Terri reached the room ahead of Parker. Ben was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed surrounded by his family. The second Mrs. Herrick saw Terri she looked relieved and stood up.
“I’m so glad Parker found you in time, Mrs. Jeppson. We’re sorry if our presence chased you away. Ben acted so upset when you left, I sent Parker after you. Please stay and talk to him as you had intended to do.
“Darling—” She turned to her unsmiling son whose somber gaze was leveled on Terri. “We’re going to the Ramada, but we’ll be back later to spend the rest of the time with you.” She kissed his cheek.
Everyone said goodbye and filed out of the room except Parker. He stared at Terri.
“Are you by any chance staying at the Ramada, too?”
“No. The Ecuador Inn.”
“I asked because we’ll be eating an early dinner at the hotel and would have asked you to join us. If you’re going to be here when we get back, we could bring you something to eat.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Parker, but I have other plans. Thank you anyway.”
He tipped his hat. “Maybe we’ll see you tomorrow then. Catch up with you later, Ben.”
His brother nodded.
The minute Parker went out the door, Terri put her purse on the side table, then turned to the man whose mere presence had such a profound effect on her senses.
“You’ve got a wonderful family, but it’s good they left. You look exhausted.” Without conscious thought, she knelt down and pulled the sandals off his feet. “Come on. Let’s get your legs up on the bed.”
As she helped lift them onto the mattress, he lay back against the pillow with a deep sigh.
She quickly covered him with the sheet. “There. I’m sure that feels much better.”
While she adjusted the position of the IV stand holding his drip, he reached out with his left hand and clasped her forearm. Now that he only had a gauze dressing taped to his palm, he could flex his fingers whose tops were just as bronzed as the rest of him.
Her gaze darted to his. There was that look of pain and urgency in his eyes again.
“You obviously have something you’re determined to tell me. Is it about Richard?”
He nodded.
“I’m glad. It’s the reason why I came back to the hospital. No one has seen him in four days—not his immediate boss—not even the pregnant woman he’s been living with. She’s almost ready to deliver and needs him desperately.”
Ben let go of her arm to point at the side table. Other than flowers, all she could see was her purse.
“Oh—I think I know what you have in mind.”
As she reached for it, he nodded more emphatically.
Terri opened it to pull out a pen and the envelope that held her airline tickets.
“Here. You can write on the back of this. But please don’t do it if it will hurt your hand. We could play the alphabet game again.”
The noise he made sounded like a definite no.
She put the pen in his hand before placing the envelope near his knee where he’d bent his leg. She held on to it while he printed a short message with seemingly little difficulty.
When he’d finished, she took the pen and envelope from him, then read it. “He was knocked unconscious by the boat. Died at sea with two others. Wanted to tell you first night. Forgive me.”
“Oh, no,” she gasped. “Richard…”
As the tears sprang to her eyes, she felt Ben’s hand on her arm once more. When she ventured another look into those gray depths, she understood why they’d been filled with pain, why they were alive with it now.
“You saw them drown?” she whispered, wiping the moisture from her cheeks.