Chapter Eight
Cora was happy.
It had been so long since she was happy, she almost didn’t know quite how to feel about it, except happy.
She hummed as she folded the last of the laundry.
Everything was set with the house. The painters were coming and the colors had been picked.
The designer had been helpful and a few things were getting switched out but not many.
The nursery would wait but the bassinet and some needed items were going in the master bedroom.
Cora would keep the baby with her while Henry took the guestroom on the main floor so he wouldn’t have to go up and down any stairs.
Once he was feeling better and more able, then she would take over the guestroom as the nursery.
She had new keys from the new locks installed in her new home. The designer had assured her everything would be complete in just a couple of days. The moving company was set up for four days from now. The utilities had been switched into her name.
It was exciting. The place was hers. All hers.
No one could take it away, no one could make her do anything she didn’t want to do with it.
Cora was going to create a home there for her family.
She already was creating a grocery list for delivery.
Nate hadn’t allowed her delivery, citing the cost of someone bringing it to the house.
Well, Cora decided she was willing to have delivery since she was going to be busy enjoying her new home.
Checking her watch, she frowned. Henry was late.
It wasn’t unusual for him to be late, but this was a bit much.
Normally he came to watch The Gorgeous and the Botoxed with her.
Mostly he fell asleep part way through, but it was nice to have him for company.
It was like their friendship from college had resumed almost where it had left off.
Only they were both older and a little wiser.
At least, Cora hoped she was. If she had a chance to do things differently… well, it didn’t bear thinking about, she told herself firmly, patting her belly. She had three boys whom she adored.
Yet if she didn’t, she would have changed one very important decision. She would have chosen with her head and her heart would have eventually followed.
Shoving the thought aside, Cora checked her watch again. Henry really was late.
Putting the last of the laundry in the basket, she managed to pull herself up from the couch which was getting more difficult by the day. She ignored the stitch in her side. It was just one of many she had been having lately.
Nick and Oliver were already asleep so Cora quickly checked on them before grabbing her room keycard and heading across the hall to knock on Henry’s door.
There was no answer.
Starting to worry, Cora knocked on the door again.
Nothing.
She didn’t dare call out his name as there were other people on the floor.
Going back to her suite, she grabbed Henry’s spare keycard that he had given her and her cellphone.
Heading back across the hall, she opened the door and flicked on the lights.
A quick look around the suite told her Henry wasn’t there.
He hadn’t texted her.
Over the past two months, Henry had let her know his comings and goings so that she wouldn’t worry about him.
It was good for someone to be checking in on him to be sure he was okay considering his health issues.
Cora had told him he needed to report to her as his friend and Henry had simply agreed.
Something was wrong.
She didn’t have any calls or texts and Henry wasn’t here like he was supposed to be. Dialing Ben’s phone number, Cora began to pace the floor, holding the two keycards tightly.
“Ben here,” came Ben’s slightly breathless voice.
“Do you know where Henry is? He was supposed to be back at the hotel but he’s not here,” explained Cora worriedly.
“We’re at the hospital. Henry was helping to find Holly and he slipped into the river. He’s alright but they are just checking him out to be sure,” replied Ben.
“Slipped into a river?” echoed Cora in disbelief. “What is he doing out near the river? Couldn’t he let other people handle it?”
Ben hesitated. “We were lucky he was there. Henry found her. He found Holly and called it in.”
“He found her?” Cora sat down on the couch. “How is she? Is Holly okay?”
“She’s alive. The doctors are working on her now,” responded Ben. “She’s lucky. It was really cold out and she wasn’t dressed for the elements. They think she’s drugged up with something. If Henry hadn’t been there, it might have been hours before she was found.”
“I’m coming to the hospital,” decided Cora, standing up.
“There’s no need. Henry is just about to get released. I’m going to give him a lift to the hotel,” calmly stated Ben. “By the time you get here, we will be leaving anyway. You might as well just wait for him.”
“I guess,” reluctantly said Cora as she shut off the lights. She winced as another stitch caught her side, taking her breath. “Thank you for taking care of him, Ben.”
“He’s my brother,” Ben told her simply.
They said their goodbyes and Cora made her way to her room. Really, this baby needed to shift and get off whatever organ he was crushing, thought Cora as she rubbed her side again, putting pressure on the stitch that was paining her.
She picked up the laundry intending to take it to her room when suddenly a hard pain wrapped itself around her abdomen, causing her to drop the basket. Grabbing the table, Cora gasped at the intensity.
Her thoughts raced. Was she in labor? She had been ignoring little pains all day. Her back hurt but that wasn’t uncommon late in a pregnancy.
Cora wasn’t ready. The house wasn’t ready. The baby was supposed to be another three weeks and she hadn’t given it the best start, starving herself to stay small. What if she had harmed the baby doing that? Surely it would be better for him if he stayed to term in the pregnancy.
Feeling a wetness, Cora looked down at her damp pants. Her water had broken.
Grabbing her phone, she called Addison.
“Cora?” came Addison’s surprised voice. “Is everything okay?”
“Can Lincoln watch the boys? Henry and Ben are at the hospital. I’m in labor and I was hoping you might come with me,” she said in a rush. “My water broke.”
“We will come to the hotel. Unless you want me to meet you at the hospital? Are you calling for an ambulance?”asked Addison in concern.
“I think I can wait for you. I need to change my clothes,” said Cora as she looked around the suite. She didn’t even have her bag packed for the hospital. She was hopelessly unorganized for this baby. Sniffing, she blinked back tears of self recrimination. “I’m not ready for this.”
“It’s okay, Cora. Linc and I will be there shortly. We can help you through this,” reassured Addison.
“I don’t even have a bag packed yet,” confessed Cora. “I was putting everything off.”
“I have a bag of baby things and stuff I packed for the hospital. I will bring it along. All you need to do is grab some clothes for yourself,” offered Addison kindly.
“Thank you,” whispered Cora.
“That’s what sisters do. We help each other,” provided Addison. “Now Linc and I are ready and are going to the car. We can be there in ten minutes. I’m going to keep you on the phone. Okay?”
“Okay.” Cora bit her lip as another contraction hit.
“How’s it going?” quietly asked Ben as he sat in the chair of the exam room.
Henry was leaning back in the bed, having changed into dry hospital scrubs, socks, sneakers, and hoodie on loan from Molson. He was hooked up to the oxygen tube again and knew he looked like death warmed over.
He also kept coughing which was worrying. At least he was finally warm again.
“The doctor thinks I might have aspirated some of the water and mud in the river. It could lead to pneumonia,” sighed Henry. “I need to watch for a fever.”
A significant enough fever meant removal from the transplant list.
“I told Cora. She was worried when you weren’t at the hotel,” mentioned Ben.
Henry nodded tiredly. He should have thought of calling her but time had slipped away. He hoped Cora wouldn’t be too worried or mad at him. She had taken to looking after him, keeping him on schedule with his meds, and pushing him to eat. She was a nurturing sort of person. “How is Holly?”
“I just got an update from Drew. She’s talking and they think she’s going to make a full recovery. Molson says to thank you,” responded Ben.
“It was dumb luck,” Henry downplayed his part in finding her. “I’m just glad she’s okay.”
The curtain moved aside as a young doctor came forward with a tablet. “Mr. Henry Ramesly?”
Henry lifted a hand in acknowledgement. “That would be me.”
The doctor had a distracted smile before looking at his screen. “It shows here your temperature is a little elevated. I would like to do another test on your lung capacity. After talking with your regular doctor, he and I agree it would be best to admit you overnight for monitoring.”
“I was hoping to get out of here. You did say earlier I might be able to,” mentioned Henry.
“Henry, the rise in your temperature is worrying. Your oxygen levels are still down. Should you develop pneumonia, it will put a big strain on your lungs. It may deteriorate your already weakened lung capacity. We need to be right on top of it, from the beginning if you’re going to have a chance to mitigate any damage.
Earlier, I hadn’t realized the extent of the heart failure that has already occurred.
Now that I have more thoroughly reviewed your file, I have altered my opinion for your care plan.
Monitoring you overnight is important,” advised the doctor.
“This sounds pretty serious. Will it affect his status on the transplant list?” wondered Ben with some concern.