by K. C. Crowne
“She’s on the third floor,” I was told. I was instructed to talk to the nurse’s station on that floor to get a better idea of what was going on - as well as to find out where her room was located.
I hurried toward the elevator and made my way to the third floor, feeling anxious. I’d worked for years as an EMT and fireman, but hospitals made me nervous as hell - especially the ICU. It brought back too many memories.
Especially this hospital, where I’d said goodbye to my best friend, and I associated the ICU with death. But Alice was stable. She’d be fine. Just a minor blip.
When the elevator doors opened, I walked to the nurse’s station and told them I was there for Alice. A nurse named Eunice walked me to her room. The buzzing and beeping of machines was deafening, especially since everyone was so quiet. There was hardly anyone talking. While everyone was pretty cheery on the labor and delivery floor, it was much more solemn in the ICU, and with good reason.
Eunice led me to Alice’s room, which was really just a private area cordoned off with curtains. As soon as she pulled the curtains back, my heart dropped.
Alice was in the bed, awake, but she didn’t look good. She had an IV and oxygen, and while her eyes were open, she didn’t move at all.
As I walked slowly to the side of the bed, her eyes followed me. Her lips pulled back into a sort-of smile. “You made it,” she choked, her voice sounding sore.
“Of course I did,” I said, taking a seat beside her bed. “I told you I would, and I’m here.”
“You never let those you care about down,” she said wistfully.
I thought, Henry might disagree with you about that, but decided not to bring up her dead husband when she was clearly struggling.
“So what happened? Did the doctors say when you’ll get to go home?”
Alice’s eyes darkened. “They haven’t said, but Kellen, I don’t think I’m going home.”
“Come on, of course you will,” I said. “You have a little girl waiting for you too. She’s beautiful, by the way.”
“They said I can see her soon, but only for a few minutes,” Alice said weakly. “I only got to hold her for a second after birth before everything went dark.”
I looked around until I found the nurse call button and pressed it. It was high time Alice got to meet her baby girl. When Eunice came into the room, she looked as solemn and miserable as before. Her job couldn’t be easy, working with people who were in serious condition or on their death bed. Maybe bringing a baby into the mix would cheer us all up a bit.
“Yes?” Eunice said, her voice almost too soft to hear over the machines. “Can I help you?”
“She wants to see her baby,” I said.
“We’re waiting on Dr. Lee’s orders,” Eunice said.
“Then get Dr. Lee in here,” I said bluntly.
“I’ll tell her you want to speak with her,” Eunice said dryly and turned and walked out.
Alice asked, “Are they always that difficult?”
“Who?”
“Nurses,” she said. “I don’t remember them being so grumpy the last time we were here.”
A knot formed in my throat. The last time we were there, in this hospital in the ICU, we’d lost Henry. I didn’t remember the nurses or anyone else from that day. Only Henry.
“I don’t recall,” I muttered.
A few minutes later, Dr. Lee entered the room. We exchanged pleasantries, and I got right to the point. “When can she see her baby?”
“Soon,” Dr. Lee said, checking Alice’s vitals.
“What’s the holdup?” I asked.
“Well, to be honest, we’re worried that too much excitement could put stress on her heart.”
“On the baby’s?” I asked. “You said she was healthy.”
“The baby is healthy. I’m talking about the mother.”
I glanced at Alice, who didn’t seem surprised at all by this. “What’s going on here?” I asked. “What’s wrong with her?”
Dr. Lee pulled the other chair over to sit near me, facing both Alice and me as she spoke. Her voice was as solemn as Eunice’s earlier.
“Alice has an infection in her heart. We haven’t yet discovered how it got there, or why, and we didn’t catch it until after surgery. The c-section probably put more stress on it, causing her heart to enlarge. We’re treating the infection with antibiotics now, but she needs more time to recover. The medicine hasn’t had a chance to rid her body of the infection, and her heart is working extra hard just to function. Any extra excitement could pose a problem.”
Alice spoke louder and clearer than earlier. “I want to see my baby.”
“Ms. Jenson, I’m not sure that’s a—”
“You heard the woman,” I said matter-of-factly. “If she poses no threat to the baby, let her see her.”
“She poses no threat to the child, no, but her condition is very critical,” Dr. Lee said. “I don’t think either of you understand how serious this is.”
“I have a pretty good idea,” I said, running a hand over my thick beard. “I used to be a firefighter and EMT. While I’m no doctor, I know a thing or two about medicine.”
“I know how serious this is,” Alice said slowly. She let out a breath and started coughing. “I know I’m dying, and I just want the chance to see my little girl.”
My head turned so fast to Alice, I almost gave myself whiplash. “You’re not dying,” I stated.
“Kellen, I—”
“No,” I said firmly. “You have a little girl who needs you. You’re not fucking dying and that’s final.”
Alice’s heart monitor began beeping, causing Dr. Lee to rush to it. She frowned.
“See? Not letting her see her baby is causing more stress than if you just let her spend a few moments with her,” I said, my voice rising.
Dr. Lee looked at Alice with a serious look. She seemed to be weighing her options. “Okay,” she said. “But only for a few minutes. Any signs of distress, and we’ll send her away.”
“That’s fine,” Alice said. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I just want to see her.”
Dr. Lee nodded and left the room, leaving Alice and me alone. I didn’t dare bring up the idea that she was dying. She wasn’t going to die. She couldn’t. Life isn’t that fucking unfair to kill both her and Henry, leaving little Matilda with no one.
Alice wheezed and coughed more, but her heart rate returned to a more normal level. “Thank you,” she said, reaching for my hand. I gave her tiny, fragile hand a squeeze.
“Of course,” I said. “You’re going to be such a good mother, just wait and see.”
Alice’s cheeks were even wetter than before, and I wiped the tears away. I knew this couldn’t be easy; she felt so alone. I wasn’t much, but I’d be there for until she got better. I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Before Henry died, we wrote a will,” Alice said, her voice shaking. “In it, we chose guardians for Matilda in case anything ever happened to us.”
“I know,” I said. “You asked me to be her guardian.”
“Yes, and I know you don’t believe you’re up for the job, Kellen, but you’re the only person I trust with my daughter’s life if anything were to happen to me.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, Alice,” I said.
I gave in and agreed, mainly because I knew they had no one else - and because at the time, I didn’t expect anything to happen to either of them, much less both of them. I assumed it was a technicality, something to set up just in case, but we all knew it would never come to that. Matilda would have both her parents, we assumed. Then the unthinkable happened, and my best friend died.
But Alice would make it. She had to.
Alice let out a sob, then composed herself. “Listen, Kellen, I just want you to promise me one thing. If something were to happen to me, take care of Matilda, please? Raise her as your own and give her a good life.”
“I said, nothing is going to—”
The cheerful nurse from u
pstairs came bustling in the door. “Here she is! Baby Matilda Jane!”
I finally read the nurse’s name tag. “Thank you, Paige,” I said, grateful for the interruption. I hoped that by seeing her daughter, it would cheer her up enough that she’d stop feeling anxious about dying.
She wasn’t fucking going to die on us.
Paige placed Matilda in Alice’s arms gently, and Alice was a natural. She was relaxed and held the baby as if she’d always been a mother. Her face lit up, and while there were tears in her eyes, she was smiling brightly. The tears of sorrow were replaced by tears of joy, as they should be after someone has had a baby.
“She’s so beautiful,” Alice cooed. “God, I love her so much.”
Matilda stared up at her mom, and I swear she seemed to know who she was. The child was calm in her arms. Alice took one of her hands, and the baby’s tiny fingers wrapped around hers. Alice placed a kiss on the girl’s head.
“Promise me, Kellen,” Alice said, her voice barely a whisper. “Promise me you’ll take care of her.”
“I’ll take care of her, Alice,” I said. “I’ll take care of both of you. Just like Henry would have wanted.”
Alice nodded her head, then nuzzled her face against Matilda as if breathing her in. We sat like that for a long time, in silence. Paige stepped out, and Dr. Lee took her place to check Alice’s vitals. As expected, everything was fine. Her heart rate was as normal as it had been, if not lower. Her blood pressure had gone down. Having her child with her did a lot of good. I’d been right. Dr. Lee began to relax, and she too stepped out.
Alice lifted her head, and I knew something was wrong. She was struggling to breathe; a whooshing sound was all that came from her mouth. She motioned to the baby, and I took her in my arms, hoping it would help her breathe.
Her machines started going off, buzzing and beeping. Poor little Matilda started screaming. Eunice and Dr. Lee rushed inside, pushing Matilda and me out the doorway. I heard one of the nurses mentioned a Code Blue. While most people assume a Code Blue means that it’s very loud - most of the time, it’s actually quiet. Too quiet. The doctors and nurses know what to do; they aren’t scrambling and screaming directions as they do in the movies. Instead, they work quickly and quietly, focusing on their patient - focusing on keeping them alive.
My heart raced, and Matilda continued to scream in my arms. I held her close to me, whispering to her, “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
I needed to hear those words as much as she did. I needed to be told it would be okay. I rocked the baby in my arms, cradling her next to me to hopefully make her feel safe.
The beeping and buzzing stopped, and so did everyone in the room. They merely stopped what they were doing and stood there. In the silence, Dr. Lee looked at me. She motioned to Eunice, who hurried over and ushered me away, down the hall.
“How is she?” I asked. “How’s Alice?”
Eunice’s face told me everything I needed to know. “Please, have a seat.”
I sat, still holding Matilda against me. Paige came up behind Eunice, but I didn’t let her take Matilda. I held her close to me. I couldn’t imagine handing her off.
Eunice sat down beside me and gently said, “I’m sorry, but—”
“No,” I said, my chest tightening. I knew nothing ever good came from those words. I knew what I’d witnessed, I knew that nothing would be okay. Alice was gone. I just didn’t want to believe it. My body shaking, I repeated, “No, no, no.”
Paige reached for Matilda, and I refused to hand her over.
This child needed me.
Little did I know, I needed her just as much.
Chapter 5
Leah
“You’re going to need to replace the roof at some point.”
“Thanks, Grant,” I muttered.
“For what?” my brother asked, cocking his head to the side.
“For telling me what I already know,” I said dryly.
I felt like screaming. My brother had come by to do some minor repairs on the place, and while he was there, had to point out a number of other issues. All of which I couldn’t afford. I knew about them. They were on a list to get done eventually, when I managed to turn a bigger profit. One of these days, I kept telling myself.
“You know I can do the work,” Grant said, running a hand through his dark brown hair.
“All by yourself?” I raised my eyebrows.
“No, I’ve got a friend I can ask for help—”
“You have a friend?” I laughed. “I better look outside and see if pigs are flying yet, because God knows, that’s a first.”
My brother was a bit of a loner. Always had been. He never did too well in school, and while he enjoyed football, he didn’t like the popularity contest that often came with being an athlete. After high school, he chose the military instead of college, and came back even more of a lone wolf than before. The service changed him, and sometimes I wasn’t sure it was for the better.
“Yeah, well, I’ve been listening to your advice,” he said, smirking at me, “and decided to start my own business. I asked Kellen to join me since he’s good with his hands.”
“Kellen? That name doesn’t ring a bell,” I said.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be sure to meet him,” Grant laughed. “He’s out of town at the moment, though.”
“Does he live around here? If so, I’m sure I’ve seen him around—”
“You haven’t seen him around,” Grant said. “He’s more of a hermit than I am.”
“How did the two of you meet then?”
Grant shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
My brother wasn’t much for stories, so he went back to work on the kitchen sink without saying another word about his friend. I was happy for him. Grant needed to do more than work all the damn time. He had no interest in running the hotel, he left that to me, but he handled all the renovations on the building along with some rentals our family left us. For the most part, a management company handled those, but Grant insisted on doing all the work himself. He always found something to do, and sometimes, it felt like he would work himself to death.
“So do you and this friend do more than just work together?” I asked.
Grant grumbled something I couldn’t make out.
“What was that?”
He pulled himself out from under the sink just long enough to say, “I’m not dating the guy, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“God, no,” I laughed. “I know you’re into women. Even if I can’t recall the last time you went out on a date.”
“Kind of hard to date around here,” Grant said. “Everyone talks.”
“I can’t argue with that,” I said, leaning against the counter. “It’s part of the reason I’m not looking to date either. After what happened with Jason, half the town knew my business, while the other half heard a story that wasn’t even remotely true.”
“About the threesome you mean?” Grant piped up.
I cringed. “Don’t tell me you’ve heard it too?”
“Who hasn’t?” Grant said, reaching for the screwdriver before going back under the sink. He shot me a playful look. “I’m guessing it’s not true then?”
“No, it’s not true.” I pretended to kick him. “Jason cheated on me, plain and simple. I never gave him permission to sleep with other women, and no, I didn’t join him in that pursuit either.”
“I know,” Grant said. “And no one believes it. They know Jason is a scumbag.”
“Good.”
The bell at front desk rang, and I heard Philip talking to someone. A second later, Philip popped his head into the kitchen and said, “There’s a man out here asking for you.”
I followed Philip out into the lobby, and standing at the counter was a distinguished looking gentleman. He was wearing a tailored, designer suit that fit him very well, probably to overcompensate for his lack of attractiveness. He was far from handsome with a rat-like face and eyes that seemed to be pure b
lack. He watched me as I walked towards him, and I had to resist the urge to shudder.
“Are you the owner of this hotel?” the man asked, looking around with a disgusted look on his face. He acted like the place was filthy and crawling with roaches. We weren’t the Four Seasons, but we weren’t Motel 6 either.
“I am,” I said. “What can I help you with?”
The man reached out his hand, and I didn’t want to touch him, but it would be rude. I shook his hand, and inside of his palm was a business card. I groaned inwardly as soon as I read it.
Donovan Russo - Real Estate Developer with Russo and Brothers.
I tried to hand the card back to him.
“I can already tell you that I’m not interested,” I said.
He didn’t take the card, instead dropping his hands to the side and giving me a snide grin. “You aren’t even going to hear me out first?”
“Nope. Don’t need to,” I said, putting the card on the counter and pushing it toward him. “I’m not interested in selling.”
“Everyone has their price, Ms— I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
“Barnes. Leah Barnes,” I said. “Not that you’ll need to know that. We’re through talking.” I turned on my heels to head back to the kitchen.
“Is there someone else I could speak to? Perhaps your father?”
I stopped in my tracks and turned around. “Excuse me? I’m the owner of this hotel,” I said. “And the only one authorized to sell it or not, so unless—”
“I heard that a Mr. Grant Barnes also owns the place. Is he available?”
My jaw nearly hit the floor. This asshole wasn’t taking no for an answer. Grant must have heard his name, because he stepped out of the kitchen, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“You asked for me?”
“Yes, Mr. Barnes. I’d like to talk to you about selling your property—”
Grant raised an eyebrow, then took a step back, holding his hands up. “Oh hell no,” he said. “I’m not getting involved with this. Leah has control of the hotel. You need to talk to her.”
Mr. Russo’s eyes returned to me, and he didn’t look pleased.