Stephen had heard enough. “Fine. Good luck and good-bye.” He shoved past Jinkens, pushing him hard against the wall. The man’s fist balled, ready to strike, but Stephen was ready and had his raised as well. “Do it. Give me a reason to bash your brains out, man!”
He lowered his arm and took a step back. “No need. I’ll get what I want before this is over. Go home little boy.”
Jean waved him off while pulling her date out of reach. “I’m f-fine. My life, I’ll d-do what I want. Isn’t tha’ what you always tell me? Go home.” She blew him a slobbery kiss and then hooked her arms around Jinken’s.
Stephen raised his hands in surrender. “Fine.” He spun on his heels and stormed out through the bar. Soon as he hit the front patio where a few people sat outside viewing the sunset, he stopped and smacked one of the awning posts so hard, a shockwave shot straight up his arm. How was he to return home without her?
Then again, she was a grown woman. He had no say in what she decided to do. If only he wasn’t constantly having to pick up the pieces every time her life fell apart. He smacked his palm against the post again, hitting a sharp corner. The sting of splinters pierced his skin. Great. What else? He tried to pick them out as he neared the street at the crossing lane.
Please don’t let her get hurt, Lord. I don’t know what else to do.
He studied the small cut that pooled a drop of blood into his palm.
Had he done enough? What did she want with that guy, anyway? She’d said she wanted was someone who actually cared about her. Jinkens didn’t care. Why couldn’t she see that?
His throat filled with a slow burn of realization. How had he ever shown he cared? When was the last time he had told his mother that he loved her? He sought his memories, realizing he never said those three words to her. Not since before Dad’s funeral.
Truth was, he did love her. She was his family. He’d always love her, no matter what. Even if he hated her most of the time. Or rather, what she was doing to herself.
A shout drew his attention to the bar’s parking lot. Several men were gathered around a black SUV. He recognized Jinkens’ green cap.
Stephen sprinted across the lot, dodging cars pulling out of their spaces. In the back corner, a small group gathered, Jean in the center, hands on hips and her furious face set in a scowl. “This is n-not what you promised. I’m n-not in into that, you s-sicko!”
Jenkins grabbed her arm and ordered her to shut up and get in the truck. “Unless you want to go find your baby boy, Mama. Maybe he’s not—”
Stephen slammed into the back of Jinkens, knocking him flat on his face. His knee dug into the man’s side, and he got off one good punch before something smashed into the side of his head. Explosions shot off inside his brain.
Tumbling over, Stephen gasped. His vision went dark for a moment.
“No-o-o, don’t!” Jean screamed. “Don’ you hurt him.”
A fist landed on the side of his face. Gravel dug into his cheek. The taste of metal filled his mouth.
“Stop it. I’ll go. Stop! Just stop!”
Feet scuffled around him. A blow landed in his gut. He tried curling into a tight ball. The air rushed from his lungs. His head was swimming. Fire burned up his throat, and he feared he was going to get sick right there. He spit and tried to rise. Ringing filled his ears.
Someone grabbed him by the short hair on top of his head. His face hit the pavement once. Twice. Lights flashed.
“Stupid fool! I should put a bullet in your head.” Something cold pressed against his temple. Stephen braced himself, hoping God would welcome him in.
Instead of a bullet, another smack hit the side of his face. A door slammed. Laughter. A glass bottle hit his shoulder. Tires squealed, spitting up rocks and dirt into his eyes.
Trying to push himself back up, his palm landed in a pool of sticky wetness. He managed to open one eye to a puddle of red. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. His head swam like he was on one of those twirling rides.
He gently rested his head on his arm. No sudden movements. He only had a little bit of time to draw someone’s attention. In this part of the lot, that was unlikely. Fumbling with the contents of his front pocket, he managed to pull out his phone. Just three numbers. All he had to do was hit the right ones. His wet finger tapped the nine. He peered out of the eye that hadn’t swollen shut and moved to the one. Tap one. Twice.
“Need help.” He repeated it over and over until someone answered. Had the sun already set? So early. Where were the street lights? The night had come on quick, and he couldn’t see anything. A few stars flashed like lightening bugs. His arm was drenched with whatever pool of liquid he’d fallen into. “Need help.”
“Operator. How can I—”
“Help. Need help.”
She repeated his word and asked something he couldn’t understand. His ears were ringing as if he’d just walked out of a rock concert. He swallowed down the metallic taste and tried one more time. “Send help. Grunt bar. Help. Jenks... Mom…”
The darkness swallowed him whole.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ethan wiped his sweaty brow. He yanked the phone from his apron pocket. Still no word from Stephen. Nothing except the gnawing sense of disquiet eating away at his composure. He chastised himself once again for not insisting he tag along. How could he have allowed Stephen to leave without a back-up?
A set of arms wrapped around him from behind as his wife pressed her cheek against his back. “You look so worried.”
He ran his thumb over the pale downy hairs of her arm, then tucked his fingers around her hand. “I am.”
“Think you need to go down there and check on him?” Haley gave him one more squeeze and circled until she peeked around his arm. Those sweet blues stared up at him. He hugged her back, pressing a kiss on her forehead.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I’ve sent a message, but he hasn’t responded. If he’s in a bar, it might be too loud to hear anything.” Ethan turned back to the sink and pushed the cup rack into the washer.
Haley hit the cycle button for him. “Think he’ll be okay or are you worried that he’ll join his ma’s party?”
His tongue pressed against the side of his cheek as he gave a shrug. “I really hate the not knowing.”
Ethan wanted to believe his friend would remain strong and not cave into the pressure. Except he’d seen him cave too many times before. Anytime the stress got to be too much, he’d head off to a bar and wash away his tension with alcohol. Ever since Jean arrived, he’d carefully watched his friend, hoping he’d not let his mother get to him.
“We just have to believe that God has him. Right?” She dried her hands on a towel, then handed it to him.
True, he’d prayed a lot for Stephen. They both had.
He opened his mouth to say something when Mom entered the kitchen. “Ethan, honey, there’s a man named Ray at the front that says he needs to talk to you. He’s dressed in a uniform.”
“Ray?” He usually worked the evening shift. What would—? His heart faltered. Pushing away from Haley, he bolted for the swinging doors and peered out the circular window. A few tables were still occupied by diners finishing up their desserts.
He stuck his head out and waved to catch the paramedic’s attention, then motioned him to come to the kitchen. Soon as his friend entered and was out of earshot of the diners, Ethan asked, “What’s up?”
Ray rubbed the back of his short cropped black hair, looking from him to Haley nervously. “Not sure how to tell you this…”
Bekka entered the kitchen, a tub of dishes in her hands.
Ethan stepped aside so she could get past. “Just do it and quick!” With an apologetic grimace, he added, “Please?”
“Stephen’s at the hospital. Looked like he’d been mugged. Beat up pretty bad. Lucky he still had his wits about him to call for help.”
Haley gasped. She opened her mouth to ask something, but Ray cut her off.
“I can’t give details.”
He held up his hands, with a shake of his head. “I would have called, but figured you might be too busy to answer. Told my partner we’d make this quick side trip, but I don’t have time to stick around.”
“Thanks, man.” Ethan patted his shoulder. “I’ll get right up there.”
“He doesn’t have any family here, does he? Kept muttering something about his mother?”
Haley answered, “He went down to the bar to get his ma. Was she there?”
Ray shook his head, then stopped. “Her name happen to be Jean, or—”
“Yes,” Ethan answered. “Where—”
“No idea. He was muttering so incoherently, nobody could make sense of what he was saying. Probably from the head injuries. They sent him straight down to get a cat scan.”
An explosion of china hit the floor and scattered around their feet. “Oh,” Bekka cried.
His wife moved into action. Leon had the broom ready as Haley turned to Ethan. “I’ll finish here, babe. You take your sissy and get up there. We’ll come along soon as we’re done here.” She took the dustpan from Leon. “Tell them they need to find Jean. Ray, can you get word to the sheriff? I don’t like this. We need to find out what happened to her.”
With a quick nod, Ethan ripped off the apron. “Wait, he has my truck.”
“I’ll drive.” Bekka grabbed her keys off the hooks beside the door.
He snatched her keys out of her hand. The tears tumbling down her face told him she was in no condition to drive anywhere. He hoped she’d be able to hold it together for Stephen.
When they reached the car, Bekka’s tears poured like an April shower. “Wh-at if it’s bad? Ray said … head injuries. Ethan, what if he—”
“Are you going to fall apart on me? He needs us right now. If you can’t handle this—”
She drew in a long sniff and nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I need to put that worry energy into praying energy. Drive. I’ll start banging on heaven’s door.”
“Good girl.” He patted her knee, then shifted the car into drive.
The tires gave a screech when they hit the road, but held and sent them toward town.
From the passenger seat, Bekka sniffed and let out a little whimper before chastising herself.
Maybe talking would hold back the fear hounds. “I’ve been out to this hospital so many times since I arrived here, I should be getting frequent patient bonuses. Or something.”
Bekka wiped a tissue under her eyes, smudging her make-up as she shot him a glare. “Funny.”
“I was trying for distracting. He’ll be fine. God has this. I hope Dr. Daniels is on staff. He knows me pretty well now.” The lights from the three-story hospital came into view. He pulled into the closest parking spot.
Bekka said nothing as she opened her door and climbed out. He followed after her, making sure to hit the lock button before they reached the sliding doors.
The worries that had his sister weeping on their way there seemed to dissipate the moment she strolled into the waiting room and up to the nurses’ station. The attendant started the familiar spiel about not being able to give out patient information when Bekka smacked the counter.
“Listen to me—”
Ethan tugged at her elbow as a man in a white coat exited the emergency room doors. “Hey, Dr. Daniels, sir. Do you have—?”
The doctor stopped when he saw him and checked the chart. “Mr. Winters? I was just about to call you.” He extended his hand. “Would say it was nice to see you again, but it’s not, really.”
“Feel the same, sir. Are you taking care of my friend? Stephen Gaines?”
Bekka pushed around him. “Please tell us if he’s okay. Can we see him?”
Ethan nudged her back, hissing for her to hush. “Sir, we’re as close to family as he has. I know him better than his own flesh and blood family, truth be told. If you have any questions, I can probably answer them. I know what he’s allergic to. Don’t give him morphine, it makes him sick. He’s also allergic to strawberries and kiwi and certain nuts.”
Dr. Daniels held up a hand. “He’s actually coherent now. And he’s asked for someone to contact you. I was just getting ready to call. I guess you have good connections to the rumor mill, Mr. Winters.”
Ethan breathed out a long sigh. If he was talking, then he’d be okay. “Can you tell us what happened?”
“Yes, since he gave me permission to speak to you.” He read from the chart. “Lacerations to the head. Unlike your little bump, his are more severe, but not life-threatening. We ran a cat scan and x-ray on his head and chest. He has two cracked ribs and a torn ligament in his knee.”
He flipped to the next page. “We’ll schedule to have that fixed in the next day or so when he’s a little more stable. He lost a lot of blood from the head wounds and has a slight concussion, but no damage to the skull or internal bleeding that we can see at this time. We’ll require him to stay here for another day or two while we keep him under observation and fix that knee.”
“Dr. Daniels,” Ethan’s arm went around his sister as she slumped against him. “When can we see him?”
“The nurses are getting him situated in a room.” He touched Bekka’s arm. “Are you Rebekka, his fiancée? He requested that I made sure to let you in to see him soon as you arrived.”
Ethan balked. He was the best friend! And what was this about… he shook his head, deciding now wasn’t the time to question.
She blushed for a second, then cleared her throat. “Did he say what happened? We’re concerned about—”
Dr. Daniel gave a nod. “Yes. The sheriff is taking a report. Soon as he’s done, I’ll have the nurse take you in to see him. No more than two at a time. For now.”
Ethan thanked him as he left and dug his phone from his pocket. “Let’s sit over here in the waiting area and I’ll call Haley.”
She nodded, but her face had paled slightly. Ethan pulled her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay. He’ll recover. God protected him. Let’s keep up the prayers that He’ll do the same for Jean.”
She nodded again against his shoulder. “I kept thinking that just when it seemed I might have him back again, I was going to lose him to something worse. I—I—”
“But you didn’t. So breathe, sissy. Because we need to talk about this fiancée thing. I’ve not seen a ring yet.”
She hit him in the side, but only hard enough to make him laugh. “You are such a goober, Ethan Gene.”
* * * *
Haley locked the front door just as her phone chimed with Sharp Dressed Man. She swiped her finger over Handsome Yank. “Hey babe, any news?”
Ethan filled her in on Stephen’s condition and what they knew about Jean, or rather, didn’t know. She leaned against the door, breathing out a prayer of thanks for Stephen.
“He looks really bad. Bekka started crying again when she saw him.” Ethan’s voice lowered. “He was lucky. No, not luck. I know the Lord was watching out for him. He’s lost a lot of blood. I’m about to go down and donate some. We have the same type.”
“Good man. We’re about done here. I was just getting ready to come on up there.”
“Tell Mom and Dad to wait until tomorrow. They won’t let any more people in at the moment. Will you do that for me?” He asked.
“Sure thing. I’m coming, though. That’s that.”
His chuckle made her heart do a little flip. “Wasn’t going to tell you not to. I think Beks wants to stay. So yes, please come get me. Call when you reach the waiting room, and I’ll meet you.”
After Haley grabbed Bekka’s bag and a few essentials she might need, she drove Lady Blue over to the hospital. All the way there she prayed that Jean would be found and not come to harm. He had a sister, too, didn’t he? She hoped Ethan would think to call her.
When she pulled in next to Bekka’s Prius, flashing lights zoomed into the ambulance zone. Haley pulled her sweater tighter around her to keep out the evening chill. At least the days were starting to warm more. Sh
e slowed when she spotted Ray opening the back of the van and called out his name. He motioned her over.
“How are you, sugar? I can’t thank you enough for stopping in to let us know about Stephen.”
He nodded and opened the door. “Might have found someone else you’ll be interested in. Can you identify this woman? She’s out of it. High as a kite and a little roughed up. We found her walking along the side of the road. Stumbling, actually. Barefooted. No identification.”
They pulled the gurney out, and sure enough, there was Jean with her frizzy black hair fanned out around her pale face. “Jean Gaines. That’s Stephen’s mama, for sure.”
Ray spoke to his partner. “Call Boyd, let him know we found her and he needs to get over here.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
Ray leveled his gaze at her. “Luckily, she didn’t wander into the woods like….” He shook his head as if thinking better than finishing that thought.
Haley had her phone out and was calling Ethan. Soon as he answered, she blurted. “Jean’s being wheeled into the emergency room, babe. Better get over here. Quick.”
“Be right there.” The call ended.
She followed Ray inside until he disappeared behind the receiving doors. The attending nurse grabbed a clipboard. “Tell me what you can.”
She gave her Jean’s name. Ethan was jogging toward her at that moment and finished answering the nurse’s questions. “Where are they taking her?” He asked.
“They’ll try to get her sobered up, first, then go from there. You can take a seat until we have more news.” She left them and joined the commotion going on in the back.
Ethan paced while giving her an update on Stephen until Ray and his partner came out with the empty gurney.
Before Ray reached the exit doors, Ethan grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. They exchanged a few hushed words before Ray seemed to confirm something. Ethan quickly turned away, rubbing his forehead. Ray patted his back, then headed out to join his partner.
Whatever news he’d heard hit him like an avalanche of broken rocks and from the way he leaned against the post the weight must be crushing him.
Raining Fools (Madison Creek Bed & Breakfast Book 2) Page 26