Was Austin okay?
I closed my eyes and sat back in the seat. I prayed harder than I had in quite some time. I had a lot of faith in my heart. Today, I would need all of it to get through this.
We made it the hospital and parked in the small lot. I opened the door, ready to run. Then I reminded myself that Kim was with me. I walked with her as slow as I could force myself. She still had to hurry to keep up.
We made our way inside the hospital and asked the woman behind the desk about Mel. She informed us he was in the intensive care unit.
We headed to the ICU.
The three letters were so serious in my head as I walked to the elevator. Every movement was wooden and automatic. I felt myself breaking inside. I wasn’t ready for anything like this to happen, not when everything was going so good.
As much as I enjoyed having Austin around, I didn’t want him to stay longer due to tragic circumstances. And I certainly didn’t want him to leave even earlier because of it. His mama needed him more than ever now, but if he had to go, Kim and I could work out a schedule to be with her.
I thought about all of this in a rapid-fire pace. Kim touched my arm. “Becs? We’re here.”
I blinked at her and stepped forward. Kim took my hand. We walked towards the ICU and found the waiting room. I searched for a familiar face. Austin stood in the corner, talking on the phone with his head bent forward. He paced restlessly.
We hurried over, and I dropped her hand to wrap my arms around him. I pulled him back gently against me so I wouldn’t interrupt his phone call. He reached back with his free hand to lace his fingers with mine. He kept talking on the phone, and I took in all his warmth.
Nobody could make me feel like Austin did. Nobody could fill my heart the way he did, even though I ached inside for him right now.
Austin ended the call and dropped the phone in a chair. He turned around and took my hands in his. “You’re here,” he said.
“Of course,” I said.
He looked at my sister. “Thanks for coming, Kim.” Austin’s voice was soft. He turned back to me and pulled me into his arms.
“How is he?” I asked him in a worried voice. He held me so tightly that it nearly hurt.
“He had a serious heart attack, but he’s going to make it. Mom’s in there with him.” He took a slow breath. “I guess he had more problems than we realized from the last time. Fucking small-town doctors. If he was in a bigger city, they’d know what they were doing. I called New York and got in touch with the best cardiologist there. He’ll be here soon. It’s cleared with the hospital already.”
I felt shock waves rush through me. How does that even happen? “Austin, how is a doctor coming to see one patient in a whole hospital full of doctors, and that’s not a problem with anybody?” I spoke hesitantly, not wanting to set him off. He already seemed like he hated Texas all over again, but the situation was mind blowing to me.
“My foundation donated twenty million to his latest research study a few months ago. He owes me one. I offered to give the hospital enough to cover a new wing, and they weren’t about to argue. This place is small. They could probably use a lot more than that.” Austin seemed pleased that he
handled everything using money as leverage. That was his world.
I stiffened in his embrace, suddenly feeling trapped. I loved being in his arms, but this situation was too much to think about for me.
This wasn’t real life, was it?
Kim was on the phone with someone. She walked away from us. Austin let me go and dropped into a seat. I sat beside him, and he held my hand.
I noticed the looks he was getting from some of the people in the waiting room. I found it sad that people waiting in ICU were worried about a local celebrity. At least they had the decency to not approach him. He dropped his head forward and took a deep breath.
Kim came back and dropped beside me. She leaned forward to talk to Austin. “My parents send their love and prayers. That was them calling to wish us a Merry Christmas, Becs. I promised that we’d call them with news later. Mom is sending some flowers for your mama.” I nodded, looking at her and then Austin.
“It was you that saved the library, wasn’t it?” My voice was soft. I worked through the idea of that being such great news while I had mixed feelings about the deal he made with the doctors.
“I did,” he said. “I should have been helping this town a long time ago, since everyone was so good to me when I was growing up here. I owe it to my parents and the great teachers that I had.” He looked at me with a deep frown on his face. He looked so sad. I reached out to hold his arm. His pain hit me like a sledgehammer. “My dad could die, Rebecca. I could lose him. With doctors coming out to help him and handing money out to anyone that wants it, I could still lose him. I feel so helpless.”
“He’s alive, Austin. He’s alive, and he’s going to go home. He and your mama will be just fine.” He leaned over to hug me and pulled me to sit on his lap. Kim watched us with a small smile.
“He’s so young, Rebecca,” he said.
I knew how he felt. I worried about my own parents a lot.
“That’s why he isn’t going anywhere, Austin. He has a lot of life left in him,” I soothed him. He pulled me closer and buried his face in my neck. I just held him, not knowing what else to do or say.