Chapter 14
The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. When the ambulance arrived, the EMTs checked his vital signs, shook their heads, and told Lillian they would meet her at the hospital.
All the way there, she prayed. She needed a little more time before she could clear his name and reunite him with her grandmother and Kenneth. Just a little longer.
When she and Nathan pulled up to the ER, the doctors and nurses were rushing around her grandfather, giving him oxygen, hooking him up to monitors, and giving him fluids.
After an hour, the doctor came out to the waiting room.
“Miss Bradley, your grandfather is in a very serious condition. We’re not certain he will make it through the night. Is there any other family you want to contact? Now is the time.”
“They’re on their way,” she said, fearing no one would get the chance to say good-bye. “Can I see him?”
“We’re moving him up to a room now. But don’t go far,” the doctor told her.
“Why not the ICU?”
“Ma’am, he’s stage four cancer. Even if we did our best, he’s not going to last much longer,” he said.
She felt Nathan’s arms go around her as she sagged against him. Stage four. This was the end. He would not be here to see her clear his name or even get the ranch back. She’d found him only to lose her grandfather once again.
“Give the nurses about twenty minutes, and he should be in a room,” the man in the white coat said.
“I’m sorry,” Nathan said, holding her tightly against him.
“It’s not fair,” she said.
“No, it’s not,” he replied.
“I need to call my grandmother and see where they are. They were leaving this afternoon to come. Now I need to tell them to come straight to the hospital.”
Lillian breathed in and realized the afternoon was almost gone. It would soon be evening.
She pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed her mother’s number. Her grandmother answered.
“Hello,” she said.
“Where are you?”
“We’re right outside of town. We should be in Blessing in ten minutes,” she said. “You sound upset.”
“Come straight to the hospital. Grandpa is not doing well,” she said.
“Oh,” her grandmother said, sounding stunned. “I thought you said he had several more months.”
“I thought so too,” she said, watching the ambulance load up an empty stretcher and the EMTs crawling back into the big box before they drove away.
“Hurry,” she said. “I’ll text you the room number.”
“We’ll be there as soon as possible,” her grandmother said and disconnected the line.
When she walked back into the ER, she saw Nathan on the phone talking animatedly to someone. She didn’t want to invade his privacy and just needed some time to adjust to being here, where life and death happened every day.
“I gotta go,” she heard Nathan say. “Get here.”
It must be Cal he was talking to. Just then, the nurse motioned for her to come to the desk. “Your grandfather is in room 219.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Nathan took her elbow and together they walked the long, cold hallway toward the elevator. Nothing felt real at the moment. Just this afternoon, she’d been busy trying to find someplace for him to live and now she feared he would never leave this place.
They rode the elevator, and when the doors slid open, she saw the room. This floor seemed to be occupied by mostly elderly people. People in the last stages of living.
With a sigh, she gripped Nathan’s hand.
“I’m so glad you came with me today. I’m so glad you’re here by my side,” she said, glancing up at him.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he told her, his dark brown eyes saying more than his words.
When they walked into the room, her grandfather opened his eyes. He looked tired.
“I’m sorry, Lillian,” he said.
“For what?” she asked, fearing what he would say.
“I’m not going to make it,” he said with a tired sigh.
“Hold on,” she said. “The family is on their way. They should be here shortly.”
He closed his eyes, and she feared the worst. Taking his hand in hers, she stood beside his bed. “Do you know how happy you made me as a kid? You were always there for me. Some of my happiest memories are of us together.”
A smile spread across his face.
“It was so hard after I lost everything,” he said softly, not opening his eyes. “But I’m so happy you’re here with me now. I always thought I would die alone.”
Tears filled her eyes. It was so unfair what had been done to this man. He was innocent, and Ron Thomas had tragically destroyed his life.
Ten minutes later, her grandmother, Kenneth, and her mother rushed into the hospital room.
“Paul,” her grandmother said, and Lillian stepped back to give them access to her grandfather.
“Mary,” he said with a gasp. “I’m glad you’re here. And Kenneth and Nancy. It’s so good to see you.”
“Lillian has been telling me what she’s learned. I’m sorry, Paul. I should have believed you.”
Tears welled in her grandfather’s eyes. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear those words. To be exonerated of what I was accused of. Hearing you say that, I can now let go and die in peace.”
Her grandmother started to cry. “Paul, please, if you can, stay with us. We want to take care of you. We want to be here for you.”
A smile crossed his face. “And you are here for me now. I’m tired. I just want to rest. Seeing you all one last time makes me so happy. Lillian, darling, I love you.”
Her chest seized with the tears she was trying so hard not to shed.
“I love you, Grandpa. You rest. We’ll be right here at your side,” she said, coming close to the bed and grabbing his other hand.
His face was gray, and the light in his eyes appeared to dim. The man was dying, and he would not want them to keep him here any longer.
Nathan stood back in the corner of the room, letting them be near her grandfather. Slowly, the elder’s eyes closed, and the color drained from his face. With a loud gasp, the air left his body, and the heart monitor emitted that steady sound that announced death had arrived.
Her grandmother began to sob. “Oh, Paul, you were a good man. Go in peace.”
Kenneth wrapped his arms around her and held onto her while Lillian held her mother. This was not how she’d wanted this to end.
A nurse came into the room and turned off the machines.
It was over. And as much as she still wanted to hold onto the Sweet B Ranch, would it be worth it now that her grandfather was gone?