Adams Grove 03-Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes (17 page)

Carolanne glanced at Connor for encouragement.

“I’ll be right here,” he said.

“Thanks.” She gave his hand one last squeeze, then walked in the room. She stepped around the corner toward the bed. “Hi, Dad.” He looked like an old man, lying there in the hospital bed in the loose blue-and-white gown. The bruising on his head was already turning colors. If she hadn’t known it was him, she might not have even recognized him. “Oh goodness. That’s got to hurt.”

Ben opened his eyes and raised a hand to the bulky bandage on his head. “I think I’m better than I look.”

His nose had a bandage across it, too, and there was a supersize gash on the side of his face that looked like it had been laced up like a football.

Carolanne wasn’t sure why she felt so relieved—he looked awful—but after seeing the car, she had feared the worst. She
edged closer to the bed. “Dad, I was so afraid. Your car…it’s…It has to be a total loss.” She swallowed a sob that rose in her throat. “What happened?”

“My mind was somewhere else. I didn’t see the dog on the side of the road until he ran into my lane. My knee-jerk reaction was to yank the wheel to the right to miss him—and yes, I know better, but you know how I love dogs. I couldn’t hit him. Last I saw, the dog was racing across the traffic into the median, then wham! Next thing I knew, I was here.”

“Thank God you’re OK. You look pretty bad, but you still look better than your car. You could’ve been killed.”

He patted her hand. “Don’t be so dramatic. I’m going to be around a long time. Only the good die young and I’ve got lots to make up for. I hope that dog is OK.”

She could see the kindness in the eyes of the man whom Momma had fallen in love with. “Thank goodness you’re OK.” She looked closer at the wound on his face. “How many stitches?”

“All of them,” he said.

“Looks like a lot. Are there stitches under that bandage, too?”

“Several. They wanted to wait for a plastic surgeon, but I told them, at my age, that was just a waste.” He reached for her hand. “Hey, your hands are shaking. I’m OK. Calm down, Carolanne.”

“You gave me a heck of a scare.” Even now, knowing he’d be OK, she couldn’t shake that feeling.

“Quit staring at my head like that. You’re making me feel weird.”

“I’ll try, but it’s kind of hard not to look at it.”

He chuckled, but it was clear it hurt when he did. “Let’s talk about something happier, like how beautiful you looked today.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. “It was a beautiful wedding.”

“Garrett and Jill will have a good life together. They are good people.”

“The best,” Carolanne agreed.

“I hope I’ll be around to see you walk down that aisle someday,” he said.

The faraway look in his eyes made her think of the pictures that once graced the end table in the living room when she was growing up.

“You’ll be a beautiful bride. Like your mother. I’ll never forget the way she looked that day. One of the best days of my life.” He smiled, and his green eyes, like her own, sparkled.

“I was surprised you left the reception so early.”
If you hadn’t, would you be here? Would you have nearly been…

He lowered his eyes, then looked back up. “It was a hard day for me, Carolanne.” He licked his dry lips. “You, looking beautiful, like your momma. The wedding. The open bar. It just didn’t seem like a good place for me to be. I thought it was better I skedaddle before I made a mistake. See how that worked out for me?”

Her throat threatened to close completely.
How could I not have considered that before?
“I didn’t even—”

“It’s OK. It’s not your problem to deal with. It was a happy occasion.”

But it is. I’m your daughter. If anyone should understand, it should’ve been me.

“Wipe that look off your face—it might stick that way.”

She smiled. He’d said that a million times when she was a little girl, and it always made her laugh.

Connor knocked on the doorjamb. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Ben lifted his chin. “Come on in, Connor. I didn’t know you were out there.”

“He drove me here,” Carolanne said.

“He’s another good man,” Ben said softly.

I know.

“Good waste of a brand-new battery on the side of the road up on Route 58, I hear. Some people will do anything to get a new car.”

“That Pontiac has been a good car. I don’t have any plans on retiring her.”

“Oh, it’s a total. There’s no way they’ll ever be able to fix it,” Carolanne said.

Ben looked disappointed. “That bad?” He looked to Connor for confirmation.

“Oh yeah,” Connor nodded. “It’s a total.”

“I guess I’ll have to call Glenn down at Farm Bureau. They’ll give me a rental while we work it all out.” Ben looked around the room. “Is there a phone in here? I should probably do that now.”

Carolanne pulled her hands up on her hips. “Not in the ER. You’re not even in a regular room yet, and I’d bet that you’re not going to be going anywhere anytime soon to need a car, anyway. I’ll call Glenn for you when I get home.”

Connor said, “It’s a small town. He’s probably already heard and started the paperwork.”

“True,” Ben said. “But yes, Carolanne, if you’d call, that would be helpful.”

“I’ll take care of it. I’m a lot less worried about that car than I am about you.”

“I’m fine. Really,” he said.

“You always say that.” She glanced over at Connor. “You men always say you’re fine. You could have a limb severed and swear you were fine. It’s OK to be sick or hurt, you know.”

Ben looked to Connor, and they both rolled their eyes.

“Y’all can make fun of me if you want, but you know I’m right.”

“They’re going to put me in a room as soon as they have one ready. I told them as hardheaded as I am, there’s nothing that can put me out of commission, but they wouldn’t hear of sending me
home tonight. At least I’ll get a nice big breakfast in the morning that I don’t have to cook.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Carolanne was relieved they weren’t sending him home, since he’d be alone—or would he? She wondered if Gina knew about the accident. There was that feeling again.
What else don’t I know about you?

The nurse in the navy blue scrubs walked in. “That’s exactly how we feel about things around here. We’ll err on the side of caution.” She smiled. “Mr. Baxter, we’ve got your room ready.”

Moving him into a room was another sign that her dad was going to be OK.

“Is there anything you need us to bring you from your house?”

“I could use…” Ben started, but then stopped and shook his adamantly. “No. Nothing. I’ll be out of here tomorrow. I don’t need a thing, except maybe a ride home tomorrow, if you don’t mind.”

Afraid I’ll bump into your friend, Dad? What’s going on with that girl staying there?
“We don’t mind running by your house if you need something. Are you sure?”
Will he tell me?

“I’m positive. You two go do something nice in your dress-up clothes. I didn’t mean to add so much excitement to your day.”

Carolanne got ready to tell her Dad about the even bigger excitement of the day, but Connor must have read her mind, because he shook his head and gave her a wink. He was probably right. It was no time to tell Dad that his accident wasn’t the biggest surprise of the day. That would only worry him, and he could hear about that tomorrow. She’d just have to wait until then to approach the subject of his houseguest, too.

“Call me when they let you know when they’ll be releasing you. I’ll come right over.”

Ben’s eyes seemed glassy with tears. “Yes, I’ll call you. Thank you, honey.”

She reached down and gave him a hug. She didn’t want to let go. It may have been the first real hug she’d given him in years. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, little one.” He kissed her on the cheek, then looked up at Connor. “Take care of my little girl, Connor.”

“Yes, sir.” Connor walked out behind Carolanne.

As soon as they stepped out in the hall and past Ben’s door, Carolanne sprinted toward the exit.

Connor rushed to catch up with her. “Are you OK?”

She nodded. “Yes,” she managed through the tears. “Yes. I’m good. It’s all good.”

And Milly’s words echoed in her mind.
Your future will be as good as you let it be.

Chapter Fifteen

A restful night’s sleep must not have been in the cards for her because Carolanne hadn’t slept for more than an hour or two at a time before waking up to the image of her dad’s car in a heap on the side of the road.
A girl can only take so many of those dreams. Nightmares, really.
So she’d given up trying, and by seven fifteen, she was whisking down the halls of the hospital, determined to see how Dad had fared through the night.

She took the elevator to the third floor. Asking Dad how he was would be just plain useless. She knew the answer she’d get.
Fine.

At the nurse’s station, she stopped to get the real story. “Good morning. I’m Carolanne Baxter. My dad—”

“Good morning. I’ve been Mr. Ben’s nurse all night. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you. I’m Merry. He’s been chomping at the bit to get out of here.”

“Oh goodness, has he been a handful?”

The huge black nurse laughed in such a way that her stomach bounced, and it looked to Carolanne like the woman’s shiny cheeks bounced, too. “Oh, he did a lot of bellyaching about me
checking on him all night, but once I told him that torturing him was the favorite part of my job, we found a way to get along.”

Only took her one night to figure him out. Why has it taken me all these years?

The nurse patted Carolanne’s arm. “Your dad’s feeling pretty good, though. I knew he was feeling better when I went through my normal ‘What’s your name? Who’s the president?’ lines to check his brain function and he tore into me about politics. I swear he’d sat up the hour prior just trying to come up with something to get my goat.”

“I guess that’s a good sign,” she said, but really, she’d put so much distance between the two of them over the years she didn’t even know his views on politics—or most other things.

“Doc already made his rounds, but we don’t have the release papers yet.”

“I know I’m a little early for visiting hours, but do you mind if I go on in?”

“You’ll have to wait your turn. Someone’s already visiting with him.”

Gina?
She tried to hide her annoyance. “Who?”

“The sheriff, but when he leaves, he’s all yours.”

Why does the thought of that girl with my dad irk me so?
She tried to shake her attitude back into shape. “OK, thanks. I’ll just wait outside until they’re done.” Carolanne walked across the hall and stood outside his room.

Scott’s deep voice carried out into the quiet hallway as he asked her father questions. “You were at the artisan center until six o’clock on Friday night, but you didn’t work yesterday morning? Is that right?”

“No. Jill gave Mac the code to get in. He wasn’t sure what time he was bringing the cake over, so that seemed easiest. Is something wrong?”

“You were at the wedding. I saw you there. Were you leaving the reception when you wrecked?”

Her dad said, “No, I’d left earlier. I went to Penny’s Soda Shoppe to eat, then on my way home from there is when I wrecked.”

“Who else was at Penny’s?”

“Mac’s kid. That couple who bought the old house at the end of Abbey Road. Some tourists. Is something wrong? Why all the questions? This isn’t about my wreck, is it?”

She heard the rustle of papers and then Scott’s voice. “Have you ever seen this girl before?”

There was a pause and then her dad’s response. “Never seen her.”

Carolanne leaned closer to the door.

Ben’s voice shook. “What happened to her?”

“We found her in the pond behind the artisan center. She floated right up during the reception.”

“That’s awful. Carolanne was here last night. She didn’t mention it.”

She felt badly for not telling him herself, but it hadn’t seemed like the right time. She sure hoped he’d understand.

“Yeah. Well, I’m sure she was more worried about you. Not much we can do for this girl now. No one seems to know her. I’m talking to everyone with any connections to the artisan center as we collect evidence to see what we can piece together.”