Sirens filled the air as he pulled in front of us, leading the way.
Tam said, "See?" and stepped on the gas.
"I didn't know you were such a good liar." I'd stopped shaking, but my heart was now beating in my throat.
"We all have our talents."
We made it to the hospital in less than five minutes. Tam parked the car under the emergency room portico and Officer Nice Guy helped her inside.
"Go, go," she told me, waving me off as a gurney appeared out of nowhere. The officer must have called ahead.
I ran up to the desk on wobbly legs. "Riley Quinn," I said.
The woman barely looked up. "And you are?"
"His mother," I lied. I didn't know if they'd let me in otherwise.
Behind the counter, she rolled her eyes. "Biggest family I ever saw. Go through those double doors, take a left at the green doors, a right through the red doors, then follow the blue line until you get to the nurses' station. Someone there will help you."
Green, red, blue, I repeated, trying to remember what she'd said as I pushed through the double doors.
My nose scrunched at the hated hospital smell. Not my favorite scent, that blend of antiseptic and illness.
A handrail lined one wall and a rainbow of colors decorated the floor. Looked like a class of preschoolers had had their way with a box of crayons.
I came to a set of yellow doors.
Yellow?
Red, green, blue. Green, red, blue? Blue, green, red?
No yellow at all! Oh no!
"Riley," I whispered loudly as I passed open doorways. What was it about hospitals and nursing homes? Why couldn't I pass a room without looking in? So far all I'd seen were two empty beds and a storage closet.
"Riley?" I whispered louder.
"Shhh!" someone said from within one of the rooms. "Trying to watch Price Is Right!"
"Sorry!"
I came to a set of green doors and decided to try my luck. I pushed through them. They led to another hallway that looked like it had a nurses' station at the end of it.
Quickly, I walked toward it, still unable to keep from peeping in the rooms I passed. I walked past an open door, looking in out of the corner of my eye, and stopped so fast I turned my ankle.
"Ow, ow, ow!" I hopped around like a rabid bunny. Not that I'd ever seen a rabid bunny, but I figured that's what I looked like.
I was rambling. Never a good sign.
"Nina Ceceri, is that you?"
Like nails on chalkboard, that voice, German accent and all. I thought about pretending to not hear her.
"I know you heard me," she snapped.
She sounded awfully healthy for someone lying in an E.R. hospital bed.
I backed up, stood in the doorway. "Mrs. Krauss, I really can't stay. I'm looking for Riley."
She sat upright, the oxygen tube in her nose straining. "Riley? Something's happened to the boy?"
The genuine fear in Brickhouse Krauss's eyes softened my hatred of her. "I don't know. I got a call that he'd been brought here."
She scrambled out of bed, tugging her johnnie around her to cover places I never ever wanted to see.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said. "You're obviously not well."
A white eyebrow arched angrily. "Ach."
Ohh-kay.
With the oxygen tube abandoned and IV pole firmly in hand, Mrs. Krauss shuffled out the door, her paper-thin gown flapping.
"Did you check the nurses' station?" she asked me.
"No."
"Never were a good problem solver, were you, Nina Ceceri?"
Mrs. Krauss, aka Brickhouse Krauss, had been my English Lit teacher once upon a time. She was evil, pure and simple, but it seemed as though I was the only one who saw her that way. More recently she had an on-off relationship with my neighbor, Mr. Cabrera. Currently they were off, even though they really loved each other.
It was Mrs. Krauss's fear of dying that kept breaking them up. See, all Mr. Cabrera's lady friends had the unfortunate habit of kicking the bucket while dating him. Brickhouse freely admitted she broke up with him every few weeks to even the odds.
"Why are you here?" I asked her.
Her short white hair stuck out in wayward tufts. "I'm not dying, if that's what you're hoping."
"What? Me? Hoping? Never."
Again with the eyebrow as she narrowed her ice blue eyes on me. I shivered.
"So?"
"Pneumonia," she said. "Mild case."
The wheels on the IV pole squeaked as we walked down the hallway. "Isn't it funny that you get sick when you're not dating Mr. Cabrera? Didn't you get strep the last time you broke up with him? It's kind of ironic."
"What do you know about irony, Nina Ceceri?" she snapped.
"I paid some attention in your class."
"Hah!"
Thankfully, we'd reached the nurses' station, the center of four hallways that created an X. In an odd way, I was glad I'd run into Brickhouse. I had calmed down considerably. "Riley Quinn?" I asked the nurse on duty.
She checked a chart, said, "Room 5, down the hall on the right." She motioned straight ahead. "Follow the blue line."
As if it was that easy.
Brickhouse started in that direction, but I held back. "Tamara Oliver?" I asked.
Again with the chart flipping. "She's still being evaluated. Check back in a few minutes."
I said thanks and rushed to catch up to Brickhouse. As we neared Room 5, I could hear all sorts of commotion coming from within.
The first person I saw when I peeked in was Kevin. All the tears I'd been holding back welled in my eyes.
"Donatelli!" Mrs. Krauss said, clutching the front of her gown.
Everyone in the room turned to look at us in the doorway. My gaze skipped from Mr. Cabrera, who wore a pea-greencolored, short-sleeve button-down with a polar bear pattern, to an older woman with champagne-colored hair who I didn't recognize, to my cousin Ana, all big brown eyes, and finally to Kevin.
Kevin's gaze slammed into mine, and one of those dammed tears fell. "Where's Riley?" I asked, though it didn't sound like my voice at all, all choked and strained.
"Ursula!" I absently heard Mr. Cabrera say. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"
In an instant Kevin was on his feet, headed toward me. I didn't even mind when he pulled me into a hug. "He's fine, Nina."
I could almost hear Tam's I told you so.
"Ach," Brickhouse said to Mr. Cabrera. "Like you care. Who's she?"
I heard the jealousy in her voice as Kevin's hand cupped the back of my head, his fingers gently kneading. He said, "A little accident."
I rested my forehead against his chest.
"A neighbor," Mr. Cabrera said. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his face turn three shades of purple. A neighbor, my foot. I didn't recognize the woman.
"I'm glad you're here," Kevin said.
How could he have betrayed me? How could he have walked away from seven pretty darn good years of marriage? For Ginger Ho. Er, Barlow. Ginger Barlow, his police partner.
I hated her.
And I remembered that I was supposed to hate him too.
I pulled back, out of his hug. Okay, it wasn't as fast as it could have been, but at least I did it.
Mind over matter and all that.
Oh no. There I went sounding like my mother again.
"Your mother's on her way," Ana said as if reading my mind. She came over, took my hand, held it tight. "Mr. Cabrera called her, and she called me. I was closer."
Half of Freedom probably knew about the accident by now, thanks to Mr. Cabrera's loose lips.
"Is Riley really okay?" I asked her, not wanting to look at Kevin. I had the uneasy feeling he knew I still loved him. That maybe, if he waged an all-out please-take-me-back war, I would. Take him back.
Would I?
Then what about Bobby? my inner voice asked.
I told it to please shut up.
That's me. Nina Colet
te Polite Ceceri Quinn.
"He's fine. He might have a broken wrist. He's in X-ray now."
"What happened?" I asked.
Mrs. Krauss was giving Mr. Cabrera's new girlfriend the evil eye. She did it quite well. My mother would be proud of her efforts.
Mr. Cabrera puffed out his chest. "Well, Miz Quinn, it's like this. Boom-Boom here—"
"Boom-Boom?" Brickhouse and I asked at the same time.
The older woman with sickly blonde hair stepped forward, smiled wide, her teeth as big and as yellow as the dingy locks on her head. I tried not to cringe.
"Boom-Boom Vhrooman," she said, holding out a hand. Reluctantly, I took it as she added, "I'm your new neighbor. I moved into Mrs. Warnicke's house."
"Ach."
"Now Ursula," Mr. Cabrera tried to soothe.
"Ach," she boomed.
He shut up.
Mrs. Warnicke had recently died of a heart attack after waking to find a burglar in her house. I wondered if BoomBoom knew that. Some people might get spooked by living in a place where someone had recently died.
I knew I would.
Ana squeezed my hand. "Seems Boom-Boom and Riley had a head-on collision."
My gaze whipped to Kevin. He was sitting on Riley's empty bed and looked as though he were enjoying the playby-play between Mr. Cabrera and Brickhouse. "And he only has a broken wrist?" I asked. "Are they sure?"
"Riley had his helmet on—"
Thank God.
"—and thankfully, Mrs. Vhrooman—"
"Boom-Boom, please," she cut in.
Kevin's mouth twitched. "Boom-Boom was driving a golf cart."
"It's actually not a golf cart," Boom-Boom supplied. "It's a motorized vehicle. Helps me get around. Bad heart, you know." She thumped her huge chest for emphasis.
I didn't think a woman with a bad heart should be hanging around Mr. Cabrera but kept that thought to myself. However, I noticed a small smile curved Mrs. Krauss's lips. Apparently she'd had the same thought and was pleased by her conclusion.
A kind-looking nurse stuck her head through the doorway. She was awfully pretty, with long, slightly curly hair, big brown eyes, and a warm smile. Her name badge read megan little, rn. I checked to see if Kevin was checking her out.
He wasn't.
It made me feel marginally better.
"Mrs. Krauss," Megan Little, RN, said, "there you are. Your daughter is worried sick trying to find you. Come with me."
Brickhouse looked like she was going to argue, but just arched an eyebrow at Mr. Cabrera, turned, and dragged her IV pole out the door.
"Is she really sick?" Mr. Cabrera asked me. "There is that nasty flu bug going around."
"She'll be fine." No one that mean could stay down long. "You could go be with her," I suggested.
Boom-Boom pouted.
Mr. Cabrera shook his head. "Nah. She broke up with me. I'm not gonna go crawlin' back."
I silently added Again. Honestly, he had put up with a lot from her. Though I had to admit, I'd never seen him happier than when he was with her.
And she did have a somewhat valid reason for breaking up with him. I couldn't imagine it was easy to live with certain death hanging over your head.
Someone coughed from the doorway. I turned and saw a handsome man, early forties, big blue eyes, bright white teeth, standing there wearing a lab coat. A stethoscope hung around his neck. Ana perked up.
"Doctor," she said, abandoning my hand to rush over to him, "is Riley okay?"
"Coming through," someone said from the hallway.
Ana and Dr. Feelgood parted, allowing Riley, being pushed in a wheelchair, to enter. He hopped out of the wheelchair and onto the edge of the bed, his legs swinging.
The doctor patted Ana's hand and smiled at her. "Fine. The X rays showed no breaks at all." He looked at Riley. "With a sprain this severe, however, it's best you keep it easy for a few days. No skateboarding."
Riley's dark blue eyes went wide. "What about work?"
"What do you do?" Dr. Feelgood asked him.
"I work at Growl. Sometimes the register, sometimes with food prep."
The doctor bit his lip, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how Ana stared at him.
"It would be best to take a day or two off. The nurse has some paperwork for you, but after that you all are free to go."
We thanked Dr. Feelgood, and he turned to leave. It was no surprise to see Ana follow him out. Even though she'd been dating riverboat security guard S. Larue—we still didn't know his first name—off and on for a solid month now, she was always on the prowl.
"I can't miss work," Riley said to Kevin.
"They'll understand."
Riley scowled. He was a good scowler. "Ebenezer won't."
"Ebenezer?" I asked.
Mr. Cabrera said, "Russ Grabinsky." At my confused look, he added, "Riley's boss."
I stared. I didn't even want to know how Mr. Cabrera knew the man's name when I didn't.
"He'll fire me now for sure," Riley said. "He doesn't like me."
"Your uncle Bill won't let that happen," Kevin said, clapping Riley on the back. "I'll call him tonight."
It amazed me how the two of them looked so much alike. Both tall, dark, and brooding.
"I can call him," Riley said.
It still shocked me when Riley showed signs of maturity. One of these days I was going to have to get used to it.
"No hard feelings?" Boom-Boom asked Riley.
"Nah," he said. "Come into Growl sometime. Dinner is on me."
Boom-Boom beamed and patted his cheek.
Hmmph. He never let me pat his cheek.
Megan Little, RN, poked her head in again. "Nina Quinn?" she asked.
"That's me," I said, slightly confused.
"Tam Oliver is asking to see you. If you could follow me?"
Tam! I'd forgotten about Tam. I could only imagine the superfluous tests they were subjecting her to.
"I'll be right back," I told Riley.
Kevin's brows creased in worry. "Is Tam okay?"
I thought about her Oscarworthy performance in the car. "She's fine."
I followed the nurse down the red-lined hallway and stopped in my tracks when I stepped into Tam's room. She was hooked up to all sorts of monitors, including one tortuous looking belt-thingy wrapped around her stomach.
The nurse said to Tam, "I contacted Mr. Phillips. He's on his way." She closed the door behind her.
"Ian? Ian's coming here?" I asked.
The father of Tam's baby was her first husband, a marriage that had been declared null and void after she discovered he already had a wife. He'd been in jail when Tam found out she was pregnant, and I didn't know if he knew about the baby. Knowing Tam, probably not. And since he'd be serving time for a few more years, I wondered if he'd ever know about the baby.
But if Ian was coming, something serious must be wrong. He and Tam had been dating hot and heavy for about a month now. Were head over heels despite the fact that Ian was an FBI agent and Tam had a thing against people who wore badges. I rushed over to the bed. "Tam, what's wrong?"
She sniffled. "How's Riley?"
"Fine. Just fine."
A grin spread across her face. "I told you so."
I smiled in spite of the knot of worry twisting my stomach. "What's wrong?"
"I have to stay here."
"What! Why?"
"It seems I'm not such a good liar after all. I'm having contractions. Looks like the baby wants to come early."
Four
I'd barely slept at all last night between worrying about Tam and trying to figure out what I was going to do without her at TBS.
Shading my eyes against the early morning sun, I surveyed the Lockharts' backyard and wondered if it was too early to call the hospital.
All my other calls had resulted in the same outcome: No change in Ms. Oliver's condition.
A truck rumbled in the distance. I hoped it was Kit with the skid loader. The yard was going
to take a while to clear out, but luckily the first dump truck had arrived on time, so we were all ready to begin when Kit showed.