The Tao of the Viper: A Kate Pomeroy Mystery (The Kate Pomeroy Gothic Mystery Series Book 2)
Page 33
I grinned as I went over the numbers. “Praise be. We did it. Now, he just has to wake up.”
Steve looked at me, concern in his eyes. “You don’t know what’s going to happen now, do you?”
I shook my head. “All I can hope for is that he’s still in there. But, you’re right, I don’t know.”
Steve nodded. “So, we wait and we pray.”
“Yeah, we wait and pray.”
82
Kate
Waiting
And so, we waited.
I received a text from Lundgren the day after the procedure. All it said was “Well done!”
But I didn’t care about him. All I cared about was Jeremy.
He didn’t wake up that night nor did he wake the next day. All his vitals looked good and, while I could have taken him to the mainland for a scan of his brain, I opted not to. I guess if he were gone, I didn’t really want to know.
We told Jeremy’s brother and the locals that he had fallen and hit his head and was now in a coma. We also told them that we hoped he’d emerge from it soon.
Days passed and there was no change.
I went through the motions of being a doctor, seeing patients, prescribing medicine, but my heart was no longer in it. I had possibly killed my fiancé and my guilt increased with every passing hour.
It was the fourteenth day after the exchange and I’d just finished seeing patients. I went to Jeremy’s room, where he was still sleeping quietly.
I took his hand in mine and squeezed it. “I’m going to turn you over now, honey,” I said. “We don’t want you getting bedsores.”
Silently and with tears sliding down my cheeks, I turned him. Then, I sat on his bed, checked his monitors, and took his hand again.
“Everything looks normal, sweetheart. I know you’re still in there. I just wish you’d wake up.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek, then squeezed his hand one more time. “I’ll be back after dinner and sit with you all evening.”
I started to rise – to leave the room – but then I felt something.
Was that a slight pressure on my hand?
I sat back down, staring at him. “Jeremy,” I asked. “Did you do that?”
As I spoke, I squeezed his hand again.
“If that was you, squeeze my hand.”
I waited.
I could see his eyes moving beneath his closed eyelids.
I held my breath.
Again, I felt pressure on my hand.
“Jeremy!” I cried. “Wake up!”
As I spoke, I lightly tapped his cheeks. His eyes were moving faster now.
I waited.
Minutes ticked by. I squeezed his hand again.
No response.
I looked at his face. His eyes had stopped moving.
Feeling like I had just had the wind kicked out of me, I leaned over again and kissed him on the lips.
“I love you,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’ll always love you.”
I waited a heartbeat longer, but he didn’t move.
Sighing, I rose from the bed and started toward the door.
I was almost out in the hallway when I heard something that made me stop.
“K…K…Katy?”
THE END
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Linda Watkins, who resides in Sedona, Arizona, is the author of the multi-award-winning Mateguas Island Series and the critically-acclaimed, bestselling thriller, Storm Island, A Kate Pomeroy Mystery. In addition to these novels, she has also penned the award-winning contemporary romance, Summer Girl, A Novel and three novellas (Sarah & Zoey, A Story About the Power of Unconditional Love, The Night of the Sciurus, A Western Michigan Tale of Terror, and The Witches of Storm Island: Book I, The Turning), all of which have received excellent editorial and customer reviews.
Linda is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, The Authors Guild, The International Association of Crime Writers (N.A.) and The Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers.
The adopter of three rescue dogs, Linda is serious about animal welfare and, all profits from the Mateguas Island Series are donated to her charitable trust, The Raison d’Etre Fund for Dogs, Dedicated to Rescue and Research which is administered through Schwab Charitable.
To find out more about Linda and her works, please visit her book website, http://www.lindawatkins-author.com/, her blog, http://www.lindawatkins.biz/ where she posts book reviews and other items of interest, or her website dedicated to the Mateguas Island Series, http://www.mateguasisland.com/.
Linda is currently working on the third Kate Pomeroy Mystery, tentatively titled Abducted, A Kate Pomeroy Mystery. She hopes to publish Abducted in early 2020.
Also by Linda Watkins
Tales of Terror & Suspense:
The Mateguas Island Series:
Book I: Mateguas Island
Book II: Return To Mateguas Island
Book III: Ghosts of Mateguas
Secrets: A Story of Love & Betrayal
Storm Island, A Kate Pomeroy Mystery, Book I
The Witches of Storm Island, Book I: The Turning
The Night of the Sciurus, A Western Michigan Tale of Terror
Literary/Contemporary Fiction:
Summer Girl, A Novel
Sarah & Zoey: A Story About the Power of Unconditional Love