by D. F. Jones
Baldric waited for a bolt of lightning to strike him for the words he’d prayed to the Almighty. He waited for a sign as he looked out over the lake, and a gentle rain began to pour over the dark, inky water. The Creator heard him and the sky wept.
Chapter 5
Addicted To Love
Sandy tossed and turned most of the night. She thought of all the males who had desired her and confessed their love for her. Three of those men had loved her. Rusty, her high school sweetheart, Brent her college beau, and last summer, Anna’s colleague, Frank. But she didn’t love them and had never cried over a man in her life.
But then again, Baldric wasn’t a man, was he? Sandy rolled over onto her stomach. Her clock radio on her nightstand gleamed 6:00 a.m. Good grief. She had the day off and couldn’t sleep. She was mad at Baldric not because he’d turned her down, but because he’d been sending her mixed signals since December. She’d never misinterpreted come-on signs before. Sandy placed the pillow over her face and screamed.
Sitting up in the bed, Sandy could smell Baldric’s heavenly scent. “Stop lurking in the shadows, and stop reading my mind. It’s not fair. I feel foolish enough.”
Baldric appeared at the corner of her bed. “I’m sorry. It was never my intention to hurt you. I can’t stand that you’re still crying.”
Sandy jumped out of bed and punched him in the arm. “If you tell anyone I cried over you—I swear I’ll never speak to you again. The last thing I want is pity from the other guardians, and we have another training session this evening.” The telephone started ringing, and she snapped into it angrily, “Hello.”
Art coughed in the phone and said, “Um, sorry, did I wake you? Hey, Cole made bail and so did everyone else. I wanted to warn you. Well, um, in case, they come for you. It’s front page news.”
Pissed off, she replied, “Well, ain’t that just jelly to my peanut butter? Thanks for the good news.” Sandy narrowed her eyes at Baldric and turned her back to him.
Art stammered, “Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?”
“Yeah. Sorry, I snapped. Hey, I’m heading to my parents’ house for a couple of days. I’ll talk to you when I get back.” Sandy hung up before Art said good-bye. The phone rang again. “Geez, Art, I said I was sorry.”
Sandy’s mom, Sally, cut her off, her voice broken up with sobs. “Sandy, your dad’s been in an accident. Please come to Everglade Hospital. Please hurry.”
Sandy’s chin began to tremble. “What? Dad? What happened, Mom?”
“Honey, I don’t know. The police came to the house and said he’d been in an accident. I’m in the waiting room now,” Sally replied between sniffles.
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in forty minutes.” Sandy hung up, ran to the bathroom, washed her face quickly, and brushed her teeth. She pulled her hair up, twisting and securing it with a clip. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a button-down before slipping on her boots and coat.
The phone rang again, and Sandy grabbed it, thinking it was her mom. “Mom, I’m heading out the door.”
“How does it feel to lose something?” Cole asked.
Sandy froze. “What are you referring to?”
With a sharp edge to his voice, Cole said, “Oh, I think you know what I’m referring to. You take from me. I take from you.” He hung up.
Sandy stood stock-still and listened to the dial tone before Baldric took the receiver from her hand.
Sandy had blinked a couple of times before she glanced up into Baldric’s eyes. “Cole’s responsible for Dad’s accident.”
Baldric held her hand and squeezed. “You need to go to the hospital. We’ll deal with Cole later.”
Sandy pulled out of the garage in less than five minutes. Barring any traffic on the interstate, she should make Everglade Hospital in thirty-five minutes. Sandy thought Cole would come for her, but the rotten sick bastard went for her dad. “Baldric, go to the hospital. Please be with my dad. I’ll be there soon.” Baldric nodded and vanished.
Driving like a bat out of hell, Sandy pulled into the parking lot of Everglade Hospital. She replayed her conversation with Cole at least a thousand times. She had tightness in her chest that was making it difficult to breathe. If her daddy died, it would be her fault. A mental image of her nine-year-old self pointed an accusing finger. Once again, Sandy’s actions had threatened to unravel her family.
Sandy bit her bottom lip and drew blood. The metallic coppery taste in her mouth made her open the car door and spit before she turned off the ignition. The police needed notifying about Cole’s phone call. Too bad she didn’t think fast enough to press play on her answering machine to record his call. However, Cole had people on his payroll with the police.
On second thought, Sandy would let the local sheriff’s department check her dad’s car. She’d trust her life to Sheriff Roy Robinson of Everglade. He would know what to do if any tampering had taken place with the vehicle. People in a small town took care of each other. It was a huge perk of living in a small town.
God, she wanted to kill Cole. You take from me. I take from you. Sandy blew out a deep breath. At a dead run from the parking lot, she entered the ER automatic doors and looked left into the waiting room.
Sandy nearly burst into tear seeing her buds, Anna and Jerry, Ruby and Reed, along with Lee and Harry. She glanced at the back of the room and spotted George and Brent. They were all in the waiting room. Anna and Ruby ran to Sandy and wrapped their arms around her. Sandy said, “Where’s Mom?”
Anna was in her scrubs. “I was on shift when he was brought in. Your mom’s with the attending physician. Sandy, prepare yourself. He doesn’t look good. We’ve brought in a neurosurgeon from Nashville to examine your dad to be on the safe side.”
Sandy felt numb like this was some horrible dream. It didn’t seem real. Brent caught her in his arms before she sank to the floor. He said, “I got you, sweet girl. Do you want to sit down?”
Sandy shook her head and said, “I want to see my daddy.”
Brent looked at Anna, and she nodded. Anna said, “The nurse station is expecting Sandy. Y’all follow me.”
Anna entered her passcode into the ER, and they walked through another set of automatic doors. The sterile hospital environment and the pungent antiseptic smell made Sandy reel with nausea.
Down the hall corridor, a few doors on the right, Anna stopped in front of a door and placed her hand on Sandy’s shoulder. “Be the strong person I know you are. Your mom needs your strength. I’ll be in the waiting room if you need me.” Anna brushed her hand down Brent’s arm. “Stay with her.”
“Not leaving my girl. No way, no how,” Brent replied.
Sandy heard Anna and Brent talking. She just didn’t register what they were saying as she walked into her dad’s room. Sandy wasn’t prepared to see her father’s severely swollen face, tubing running into every orifice, monitoring equipment. She overheard the hushed tones of a doctor speaking to her mom. It went over her head. Frightened and confused, Sandy stood in her dad’s room, not twenty-eight but nine.
Her rock, Baldric, leaned against the concrete wall. He crossed his arms over his chest. Telepathically, he said, I am with you, Daireann. Do not be afraid. She rapidly blinked the tears and swiped her eyes with her forearm.
Brent stroked her back gently. “You okay, Sandy? Do you need a chair?”
She held onto Brent’s arm for balance. The doctor speaking with her mom turned and said, “You must be Sandy. I’m Doctor Abnob. I was talking with your mother about your dad’s condition. He’s stable for the moment. He’s unconscious, but no coma. He has several fractures, and we’re monitoring the swelling on his brain. The good news is your father didn’t suffer any internal damage. The next twenty-four hours is critical, but I’m optimistic. He’s a healthy man, otherwise. I’ll be back to check on him soon. Please let the nurses know if you need anything.”
Yup, most of what the doctor said went right over her head, too. Her mom stepped over and wrapped
her arms around Sandy. Sally seemed suddenly old and frail, fragile. With tears in her eyes, Sandy said, “Mom, what happened?”
Sally rubbed her daughter’s arm and patted her hand, almost absentmindedly. “Sheriff Robinson left a little while ago. Dad’s brake lines were cut. Someone deliberately tried to hurt Daddy.”
Sandy let out a wail of grief. She staggered back, and Brent held onto her. Tears ran down her cheeks, and Sandy said, “It’s my fault, Mom. My story about Cole Steele did this. I have something belonging to Mr. Steele. He’s going to pay for hurting Dad. I swear it.”
Sally’s eyes met Sandy’s. “Darling, this isn’t your fault. You’re not responsible for the action of that man. You exposed the truth. You did the right thing. Mr. Steele is a horrible person. We need to call Sheriff Robinson, and he’ll investigate Mr. Steele. Don’t blame yourself for the wreck. I mean it, sweetie.”
Sandy’s gaze lifted to Baldric’s, and he nodded. She could barely look at him after her declaration of love and his gentle rejection.
Brent held her hand and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to run and get you girls some coffee. It’s going to be a long twenty-four hours.”
Sandy wouldn’t let go of Brent’s hand. He looked down at their hands and then back at her. He said, “What is it, honey?”
“No, Brent. Stay with Mom.” She turned and sent a telepathic message to Baldric. Get the guardians here, now.
Sandy ran out of the room, down the corridor, and out of the doors until she made it to the waiting room. Her friends sat at a white laminate table near the vending machines in the rear of the room. Sandy rushed to them and turned to Anna. “I need your powers, Anna. Please, you can heal Dad. I know you can.” She turned to Ruby, Reed, and Jerry. “I need y’all to come with me to Dad’s room. Our powers have to be good for something, right? Well, let’s get the lead out and heal my daddy.”
Anna stood, followed by Ruby, Reed, Jerry, and George. Anna said, “We need the guardians. Raphael can faze the staff and any onlookers. I haven’t healed any major accidents in several months.”
Jerry circled her waist with his arm and said, “Just like riding a bike, dumpling.”
George frowned and said, “What the heck are y’all talking about? What guardians?”
Anna replied, “No time to explain, Georgie. You in or you out?”
George shrugged his shoulders with his palms upright. “I’m in.”
Baldric called the guardians of Campbell Ridge. Raphael cast an ethereal veil called a faze over the hospital staff and visitors close to the ER area where everyone gathered. The faze made everything appear normal.
Inside Hugh’s hospital room, Brent’s mouth dropped open as he grabbed the back of his neck, looking at the angels in apparent disbelief. Sally blinked her eyes as she nervously wrung her hands.
Sandy draped her arm around her mother’s shoulders. “Mom, we’re going to heal Dad. Do you trust me?” Sally nodded with a slight head shake. Sandy squeezed her mother’s shoulders with a hug. “Anna is a divine healer in addition to being Everglade’s best family doctor.”
Anna took control of the room. “I need the wards to grab hands and pray.” Anna turned and addressed the angels, and she said, “Guardians, please concentrate your energies toward my fingertips. Ralph will assist me.” The room began to hum with electricity. Anna had learned to control her healing power. She no longer knocked out the power grid or made wind tunnels during her healing sessions. However, not all injuries or illnesses could be healed by her touch.
Anna said, “Everyone pray as I lay hands on Mr. Cothran.” Raphael, Anna’s guardian, and master healer, started at Hugh’s feet as Anna placed her hands on the top of Hugh’s head. Anna and Ralph proceeded counter clockwise around Hugh’s bed, tracing his body with their fingertips.
Sandy prayed. Time stood still.
* * *
Outside the ER doors, the sun burned brightly against an azure sky. Sandy closed her eyes and allowed the sun to warm her face. Anna and Raphael healed most of her father’s injuries. The bruises remained, but he had opened his eyes. Her friends and guardians left Hugh’s room shortly after with hugs and kisses, and Seneca, Ruby’s guardian, cancelled the wards’ training session until the weekend.
The hospital staff and visitors remained unaware of the medical miracle. Dr. Abnob sent Hugh for more tests, trying to determine if radiology had mixed up the reports. Hugh would stay in the hospital for another day or two in a regular room for mere observation. Sally requested a cot for Hugh’s hospital room because she didn’t want to leave his side.
Sandy offered a silent prayer. Thank you. Thank you for the miracle.
Brent walked over to Sandy from the exit door. He gently traced the curve of her face with his forefinger. “What happened in the ICU? Did I see angels?”
Sandy briefly told Brent about the cave, the mysterious stones, and how each ward possessed divine supernatural powers. Brent gazed into her eyes and said, “How in the world did I not see how amazing you are? Sandy, I miss you. I miss us.”
Sandy held his hand. “Oh, Brent, I’m glad you were here for me today. I do miss you, truly I do, but my heart belongs to another.”
Brent tensed and took a step away from her. He tilted his head, and with a raised voice, he said, “Where in the hell was he today? Why wasn’t he here for you?”
At that moment, Baldric materialized beside Sandy. Brent’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding. Sandy, him? Surely not him.” Brent sized up Baldric.
Baldric spread his feet hip-width apart and golden sparkles like pixie dust released around Sandy. His wings released, his chest puffed out, and he let out a low growl.
Sandy gently touched Baldric’s forearm. “Baldric, please be gentle. Don’t hurt Brent. He didn’t know. It’s not his fault I’m in love with an angel.”
Baldric immobilized Brent into a trance. “I’m not going to hurt you, Brent. You’ll only remember good things about Sandy. You won’t remember anything about the wards’ powers or meeting the guardians today. You’re going to fall in love and have three kids, but it’s not, nor will it ever be, with Sandy. Are we cool, bro?” Brent nodded, and Baldric dematerialized, leaving Brent staring at Sandy, dumbfounded.
Brent glanced around the hospital property and scratched his cheek. He glanced up at the sky and then back at Sandy. “Um, glad your dad is okay, and it’s been good to see you again. I’m going to leave now.”
Sandy rushed to Brent and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. Take care of yourself.” Brent turned around and walked slowly into the parking lot.
Sandy watched Brent get into the car and leave. She prayed that Baldric’s memory wipe wouldn’t leave Brent with any long-term damage. Sandy noticed the angelic faze had worn off as she walked back into the hospital. People walked up and down the hospital corridors. Nothing seemed amiss. She stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor.
The time had come to talk to her father. Hugh nearly died today, and she didn’t want to live in the past anymore. Sandy had blamed her dad for bringing Ben Salinger into her life. She’d blamed her parents for not protecting her as a child. The pain and suffering had clouded her mind from the real love her family shared together.
Hugh sat up in the hospital bed holding Sally’s hand. Watching her parents, Sandy wondered why she had never noticed how much they loved each other before now.
With a little apprehension, he said, “Mom told me you wanted to talk?”
Sandy sat on the opposite side of the bed from her mother and gave her parents a little smile before pouring her soul out to them. For the first time, in nineteen years, Sandy expressed her grief, her pain, and her suffering from the child abuse she’d experienced.
Sandy purged the demons of pain and suffering from her soul. The light of love lit the room with a bastion of warmth. “I blamed myself. I blamed you. I was too young to understand what happ
ened to me and too stubborn to talk about it later in life. So I acted out as a teenager. I apologize for what I must’ve put you through during my wild and wooly youth. I can’t take back my actions, but I’ll promise, from this day forward, to try to be a better person. I love you both so much. Will you forgive me?”
Tears filled Hugh’s eyes as he opened his arms to Sandy. “Come here, baby girl. It was never your fault, and we love you, too.” Hugh hugged her, and Sandy broke out in a sob. Wiping the tears from her eyes, he said, “I blamed myself. I should’ve protected you, honey. I felt like I failed you as a father. I’m sorry I was hard on you as a teenager, but fear for your safety made me crazy. You make your mother and me very proud. Not just your career accomplishments, but you’re my beautiful daughter with a big, compassionate heart.”
Sandy pressed her face into her daddy’s neck. All the years of pain and bad memories had been washed away with love and forgiveness. She had finally let go of her past.
Chapter 6
All I Need Is a Miracle
Hours ticked by before Sandy left the hospital. She had spent hours talking with her parents like she’d never done before. Sandy’s spirit soared while she drove down Highway 99.
Everglade was a one-red-light town, but Sandy missed living here. She passed Anna’s Clinic and the Pharmacy with its old fashioned soda shop. Turning onto Concord Road, she drove by Ruby’s Everglade General Store. Several minutes later, Sandy found herself sitting in the St. Timothy’s Church parking lot. She stared at the beautiful old church with its old gray stone and high steeple that still chimed the bells every hour.
Growing up, Sandy had gone with her parents to every service. Pastor Logan was getting older, but his sermons of love and forgiveness gave her peace. He would get so emotional during his sermons that he’d cry.