Chapter 17
They paused once as they were walking out the door, looking back at the shiny floors and gleaming kitchen appliances.
“Looks good,” Asher said. “And thank God we still have Dad to come home to at Christmas.”
They loaded their bags as Asher locked the door, and then they were gone. By the time they reached Tulia and turned toward Amarillo, the eastern horizon was growing brighter, and when Asher pulled up at the airport to let them out, the sky was bathed in faint shades of yellow and pink.
“Gunner, safe flight. See you at Christmas,” he said. “Dylan, safe flight to you, buddy. Give Angie my love. I’ll see you around.”
“Same to you,” they echoed, then took their bags and walked into the terminal, but instead of driving straight to the hospital, Asher parked long enough to call the hangar where he’d left his chopper, asked for a refuel and checkup, and said that he be flying out this afternoon.
Satisfied with their response, he headed for the hospital.
* * *
Jacob had showered and shaved but didn’t have anything to change into and was hoping Asher would remember to bring him some clothes. He was feeling good enough that he was getting picky about the hospital food and hadn’t done justice to the tray of food they’d brought in.
“Jacob! You didn’t eat much,” the nurse said as she came in to check his vitals.
“Not so hungry today. I just want to go home. Is my doctor making rounds yet?”
She smiled. “He’s on the floor. Hold your horses for a bit. He’ll get here. Now swing your legs up on that bed and get under the covers.”
He sighed. “Yes, ma’am,” and did as he was told.
He didn’t know what he thought about having a nurse in his home, after all these days with them in the hospital, but he was willing to do what he needed to get back to his old self again.
He turned on the television and leaned back in his bed, and once again, caught the early morning news with a repeat of the FBI bulletin from yesterday. And once again, was in awe of the men that he called sons.
* * *
Asher came up the hall carrying the duffel bag with shoes and clothes for his dad, along with his winter coat. He paused at the nurses’ desk.
“I’m Asher Kingston. My dad, Jacob Kingston, is supposed to be released this morning. Has his doctor made rounds yet?”
“Doctor Reading is on the floor making rounds, but we don’t have orders yet.”
“Then I’ll wait with Dad until he comes,” Asher said, and went down the hall to Jacob’s room and walked in.
Jacob’s face lit up, and when he saw the bag Asher was carrying, he knew he wasn’t going to have to go home with his backside shining.
“Morning, Dad,” Asher said. He set the bag down and gave Jacob a quick hug, then took off his coat and pulled up a chair.
“Morning, son. You are a welcome sight.”
“I just dropped Gunner and Dylan off at the airport. They’re both flying home this morning.”
“What about you?” Jacob said. “You need to get back to work, too.”
“Oh, I’m flying out this afternoon sometime. I came in the chopper, so I don’t have a timeline to meet. It will be ready when I get there. Your nurse’s name is Benny Armstrong. He lives in Tulia. You may know him.”
Jacob beamed. “You got a male nurse! Thank you. I really appreciate the wonderful care I’ve been given here, but I’m a bit weary of those bossy little nurses telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“Now you’ll have a bossy man saying the same things, and we expect you to appreciate his wisdom,” Asher said.
“Yes, I will. I swear. I have never been this sick or helpless in my life, and I do not want a repeat of it,” Jacob said, and then clasped Asher’s hand.
“I saw the Feds’ announcement. I have never been so proud of having you boys for sons.
I know you’re the one who demanded the clearing of my name, because you were the only one old enough to remember what we all went through, and a simple thank-you isn’t enough. ”
“It’s enough for me,” Asher said. “Sometime in the near future, we hope to be needing a grandpa. Dylan and Angie are getting married, and so are Nora and me. I don’t know what Dylan and Angie’s plans are, but I’m telling you now that Nora and I will just go the justice of the peace route.
Losing both parents within the last four years has taken the heart out of her for having a big, elaborate wedding. ”
“Don’t blame her one bit. Brenda demanded the big wedding.
The only thing about being married that she really loved was her boys.
I look forward to seeing you happily married and raising families.
I want someone to call me Poppa. I want babies on my knee before I’m too old to remember what to do with them,” Jacob said.
“Nearly dying reminded me of how fragile life is, and that nothing is promised.”
Before Ash could answer, Doctor Reading walked in.
“Good morning, Jacob. It appears you have a ride waiting for you.”
Asher stood. “I brought his going-away clothes. We’re just waiting for the okay,” he said.
Reading’s nurse was right behind him, and pulled up Jacob’s most recent numbers while Reading gave him the once-over.
“Well sir, I think we’re done with you here.
A nurse will bring your release papers and you’ll be free to go.
Jacob, you are an amazing man. Few would survive what happened to you.
I wish you a long and happy life,” Reading said as he shook Jacob’s hand, and then Asher’s.
“We know your father’s life was in danger for the time that he was here, and we all know what you and your brothers did to secure his safety and clear his name.
Remarkable family. All of you,” he said, and then he left.
“Well now,” Jacob said, struggling with his emotions. “How about you close my door, then help me into some real clothes for a change?”
Asher grinned. “I’d be happy to do that,” he said, and shut the door before putting the bag on the bed and removing the clothes.
Jacob was dressed and sitting in the chair, and Asher was sitting on the bed, when a nurse came back with his release papers, and an orderly following, pushing a wheelchair.
“Okay, Dad, I’m going down to bring the car up. Meet you downstairs,” and he took off out of the room.
“That is one handsome son you have,” the nurse said.
Jacob nodded. “I have three of them—they are my abundance of riches.”
The orderly helped him into the wheelchair, while the nurse put the release papers and the odds and ends that came from patient care in his bag, and set it in his lap.
The orderly paused. “Are you comfortable, Mr. Kingston?”
Jacob nodded, and off they rolled.
Asher was waiting at the entrance when they brought Jacob out. He had already notified Benny Armstrong that his dad had been released and they would be home within the hour.
Ash jumped out to open the door, and a quick transfer was made. After reclining the seat and propping a pillow beneath Jacob’s arm to ease his shoulder, he buckled the seat belt for his dad.
“Tell me if you hurt or feel nauseated, and we’ll adjust accordingly,” Asher said.
Jacob shook his head. “I’m good to go, son. Let’s go home.”
They drove out of the parking lot and into the city traffic, with Jacob talking nonstop and Ash listening and nodding in all the right places. But Jacob’s energy swiftly waned, and he was asleep before they passed through Tulia, and still asleep when Ash reached the Tumbleweed Bar.
There was a blue Volvo parked in the lot and a man sitting behind the wheel. He drove up to where Ash had stopped and rolled down the window.
“I’m Benny Armstrong,” he said.
“Follow me,” Asher said, and led the way around the bar to the house behind it.
Jacob woke up at the sound of Asher’s voice, and when he saw that they were home, all he felt was relief.
“Sit tight, Dad,” Asher said. “I need to unlock the door first, and then we’ll get you inside, okay?”
Jacob nodded. He was already longing to stretch out and couldn’t wait to get in his own bed, and then the door opened beside him, and a big burly man with a bald head and a smile wider than Dallas leaned in and unbuckled his seat belt.
“Good morning, Mr. Kingston. I’m your nurse, Benny Armstrong. I’m going to help you out and you lean on me. Let me do all the work and you follow my lead, okay?”
“Okay, and it’s Jacob, not mister.”
Ash came running back, and together they walked Jacob in, closed the door to keep out the cold, and started walking him past the utility area into the kitchen.
“What a homecoming! My house hasn’t been this neat and clean in years,” Jacob said.
“Do you want to go to the living room or to your bedroom?” Asher asked.
“Bed, please,” Jacob said, and down the hall they went.
They removed his coat and shoes, then stopped. “Dad, do you want to change into pajamas or sweats to rest in?”
“Pajamas, I think. You get them out for Benny. He can help me change. May as well start this partnership off right and strip me down to my altogether.”
Benny laughed. “I’ve seen twenty years’ worth of altogethers in my nursing career. One more isn’t going to faze me.”
Asher was laughing as he left to bring in a quilt and pillow and the duffel bag. He found the doctor’s instructions, laid them out on the table, and then stowed the quilt and extra pillow back in one of the spare rooms.
When he got back to Jacob’s room, Benny had him in pajamas and tucked neatly into bed, and he’d brought his own bag of tricks, too. Two-way radios, one for each of them for easy communication from anywhere in the house.
“Okay, Jacob. I’ll be in the kitchen for a while, learning where everything is. You know how to call for me.”
“Yes, I do. Asher, as soon as you get Benny settled, you get yourself back to Amarillo. I don’t want to think about you night-flying in that chopper, okay?”
Benny walked out of the room to give them privacy.