Chapter 5
Chapter Five
L orna tapped the answer button on her phone then plugged her opposite ear in order to better hear over the noise of the reception. “Hello. Gertie? Is everything okay?”
“Now I’m sure everything is going to be fine,” the older woman assured her as Lorna was already heading off the dance floor and out of the tent. “But Izzy started fussing a bit tonight and rubbing at her ear, and then she spiked a fever, so I’m brought her over to the emergency room to have someone take a quick look at her.”
“Good. You did the right thing,” Lorna told her, trying to calm her racing heart and not panic. “Have they seen her yet?”
“No, I just checked her in, but I wanted to call and tell you what was happening. I’m so sorry to ruin your fun night.”
“Don’t worry about that.” She’d known the night was just a fairy tale anyway. “I’ll meet you at the hospital as soon as I can.”
“What’s going on? Is Izzy okay?” Mack’s voice came from right behind her.
She jumped, not realizing he’d followed her outside. “I hope so. She spiked a fever, so the woman watching her took her to the hospital.”
“How can I help? What do you need?”
“I need to get Max then find someone here who’s sober and can drive me to the hospital.” She wasn’t drunk, but she’d had several seltzers and wouldn’t chance getting in the car to drive.
Leni and Chevy had arranged a couple of shuttles to take people back to town after the reception. Maybe she could find one of the drivers and get him to drop her at the emergency room.
“I can do it,” he said. “I only had a few sips of champagne earlier during the toasts.”
“Are you sure?” She hadn’t been with him the whole time, but now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him holding a beer at all that night.
“Yes, absolutely. I’m a hundred percent sober,” he said, already shepherding her back inside to the table where Max was playing a card game with Duke and Maisie’s grandmother, Ruby Foster.
Lorna quickly explained the situation to Duke and Ruby, who said they’d be glad to keep Max with them and that they’d put him to bed in the ranch house if it got too late.
She turned to leave, but her shoe hit a puddle of some kind of spilled liquid, and her foot went sliding out from under her. Her arms pinwheeled before she lost her balance and hit the floor. Her dress, with its flouncy skirt, flew up as her legs splayed out.
Mack knelt next to her and flipped her dress back down, but not before she’d flashed him, and the rest of the wedding guests around them, a nice shot of her high-waisted, nude-colored spanx. So sexy.
Maisie came hurrying toward her as Mack helped her back up. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?”
Her pride was hurt more than her butt had been, but she still imagined she’d have a bruise the next day. “Yes, I’m just not used to wearing high heels.”
“Me neither. That’s why I already changed out of mine and into my Chacos,” Maisie said, pointing to her feet and the black, thick-soled hiking sandals that were a staple in most every woman in Colorado’s closet.
“Smart,” Lorna said, then told her how they were trying to get to the hospital to check on Izzy.
“I’m so sorry,” Maisie said, then kicked off her sandals. “Here, trade me shoes. You can’t be running into the hospital in those heels.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’ve got another little pair of sneakers in my bag. I’m a librarian, comfy shoes and always bringing a book are my lifestyle choices.”
Lorna wrenched off her heels and groaned in relief as she slipped her feet into the sandals. Then she hugged Maisie, and she and Mack hurried from the tent and toward his truck.
He got there first and pulled the door open for her, holding out his arm to help her into the cab, then he ran around the front of the truck and slid inside.
His truck smelled like leather and the woodsy citrus scent of his cologne. There was an empty water bottle in the cup holder and an orange Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup wrapper on the floor, but it otherwise showed no signs that he’d just driven a day and a half, and across three states, in it.
She buckled her seatbelt then sent a quick text to Leni, telling her not to worry, but that she had to run out to check on something with Izzy and she hoped to be back later. She doubted she would go back to the reception, but didn’t want her sister to worry, especially since they didn’t really know anything yet.
She wished she could keep herself from worrying.
Thankfully, Mack was a good driver and was wasting no time as he flew down the highway toward town.
She should probably let it go, but something was bugging her, and she needed to know. “Hey Mack, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“It might be kind of personal.”
He shrugged. “You can still ask.”
“It’s just that so many people at the wedding were drinking and partying. Is there a reason you weren’t?” She was trying to keep her alarm bells from ringing. She’d already spent too much of her life with someone who had a problem with booze. “Do you have an issue with alcohol?”
He hazarded a quick glance in her direction. “Are you asking if I’m an alcoholic?”
“Maybe. I’ve spent too many years living with one, so yeah. I guess I’m trying to ask you that without actually asking you that.”
“You never have to worry about asking me anything. I’ll always tell you the truth. And no, I’m not an alcoholic. But I grew up with one, so I know the effects that can have on a person and on a family.”
“So do I. Not with my parents, but with my ex.”
He nodded. She knew he’d heard the story of how Lyle had taken off with his administrative assistant right after they learned she was pregnant.
“It seems to me that kids who grow up in that kind of environment tend to either follow in the footsteps of their alcoholic parent or go the opposite direction and don’t drink much at all,” he said, his gaze still trained on the highway. “I can enjoy an occasional cold beer with friends, but I don’t drink often. And tonight, in particular, with everyone drinking and having a good time, I wanted to make sure I was sober in case Chevy or Leni needed me for something.”
“That was thoughtful of you. Especially since it turned out that I was the one who needed you for something.”
“I’m glad I could help. This is what friends do, right?” He reached over and took her hand, squeezed it, then let it go. “And don’t worry, I’m sure Izzy is going to be just fine.”
She nodded, but couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her, and she rubbed at her bare arms as if to stave off the cold.
Mack pulled a faded blue and white flannel shirt from behind the seat. “Here, put this on. You already seem cold, and hospitals tend to be chilly.”
She pulled the shirt on and wrapped her arms around her middle, the faded flannel soft against her skin. The fabric smelled like him, and somehow the shirt felt like a warm hug.
The drive into town only took a few minutes then a few minutes more to get to the hospital on the opposite side. Mack turned into the parking lot and found a spot close to the entrance.
She had her door open and was climbing out of the truck before he’d pulled to a complete stop. She heard him slam the truck door and the beep of the key fob, but didn’t slow down. It didn’t take much for his long strides to catch up to her, and he pulled the entrance door open for her then followed her to the check-in desk.
Because Woodland Hills was a small town, and she’d practically grown up there, Lorna recognized the woman at the desk. They’d gone to school together, but she’d been a few years younger.
“Hey Lorna,” the woman said, already holding out two visitor passes as she pointed to a set of a double doors. “They just took Izzy back. Put this on, then you can go on through. The nurse inside will tell you what bay she’s in.”
“Thanks Sara,” Lorna said, peeling the slick backing from the visitor sticker and slapping it to the front of the flannel shirt as she hurried toward the doors.
Another nurse sat inside, this one a young guy she didn’t recognize. He wore light blue scrubs with cartoon dogs on them and smiled up at her from the desk. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Isabel Williams. She’s my daughter, but she was just brought in with Gertie Henderson.”
“Of course. She’s in that third bay, the one with the green curtain,” he told her.
The emergency room section of the hospital had seven rooms, each behind a different colored curtain, as if this were a game show and there might be a new car, or a washer and dryer set, behind them instead of someone suffering with an illness or injury.
The pitiful cry of an unhappy baby came from the direction the nurse pointed, and Lorna hurried toward it. Mack was right on her heels and drew the green curtain back to reveal a petite older woman with a cap of curly white hair standing behind it, her body swaying back and forth as she tried to soothe the fussy infant in her arms.
“I’m here,” Lorna said.
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Izzy lifted her head then stretched out her arms as she let loose with another heartbreaking cry. “Ma-ma.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Lorna said, taking Izzy into her arms and starting the same rocking movement Gertie had been doing. “Mama’s here.” The baby’s face was flushed, and her curly blond hair was damp with sweat. Lorna pressed a kiss to her forehead and that clawing panic returned at how hot her skin was. “Have you seen the doctor yet?” she asked Gertie.
The other woman shook her head. “No, we’re still waiting.”
Lorna tried to introduce the two, but Gertie explained she and Mack had met the summer before at the chili cook-off.
“Ma’am.” Mack tipped his hat at the older woman, but his attention was focused on the baby girl in Lorna’s arms. “Poor sweetheart.” He stood at the entrance of the exam room, the small space already crowded with the two women and the baby. “What can I do? Do you want me to find you all some coffee? Or water? Or try to check on where the doctor is?”
Lorna nodded, and he turned and headed toward the nurse’s station before she’d had a chance to tell him which of the things she wanted.
She cooed softly into Izzy’s hair, still rocking her and thankful that the baby seemed to be calming with the arrival of her mother.
Mack was back within minutes, three bottles of water in his hand. “We’re next on the list, so the doctor should be here any second,” he said as he passed Gertie a bottle of water. He took a moment to open the lid of one before he passed it to Lorna, whose hands were full with Izzy, and she once again, appreciated his thoughtfulness.
She took a drink, thankful for the cool water on her parched throat, then passed it back to him. He replaced the lid and had just set it on the counter when the doctor walked in.
He looked to be in his late forties with brown hair, a pleasant smile, and a pair of reading glasses perched on his head. “Hello. I’m Dr. MacFarlane,” he said, picking up the clipboard the nurse had left and quickly perusing the notes. “Tell me what’s going on with this little cutie?”
Gertie rattled off Izzy’s symptoms, the fussiness, the rubbing at her ear, then the sudden spike of fever.
The doctor had Lorna sit on the table with Izzy on her lap, then listened to the baby’s chest, tapped her tummy, and peeked into her ears and throat. “Yeah, she’s got a pretty good ear infection going on. I’ll have the nurse bring in some children’s Motrin to treat the fever, and I’ll write a script for some antibiotics. You’ll want to keep up with lots of fluids and rest, and if it seems like the ear is bothering her, using a warm compress against it will help with the pain.”
“So, she’s going to be okay?” Mack asked the doctor, his mouth set in a tight line.
Lorna hadn’t realized how worried he’d been—he’d seemed like such a rock for her since she’d taken the call from Gertie—but now that the doctor was there, she could see the concern in his expression and hear it in his tone.
“We’ll keep an eye on her here for a bit,” the doctor told them. “Make sure the Motrin brings her fever down, but she should be just fine.”
Lorna laid a reassuring hand on Mack’s arm. “Ear infections are pretty common. Max used to get them too.” She turned back to the doctor. “Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you,” Gertie repeated. “She was fine earlier today, so it just scared me when she spiked a fever and started fussing.”
“You did the right thing by bringing her in,” the doctor told them. “And like I said, we’ll have you all hang around for an hour or so, just to make sure we get the fever down. I’ll go get started on the prescription and the nurse will be in shortly.”
“That’s a relief,” Gertie said, sagging into the chair after the doctor left. “I would have felt terrible if something had happened to our sweet girl.”
Lorna gave her a one-armed hug. “Thank you so much for calling me and for everything. Are you doing okay? You must be tired.”
“I’m fine. Although, it’s been a while since I’ve stayed up past nine.”
“I can run Miss Gertie home,” Mack offered. “Then I can come back and get you. It’ll probably take me less than ten minutes.”
Lorna considered his offer. “Honestly, if Gertie is okay staying with me, I’d rather have you run back out to the ranch and get Max. I know Duke offered to let him spend the night, but I’d rather have him home and just let them enjoy the wedding and not have to worry about him.”
“Yeah, sure. I can absolutely do that.”
Gertie nodded. “I’m happy to stay and drive you home. Plus, I’ve got Izzy’s car seat in my car.”
“There’s a booster seat for Max in my car, which is still parked at the ranch. I’ll give you my keys and you can take my car.” Lorna looked around the exam room. “Actually, I just realized I don’t have my purse. I think I left it in the master bedroom where Leni was getting dressed. Can you grab it too? It’s light pink, and I’ve got a glittery pink and white tote bag, but I can grab that tomorrow if you can’t find it.”
Mack nodded. “So, pink purse and glittery pink bag. I can only hope your car is a hot pink minivan.”
“I wish.” She grinned, trying to imagine the tough cowboy driving a pink van. “You can move the booster into your truck, if you’d rather. It just buckles in.”
“I’ll probably move the seat, just so I’ll have my truck to get home, but my man card is secure enough that I can carry your purse, glitter and all. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“Just tell Duke and Ruby thank you for watching Max. I’ll text Leni what’s going on, but if she and Chevy haven’t left yet, tell them again that I’m sorry I’m missing the end of the reception.”
“Will do. And I’m sure they’ll understand.” He stepped forward and pulled her and the baby in her arms to him in a gentle hug. “I’m real glad Izzy is going to be okay. Not embarrassed to admit she had me scared there for a minute.” He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the top of the baby’s head then flashed Lorna a grin before letting them both go. “Text me if you need anything else.”
He pulled the curtain closed behind him, and Lorna looked at Gertie as the sound of his boot heels faded.
The older woman fanned her face. “I think Izzy’s fever might be catching, because it’s suddenly very warm in here.”
Lorna laughed. “Stop.”
Gertie gave her a side eye. “That is one handsome man. And thoughtful too. Now, I’m even more sorry we interrupted your night. Looks like you might have been having wedding cake and a cowboy for dessert.”
“We’re just friends,” Lorna told her, although she had a hard time meeting Gertie’s eye when she said it.
“Has anyone told him that?”