Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
ANDI
When we arrive at the hospital, Teo finds a parking spot, and we jog to the front door. Which is locked.
“What kind of hospital locks up at night?” I wail.
Teo points at a sign. “We have to go around to the emergency entrance. Of course. That’s where he’d be anyway.” He takes my arm and drags me down the curvy sidewalk. We duck under some trees that need to be limbed and run toward the brightly lit “Emergency” sign.
An American emergency room is nothing like the calm private clinic we’d use back home. A man sprawls across a row of plastic chairs talking to himself, his clothing dirty, his hair unkempt. A couple stand by the intake desk, a bloody rag clutched around the man’s hand. A siren wails, someone shouts, and two paramedics wheel a gurney into the room, the woman on it keening loudly. We wait in a corner for the harried staff to admit the injured, then Teo steps up to the desk. “Our friend was brought in. Slim Turner.”
“I don’t have a Slim Turner.” She looks up from her computer. “Does he have another name?”
Teo glances at me. I shrug. “Slim is probably a nickname, but I don’t know his real name. His wife is Fiona. And his son is Reece.”
The woman frowns at her computer. “Are you family?”
“No.” Teo frowns. “We’re friends.”
“I’m sorry. Family only. You can sit over there.” She jerks her head at the crazy-looking guy and goes back to her computer screen.
“If we were family, we’d know his real name,” Teo mutters. He takes a look at the man, who is now drawing imaginary pictures or directing aircraft or maybe conducting a symphony, and guides me to a chair on the other side of the room. “I’ll text Reece.”
We wait for what feels like hours. I get up and pace around the room, carefully avoiding the guy now passed out across the chairs. Then I sit. Then pace. And sit again.
Teo’s phone pings. He jerks out of a doze. “Reece says they’ve admitted him. He’ll come down as soon as he can.”
“Tell him—give me that.” I take the phone from my brother.
This is Andi. We’re here FOR you not to cause you trouble. Let us know what you need.
The phone pings.
Mum would kill for some tea.
I can handle that.
I pass the phone back to Teo. “We have to make a tea run.”
We return half an hour later with a cardboard carrier full of cups and a bag of muffin tops from the local twenty-four-hour coffee kiosk. Teo parks closer to the emergency room this time, and the drunk is gone when we arrive at the waiting room. The woman at the front desk smiles when Teo gives her a muffin top, and she calls the nurse’s station upstairs.
We hand over our US drivers’ licenses and get our pictures taken. She returns the IDs along with stickers showing our names and images and directs us toward an internal door. “Room 342.”
“Thank you.” Teo pushes the door open and waits for me to pass.
Just before the door clicks shut, I catch the nurse’s whisper, “That girl looks really familiar.”
Teo frowns as we wait for the elevator. “Have you ever been recognized around here?”
I shake my head and sip my coffee. “Nope. Oregon has always been kind of a weird vacuum. It’s like royalty doesn’t exist in their collective consciousness. Well, there was that time up at Mount Bachelor…”
“Yeah, but you were skiing with Ingrid.”
Ingrid Alexandra is an amazing athlete—and as number two in line for the throne of Norway, far more recognizable than me or Teo. “Don’t remind me.” I cover my eyes. Her prowess made my less-than-graceful descents all the more obvious. When some helpful fan posted a video of me falling down a blue run, I gave up skiing for the rest of the year.
As we ride up in silence, I wonder what we’ll find. The mundane task of getting drinks helped distract me from the reason for our visit. I send up a little prayer for Slim while the elevator slowly ascends.
The elevator discharges us into a brightly-lit lobby that makes the dim lighting of the long hall on either side all the more obvious. A chair leg scrapes, loud in the hushed corridor, with the occasional beep of a monitor and soft rustles of fabric emphasizing the calm stillness.
Brighter lights illuminate the nurses’ station in an alcove off the center of the hall. Ahead, a woman in blue scrubs pauses by a partially closed door, her gaze flicking to our identification stickers then away. She knocks, unlooping the stethoscope from her neck as she enters.
We find room 342 close to the nurses’ station, but the door is closed tight. I glance at my brother. “Do we knock? Or wait?”
Another scrub-clad woman looks up from her computer screen. “They’re taking vitals. The nurse should be out in a minute.”
We move away from the entrance, loitering between Slim’s room and one with a bright red “quarantine” sign on the door. Teo and I exchange a worried frown when another nurse emerges, stripping off her mask and gloves as she goes. She dumps the gear in a bright red receptacle beside the door, then sticks her hand under a wall-mounted sanitizer dispenser. Rubbing her hands briskly, she strides away.
“Should we be worried?” Teo nods at the red-signed door.
“I dunno.” I stick my hand under the dispenser for a glob of sanitizer. “But I’m not taking any chances. And I’m not touching anything.”
Slim’s door opens, and a big burly man in pink scrubs emerges. He’s wearing a pink cap over his curly hair, which is pulled back in a long ponytail. Tattoos cover the right side of his neck, delicate swirls I itch to get a better look at. His mask is pulled down over his beard, and he gives us that bro-dude chin jerk that means “hey.”
“Can we go in?” Teo asks.
The nurse pivots on his heel and raps his knuckles against the door before pushing it wider. “Slim, my man, you got visitors. You decent?” Apparently reassured by the soft response, he swings it open and then strides away.
A curtain blocking our view of the bed billows in response to the door’s movement. A hand grabs the edge and pulls it aside with a rattle of metal rings, revealing Reece’s drawn face. His gaze lands on Teo, and he smiles tightly. Then he sees me, and the smile softens.
Teo extends a hand to Reece, then gives him one of those manly half-hugs that includes loud back thumping. “How’s Slim?”
Reece takes a step back, hitting the wall behind him and jostling the rolling table parked there. He sweeps a hand toward the foot of the bed, visible beyond the partially drawn curtain. “See for yourself. He’s awake.”
Teo’s eyes flick to me, then down to the drink holder. He takes the cardboard carrier from my hand and scoots between Reece and the foot of the bed, leaving us on the outside of the curtain, alone.
I stare at Reece, my joy in seeing him again tempered by the circumstances. “You okay?”
He draws in a deep breath and lets out a shuddering sigh. “I am now.”
I lurch forward and throw my arms around him in my best Hans-style hug. We stand there for a long moment, bodies pressed together, giving and seeking comfort in the solid pressure. I bury my face against his neck, breathing in that unique combination of citrus, fir, and Reece.
Pulling back, but not letting go, I meet his eyes. “What happened?”
Reece smiles ruefully. “He climbed on the stepladder to pull down the tape on the vaulted ceiling in the office.” He releases me to mime a ladder slipping and an arm-flailing fall. “Mum and I didn’t hear it because we were in the garage. Those logs really insulate sound. He has a family history of heart issues, so the chest pain meant we called an ambulance… Turns out he broke a couple of ribs in the fall.” He casts a fond but dismayed look at the curtain as he pulls it away.
“A heart-attack could have caused the fall,” Fiona says with a frown. “Or a mini stroke. Or just vertigo. They’re doing tests.”
“I fell because I’m a darn fool and lost my balance.” Looking small amid the white sheets, Slim reaches a hand to me. “There’s my favorite assistant.”
Reece huffs out a laugh. “Favorite? You barely worked with her!”
“She’s that good.” He takes my hand, his grip weak but steady, and tugs me closer. His voice drops. “Thanks for coming.”
I kiss his cheek and straighten. “Always. There’s tea and coffee…” I squeeze Slim’s fingers. “But not for you, I’m afraid.”
“You aren’t my favorite anymore.”
“Slim!” Fiona stops wrestling her cup out of the holder to cast an evil eye on her husband. “She’s looking out for your health.”
“And avoiding the hospital jail cell,” I add. “I’ve heard they lock you up if you bring contraband to the patients.”
Teo shakes his head as Fiona giggles. Reece’s lips twitch in that almost-smile that has become my most coveted reaction. I smirk at him, then turn back to Slim. “I’ll bring you coffee when you’re better.”
“I thought you were going home?” His soft question cuts through the levity in the room. All three Turners focus on me, the weight of their collective gazes heavy on my shoulders.
“I—” I glance at Teo and think back to our conversation at the football game. About how he worked with the palace to get all the things I thought I could only achieve by going out on my own. Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to realize going solo isn’t the same as being independent. That accepting help from family and friends—even family you don’t like so much—can get you a lot farther than trying to accomplish everything by yourself.
The realization that accepting help isn’t a weakness but a strength hits like a blinding light. I blink in the aftermath, stunned to see everyone still looking at me. What felt like years’ worth of self-discovery appears to have happened in the blink of an eye. Maybe that’s how revelations normally happen, but I haven’t experienced enough to really know.
“Andi?” Reece takes a tentative step closer to me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m… good, actually.” I bite my lip as I look at Reece’s beloved face. Then I take a deep breath and turn back to Slim. “Yes. If you’re out of the woods, I need to go home. I have some fences to mend. But I’ll be back.”
“I was never in the woods,” Slim grouses. “I fell off a ladder. It happens.”
I pat his shoulder. “It doesn’t have to. And if you’re going to keep climbing on them, maybe we should get you one of those alert buttons.” I make a squeezing motion.
“Help, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” Fiona says in a quavery voice.
Slim scowls, but a snort of laughter sneaks out. “Not gonna happen.”
“Then how about you carry your cell phone instead of leaving it in the charger. So you can text a voice message.” Reece pulls out his phone. “And maybe don’t use a ladder unless someone is within yelling distance.” He demonstrates the voice-to-text feature.
“It hurt to yell.” Slim pushes Reece’s phone away and winces in pain. “I’d rather have one of those fancy watches.”
“Deal. I’ll get you a smart watch.” Reece pats his father’s arm, then looks at me. “When do you leave?”
I glance at my own “fancy” watch. “In about six hours.”
“What are you doing here?” Slim asks querulously, tugging the sheet up his chest. “I should be sleeping anyway.”
“I needed to make sure you were—all—okay.” I jerk my head at Fiona and Reece. “Someone has to watch out for them while you’re indisposed.”
Slim grunts, but his eyes twinkle tiredly. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep ‘em in line.”
Fiona squeezes past her son and comes around the end of the bed. “Thank you so much for checking on him, but you two have a big day tomorrow. Reece, darling, why don’t you walk your friends out.” She gives me a swift hug, then offers Teo one as well. To my surprise, he accepts.
I lean over the bed to kiss Slim’s cheek again and whisper in his ear. “You behave yourself. I’ll see you when I get back.”
His hand clamps around my wrist and he holds tight until I pull back and meet his gaze. Then he nods. “You make sure you come back.” His eyes dart to Reece and back to me. “We need you.”
I pat his fingers and gently move his hand back to the bed. “You can count on it.”
“Sorry about that,” Reece says as he, Teo, and I head toward the elevator. “My parents really like you.”
I smile and look away. “I like them too.”
We ride down the elevator in silence. When we reach the emergency room doors, Teo stops. He looks at Reece for a long moment, then gives him another one of those manly embraces. After a second, he breaks away. “I’ll go get the car.”
“What did he say?” I ask as the automatic glass doors close behind him, leaving us alone in the lobby.
“Say?” Reece looks everywhere but me. “What makes you think he said anything?”
“I’m not deaf. He whispered something.” My nose wrinkles. Probably “stay away from my sister.”
“If he wanted you to hear it, he would have said it out loud.” Reece’s lips twitch at the corners, and the almost-smile sets my heart alight. “Actually, he just said, ‘take care, man. See you soon.’ Not everything is about you.”
That surprises a laugh from me. “I guess not.” I drink in his face, as if I need to memorize and paint it on my heart to keep him close while I’m away. Taking a deep breath, I blurt out, “I’ll miss you.”
His lips curve in a true smile, and he reaches out to touch my cheek, his fingers feather-light against my skin, sending a tremor through me. “Me, too. When are you coming back?”
I swallow. “I don’t know. It depends on the bureaucracy. I have to apply for a visa—and have a reason that they’ll approve.”
“We could still get married.” He winces as he says it and lifts both hands. “No, sorry. I was being flippant. Not that I wouldn’t want to marry you, but?—”
I swallow the irrational lump of dismay. Reaching up, I put my hand to his mouth. Ignoring the zing of electricity as his lips touch my fingers, I shake my head. “Stop. I’m not marrying anyone to get a green card. I’m pretty sure the Grand Duchess would figure out a way to stop it anyway. She claims to have disowned me, but she’s not going to let me do anything that will tarnish the family’s reputation.”
His lips curve under my touch, more than his usual grumpy twitch, and my heart sings. Even feeling rejected by his weird non-proposal, making Reece smile makes my day. The automatic doors slide open, startling me, and I yank my hand away.
When I turn, no one enters, but Teo’s car stands outside the building. Did he see me caressing Reece’s lips? I flush and put my back to him. “I guess I’ll see you when I get back?”
He nods jerkily then lurches forward and grabs me in a tight hug. His lips tickle my ear as he whispers, “I’ll be waiting.” Then he releases me and hurries back into the hospital.