“Your mother broke her hip. She’s not responding, but that’s the Alzheimer’s. Technically, besides the hip, she’s in good physical shape. ”
She swallowed again and again, trying to dissolve the ache in her throat. “Ma was always fit as a fiddle. Mountain living. ”
“Something like that. ” His left hand joined his right, until her cold fingers were cocooned in Tom’s steady warmth. “They’ve hooked up an IV tube, Marlene, for feeding. But you’re going to have some decisions to make. ”
She nodded, blinking back the tears. “Can I see her?”
“Of course. ” He pulled her to standing. “They’re moving her now. ”
Walking into the hospital room, all Marlene could think was that she needed to get her mother out of there. Mama might be staring blankly, no longer in her body, but the woman she’d grown up with wouldn’t want to be in a glaringly white and antiseptic hospital room—she’d want to be at home, where she could eat her favorite Pepperidge Farm cookies and watch her favorite afternoon programs. The younger Mama would’ve wanted to be in a car with the top down, laughing and angling for a picnic, even in the worst of weather.
“Hi, Ma,” she said, and had to clear her throat not to cry.
Sully pulled a chair from the corner and brought it to the bedside. “You sit with your mother, Marlene. I’ll go get you some coffee, find your aunts. ”
He was almost out the door when Mama’s eyes cleared suddenly, pinned on Sully. “Wait,” she said sharply.
“Ma?” The sound of her mother’s voice should’ve been reassuring, but instead it alarmed her. She patted her mother’s arm, and it felt like thin crepe draped over bone. When had Ma gotten so thin? Should she have put her in a home? Thinking on it now, she realized her mother hadn’t been eating much, not really. Marlene knew a spurt of guilt and pushed it away. She beckoned Tom closer, saying in as bright and even a tone as she could muster, “You remember Tom Sullivan? Sully? Tom helped me. He drove me to see you. ”
But Marlene hadn’t needed to bring him to her mother’s attention—Emerald’s eyes were glued to the man. Mama’s voice was strong and steady when she said, “I don’t regret you for a minute. ”
Sully shot Marlene a wary glance, but came to sit at Ma’s bedside. “I beg your pardon?” He took her mother’s hand without thinking, and Marlene thought him a good man for it.
When Emerald spoke again, an eerie clarity infused her eyes and voice, focusing on Tom like he was the only person in the room. Her hand trembled and knuckles turned pale with the grip she had on his hand. “I don’t regret our running off. What I regret is that we didn’t keep running. ”
“She thinks you’re someone else,” Marlene whispered.
“Gus?” The old woman became agitated, her tone turned frantic.
Marlene held her breath. Gus. She’d never before heard her mother say the name. The man who must’ve been her father.
Tom remained calm, though, his demeanor so warm and open. “Yes, Emerald? What is it?”
His equanimity calmed her mother, calmed her, and a question slammed to the forefront of Marlene’s mind: how on earth is this man single?
Mama’s chin quivered with emotion, but her voice rang clearly through the hospital room. “If I had it to do again, I’d stay. I loved you, Gus. And I love you still. And that’s all there is. Daddy said I was reckless and I believed him, but my mistake wasn’t that I ran off with you. It was heeding anything but my own heart. ”
She watched as Ma fell asleep wearing the most peaceful expression Marlene had ever seen. Sully silently disengaged his fingers and tucked her mother’s hand beneath the covers. As he took Marlene’s hand, she let her gaze meet his. The man behind those dark blue eyes was steadfast and strong.
It was time to learn from her mother. Time to let her heart run free. And as she held Sully’s gaze, she knew. Her heart would be safe with him.
Thirty-one
Sorrow’s eyes shot open, her heart pounding, unsure why she was awake and where. She knew a moment of sweet relief, feeling Billy at her back. Billy. Wondrous, amazing, hot as hell Billy. Then a ringing. The phone. The phone had woken her. Her heart kicked into double time.
Middle of the night phone calls were never good.
Billy sat up, as alert as if a switch had flicked in his mind. He answered the phone, and his voice might’ve been all business, but he put a warm, strong hand on her suddenly chilled shoulder.
Her first thought was of BJ—phone calls at odd hours were terrifying when you had a loved one at war. She told herself they never called—they came, first thing in the morning. Gray light filtered through the blinds—what time was it? Would her parents have gotten word and called her here? She glanced at the clock. 7:17 A. M. Early, but was it too early for some Marine Corps chaplain to drive out to Sierra Falls and knock on her folks’ door?
“What’s up?” he said, then mouthed to her, Marshall.
She bolted upright, cradling the sheet across her chest, unable to relax. Why was the deputy calling? Had there been another accident at the lodge? Billy worried the culprit was after her, but if they thought she was at home in her bed…
Billy and Marshall went back and forth, but then Billy looked at her. Hesitating, he said, “Yeah, she’s here. ”
She leaned against the headboard, feeling numb. “What is it?” she whispered.