It was Mr. Patterson. He didn’t have his gun, but he was walking toward her like he was really mad. Zoey straightened slowly.
“What’re you doing here again, Raymond!”
Zoey was shaking so badly, it took a moment for her to form speech. “I—wanted to bring you some cake.”
“Why?”
“I thought you might like some,” she whispered.
“Scared of me, are you?”
She wanted to lie but couldn’t. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. You should be scared of people you don’t know!” he barked, leaning in and yelling the last three words.
She jumped with fright.
He stuck out his hand.
Shaking, Zoey passed the bag holding the cake to him over the broken-down fence.
“Come back here, again, Raymond and I’ll shoot you! Now git!”
Her tears flowed as she ran back to her bike. Jumping on, she pedaled like her life was in danger. Maybe it was. She didn’t know. She’d tried to be nice to an old man, and all she’d gotten out of it was being yelled at and scared half to death. Her mom was going to be so angry when she got home and found her not there. Why was her life so awful?
Pedaling over open land now, the tears clouding her eyes kept her from seeing well, and instead of steering around a large hole ahead, she pedaled right into it. The abrupt stop sent her flying over the bars. When she landed, her head hit the ground, and everything went black.
Roni was pulling in to her garage when her phone sounded. Seeing Tamar’s name on the caller ID, she wondered what she wanted.
“Hey, Tamar.”
“I’m on the way to the Hays hospital with Zoey.”
Roni’s heart stopped. “What! What happened?”
Tamar told her of finding the unconscious Zoey in the field near Genevieve’s old place.
“Oh my god!”
“The EMTs just loaded her into the ambulance.”
“Did they say it was life-threatening?”
“Looks like her arm’s broken, and she’s still out. That’s all I know for sure.”
Roni began praying. “Okay. I’m on my way!” Roaring down the driveway, she fought for calm because she’d need that to make the drive. Common sense told her to call Lily or Bernadine and have them drive, but she didn’t want to waste the time it might take for them to arrive.
Praying nonstop, she blew down the street and took off toward the highway. Using the sync on her car, she put in a call to Reg and got his voice mail. Irritated, she said, “Zoey’s had a bike accident and is on her way to the Hays hospital. All I know for sure is that she’s unconscious and has a broken arm. Call me back ASAP.”
She’d just reached the ramp to the highway when he called back. “What happened?”
“No idea. On my way to the hospital now. Tamar found her.”
“Where was she?”
“Out by Genevieve’s old place, for some reason.”
“You didn’t know she was there?”
“No, Reg, I didn’t. She was supposed to be home.”
“Where the hell were you—at the damn studio?”
She cut the link and ended the call. She had no time for stupidity.
C H A P T E R
14
Roni rushed into the hospital’s ER and was quickly escorted to one of the trauma rooms. Tamar stood when she entered, but Roni’s attention went straight to her child, lying still as death against the stark white sheets on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and an IV was hooked into her left arm. She fought back tears as she approached. “Oh, baby.”
Tamar said gently, “She’s going to be okay. She woke up on the ride, and they gave her something for the pain. They took her straight to x-ray. Her arm’s broken in a couple of places. Doc’s on her way back in a few minutes to put the cast on.”
Roni stroked her brow. In spite of the beefing she and Reg were doing, Roni desperately wanted him at her side. He’d know what needed to be done and if it was being done correctly.
The doctor returned and introduced herself as Malinda Tomas. “We needed your permission to go forward, so I’m glad you were able to get here so quickly, Ms. Garland.”
A nurse entered and handed Roni a clipboard. After quickly reading and filling out all the forms, she signed them and handed them back to the nurse.
Her phone buzzed. It was a text message from Reg: On my way!
She was grateful.
Zoey’s eyes fluttered open.
Roni whispered, “Hey, cupcake.”
“I’m so sleepy.”
“I know, sweetie.”
“Where am I?”
“Hospital. You crashed on your bike. Tamar found you.”
Tamar smiled down.
“I’m sorry,” Zoey whispered.
“Go on back to sleep. We just want you to get better. Don’t worry about anything else.”
A lone tear slid down Zoey’s cheek, and she drifted away.
Roni watched as the cast was applied.
Dr. Tomas said, “It won’t hurt as much if she’s asleep, so it’s a good thing.”
“What kind of tests have you done?”
“We’ve x-rayed both arms, her legs, and her spine, just to make sure nothing else is broken. We’ll be monitoring her vitals for the next twenty-four hours.”
“Will she be okay?”
“The next twenty-four will tell. We’ll give her an MRI in the morning to check for swelling on the brain and to rule out any skull fractures. Does she have a bike helmet?”
“Yes—but she didn’t have it on, I take it?”
“No,” Tamar said testily.
Roni sighed in frustration.
Once the cast was complete, Dr. Tomas said, “I’m on the evening shift, so I’ll be back to check on her in a bit.”
“Thanks, Dr. Tomas.”
“You’re welcome.”
Tamar held out her arms, and Roni let herself be enfolded. “It’ll be okay,” Tamar whispered. “It’ll take more than a bike spill to take Zoey out. She’s tough.”
Roni agreed, but it was killing her to see her baby lying so motionless, but for the quiet rise and fall of her breath.
Tamar stepped out of the embrace. “Of course, she’s earned herself some pretty serious talking-to once she’s healed up.”
“You got that right.”
“But until then, you hang tough. Have you talked to Reg?”
“He’s on his way.”
“Good. I’ll stay with you until he comes.”
“No, it’s getting late. You go on home.” She’d trailed the ambulance in Olivia.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, and thanks so much for finding her.”
“You’re welcome. I had the ambulance folks put her busted bike in the truck. I’ll drop it off at Trent’s, if you want.”
“No. Hold on to it. I’ll come pick it up once we get her home. She’s not going to be riding it for a while.”
Tamar nodded understandingly. “Okay. I’ll head home. Text me in the morning and let me know how she is, and if you need anything.”
“Will do. I promise.”
Once alone, Roni sat next to Zoey’s bed and prayed.
It was midnight when a frantic Reggie reached the hospital. A nurse took him up to Zoey’s room on the third floor. Entering, he saw his wife sitting on a chair, and the pain and weariness in her eyes put a tightness in his chest.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Hey,” she replied.
He walked over to the sleeping Zoey. “How’s she doing?” He placed his hand on her forehead and glanced at the cast. He then checked the readout of the machine monitoring her vitals. As a doctor he’d learned to distance himself from his patients to get the job done, but this was different. The girl lying in the bed was the daughter of his heart.
“She seems to be okay. The tests they ran don’t show any other breaks or fractures. They did a preliminary scan of her skull, and it looks good, too. For once,
I’m glad she’s so hardheaded. They also did a scan of her spine. Dr. Tomas said they’ll do some more tests in the morning, including an MRI.”
Good.” He walked over to Roni so he could address the elephant in the room. “I’m sorry for the crack about the studio.”
“Apology accepted.” Her voice was chilly, but in truth he knew he was lucky she was speaking to him at all.
“So what was she doing out by Genevieve’s when she was supposed to be at home?”
“Tamar thinks she was out checking on Mr. Patterson.”
“Who’s that?”
Roni told him the story and how it related to the old man Zoey and Bonnie had looked after in Miami.
He shook his head with disbelief. “First the weights, then the fight, and now this.”
“I understand her wanting to check on him. We know she has a big heart, but she doesn’t know him, and it’s not her job. In fact, Tamar was on her way to see him when she spotted Zoey lying in the grass. Had it been an hour later, it would’ve been dark, and she might not have been seen until the next day.” She fought back tears. “I’m torn between waking her up and telling her she’s on lockdown for the rest of her life, and holding her tight and never letting her out of my sight ever again.”
Reggie felt the same, and seeing Roni in pain hurt as well. “Do you want to drive home to get some sleep and come back in the morning? I can stay with her tonight.”
She shook her head. “I’ll be here until the doctor says she can go home.”
“Then we’ll stay together.”
“Glad you’re here.”
He didn’t know if she was telling the truth, but he took it on face value and settled into a chair at her side.
Zoey was released on Sunday morning. When they got her home, she was weak and still groggy from the pain meds. “Do you want me to carry you up to your room?” Reggie asked her.
“No. I can walk.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
But it was a slow climb. He and Roni trailed behind to make sure she didn’t pitch back down the stairs.
Once in her room, she sat down heavily on the bed. Her breathing was labored. “I think I want to go to sleep.”
“Do you want help getting out of your clothes?” Roni asked.
She viewed her cast and nodded. “Daddy, can you wait outside until Mom’s done helping me?”
“Absolutely.” Reggie didn’t balk. She was growing up. He closed the door behind him and waited until he was called.
When he returned, she was in her NASCAR pajamas and tucked in. He viewed the cast on her arm. It would take her a while to become accustomed to it, and at the moment she probably found it pretty awkward.
“How long do I have to wear this thing?”
“About six weeks.”
She looked put out. “Can we wait a few days before I get yelled at?”
Both parents smiled.
“Sure can,” Roni said. “You just rest up for now. There’ll be plenty of yelling at the appropriate time. We’re just glad you’re home.”
“Me, too.”
It was plain that she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open, but she had one last request. “Can I have blueberry waffles when I wake up?”
“No problem,” Roni said.
After receiving a kiss on the forehead from first Roni and then Reg, she was asleep before they tiptoed from the room.
Roni didn’t have much of anything to say to Reggie for the rest of the day. He tried to tell himself it was okay, but truthfully it wasn’t. That evening, after they shared a silent dinner, he found her seated at the piano, working on some charts. That she would be going back into the studio weighed on his mind also.
“Dads Inc. meeting tonight at Trent’s. Should be back in a few hours.” Reggie enjoyed the camaraderie of the men of Henry Adams and was looking forward to some chill time, if only to take his mind off the situation at home.
“Okay. Enjoy yourself. I’ll keep an eye on the patient.”
The eyes he looked into were distant. The doctor in him wanted to remind her to make sure Zoey received her pain meds on time and to call him if anything came up, but he knew it wasn’t necessary. Saddened by the place they were in, he left her to her music.
As he descended the stairs into Trent’s spacious basement, the first thing everyone wanted to know was Zoey’s condition.
“She’s home and resting.”
“Glad Tamar found her,” Mal said.
“So are we. Her arm’s in a cast for the next six weeks, so fence painting is out as her punishment, but we’ll come up with something. She asked if we’d put off yelling at her for a couple days. How’s Devon, by the way? Roni let me know about the fight.”
“Patched up, but okay,” Trent replied. “I think his pride’s hurt more than anything. We keep telling him to stop being such a pain in the ass. Maybe now he’ll listen.”
Before taking a seat, Reggie grabbed a soda and put some chips and pretzels on his plate. The meetings were usually informal, and this one was no exception. Opening remarks centered on the new store. The colonel talked about the shoplifters he’d sent packing. “I’m starting a wall of shame. It’ll have all the faces of everyone caught shoplifting. Nice deterrent, I think.”
Mal chuckled. “Cold, but on point.”
Everyone agreed.
Gary brought Reggie up to speed on the grand opening. “It went really well. Looked like half the county showed up.”
“And Amari won one of the twenty-five-dollar gift cards,” Trent added.
Reggie thought that was great. “What’d he buy?”
“Chips, nachos, frozen pizzas. All the basic food groups necessary for a teenager’s existence.”
Jack James raised his beer. “Hear, hear!”
Reg smiled.
Trent asked, “So how was the conference?”
He shrugged. “It was okay. Didn’t enjoy it like I could’ve, though.”
“Why not?” Mal asked.
Reg sighed. “Issues with me and Roni. Is it so bad for me to admit that I want my wife to be at home and not in the studio or off gallivanting around the world?”
The men went still. Reg saw them pass looks before Mal replied, “Nothing wrong with admitting it. In fact, that’s probably a good thing, but since you know that’s not who she is, how are you going to deal with it?”
The colonel cracked, “Weren’t you the one all up in my grill about how I was dealing with Sheila?”
Chuckles followed that, and Reg dropped his head in mock shame, then raised his soda. “Touché, Barrett.”
“Just wanted clarification. Not so easy being a man of the twenty-first century, is it?”
“Not for those of us who’ve evolved,” Jack boasted.
“Not talking to you, James.”
The two men grinned at each other.
Gary got up for more munchies. “So, Reg, what’re you going to do? Have you talked to her about how you feel?”
“Every time I open my mouth, something stupid comes out, so basically she’s dealing with me like I’m a piece of the furniture.”
“Example,” said Mal.
Reg sighed. “When she called me about Zoey’s accident, I asked her why she didn’t know Zoey was out on her bike, and if it was because she’d been in the damn studio.”
Trent shook his head. “Ouch.”
Jack concurred. “Yep. Definitely stupid.”
Mal asked, “What did she say?”
“Nothing. She hung up on me.”
Gary winced. “Double ouch.”
“Not sure how to make things better, because I was raised in a traditional household. Dad worked. Mom stayed home.”
“Sorta like June Cleaver, right?” said Trent.
Reggie’s face soured. He remembered the conversation they’d had on the ride to the airport.
Mal leaned over. “As I said, there’s nothing wrong with admitting it. And if I remember correctly, didn’t
she build the studio in town as a compromise?”
“Yeah.”
“So why are you still beefing?”
“Because I’m a man, dammit. I want it to be my way or the highway.”
They laughed.
Jack said, “You’re going to mess around and be on that highway, if you’re not careful.”
Trent asked, “Since you’re being truthful, and there’s only us Neanderthals here—”
Jack said, “Hey. Speak for yourself.”
“Shut up, Jack,” said Barrett.
Jack smiled and took a draw on his beer.
“—is that your only issue?” Trent finished.
“No.”
They waited.
“She also makes a good hundred times more than what I’m pulling down in my practice.”
Mal shook his head. “And Bernadine makes a million times what I’m pulling down. So what?”
“I’m the man.”
Mal replied, “You keep saying that, but is that getting you any closer to resolving the problem?”
Gary said, “You’d make a mean Dr. Phil, Mal.”
Jack interrupted them. “Saw an article online the other day. It said that forty percent of women in this country are the primary breadwinners, and that many men feel exactly the same way you do, Reg. But most of the comments posted in response were just the opposite. A lot of the men said they were proud of their ladies. One guy said he not only loved staying home and being with his kids, but the fact that his wife made enough money to take the family to Hawaii every year was awesome, too. All depends on how you look at it, I suppose.”
“So what do I do?”
“Grow up,” Mal said pointedly.
“Dad . . . ,” Trent warned.
“Hey. We started this group to hang out and help one another. I’m not going to tell him to club Roni over the head until she does what he wants. Not going to happen.”
“So I’m just supposed to suck it up?”
Barrett asked, “What’s your alternative? You want out of your marriage?”
“Thinking about a trial separation.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “I see why she’s treating you like a piece of the furniture. You have a beautiful, talented woman who adores you, and you want out because she won’t be June Cleaver? That’s crazy, Reg.”