than all those books she’s unpacked. The garage is still stacked with stuff she’s collected over the years. She didn’t see any reason to bring it in looking at extensive renovations.”

“She’s getting impatient for everything to come together.”

“That’s an understatement. Are you sure I shouldn’t come over there?”

“Have you had a flu shot?”

“You bet. I wait on customers all day. I know better than to leave the odds to chance. Besides, Shelby is a stickler for nagging us all beginning around Labor Day. After she watched that movie Contagion with Gwyneth Paltrow, she’s convinced we’re headed for a major pandemic one of these days.”

Colt smiled at that but went into detail about the isolation unit and what it meant. When he glanced up, he saw Gilly waving him back inside. “Look, Drea, I gotta go. Gilly’s here to stab me in the arm.”

Drea laughed. “You know you won’t be protected for another two weeks, right? It takes that long for it to kick in.”

“No, but I’m sure Gilly will remind me. Besides, I don’t really get sick.”

“Famous last words. Call me if Naomi needs anything. Oh, wait, maybe I should go over to her house right now and throw together some of her things in a bag.”

“That’d be great. See you soon.” Colt headed toward the main entrance again, meeting up with an eager Gilly. “How’s Naomi? Is she awake yet?”

“The IV kicked in and she responded to that. Somewhat. She’s still groggy and talking nonsense. But the meds should start bringing her fever down soon. If not, we’re prepared to amp up the drugs. But her x-ray showed considerable fluid in her lungs just like Mr. Schiebel. Quentin’s convinced we have the second case of flu on our hands. Just now, we moved her into isolation so don’t even ask if you can see her.”

Gilly bobbed her head toward the nurse’s station. “Okay, big guy, time to get stuck. Come on back here and we’ll get this over with and you can go home.”

Grabbing the jacket he’d left in the waiting room, he trailed after Gilly, who was moving at a rapid pace. “I don’t understand any of this. Naomi seemed fine last night at dinner. Although…she did seem a little too flushed, sort of red in the face. You know, I could tell underneath the makeup. But there was no coughing that I recall. That’s why she was convinced it was the wine.”

“Well, the good news is you brought her in, giving us a chance to get her early treatment. Imagine how sick she’d be if you’d waited another forty-eight hours.”

Colt thought of Scott and how he’d demanded immediate action. “Is that what happened to Schiebel? He waited too long?”

“Fern said her dad has always had this thing about going to the doctor. And sources told us that for the past several days, Mr. Schiebel had been wandering in and out of businesses all over town until he collapsed in front of the post office. That was Thursday morning. Cora Bigelow, the postmistress, ended up calling the EMTs to get him some help. Gideon was on duty, said his fever was off the charts. It’s a wonder we didn’t lose Mr. Schiebel hours after he arrived.”

“Will he make it?”

Gilly’s face changed. “I honestly don’t know. He’s much older than Naomi by forty years…in his seventies…so…we’ll try to get him through this by doing everything we can for him.”

“Are you excited about the trip back east?”

She had the shot ready and waiting on a little tray behind the counter. “Roll up your sleeve.”

“I know the drill,” Colt said and held out his arm. He felt the cold swab of alcohol and the jab of the needle. “You didn’t answer me about the trip.”

Gilly let out a sigh. “Honestly? Not really. I’m not looking forward to getting on a plane for a long flight across country with two kids under the age of four. I tried to explain this all to Simon, tried to describe what it will probably be like at thirty thousand feet. I suggested he go alone, and I think he was actually insulted at the notion. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see Newport and spend some time there, but a five-hour flight with two little kids…is terrifying to me.”

“Want me to talk to him?”

Gilly looked nonplussed. “You? Why would he actually listen to you and not me? And what does that say about the two of us as a couple? What doesn’t that say about our relationship? We haven’t even exchanged our vows yet. We were waiting for Seth to completely recover so he could perform the ceremony. There’s still so much to do before we get married. This trip…it’s getting in the way of so much.”

“Look, Gilly, you’re thinking of this all wrong. I know for a fact how Simon feels about you. He’s so over the moon that he met a woman like you, he’s not looking at this in terms of reality but rather what he imagines it’ll be like taking you back to the old homestead. This is where Simon grew up, where he spent his formative years. He’s been wanting to take his brand-new family back there for weeks. Don’t you see? If Gretchen’s about to put the place on the market, that’s a lot for Simon to take in right now. He’s losing his childhood home.”

Gilly stared at Colt like he’d sprouted an extra ear. “That’s amazingly insightful. And makes me realize he’d be showing it off for probably the last time. That’s…sad…and the best reason to make the trip right there. I hadn’t considered any of that. That’s why he wanted to go to all this trouble.”

“Well, I’m sure Gretchen does need help packing up, especially while taking care of Lorraine. But I think mother and son will definitely have a difficult time letting this place go without some stress involved and strong emotions.”

She plastered a Band-Aid over the injection site. “You’re right. You do know him better than I do.”

“I ought to. We were paired together from his first assignment to his last.”

“Simon says you took care of him, showed him the ropes right from the start. If not for you…he might not…have made it back.”

Colt’s eyes flicked with discomfort. He looked around to see if anyone had heard that. Shifting his feet, he said the only thing that came to mind. “Simon was a raw recruit. By the time he walked into the tent that night, I had almost five years on him. It was nothing.”

Gilly shook her head. “It was most definitely not ‘nothing.’ Simon did ask you to be his best man, right?”

Colt nodded. “He mentioned it. Do you mind if I make a suggestion, though?”

“Sure.”

“When you go to Newport, when you get there, have Simon take you to the little cove near his house. I’m sure he’ll do it anyway, but just in case he doesn’t, ask to see the place. Get Gretchen to watch the kids. Grab a preacher or whoever is available. Exchange your vows there at the cove. Then when you get back here, have your wedding for all your friends and family.”

Gilly’s eyes bugged out again. “Why, Colt Del Rio, that’s a fantastic idea. Simon would have a new memory of that place, something to take with him that isn’t from the past. My God, you’re a genius, a romantic.”

Colt’s face twisted up, slightly insulted. “I am not a romantic.”

“Yes, you are.” She threw her arms around his waist in a hug. “You’re the best. I’ve been dreading this trip ever since Simon mentioned it. I didn’t see why all of us had to go. Now I do. You’re…you’re…awesome. I see why it means so much to him now. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

“Glad I could help.”

“You did more than help. You gave me a reason to feel good about getting on that plane for five hours. Now get out of here.”

“But…I couldn’t just peek in on Naomi?”

“Sorry, but no.”

Disappointed in the answer, Colt looked up to see Drea heading toward the nurse’s station, carrying a tote bag. “That didn’t take long.”

“I thought she might need a change of clothes.”

“The only thing she needs right now is for her fever to break,” Gilly said, taking the bag from Drea.

“You mean I’m really not allowed to see her?”

“No,” Gilly returned, more emphatic this time. “She’s off limits to visitors until she is a whole lot better.”

Drea stared at Colt. “Wow, you weren’t kidding.”

Colt cocked his head. “Why would I kid about something this serious?”

Drea lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I thought you might be exaggerating the situation. How about we get something to eat and you tell me what happened?”

“I guess I could eat,” Colt grunted. Turning back to Gilly, he asked, “Will you call me the minute she’s awake?”

Gilly smiled. “You’ll be my go-to contact.”

Drea glared at Colt. “But I’m her best friend. Oh, forget it. Let’s get a pizza and talk about it.”

Colt cut his eyes to Gilly. “If I don’t come back you’ll know she buried me underneath her family garden center.”

“That’s not funny,” Drea snarled. “Once upon a time, my mother did just that. She buried my father and a female friend there, after she shot them.”

Colt looked stunned. “What?”

Drea looped her arm through Colt’s, dragging him to the front door. “Follow me to Longboard’s and I’ll tell you the whole sordid story.”

Over a mushroom and sausage pizza, the ingredients settled on by mutual negotiation, Colt learned about Drea’s dark childhood, the gruesome details of her father’s murder, and that of her father’s female friend.

“You have to understand that my mother was a psychopath. I’ve often been afraid I might turn out like her or do something equally as sinister as she did. My brothers have gone on with their lives. They’ve found their soulmates. They’ve married. Me? I think my mother is one basic reason I have such a hard time keeping a relationship going. I get to a certain point and start questioning myself. What if I’m like her? Then instinctively I back off from moving any further. I’ve done it over and over again, too many times. I’ll probably end up an old lady, alone and still living over my shop. But I just can’t bring myself to take that next step until I’m absolutely certain that I won’t turn out like my mother.”

“I didn’t even know my mother, or my father,” Colt stated. “As an orphan, I learned you mostly have to forget about that aspect of your life, that void where you have zero answers about anything, and put it out of your head. Move forward and just focus on yourself. You’re a successful businesswoman. You don’t seem like a homicidal maniac to me. Forget about your mother and the horrible things she did. Forget about how she tried to ruin your childhood. Forget about her taking away the only father you’ll ever have. Focus on the person who matters now. That’s you. You’re not like your mother.”

“How would you know? You’re new in town. For all you know, I have seven bodies buried under my shop, all customers who pissed me off for no reason.”

“Now see? At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

She finally stopped the rant and grinned. “I like you. I see why Naomi does.”

“So I pass scrutiny? I get the girlfriend’s approval?”

“Ah, you do know how this works. The answer to both those questions is yes. I approve.”

“I’m assuming you know about the tragedy Naomi’s been dealing with, right?”

Drea looked confused for a moment but then recovered. “Sure.”

Keen instincts had Colt picking up on a lie when he heard one. The fact that Naomi hadn’t shared her past with Drea said a lot about the woman who’d lost her family. “Before you want me to blab, it’s not for me to tell you.”

“I get it. I’m pretty sure I never mentioned to Naomi about my mother.” When she saw the look on his face, she quickly added, “It just didn’t come up in conversation. And it isn’t something you blurt out at the wrong time.”

“But that’s exactly what you did with me,” Colt pointed out.

“That’s because I didn’t care if you judged me. Naomi, on the other hand, I wanted her to like me without knowing I had this crazy mother sitting in prison.”

Colt ate the rest of his meal in relative silence. But it struck him as odd that Simon and Cord had brought him to a town where so many of its residents had inherent flaws in their pasts. He didn’t think it was a coincidence.

After several minutes, Drea broke into his thoughts. “What happens now to Naomi’s house?”

“Zach and I continue to work on it as planned while she’s getting better.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” But he’d have to make sure Ryder was on board with the idea. If Ryder nixed it, Colt was prepared to work on her house anyway, quit the contractor’s job if he had to, and make sure that by the time Naomi came home from the hospital, her kitchen would be perfect.

Looking across the table at Drea, he realized she had something else on her mind. “What?”

“This might not be the time to bring it up, but…I have a favor to ask.”

“Okay.” He braced for something big.

“After you finish with Naomi’s place, would you take a look at my loft? It’s never been what you’d call ‘finished out.’ I was wondering if…you know…you could give me an estimate.”

“Why not just call Ryder?”

She scrunched up her nose. “Here’s the thing. Zach is one of the owners. We used to go out. See how that might be awkward?”

“It’s a small town,” Colt said. “You’re bound to have bumped into him…a lot…since breaking up. He’s moved on. I really don’t think it’d be a problem.”

“Again…really? You think he’s…?”

“Over it? Absolutely. And if you’re wondering whether he holds any animosity, he doesn’t. He told me about his breakdown. He takes full responsibility for whatever happened between you two. He knows why you had to end it.”

“He does? Wow. Last time I saw him he was a little…distant.”

“Time has a way of making you forget the hurt. Plus, Zach has a girlfriend now. Freida. A single mom who lives over in San Sebastian.”

“Wow. Again. You’re just full of useful information.”

“I’m not gossiping,” Colt stated.

“No. No, of course not. I didn’t think you were.”

“Look, I gotta run. I need to go take care of Deke. He’s been in that truck for most of the afternoon.”

“Oh. Sure. Go. But call me if the hospital gives you an update. And Colt?”

He got to his feet. “What?”

“Thanks for letting me know about Naomi. A lot of guys wouldn’t have bothered.”

“No problem. See you later.”

“Wait. Did we determine that I should call Ryder about the work on the loft?”

Colt grinned. “I think we did. You won’t face any backlash from Zach.”

“Okay. Cool. Thanks.”