A Long from the Girl Next Door: The Caldwells of Rebel Creek Book 2

by T M Morris

  The nurse, whose name tag read Charlene pursed her lips. “I don’t know, Mrs. Caldwell. It might tire you out too much. Besides, it isn’t protocol.”

  The heart monitor’s bouncing line started jumping again. Charlene’s eyes flitted from it to Miss Addie’s face. “I suppose I could ask your doctor when he comes to make his rounds. Would that be okay?” She watched the monitor’s wave smooth into a normal rhythm.

  “I’ll wait that long. But, regardless of what the doctor says, I am going to go down to see my husband.”

  “We’ll see, Miss Addie. I’m not making any promises. Now if you promise to calm down and you, young man,” she glared at Dusty, “don’t do or say anything else to set her off, I’ll go. Okay?”

  They both nodded and waited for her to leave. Dusty threw out the old flowers that Otter had brought two days before and replaced them with the ones he still held. Once the door closed behind the crotchety old nurse, they both laughed. Miss Addie whispered. “Oh, I don’t like that one. She’s so bossy not like Abby Miller.”

  “She’s just doing her job, Miss Addie.” He sat in the only chair, stretched and yawned.

  “Have you had any sleep, sweetie?”

  “No, ma’am. Have you?”

  Miss Addie shook her head. “Not a wink. How about you and I just doze awhile then? I’m not much good for visiting right now, and you don’t look much like you’re good for visiting. Thank you for the flowers, by the way.”

  He smiled wearily. “Anytime, Miss Addie.” Before he could form another thought they were both asleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lilly awoke an hour later to Miss Hazel nudging her gently. “Come on, sugar. They’ve just moved Otter to a room.”

  She sat up and yawned. “Miss Hazel, when did you get here?”

  “I don’t know, forty-five minutes ago, give or take? You were sleeping, and I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve had a most exciting night, I hear.”

  “From who?” she ran her hands through her hair.

  “Carrie Halfacre. Here use this.” Miss Hazel handed her a hairbrush.

  “Thanks. I should have remembered you can’t keep anything quiet in a small town.” She handed the brush back to Miss Hazel.

  “Rebel Creek is a small community. We care about each other, and we look out for one another. You can’t get that in a big city. Did you even know your neighbors up there?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I did. Each block was like its own neighborhood. You could get to know everyone on the block if you wanted to. It was easy to get to know the people in your building. I’ll grant you; you couldn’t get to know everyone in the area much less the city, but you could get acquainted with enough of them to have a sense of community.” Lilly looked around. “What room did they take him to, Miss Hazel?”

  “Oh blast it all. I forgot to ask.” Miss Hazel shook her head. “I’m getting old. I can’t remember half of what I used to. I tell you, little missy, getting old sucks.”

  “Miss Hazel!” Lilly gaped at her, surprised she would say such things.

  “What? It does. Everything gets stiff or slides off of where it’s supposed to be. Let me tell you, honey; gravity is a bitch. Don’t go raising your eyebrows at me. I’m speaking the truth. I just don’t candy coat it. Why, if I didn’t like living so much I’d go on and die.”

  “Don’t say that Miss Hazel. I don’t want you going anywhere anytime soon.”

  Miss Hazel gave her a dismissive wave. “I’m not going anywhere. I have too much to do. Go find out where they took Otter. We can’t be wasting time down here when we could be in his room giving him seven kinds of Cain for scaring us like this.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She went to the desk where a volunteer sat waiting to answer questions and the phone. The woman smiled as she approached. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Yes, you can.” Lilly folded her hands in front of her belly button. “Apparently they came out to tell me what room they were taking my father to and since I was asleep they told my friend. She forgot what they said. So could you tell me where he is?”

  “Oh, certainly, hon, it won’t take but a second. What’s your father’s name?”

  “Otter, I mean, Oliver Caldwell. Everyone calls him Otter.”

  “Oh, honey, I went to school with Otter and your mama too. It’s a shame she has to go through all this cancer business.” She chattered as her fingers flew over the keys. “He’s upstairs on the third floor. Room three-oh-six.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “Not a problem, honey. Tell Otter and Addie both that Patty Schaeffer said she hopes they mend up quick.”

  Lilly turned away as she replied, “I will, thank you.”

  When she returned to where Miss Hazel was sitting, she found the old woman sitting with her chin on her chest. Her heart in her throat Lilly knelt in front of her. “Miss Hazel?”

  Miss Hazel lifted her head and cleared her throat. “Did you find out where they put Otter?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Are you alright?”

  “I’m righter than rain, Abby child.” She stood up slowly, turned to pick her bag up off the floor and turned back to Lilly. “Well? Why are you standing there gawking? Let’s go.”

  Lilly blinked a couple of times. “Yes, ma’am. Just let me get my purse.” She looked around. “Oh yeah, that’s right. I don’t have my purse. I don’t have anything because it’s at the house and I came here in the life flight helicopter with dad. I guess we’re ready to go then.”

  “Lead the way.” Miss Hazel motioned for Lilly to go in front of her. Instead, Lilly took her by the hand and smiled as they walked out of the waiting room.

  Upstairs when they walked into Otter’s room, he was asleep. Lilly put Miss Hazel in the only chair and perched on the windowsill for a moment. “This isn’t going to work. I’ll be right back.”

  “They ought to have more chairs in these places. How often does someone come to visit by themselves?”

  Lilly smiled and shook her head as she left the room. A couple of minutes later see returned with another chair. She set it next to Miss Hazel’s and sat down. That’s better.”

  Miss Hazel stood and walked over to the side of Otter’s bed. She tilted her head to one side as she looked him over. “Where’s his cast? Why isn’t he in traction?

  Lilly didn’t bother to get up. “They put a rod down through the bone and screwed it in place.”

  Miss Hazel lifted the sheet to look at Otter’s leg. She said, “They cut him open in two places, but how’d they get it in there?” Weary as she was Lilly stood and walked to Miss Hazel’s side. She tried to explain to her how the orthopedic surgeon placed the rod as close as she could remember before they took him into surgery.

  “Doctoring sure has changed in my lifetime. I’m closer to ninety years old than I am eighty. I know, I know, I don’t look a day over seventy, but it’s true. I’ll be eighty-seven in four months. Why, when I was born everyone was born at home unless they knew ahead of time there was going to be trouble. The only medicines we had were aspirin, morphine, and penicillin. X-rays were just becoming more common. Now there are all kinds of drugs. Ultrasound, MRI, CAT Scan, PET Scan, you-can, me-can, we-all-can. I can’t even imagine how many great minds have made such differences in people’s lives. It plum amazes me.” She gave Otter a poke in the shoulder. “Hey, Otter? You awake, yet?”

  “No.” He rasped. “Leave me alone, old woman. I love you, Miss Hazel, but leave me alone.”

  She frowned. “I’m not old, you little twerp.” She toddled back to her chair muttering about disrespectful young whelps and how Stella would have smacked him upside his hard head for speaking to her like that.

  Lilly tried not to laugh as she continued to stand next to her father’s bed. She pulled the sheet back into place and smoothing it over his shoulders. She whispered, “I’m glad you are going to be okay, Dad.”

  He turned his head, opened his eyes and muttered, “Thank you.”
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  Surprised, she struggled to ask, “For what?”

  “Finding me. How’s Miss Addie?”

  “Dusty’s with her. He told her you’re here and you’re going to be fine.”

  “Where’s Erik?”

  “He’s still in the Middle East.”

  “That boy needs to come on home. His mama needs him. I’m tired. I’m gonna go back to sleep.”

  Lilly patted his shoulder once more. “You do that, Dad. We’ll be here if you need us.”

  He looked at her for a moment before whispering, “You look like you’ve been run over. Go on back to the house and get some rest. I ain’t going anywhere, but I do want to see Miss Addie.”

  “All in due time. Mom knows where you are and you know where she is. You need to rest, and so does she. She didn’t sleep at all last night.”

  “I’m sorry. I—“

  “Hush, Dad. Just sleep. We can sort it all out later.”

  He looked as if he was going to say something else but he dozed off before he could utter a word.

  She turned away from him and went to resume her seat. Miss Hazel looked up and studied her. “He’s right. You look like roadkill. I’m surprised the buzzards ain’t circling ya. Go home and get some sleep. I’ll take care of the old coot.”

  “He’s younger than you.”

  “I promised his mother I would take care of him and his brothers. I keep my word.” Miss Hazel was defiant.

  “But, Gran passed away six years ago.”

  “You don’t have to tell me, sugar; I miss her every day. She asked me to, and I said I would, and I am. Go round up Dusty and go and get some sleep. You need a shower too; you’re a bit whiffy. Smell like a horse.”

  Lilly chuckled, and she stood up again. “Fine. I’ll go. But I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  “Go. Go on.” Miss Hazel shooed her and continued to as she went out the door.

  Lilly slipped into her mother’s room to find her mother sleeping and Dusty snoring softly from the chair. From the position he was in, she understood why he was snoring. His head was lolled back over the top of the chair back making his mouth open, and his jaw drop. She nudged him and whispered in his ear, “You’re going to get a crick in your neck like that.”

  He whispered back, “I already do.” He slowly lifted his head and rotated it around a few times trying to work out some of the stiffness. “How’s Otter?”

  “He’s going to be just fine. Dad was only awake for a few minutes, but all he said was he has to see Mom. Also, he apologized for having caused so much trouble, and he thanked me. Can you believe it? He thanked me. He’s never thanked me for anything.”

  “Lilly?” Miss Addie called from her bed.

  “Yes, Mama?” She was at her mother’s side in a blink. “Can I get you something?”

  “Where’s your dad? Is he okay?”

  “He’s in three-oh-six. He’s going to be fine. He’s sleeping right now, and Miss Hazel is with him. He’s worried about you.”

  Miss Addie nodded. “The nurse told me I could go see him later.”

  Dusty walked up behind Lilly. “Now Miss Addie, she said it depended on what the doctor said."

  Miss Addie pursed her lips. “I’m going to go see him if I have to crawl down there. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Caldwell, you are.” Her doctor walked in just then. “Charlene has told me what you want, and I don’t see any reason you can’t take a wheelchair ride later this afternoon. You need to take it easy, though. The chemo has worn you out.”

  Lilly thrust her hand out. “Doctor. I’m Lilly Caldwell, her daughter. Have the results from my DNA test come back yet?”

  “I haven’t received them yet, no,” he said as he flipped through Addie’s chart. He set it aside while he did a quick of her vitals and listened to her heart and breathing. “You look better than yesterday. That’s good. If you don’t have any other questions, I’ll tell your nurse that it fine for you to ride down to see your husband later this afternoon. Okay?”

  Miss Addie nodded. “Thank you.”

  He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand. “Behave, now.”

  She smiled bigger than Lilly had seen her smile since she’d come home. Lilly took her mother’s hand. “It makes you very happy to know you can go see Dad later doesn’t it?”

  Miss Addie looked at her for a few seconds and said, “I suppose.”

  Lilly frowned slightly. “Okay. Is it okay if I go home for a while and get some sleep and a shower?”

  “No. No, honey, I don’t mind at all. I’m surprised you haven’t left already. Leave us sick people to the doctors and nurses. Y’all go and get some rest. Dusty, you go too. You look as if a stiff breeze could blow you over.”

  Dusty nodded wearily. “Yes, ma’am. We’ll be back later.”

  “Go on. I’ll be fine.”

  Lilly gave her mother’s hand one more squeeze. “Miss Hazel’s with Dad.”

  “Good. Miss Hazel will take care of him.” Miss Addie wriggled down under the covers. “I’m going to go back to sleep too.”

  Lilly kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you later.” Miss Addie nodded.

  Dusty took Lilly’s hand in his and led her from the room. Once the door closed behind them, he dropped it. “I’ll take you home and go on home myself. Fortunately, my partner is on call this weekend and not me. I couldn’t deal with having to take care of some one’s cow or horse right now.”

  “What day is it? I’ve lost track.”

  “It’s Saturday. We went to the Barn Dance last night, and we’ve not been to bed since.”

  “Okay. It’s Saturday. Good. I can sleep for a little while.”

  “I’ll get you to the house as quick as I can, Filly Lilly.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  Ignoring her comment he continued, “I took care of the chores, so you don’t have to worry about anything once you get home and I took the liberty of asking your uncle for help, and he said he was happy to help out. He also said he would be down to see your parents this afternoon. I think by Monday; Otter will be well enough not to need someone to sit with him and then you’ll be able to take care of the farm. I’ll come help you when I can, but I can’t make any promises to a regular schedule.”

  “Thanks, Dusty. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us. I’d be a fool to ask you to do more. Don’t feel that you have to help me anymore than you already have.”

  By this time they were standing at the passenger door of his truck and he was digging in his pocket for his keys. “You don’t have to ask. I’m going to help you because I want to.” He helped her into the truck cab.

  “What about your own farm?”

  He shrugged. “Dad’s got it all under control. He’s scaled down a bunch since you left. He sold half of it to Otter, you know, the back half. There isn’t much left to do. He’s converting to hay instead of cattle. From what he says selling hay pays pretty well and he has those new oil wells.”

  Dusty pulled up next to the back steps of the Caldwell house. It didn’t seem right leaving Lilly all alone out here, but he knew he had to. She was sleeping next to him, and he hated to wake her up. He stared at her for a few minutes letting her sleep while he remembered scenes from their growing up. He found it difficult to believe that ten years had passed. Her face had lost its babyish roundness. All in all, she was still Lilly, all grown up and he was still crazy about her.

  Was she right? Should Erik’s disapproval make any difference? He didn’t want to kill his relationship with his best friend. Lilly was still off limits as far as he was concerned. Lilly was Erik’s little sister, nothing more. She was a friend by extension. He sighed heavily and gave her a nudge. “Wake up, sleepy head. You’re home. Hurry up. I want to go home and get some sleep too.”

  Lilly blinked and smacked her lips as she tried to wake up. She yawned broadly. “Already?”

  “Maybe for you, you weren’t driving. Get on in the house and lock up. Make sure you lock up,
don’t want anything happening to you while you sleep.”

  She scratched her head with both hands leaving her hair a wild mess. “Okay. Be careful going home and have a good sleep. I guess I’ll see you later?” She opened her door and slid out.

  “I will.” He watched her move around the door only to wheel back around. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure I can get in the house. I don’t have my keys or anything.” She patted all her pants pockets.

  Dusty killed the engine and jumped out of the truck cab. “I’ve got them here. Remember you gave them to me this morning?” He pulled them from his pocket.

  “Um, maybe. Yeah.”

  Dusty walked her to the door and unlocked it for her.

  “You’re welcome to sleep in Erik’s room if you’re too tired to make it home.” She took the keys from him and set them on the kitchen counter.

  He watched her the whole time. “I can’t do that Lilly. I’ll be heading off now.” He spun around on his heels and strode with purpose to his truck.

  Before she could raise an objection, he was in his truck and throwing gravel all down the drive as he sped off. She shrugged and closed the door. After locking it, she went straight up to her bedroom and fell across the bed, asleep before her body bounced from the impact.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lilly tied the laces on her running shoes and stood up. After doing a few quick stretches, she jumped in place for a few seconds. It had been a long time since she’d gone running. The thought of going farther than a hundred yards before collapsing in a breathless heap crossed her mind. She grinned. Wouldn’t she be a sight for either her aunt or uncle to find? With a few more jumping jacks she began to jog slowly toward the end of the drive. If she made it to the road and back without dying, she would take to the trail to the head of the hollow.

  The run from the end of the drive to the head of the hollow and back was roughly two miles in a straight line. However, there were no straight lines in the mountains. She was half way to the road when she decided she may be able to make the whole run but she would reserve making a decision until she got back to the house. Is she wasn’t ready to die by then she would continue. She could always turn around and go back home. No big deal.