Saving Forever - Part 4 (11 page)

Chapter 15

Morning came with another round of sex. Charity lay giggling in the bed after. “Do you think anyone can hear us downstairs?”

Elijah dropped back against his pillow. “I bloody hope not.” He cupped her breast in his warm hand. “Though we might need to soundproof this room with all your screaming.”

“I wasn’t screaming… was I?” She knew from his laughter that he had only been teasing her.  She thought she heard voices in the hall and sat up. “Do you hear something?”

Elijah cocked his head to the side. “No. Just your racing heart.”

“That’s yours, silly. Mine never went above sixty bpm’s.”

“Liar.” He grinned and tucked his hands behind his head. “What do you want to do today? Besides me, of course.”

“Coral reef snorkeling? Kangaroo watching?” She stood, enjoying the warm breeze from the window against her bare skin. “Anything that is completely New Zealand-ish.”

His eyes hungrily followed her as she moved about the room. “S-Sure.”

She turned and faced him, completely naked, hands on her hips. “I left all my clothes in the other room. All I have in here is my wedding dress and lingerie in the bathroom.”

His brows shot up. “You brought lingerie? Go put it on now.”

A sharp knock on their bedroom door made Charity jump. She dove back under the covers.

“Who is it?” Elijah stood and grabbed a pair of shorts, slipping them on as he walked to the door.

“Simon.”

Elijah shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Not a good time, Simon.”

“I know. But I need to speak to you a moment.”

Something in the tone of his voice caught Charity’s attention. It caught Elijah’s too. He walked, but his pace picked up as he went to the door, opened it and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Charity tried to hear what they were saying. Simon spoke in a low voice. She froze when she heard Elijah.

“Shit no! Just now?” His voice rose. “Is he downstairs?”

“On the way to the hospital.”

He? The only other male here was her father and Albert. Albert wouldn’t be here. He’d be with Mia at their place.

Her father!

Charity jumped out of the bed and rushed to Elijah’s dresser. She grabbed one of his tee shirts and threw it on. “What’s going on?” she demanded as she swung the door open.

The worried look on Simon and Elijah’s faces made her stomach drop. “What’s going on?” she repeated.

“Charity,” Simon began.

Elijah stopped him. “Go grab clothes from your room.” He pushed her in the direction, following her.

She tried to resist. Panic filled her lungs, making it hard to breathe. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Your father had to be rushed to the hospital. Julie’s with him.”

A gasp flew out of her mouth. “What?” She began running. She dressed in a skirt and tank top, throwing her hair in a ponytail as she came rushing out of the room. “What the hell happened?” she asked Simon who was still waiting by Elijah’s bedroom. Elijah must have gone back in to change.

“We’re pretty sure he had a heart attack.”

A what? “Impossible. He’s really fit.”

Simon’s face shifted from friend to doctor. “There could be other reasons that factor in. The stress from the court hearing, high cholesterol—”

She slapped at his hand as it reached to comfort her. “When did it happen?”

“This morning. We were in the kitchen. Julie was there with him. She shouted for me and Margaret called the ambulance. We were with him the whole time.”

Elijah came barging out of the room. “How was he? Responsive?”

They all moved quickly down the hall and stairs.

Simon ran his hand through his hair. “Julie said the two of them were sitting in the kitchen having coffee. He mentioned a tightness in his chest and was pale. When he began having trouble breathing he reached in his pocket for his aspirin and grabbed his chest before toppling over. He told Julie he was having a heart attack. That’s when Julie shouted for me. Scott managed to say he had a copy of his medical file in his room. I checked it. He must have run some tests before we left.” Simon looked at Charity. “Did he say anything to you?”

She shook her head, afraid to speak.

Elijah pushed open the front door and began running to the overhang outdoor garage. Simon and Charity followed. They hopped into a four door Mercedes and tore out of the driveway.

“You have his file here?” Elijah asked as he sped along the long drive and under the Rapt Bach sign.

“Julie took it with her when the paramedics arrived.”

“Why didn’t you get us sooner?” Charity asked. She knew the answer to the question but asked it anyways.

“I came as soon as I knew he was stable,” Simon replied quietly.

“Is he going to be alright?” Her eyes shot back and forth between the two men sitting in the front seat.

Elijah shot her a quick glance through the rearview mirror. “My guess is that he had an idea and the aspirin was probably nitroglycerin tablets. He probably figured he could take care of things when he got back from here.”

“He ignored it because of our wedding?” Charity covered her mouth with her hand.

“He’s going to be alright.” Elijah kept his eyes trained on the road.

“How bad was it?” She turned to Simon, determined to watch for any reaction in case he was trying to hide something.

Simon glanced at Elijah, which Charity didn’t miss. “He went down pretty fast. However he’s a fighter. That man doesn’t give up on anything. He knew what was happening and immediately told Julie to get his medical file and call nine-one-one. He wasn’t responsive when he left in the ambulance but that doesn’t mean…”

“He’s not dead.” Charity sat back against the rear seat and burst into tears. She didn’t want her dad to die. She had already lost her mom so it wouldn’t be fair if something happened to her dad. Something had happened. It was happening now and there was nothing she could do. “Drive faster, please,” she begged.

It seemed forever before the bright blue “H” symbol appeared on a sign ahead on the road. Elijah pulled in front of emergency and jumped out of the car. “Park it somewhere, Simon.” He and Charity rushed inside.

He went straight to the counter and pulled a doctor aside. A minute later the New Zealand doctor had all the information they needed and Elijah grabbed her hand to rush up to the next floor. Julie stood in the hallway by the elevator as they came barging through the stairway door.

“Hey! I was just coming down to try and find you guys.”

“How’s my dad?” Charity’s body trembled and she squeezed Elijah’s hand for support.

Julie hugged her tight. “He’s in surgery now.”

“Any update?” Elijah didn’t wait for her to reply, he headed straight for the nurse’s station, walked right into their lounge.

“I, uh, think I’ll wait here.” Charity wanted to follow him, but knew he would find out what he needed to because he was from here, and was a doctor. It wouldn’t surprise her if her husband found his way into the operating room and performed the procedure himself.

Julie led her to a small waiting room just to the right of the elevators. She made Charity a cup of black coffee. “Have you eaten?”

Charity took the coffee. “Is he going to be okay?”

Julie sat down beside her. “I think so. He flat lined in the ambulance but it was moments and he was right back. He knew what was happening. That’s important. He’s a doctor, surrounded by doctors. Everything that needed to be done, was done.”

Simon found them in the waiting room and a short while later, Margaret came in.

“Where is Elijah?” Charity asked as she paced back and forth inside the small waiting room.

Simon grinned. “Probably doing surgery on your father as we speak.”

Charity hoped so. At least then she knew her dad was in good hands. She tossed her empty coffee cup into the trash. “I cannot believe this.” She said it more to herself than to the others.

“He’s going to be okay,” Julie comforted her.

Charity shook her head. “This has been one hell of a year. When is this roller coaster ride going to stop? This stress is going to give me a heart attack. It’s ridiculous.”

Simon chuckled. “You could write a book and turn it into a trashy romance or soap opera.”

Julie punched him. “Not now, Simon.”

“What?” His eyebrows and hands went in the air.

He’s right,
Charity thought. She sat down beside Julie covering her face with both her hands. Maybe this was just a bad nightmare and she’d wake up any minute now.

She waited… and waited.

Chapter 16

Her father had a heart attack.

The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room. Charity tried to get as much as she could in by taking short, sharp breaths.

“Look at me,” Elijah said, his voice calm and in control. She hadn’t noticed him come in.

She turned to the sound of his voice and let her hands drop from her face.

“Breathe. Deep, slow breaths.”

She did as he told. The tightness in her chest loosened and the anxiety trying to explode inside her dissipated.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“Your father kicked ass. He’s going to be okay.” Elijah wore medical clothes.

“Did you do the surgery?” She knew it was her asking the question, but it sounded like someone else’s voice.

He nodded.

Simon yelled out, “Wahoo!”

“Can I see him?”

“Sure. He’s going to be a bit groggy. They are bringing him out of the recovery room into a private room now.”

“Is his heart okay?”

Elijah smiled. “With some cardiac rehabilitation when he gets back to New York. The man’s going to be fit as a fiddle.”

“Thank you.” Charity burst into tears and buried her face into Elijah’s chest. “Th-Thanks-s e-ev-vry-one.”

Elijah wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “He was asking for you.”

Charity stepped back and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “Can we go see him?”

He led her to his room while the others stayed back in the waiting room.

Her breath stuck in her throat when they went into his room.

He lay on the bed wrapped tight in flannel blankets. Wires, monitors, and oxygen snaked out from under the sheets and on his nose. He looked frail and older than his years on the gurney.

She hated seeing her strong, invincible dad like this. He was a fighter, not a tiny exhausted little man with pale skin and dishevelled hair. She reached over and tried to straighten the untidy bedhead hair. “He hates it messy.”

His eyes fluttered open from her touch. “Water, p-pl-please.”

She got him the Styrofoam cup off the bedside table. “There’s only ice in here,” she said to Elijah.

Elijah nodded. “That’s all he needs right now. Just an ice chip in his mouth.”

Her father shot Elijah a dirty look. “W-Wa-Water.”

Charity wanted to just grab him an ice-cold glass and feed it to him through a straw.

Elijah looked at her and shook his head, as if reading her thoughts. “Grab him a cloth, wet it and let him suck on that. It’ll help the parchedness in his mouth and throat.”

She did as he suggested and she smiled when it touched her dad’s lips and he eagerly tried to retrieve all the water from it. “How do you feel, Dad?” she asked him when he finally pushed the cloth away.

“Like a train crashed into my chest.” He smiled, his eyes still rolling from the anesthetic as he tried to focus. “Sixty-five years old and I’ve never been under the knife until today.”

“You gave us quite the scare.” Elijah checked his chart and made a few notes from off the monitors.

Her father smiled and closed his eyes. “Didn’t want Charity to get all the attention.”

She grinned, letting a giddy laugh escape. “Next time just say something. I think I’ve had enough surprises for one year.”

He reached for her hand. “You and me both, sweetie. You and me both. And Elijah too.”

A doctor from the hospital came in and chatted quietly with Elijah. He came over to Charity. “So you’re Doctor Thompson’s daughter?”

She nodded and held out her hand. “I’m Charity.”

“I’m Doctor Raphin.” He returned her handshake. “During the surgery Dr. Bennet mentioned he got married yesterday. He’s one lucky man.”

“Thanks. How’s my father doing?”

“He’s going to be fine. Give him a few days and make sure he relaxes the rest of the time he’s here. I believe Dr. Bennet said you were here for two weeks?”

“We are. My father only planned to stay a week but I’ll make sure he flies home with us.”

Dr. Raphin chuckled. “Good luck with that. I attended one of your father’s conferences last year in New York. He’s not that easily swayed.” He reached for his phone. “Sorry folks, surgery calls. I’ll check in again this afternoon. Congrats again on your wedding.”

He left and came back a short time later, while her father slept, with a Journal of Medicine in his hands. He handed it to Elijah and left again.

“What’s that for?”

Elijah tossed the journal on the bedside table. “I bribed the guy to let me operate. There’s an article by your dad in there, one of his first ones. The guy wants your dad to sign it.”

“Tell Raphin to get ten more. My dad’ll sign them all.”

They spent the afternoon in the hospital room and finally left just before dinner. It was her father pushing them to leave. He was grouchy, tired and sore. He said he just wanted to sleep.

Hand in hand, Elijah and Charity walked to the parking lot. “I don’t remember what we drove to the hospital in,” Charity murmured.

“My dad’s Mercedes. I think it’s blue. Or grey. Something dark.” Elijah hit the button to sound the horn. “I forgot to ask Simon where he parked it before they left with my mother.”

A horn sounded on the other side of the lot. They turned in the direction it came from.

Elijah put his arm around her shoulders. “How are you doing?”

“Shocked.” She leaned against his shoulder. “I’m mad he didn’t say anything. He obviously knew something was up and should have told us.”

“He’s a doctor. He probably figured he had everything covered.”

“He should have said something.” It wasn’t right for her to be mad at her dad. She knew it. However the anxiety built up from the day had to go somewhere. “He’s bloody lucky there were three other doctors in the house. If it had happened in his room… it could have been too late.” Her eyes filled at the realization. There was no way in hell she was going to lose her dad.

Elijah cleared his throat. “He wasn’t on his own last night.”

“I don’t mean during the wedding. I mean after.”

“So do I.”

It took a minute for his works and their unsaid meaning to sink in. “What did you just say?”

Elijah pointed to a car with lights flickering. “Found the car. My mom talked to me earlier today. She was a bit of a mess. She thought she had caused the attack.”

Charity stopped walking. His mother? Her dad? “Seriously? How old are they? You don’t just meet someone and hop in bed with them. I’m going to kill my dad tomorrow.”

Elijah laughed as he opened the car door for her. “I think that might be something he would prefer you didn’t know.”

“Him and me both.” She started giggling. She didn’t mean to but after everything, it seemed like the easiest thing to do. “Your mother must have been mortified this morning. I can’t believe she told you.”

Elijah pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ve never seen my mother nervous. Ever. It was pretty interesting, and mortifying at the same time. “That’s one image I am never going to be able to get out of my head for as long as I live.”

“It’s your fault you know.”

“Say what?”

“You joked about it last night. It’s like karma, or something.” Talking about last night brought images into her head of the two of them. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for saving my dad. I’ll have to think of a way to repay you.”

He glanced at her slyly from the corner of his eye. “I’m sure we can come up with something.”

Chapter 17

When they returned to the hospital at lunch the next day, Charity couldn’t believe the difference in her father.

He was sitting up in bed, the color back on his face and only an IV in his arm instead of all the other wires and tubes. He smiled when they came in. “Hey kids.”

Elijah went straight to the tablet on the wall that contained her father’s medical information. “Everything looks good, Scott.” He flipped through some screens. “Heart monitor is working and your heart appears to be acting like nothing happened.”

“Must be the surgeon. I heard the guy did an unbelievably good job.”

Elijah grinned but didn’t say anything.

Charity sat beside her dad on his bed. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Her father reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Me, too.” He stared at her a long time. Words seemed to pass between the two of them without needing to be spoken.

She understood he was trying to apologize. He blamed himself and she wanted to take it away. This wasn’t his fault. He took good care of himself. He was fit, he exercised, everything he was supposed to do. The stress and anxiety of the past months had built up. If she hadn’t been shot, if she…

She stopped her thoughts. He blamed himself, she blamed herself. It was the same cycle they always went through, except they used to blame each other instead of themselves. It had to stop.

“I’m keeping an eye on you when we get back to New York. I’m going to make unannounced trips to the hospital and your place to check up on you.” She kept going, refusing to let him interrupt her. “I’m not losing you. When we get back I’m going to your cardio rehabilitation with you and making sure you do all the exercises, everything.”

Her father chuckled. “Might be a bit hard to do from Atlanta.”

“I had my contract changed.” She ignored the “What?” that came from Elijah, but looked at him as well as she continued. “The contract’s been changed and I’ll be working from New York most of the time to finish up. I’ll keep my condo in Atlanta and fly down once or twice a month if needed but I can do most of the work from home.”

“It’ll be nice to have you around more.” Her father grinned, pride shining in his eyes. “You can work in my office whenever you want to.”

“You won’t be there for a bit so I might take you up on that.”

Her father looked confused a moment. His lips pressed in a tight line. “I’ll be back –”

“As soon as your cardiologist clears you.” Elijah folded his arms across his chest as he cut his father-in-law off.

Dr. Thompson looked back and forth between the two of them. “Fine.”

“Fine?” Charity didn’t believe he would give up so easy.

“Margaret mentioned this morning she would like to come to America. If Elijah’s at the hospital, then I can take her around.”

It took everything for Charity not to look at Elijah. She pressed her lips in a thin line to keep from laughing. Of all things. “I’ll talk to Margaret and see if she can wait a few weeks.”

Her father opened his mouth and then closed it. He obviously wasn’t ready to admit to anything.

Dr. Thompson spent a few more days in the hospital. Julie and Simon flew home the day he was discharged from the hospital. He didn’t argue when Charity told him she had changed his flight to return with her and Elijah. They spent most of the time at Rapt Bach, taking a few easy day trips with the four of them.

Charity cherished the time getting to know her father again. He seemed to have changed, or maybe it was the time in New Zealand and the hidden aura Rapt Bach seemed to possess. She didn’t know if things would change when he returned to New York.

She didn’t think it was possible, but she fell more deeply in love with Elijah. He talked about selling the house here and that this might be the last trip they made here. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t want him to sell it. It was something they would have to deal with eventually. Margaret hoped to move out in December. Charity asked her to come to New York for Christmas. The boys looked excited when Margaret agreed, especially her father, Charity noticed.

It amazed her how things were coming full circle. Her mother would have been proud… of all of them.