Beach Town (53 page)

Greer shrugged. “Who am I to judge? My dad wants to make it up to me now, for all the years he stayed away, but I don't know. Some part of me just won't let go and forgive him.”

“But you went to see him in the hospital. And you're out looking for him now, right? You wouldn't do all that if you didn't care about him, would you?”

“Maybe I just feel guilty for not feeling guilty about not loving him.” Greer chuckled. “You want to talk messed up? That's really messed up.”

Greer glanced down at the car's nav screen. According to it, they were still at least fifteen miles from Roberta. She hadn't seen another car on the road in at least twenty minutes. The pine trees closed the narrow two-lane ribbon of road in on both sides, and the black rain clouds blotted out the sun.

“Spooky, huh?” She pointed at one of the yellow
BEAR CROSSING
signs.

“Allie, take my phone and try calling Clint again, okay?” She handed over her phone again. “Look under Missed Calls.”

The teenager scrolled down the numbers and tapped the one she wanted, for Clint Hennessy. “Put it on speaker, okay?” Greer said.

The phone rang four times, and then went to voice mail.

Greer chewed the inside of her cheek. She felt so useless. “Okay, try it again. Let's just keep trying to call him. If nothing else, if he can hear the phone ringing, he'll know somebody's trying to find him.”

Allie did as she asked, and this time, when the automated “Leave a message” recording played, Greer took the phone.

“Clint? It's me. We're looking for you. I'm on the way to Roberta and I'm going to find you. So hang in there, okay? The police are looking too. Don't give up. We're going to find you.”

She tapped the Disconnect button. The GPS voice instructed her to turn in a quarter mile. Greer slowed the car and again peered through the window, looking for the crossing. Just as she was about to turn left, her phone rang, and she froze for a moment.

Allie picked the phone from the cup holder and held it up. “It's him!”

She pushed the Connect button and the Speaker button.

“Greer?” The voice was thin and muted, but it was definitely him.

“Clint, it's me. Where are you?”

“I … I don't know. I'm lost. I was going to see the jeep. I think I made a wrong turn somewhere.” His breathing was loud and raspy. “I pulled off the road, to turn around, but I hit something. A tree maybe. And when I tried to back up I got stuck in the gee-dee mud.”

“It's okay. We'll find you. Are you okay? Did you get hurt when you hit the tree?”

“The front bumper's messed up.”

“Are there any street signs around? Any houses, or businesses?”

“No, just gee-dee trees and mud.”

“Think, Clint. What was the last road you were on, before you made the wrong turn? Was it the state road?”

“Maybe. The one with the bear signs?”

“Right! I'm on the state road now, so I must be getting close to you.”

“I turned off that road, made a left and drove a ways, and then turned again. But I couldn't read the sign. I can't remember the name of it.”

“Okay. At the first turn you made, was there any kind of a landmark? Anything besides gee-dee trees?”

“A church. A white church with a white sign near the road. It had a big black cross on it.”

“I know that church!” Allie said. “It always has these funny sayings on the sign, like ‘Highway to Heaven' or ‘Prayers Answered Here.' We haven't passed it yet.”

“Okay, Clint. We think we know what road that is. Can you see anything at all, out the window of the Blazer?”

“No.” His voice sounded weaker, thready. “When I got stuck in the mud, I got out and tried to push. I think maybe I did something to my rib. It hurts real bad. Worse than before.”

Had he cracked another rib? Maybe punctured an organ? Greer was terrified he'd pass out … or worse.

“I've got an idea,” Allie whispered. “Mr. Hennessy? I'm Allie. I'm in the car with Greer. Is your phone an iPhone?”

“What? I guess it is. It has all these apps and buttons and things.”

“Okay. Does your phone have Siri?”

“Who?”

“Siri. It's like a helper app on your phone. You can tap it and ask it things like, ‘Where am I'?”

“Oh, her. Yeah, I got her,” Clint said.

“Well, if you hang up, you can ask Siri where you are and she'll give you a map, then you can call us back,” Allie said, her eyes shining with excitement.

“No,” Clint said. “I'm not hanging up. What if I can't get you again? Anyway, I can't see them little bitty maps on a phone.” He paused, and his breath got more labored. “I can't see much of anything anymore. I'm a stupid old fool. I ought never have tried to drive all the way over here by myself.”

Greer's phone beeped and showed an incoming call from Arnelle Bottoms. “Clint? I'm putting you on hold for a minute. The chief of police is calling me on the other line. I'm not hanging up, so don't get scared, okay?”

She clicked over to the call from the chief.

“Greer? They've got your dad's location and there's a unit from Magnolia County and an ambulance en route.”

“Thank God,” Greer said. “Can you give me directions? I've got him on the other line, but he's in pain and disoriented, and can't tell me much except that it's off the county road.”

“He's about a mile down Alligator Ridge, two miles east of Hawkins Store Road. If you get to Parker's Mill Road, you've gone too far.”

Greer turned to Allie. “Did you get all that?”

“Got it,” Allie said. “I think we're super close. Hawkins Store should be up here in a mile or two.”

Greer clicked back to Clint.

“Clint? I'm back.”

Nothing.

“Clint!” she hollered. “Can you hear me?”

She heard a muffled groan, then nothing else. But his phone was still connected.

“Hang on, Dad,” she hollered again. “I'm only two or three miles away. And the ambulance is on the way too.”

 

63

“Turn here,” Allie directed, pointing to a barely visible road marker. Greer made the turn, and two miles later Allie pointed out the sign for Alligator Ridge. Greer's heart was pounding. She kept looking in the rearview mirror, praying for flashing red or blue lights.

Allie was on the edge of her seat, her face almost touching the Kia's windshield. “I see a car up ahead,” she yelled. “See it, back in that bunch of trees?”

Greer leaned forward, too, straining her eyes to see what Allie saw. She turned on the Kia's bright lights and saw a flash of silver, and then red emergency flashers among a thicket of tall pine trees. She pulled on to the shoulder of the road, being careful not to leave the pavement. In a moment she and Allie were out of the Kia and running for the trees.

“I hear a siren,” Allie said, but Greer kept running. The Blazer was wedged between two pines, its rear tires mired in muck. She could see Clint's head lolling back against the headrest. His eyes were half open. She yanked the door open. “I'm here, Dad,” she said, touching his shoulder. “Right here.”

Allie was at her elbow. “I don't think you're supposed to move somebody if they've been in a wreck,” she said.

“I won't.” Greer kneeled down in the mud, reached in, and unfastened Clint's seat belt. She took his hand and squeezed it. He was cold, but she could feel a pulse. “Can you hear me, Dad? Squeeze my hand if you can.” His eyelids fluttered, and she felt the slightest pressure on her hand.

The siren was getting closer, and now they could see the flashing red light, followed by two sets of blue flashers.

“Here's the ambulance, Dad,” she said. “You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay.”

*   *   *

Greer and Allie stood a few yards away from the Blazer, huddled under an umbrella, watching while the medics worked on Clint. She'd filled them in on his recent medical history and the fact that he'd complained of pain after trying to free the car from the mud.

A red pickup pulled on to the shoulder of the road, followed by a black and white Cypress Key police cruiser. Eb climbed out, and Greer realized her knees were shaking with relief. He ran up and gathered both Greer and Allie into his arms.

“How's Clint?”

“They're working on him. They said he's in shock, and because he's having problems breathing, they think maybe he could have punctured his lung with the cracked rib,” Greer said. “He's also dehydrated, so they've started an IV, and I saw they've put an oxygen mask on him.”

Arnelle Bottoms walked up, greeted them, then went to consult with the EMTs and the sheriff's deputies.

One of the EMTs approached. “Okay, ma'am, we've got your dad stabilized and we're going to transport him to Magnolia General.”

“I want to go with you,” Greer said, stepping out from beneath the umbrella.

“No ma'am, I'm sorry, we can't do that. You're free to follow us there in your own vehicle.”

“Let's pull your car farther over on the shoulder, and then I'll take you to the hospital in the truck,” Eb said. “You're in no condition to drive.”

Arnelle Bottoms rejoined them. “They've called for a wrecker to get your dad's Blazer. I told them they might as well take it to the garage in Cypress Key, if that's okay with you.”

“Thanks,” Greer said. Arnelle looked over at Allie, who was standing close beside Eb. “Allie, how about I take you back to Cypress Key with me?”

“No!” Allie said. “I want to go to the hospital with Eb and Greer.”

“Not this time, kiddo,” Eb said gently. “We don't know how long it might be. Go on home and fill Ginny in on what's going on. I haven't had time to update her.”

Allie gave Greer a pleading look.

“You are an absolute goddess rock star,” Greer said. “I never would have found Clint if you hadn't been in the car. You kept calm and kept me from freaking all the way out. But I agree with Eb. Go home and get some dry clothes. I promise we'll call you as soon as we know something.”

“You better,” Allie said. She turned to follow the chief to her car, then came back and hugged Greer tightly. “He's gonna be okay. I just know it.”

The ambulance slowly backed out of the woods. Greer was shivering violently. Eb closed his arms around her. “Come on,” he said. “I've got a blanket in the truck.”

 

64

Greer sat hunched over in the plastic chair, her eyes roaming the small waiting room, always returning to the nurse behind the front desk. They'd been sitting in the emergency room for over an hour.

Eb took Greer's hand and held it, but she was too nervous to sit still for long.

She jumped up and returned to the desk again. “Any word yet on my father?”

The clerk shook her head. “They'll call up here when they know something. They were taking him back to X-ray and then to do a CT scan. It might take a little while.”

Eb tugged at her hand. “Come on, let them do their job. Let's go get some coffee.”

“You go. I need to stay here in case there's any news.” She sat back down, facing the desk.

He didn't actually want coffee. He just wanted to find a way to distract Greer. She'd been like a caged animal since arriving at the hospital, pacing back and forth, questioning the polite but beleaguered nurses and clerks.

“What about some fresh air? It's stopped raining. I'll tell the clerk we'll be outside if there's any news.”

Greer shook her head. “I just … can't…” Her voice broke.

Eb put an arm around her shoulder. “I know it's scary.”

“This is my fault. I should never have left him at his house. Clint was in no shape to be alone. But he was so damn needy! It felt like these tentacles were reaching out, suffocating me. You should have seen him, Eb. Showing me their wedding picture, talking about what songs he used to sing me to sleep with. He didn't even know any lullabies. What kind of father doesn't know ‘Rock-a-Bye Baby'?”

He shrugged, knowing it was useless to tell her everything wasn't her fault.

“This is why I didn't want to see him again. Why I didn't want to get involved with you. It's why I ran away. It's probably why he ran away from Lise and me.”

She pounded the arm of the vinyl chair and gestured around the room. “Dammit. I don't want this. Sitting in an emergency room waiting for bad news? I've had my fill of this, after Lise.”

“What do you want?” Eb asked quietly.

“I want to be like I used to be.”

“And how was that?”

“I was happy, okay? I could take a job and go anyplace I wanted, and not have to answer to anybody. I was good at what I did.”

“You were happy?” Eb looked dubious. “I thought you told me you hadn't had a relationship in two years. And we both know how things worked out with Sawyer the lawyer.”

“I meant besides that.”

Eb pointed to the ER entryway. “You can have your old life back, if you want it that much. Go on. There's the door. I'll stay here and see about Clint. Go on, Greer. Really. Take my truck. Go back to your job.”

Her face flushed and she shook her head. “I can't. Bryce fired me because I didn't show up for the shoot today.”

“Why didn't you go?”

She stared at him. “You know why.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Clint was missing. All I could think about was that he was in a ditch somewhere in that swamp. I had to find him. You can't walk away and leave an old man. Who would do that?”

“Jared would probably do it,” Eb said quietly. “Vanessa would, too. But you couldn't.” He took both her hands in his. “Bad news, kid. You love that old man in there. And he loves you. I think you're stuck with each other.”