by Juniper Hart
Guilt flooded through her as she glanced at her father: he sat in his old rocking chair, his eyes vacant as he stared indifferently into the Bayou Bernard.
“What happened?” Betty asked, her heart racing as she recognized the chagrin on her fifteen-year-old sister’s face.
“He hasn’t said a word all day,” Lacy whispered while Betty set her bag down on the rotting porch. “Betty, he’s getting worse by the minute.”
The fear was evident in Lacy’s mossy eyes, and Betty swallowed a lump of worry forming in her throat.
“Where is Tom?” she asked. Lacy shifted her eyes downward.
“I don’t know,” she replied, but Betty could tell she was lying.
I can’t take one day to myself, she thought mournfully, the shame almost smothering her. And Tom has disappeared again. How often does this happen when I’m away at school?
Despite not wanting to admit it, she had the feeling she already knew the answer.
“Betty, he needs a good doctor,” Lacy whispered. “He barely eats, even when he is coherent. If he keeps up like this…”
She trailed off, though Betty didn’t need her to continue to understand the implication in her words.
Their father, Charlie, was undeniably getting worse, but there was no money to find him decent care.
“I will call on Doc,” Betty assured Lacy, but her sister only scowled.
“Pa needs something better than a third-rate bayou doctor!” she snapped with uncharacteristic anger. “It’s all he’s had, and he’s clearly not improving!”
Although Betty knew Lacy’s concern was justified, there was little she could say to alleviate her sister’s angst. After all, there was only one solution to the problem, and it wasn’t a good one.
If I leave school and stay home, that will be three honor years flushed down the toilet, Betty thought grimly. As she knelt beside her ailing father, though, her heart in her throat, she realized that their options were few.
“Dad?” she said gently, touching his face. “Dad, it’s Betty. Can you hear me?”
There was no response, and she gnawed on her lower lip as he continued to fixate on the murky waters beyond, like he could see something she could not. A fine line of drool began to form at the corner of his mouth.
“I told you,” Lacy sighed. “He’s been like this all day!”
Betty rose slowly and hung her head.
“I’m going for Doc,” she informed her sister. “I’ll be right back.”
She scurried off toward town before Lacy could argue, more contrition flowing through her as she left her sister alone for the second time that day.
If Tom would only pull his weight…
But it was wishful thinking. Tom had always been selfish, using the house as a hotel and helping little with the care of their father. He would sooner spend the few dollars he earned on beer than helping his family.
If Betty had not been such a stellar student, she would have been trapped in the bayou with her siblings, but her excellent grades and perseverance had ensured her a full scholarship to college.
Who would have thought that a girl from the bayou would be so close to graduating with honors?
If only Dad would hang in there for one more school year.
When I graduate, she vowed to herself, I will get a good job and move us out of here. I will be able to afford proper health insurance, and we will finally be able to properly care for Dad.
The plan suddenly seemed impossible. Charlie’s time was running out, and so were Betty’s options.
She approached the modest house of her father’s doctor, and when the old man saw her through the window, he stepped out the door, grinning disarmingly through his wrinkled face.
“Heya, Betty!” Doc called. “I’m surprised to see ya out of your apron.”
Betty offered him a weak smile.
“I’m not working today,” she replied, and he arched a bushy eyebrow.
“Well, heavens abound! They gave you a day off! Who knew them owners had a heart?”
“Doc, I hate to ask this of you,” she started, and his face lost his jovial expression.
Betty didn’t need to offer any further explanation—her face told him everything he needed to know.
“I’ll grab my bag,” the retired country doctor told her, walking back inside his home. Betty nodded gratefully and waited for him to return. “We’ll take my truck,” he told her, and she didn’t argue, jumping into the passenger side.
“I’m sorry we keep imposing on you,” she murmured, and Doc snorted.
“Your family’s been my patients since the dawn of time, it seems,” he said, backing the old Ford out of the carport. “You ain’t imposing.”
Betty didn’t know how to respond. She was certain that the man would rather spend his golden years bowling and drinking bourbon, not jumping every time Charlie slipped into a catatonic state. Especially when he wouldn’t take a single dime for his efforts.
They continued the short drive in silence, but Betty could tell what the doctor was thinking.
When they arrived back at her home, Tom had appeared, and he stood scowling on the porch, his arms folded across his chest.
“Where have you been?” Betty snapped, eyeing him with anger as she climbed down the truck.
Her brother sneered at her. “I could ask the same of you!” he growled. “You leave Lacy here alone to deal with Dad in this state?”
Betty gritted her teeth, willing herself not to respond. There was no point in starting a debate with Tom.
“Heya, Charlie!” Doc called as he crouched at her father’s side. Charlie hadn’t moved from his position on the porch. “How ya doing, old man?”
Of course, their father did not respond, and Doc checked his eyes, a slight grimace appearing on his face.
Betty could see that the prognosis was not going to be good.
The siblings stood back and waited as Doc continued to check Charlie’s vitals. When he finished, he rose to his feet, and Betty could almost hear him creaking as he did.
“Betty, why don’t you come with me?” Doc instructed, and they nervously entered the house with Lacy following behind. Once they were inside, the old man spoke again. “Honey, there ain’t no good way to tell ya this… But I think your father has had another stroke. He’s gonna need a hospital.”
Lacy gasped, and Betty felt her knees grow weak.
“I’m gonna take him with me now,” he went on. “But from what I can see, things don’t look good.”
“Are you saying Dad is going to die?” Lacy cried as Tom turned away, his jaw locking.
Doc sighed. “I don’t know how much damage has been done, honey, but he is gonna need better care than this, for certain. Come on, Tom. You can help me get him into the truck.”
The men exited the tiny house, leaving the sisters to stare at one another in horror.
“Oh, Betty,” Lacy moaned, tears springing to her eyes anew. “What are we gonna do?”
“Shh,” Betty replied softly, pulling her into a hug. “We will find a way to care for him.”
But as the girls embraced, Betty knew that her college life was over. There was no way she could leave her siblings alone while their father seemed to be running out of time faster than he had been before.
The three siblings paced around the hospital reception, waiting for news on Charlie, but Betty felt as if she was falling into a deeper abyss of concern the more hours ticked by.
“I will drop out of school and stay home full time,” Lacy muttered. Betty immediately bristled.
“You will do no such thing!” she snapped. “You need to get your education.”
“How are we going to do this, Betty?” Lacy bemoaned, tears filling her green eyes. “And what if he dies—”
“Don’t say that!” Betty insisted. “He is not going to die. We are getting him the help he needs.”
She only hoped that they weren’t too late.
“But if he does, Betty,” Lac
y went on, “we won’t have enough money to pay for any of the expenses of a funeral—”
“Stop!” Tom roared. “Just stop talking!”
Betty glared at her older brother.
“Hey, Tom, why don’t you go get us some coffee?” she suggested coldly, noting the look of anguish on her sister’s face.
Tom scowled at her. “Gladly,” he agreed. “Anything to stop listening to this blathering.”
He stormed off down the hallway toward the cafeteria, and Betty offered her sister a smile.
“I will continue to work at the restaurant and flower shop,” she reassured. “We can split shifts caring for Dad when you’re not in school.”
Lacy gaped at her. “But Betty, you can’t just give up on college! You’re almost done, and you’d be the first of our family to—”
“Hush, now,” Betty interrupted. “I can always go back and finish earning my degree when Dad’s better.”
She just hoped there was more conviction in her voice than she felt. She knew the chances of her returning to college after dropping out were slim, and she would probably end up rotting away in the bayou like all of her family’s generations had before her, but what other choice did she have? She could not depend on Tom to do anything for Charlie, and there was no way she was leaving Lacy to care for their sick father alone.
And family comes first.
“Oh!” Lacy gasped. “There’s the doctor!”
Betty whirled, and her mouth dropped open. The doctor, whose nametag read Dr. Chalmers, stared at her, an equally shocked expression on his face.
“Betty!” Hayden cried, and a hot blush colored Betty’s cheeks as she recognized the handsome stranger from the beach.
Not only is he gorgeous, he’s a doctor, she thought. He’s Dad’s doctor. I am so glad I didn’t have him drive me home to the bayou.
“Hi,” she mumbled as Lacy cast her a sidelong look.
“You know one another?” she asked.
“I’m Dr. Hayden Chalmers,” he said, turning to Lacy to offer his hand for a shake. “I met Betty—”
“Never mind that,” Betty quickly interrupted, trying to hide her crimson cheeks behind stray strands of her strawberry blonde hair. “How is he?”
Hayden sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid Dr. Kissinger was right: your father had another stroke. There seems to be severe brain damage, and he is going to need round-the-clock attention.”
The words drove knives into Betty’s heart, but she nodded. She hadn’t really expected to hear anything else.
“Of course,” she muttered. “We will see that he gets it.”
But Hayden shook his head.
“No, Betty, I don’t think you understand,” he said slowly, and his tone filled Betty with dread. “He is going to need full time professional care. This is not something that you can provide yourself.”
A wave of dizziness washed through her, but she fought to maintain a stoic expression on her face, even as Lacy broke into small sobs.
“I understand,” she said dully. “Thank you, doctor.”
She turned away.
“Betty,” Hayden called. but she started toward the exit, knowing that she was about to explode into a sea of tears. She rushed to the door, her pulse racing wildly in her throat.
Everything she had worked toward, the school, the jobs, the sense of normalcy… all gone with the words of a handsome doctor. She had to stay and work for Charlie’s hospital bills, hopefully even put some money away for Lacy’s school. And the worst part of it was losing her father. Would he ever be normal again?
One of us has to succeed and get us out of the swamp, she thought. It has to be Lacy. It was too late for Tom, and it was about to be too late for her. The least she could do was help Lacy do what she could not.
Betty closed her eyes and allowed the tears to make their way down her cheeks, falling back against the wall to let the sorrow overwhelm her.
When she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, she was not surprised. Somehow, she had known Hayden would follow her.
Despite the fact that he was a stranger, his presence calmed her greatly, and she was again overcome by the feeling that she had known him in a previous life, even though she did not believe such stupidities.
“I’m sorry,” Betty mumbled. “I just needed a minute.”
“That’s understandable,” Hayden replied. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m here if you need me.”
She hastily wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and stared at him. “What are you doing here? I just left you at the beach.”
“Maybe it’s fate,” Hayden answered with a wry smile, pushing a strand of hair away from her wet cheek. He offered his hand to her, and Betty took it, allowing him to lead her outside toward an empty ambulance that sat in the emergency bay.
“I got called in specifically for your father’s case,” Hayden explained as Betty took a seat in the back of the vehicle. He climbed in after her and studied her face. “I’m a neurologist, and your father suffered quite a bit of brain damage. This is not his first stroke, Betty. He is not likely to come out of his vegetative state now.”
Each word was like another stab wound to her heart, and Betty could only keep her eyes on him, though she felt like she was actually lost in thought, unable to see anything in front of her.
Hayden stared at her with his compassionate grey eyes.
“I know this is a lot to process,” he told her quietly. “But I can help you. Trust me. All is not hopeless.”
Betty swallowed miserably.
“There is nothing you can do,” she whispered, lowering her bloodshot eyes and sniffling.
“You might be surprised,” he said, his fingers tenderly trailing along her cheek.
Betty turned her head up to stare at him hopefully. A look of naked desire was in his eyes—there was nothing etched in the depths of his grey irises but sheer lust for her.
Staring into his eyes, Betty was overcome with an irresistible urge to kiss his full, parted lips. Slowly, she leaned forward, a hand on either side of his face as she drew him toward herself, half expecting that he might resist.
Hayden, however, did not resist her, and when their mouths met, a spark of electricity slid through both of them.
Even the feeling of kissing him was familiar, and Betty was sure she had felt his slightly scruffy cheek beneath her fingertips before. She didn’t question the comfort of his mouth against hers as her grip grew firmer and his own hands slipped up into her hair, gently tugging at the silken strands. The motion sent a rush of warmth through her body, her neck tipping back against his pull to expose the skin of her throat.
Hayden’s mouth trailed along her flesh, each breath causing her to shiver with pleasure, her fingers tightening in his dark tresses. He fell onto her, pressing her to the floor of the ambulance, and Betty felt herself melt against the firm, defined lines of his body through his lab coat.
Betty raised her legs, encircling his waist with her smooth thighs as Hayden pulled her tank top and bikini top from her body. One hand caressed her right breast, his tongue teasing at the tight skin of her left nipple, and a flush of wetness soaked her bikini bottoms as she arched her body upward.
“There’s something about you,” he murmured, his mouth falling lower, his hands following to touch the prickled skin of her stomach.
Hayden sat back, pulling her shorts off to cast them aside. Then he sighed deeply, licking his lips and peering into her face.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her, the sincerity in his voice causing another wave of heat to flow through Betty.
His mouth found her center, and with long, sweet licks, he began to bring her toward the climax she sought.
None of it seemed strange or unnatural, as if they had been together many times before, and Betty’s thighs clenched as he brought her to her first release, moaning loudly with each one of his expert strokes.
Still trembling, Hayden raised himself to level his body a
gainst hers, and Betty was ready for him, bucking her hips upward to urge him inside.
She was not prepared for the size of his shaft, and she cried out as he filled to her to the point of shock. Her nails gripping his back, she gaped at him with hazy green eyes until he lowered his lips to hers once more, and they fell into a uniformity of passion.
Each thrust brought forth more excitement that only intensified with each movement. Above her, Hayden grunted, perforating his rhythm with kisses to her face and neck until Betty felt him tense, his muscles rippling with the effort to hold back.
“Once more,” he begged her. “Betty, once more—”
Betty could not refuse him, allowing herself to release against his prodding unit.
Gasping, Hayden clenched at her shoulders, filling her with his seed, and Betty trembled as waves of pleasure pulsated through her body over and over. Her ankles locked about his buttocks, and she clung to him almost desperately as his heart pounded against hers.
Silently, they lay on the floor of the ambulance, collecting themselves. Slowly, Hayden propped himself up and stared into Betty’s face, as if memorizing her features.
“I want to show you something,” he told her after studying her face for a long moment.
She smiled warily. “You do?”
“Yes,” he replied. “I want to show you why you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Betty swallowed, disappointed that he had spoken and forced her back to reality with his words.
It doesn’t matter what you show me, she thought bitterly. It will not change the fact that my life is about to change horribly.
“I can’t really go anywhere,” she said. “My sister—”
“Your sister and brother will be fine until we get back,” he assured her, tossing Betty’s shirt at her. “I will meet you outside.”
He slipped out of the still open doors of the ambulance and disappeared from eye view.
Why not? Betty thought miserably, sighing to herself. I may as well cling to whatever time I have with this guy. He’s likely going to be the last bit of happiness I have for a long time.
She dressed quickly and stepped out of the ambulance, but to her surprise, Hayden was not there. Slowly whirling around, she scanned her surroundings, but she didn’t see him anywhere.