Dakota Love (17 page)

“Looks like we’re all set, then. It was nice to see you, Rodney.” She pulled on Jason’s arm until he turned around, slipped his hand in hers, and headed to the checkout counter.

“What’s wrong with that boy?”

Mildred.

She came around the corner of an aisle where a tall display of reading glasses stood on the end. She must have been there the entire time. Close enough to hear everything.

Damage control. He’d managed it thousands of times in his previous career. “Good morning, Mildred.” He purposely inflected a happy lilt in his greeting.

“Good morning, and I’m not giving up that easy. I introduced you and Caroline. I have a right to know what’s going on.”

Not really
. Though he wanted to, he couldn’t say that out loud since Mildred was a client of his and Caroline’s. He blew out a long breath, not sure himself what was really going on. He’d never experienced someone disliking him personally, without really knowing him. He gave the safest honest answer he could. “He’s not happy that Caroline and I are dating.”

Mildred clapped her hands together. “You’re dating! That’s wonderful. I suspected as much, since you always sit beside each other in church, but neither of you said it was official.”

Rodney smiled at her enthusiastic response. It felt nice to have someone rooting for him—no, them. It felt great to say out loud, “
Caroline and I are dating
.” As in a couple or—what was the term his nephews used?
An item
. “I wish Jason shared your opinion.”

Mildred waved her hand in dismissal. “He’s a good kid. He’ll come around. You know how it is with family dynamics.”

He nodded his head, but in truth, he didn’t know. Living on his own since he was seventeen, he’d missed that.

“These things all work out in the end. He’ll come around; you’ll see.” Mildred slipped her hand through his arm. “Why don’t we go pay for our medicine and get a cup of coffee? You can tell me all about your new relationship.”

Somehow, during his long workday, Rodney missed a call from Caroline. He listened to the message. She’d finally finished the candy jar quilt and was going to run to Sioux Falls to deliver it to the store owner. She wouldn’t be back until late. He’d hoped to have dinner with Caroline. If he’d checked his messages earlier, he’d have treated his crew to burgers and fries. Now his dinner would consist of leftovers and eating alone.

Rodney scanned the contents of his freezer. His earlier heartburn lingering, he avoided the spicy chili. He took out the turkey meat loaf that Michelle had left on her last visit, warmed it up in the microwave, then ate it while standing by the kitchen counter. Afterward, he flopped down in his office chair, then rubbed his chest. The indigestion just stayed with him today. Nothing he took helped. He continued rubbing his chest while wiggling the mouse to clear the screen saver. Good thing he’d skipped his workout this morning, or he might be too tired to work on the author’s website.

He opened his e-mail, hoping the author had responded with his first round of editing suggestions. A knock and the rattle of the doorknob interrupted his activity. Caroline. Since she’d insisted he enter her home unannounced, he made her promise to do the same, except he’d locked up for the night after listening to her message. She must have stopped on her way home. Thank goodness he’d installed a timer on his porch lights, providing her with some sort of welcome.

A visit from Caroline—his day just improved. He’d thought about the look they shared a few days ago, his unspoken admission of love. He was sure she felt the same strong pull on her heart. Since he’d spilled the beans to Mildred that he and Caroline were dating, he’d decided to voice his unspoken feelings to Caroline.

Rodney hurried to the front door. A pang of indigestion caused him to wince on his way. He clicked the dead bolt with his left hand and turned the doorknob with his right.

Bone-chilling air and Caroline blasted through the door. “Do I owe you another apology on behalf of my son?”

“No.” Rodney rubbed his palm across his breastbone.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Had she even heard his response? She stopped in front of him. “Didn’t Jason make a scene in the pharmacy today?”

“Yes, but you don’t need to apologize. He does.” He cleared his throat in an attempt to clear the pain from his chest. He needed to sit down.

“I would have rather heard this from you. Instead I found out from—”

“Mildred.” They spoke her name at the same time.

“Caroline, would you like to come in and take off your coat?” Rodney closed the door when she paced a few steps away. This wasn’t going to be the night to declare his love.

“I thought this would blow over. Really, Rodney, he’s a good man.” She slipped out of her parka and hung the hood over the knob of a closet door. She smoothed her black sweater over her jeans.

“Maybe he’s scared of his new responsibility of being a father?” Rodney offered as he led the way to the living room. He sat on the arm of a chair. This might not be heartburn. He flexed the fingers of his left arm. Nothing felt numb.

Caroline continued to pace when they got to the living room. Front view…back view. “Could be; I just don’t know.” Front view. “Angela says he clams up whenever she approaches the subject.” Back view. “Really, Rodney, he was raised better.”

He didn’t doubt that, but the intense pain in his chest made it hard for him to focus, let alone answer. He felt sweat bead on his forehead and upper lip. He slipped from the arm of the chair to the cushion. Had his arm gone numb? He squeezed his eyes shut and doubled over, pulling his knees to his chest, the pain now constant. He tried to hold in a moan but failed.

His eyes fluttered open when Caroline screamed his name. He saw her heading to the phone caddy; then she knelt in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” Fear iced over the sparkle of her blue eyes. Michelle was right. He should have told her; then she’d have known and called an ambulance by now.

Caroline reached out to touch him as another red-hot pain shot through his chest. His low groan increased to a loud moan that echoed in the now quiet room. She pulled her hand back and a tear trickled down her cheek. It was too late to break this to her gently.

God, please let her forgive me for this
. “Caroline,” he rasped. “Call 911. I think I’m having another heart attack.”

R
odney woke up to Michelle’s concern-mixed-with-anger face hovering over him. Her hand held his.

“I thought you were waking up.”

Groggy, Rodney looked around the room. “I’m in the hospital?”

“Right. Do you remember what happened?”

He moved his hand to his chest, pulling IV tubes with it. “Heart attack?”

“Not this time. Gallbladder.”

Bits and pieces came back to Rodney. Never-ending indigestion, collapsing in the chair, then EMTs lifting him to a gurney, their barrage of questions directed to his wife. No, not wife. Caroline.

Caroline. Now the memory was clear. She’d stood beside the chair, the corner of her lip sucked in, her brow furrowed as she tried to answer the EMT’s questions concerning his health. Running to the bathroom cabinet when they asked what medicines he took. “Where’s Caroline?”

“In the waiting room.”

“Can’t she come in?”

“No, you’re still in recovery.”

“But you’re here.”

“I’m allowed because I work in this hospital.”

Even groggy from the anesthesia, he heard the sisterly “duh” in her voice.

“I had surgery?”

“Yes.” The concern melted from Michelle’s features, but anger remained. He could tell by how the lines formed around her mouth. “They removed your gallbladder.”

“Are you mad at me because I had to have surgery?” His eyelids were so heavy. He’d just shut them for a minute.

The bustle around Rodney aroused him from his medicine-induced slumber. Michelle stood beside his bed while another nurse started the process of taking his vitals. His mouth was dry, his throat parched. He licked his lips and swallowed. No relief. The nurse stuck a thermometer under his tongue, making it worse.

When the nurse recorded the information and left the room, Michelle asked, “Do you need an ice chip?” She scooped ice fragments out of a Styrofoam cup with a plastic spoon. She held them to Rodney’s lips. The moisture that trickled down his throat felt like heaven. Michelle offered another spoonful.

“Thank you. You’re a good nurse.” Rodney held his hand out to his sister. She gave it a squeeze.

“It’s about time you realized someone else in the family was good at their job,” she said, her words tinged with anger.

“Why are you mad at me?” Rodney instinctively reached for his chest. It wasn’t as sore as last time. “I didn’t mean to have a heart attack.”

Michelle grinned.

“Now I’m funny?”

“No, lots of people have memory lapses when coming out from under anesthesia.” She ran her soft hand over the smooth skin of his head just like his mom used to do when he was sick as a child. “You didn’t have a heart attack. Your gallbladder burst, so they took it out.” Her voice no longer held the angry edge.

“Oh.” Rodney closed his eyes. Caroline’s worried features appeared. His eyes popped open. “Is Caroline okay?”

“Yes and no. She’s pretty shaken up. Why didn’t you tell her about your heart attack like I told you to?”

“I don’t know.” He squeezed his eyes shut tight in concentration. “No.” He shook his head. “I do know.” He opened his eyes. “She’d stopped worrying. I don’t know why or how, but one day her features relaxed and she stopped fretting over every little thing. She seemed happy. She’d been sad so long, I didn’t want to spoil it for her. She’s so pretty when she’s happy.” Rodney’s voice cracked. It had nothing to do with his dry throat.

Michelle’s laugh filled the room. She patted his cheek. “Rodney, even sleepy from surgery, your love for Caroline is written all over your face.” She held another spoonful of ice to his lips.

“Is she here? Can I see her?” Rodney pulled the ice from the spoon with his lips, losing the last one. It tinkled against the tile floor.

Michelle grabbed a towel from the sink area in his room, then wiped the wet spot on the floor. “She’s here. I’ll ask her to come in. I can’t guarantee anything. She followed the ambulance and waited until someone came to cover my shift. She wanted to leave, but I insisted she stay, using the excuse I didn’t want to be alone. But really it’s because I knew you’d ask for her. I’ll go see if she’ll come in.” Michelle turned when she got to the room door. “Rodney, you should know the worried look is back.”

Rodney watched sunbeams filter through the window. How far was the waiting room? Rodney fought his heavy eyelids. It seemed like forever since Michelle left. It wouldn’t hurt to rest his eyes while he waited for Caroline.

When his eyes fluttered open, the sun’s rays had shifted to dusky shadows in his room. He’d fallen asleep while waiting for Caroline.

He heard breathing. Was she here? He strained his neck to see over his shoulder. The bed rail blocked his view. He thought she was in the chair at the head of his bed. He pushed the button on the bed and adjusted it to a more upright position. The noise roused Caroline from her chair.

“Are you okay? Can I get you anything?” She gripped the bed rail with both hands, knuckles turning white from the pressure.

“I’m okay.” He reached his hand out to her.

Her hands remained fixed to the rail. Her eyes focused on the IV bag. “I’m glad,” she said, then chewed at the corner of her lip.

He moved his outstretched hand to rest beside hers. His fingers overlapped her knuckles. “Please look at me.”

A veil once again covered her blue eyes, the worry lines prominent in her forehead in addition to the deep furrow between her brows. He’d hoped to lighten her burdens but had added to them instead. He wanted to pull her to him and hold her tight until all her doubts and fears subsided.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my health when you jumped to the conclusion—”

Caroline cut him off. “You led me to believe…” Her voice trailed off. She sniffed and pulled her hands free. She brushed at her eyes with her fingertips. “It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hands in the air.

“It does matter.” Rodney tried to sit upright, but sore incisions forced him to lean back into the pillows, meek instead of strong. “I was a workaholic who thrived on the stress my job created. Or so I thought. My body had other ideas. The heart attack was my wake-up call. I had to change my entire way of life.”

Her stance stiffened.

“I know honesty is the most important thing in a relationship, but I don’t have much experience in that area either. Just ask Michelle. Not only does a workaholic’s health suffer, but his family life does, too. I want you to know I was honest about everything else, and I won’t ever withhold anything again.”

Caroline closed her eyes and pursed her lips, shaking her head the entire time. She drew a ragged breath before she opened her eyes and for the first time looked directly into his. Sadness and fear mixed with hurt greeted Rodney’s gaze and pulled at his heart.

“I put my relationship with my son in jeopardy for you and your lofty ideas about my business. The least you could have done was told me you’d had heart problems. You know how I felt about Ted and the lack of care he gave his body.”