River's End (9781426761140) (11 page)

Anna tucked the blankets more snugly around Hazel's shoulders as Clark piloted their boat downriver, like a floating hospital, filled with medics, Dr. Schwartz, and the stretcher. Anna thought Hazel's coloring looked slightly better, perhaps as a result of the oxygen mask . . . or was it from the hawthorn? Anna would need to tell the hospital doctor about that, just in case it would present a problem with any other medications they might want to give Hazel.

She held Hazel's hand, warming the cool fingers in her own. “You're going to be okay,” she said gently.

“So much bother,” Hazel labored to say, “for an old lady.”

Anna smiled down on her. “You are a greatly loved old lady.”

Hazel closed her eyes, and Anna silently prayed. Hazel might be old, but they were not ready to lose her. Not yet. Especially with the problems brewing between Lauren and
Sarah. Anna felt she needed Hazel's wisdom and strength more than ever now.
Please, God, do not take her from us
, she prayed.
Help everyone to help this dear woman . . . please, heal her . . . make her well. We need her
.

Anna looked up to the front of the boat where Clark was pushing the boat to the fastest speed that was safe on the river. She knew he was feeling the stress of this as much, maybe more, than she was. Besides his son, Marshall, Hazel was Clark's only living relative. They had always been close. Anna knew that his concerns for his mother would be intense.
Please, God!

Although it had to be one of the fastest trips she'd ever experienced into town, it still seemed like hours before the medics were finally loading Hazel's stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Clark and Anna ran to the car they kept parked in the side lot of Greeley's Groceries and were soon on their way.

“All things considered that wasn't such a bad trip,” Clark said as he drove through town. “I think it was faster than the road. Not to mention smoother.”

“I can't believe that in all these years of running the inn, we never had to do something like that before,” she said.

“There was the time when the Miller boy broke his arm,” Clark reminded her.

“Yes, but we didn't have medics come out.”

“And no ambulance.”

“I guess we've been fortunate.”

Clark blew out a loud sigh.

“It's going to be okay,” she told him.

“I hope so.”

“Everyone is praying for her, Clark.”

He just nodded.

By the time they were able to see Hazel, she seemed a little better. Again, Anna remembered the hawthorn, quickly explaining to the doctor attending to her what she'd given Hazel.

He frowned. “Hawthorn?”

“It's an herbal remedy,” she told him. “It's good for heart and circulation problems.”

“Oh . . . ?” He wrote something down on his clipboard.

“I just thought you should be aware.”

“Yes . . . well . . .” He nodded briskly. “It does appear to be heart. Perhaps angina. Or possibly something more. We'll be running tests.” He looked at Clark now. “You're the son?”

“Yes.”

“You'll need to fill in the paperwork for insurance and such. At the front desk.” He made a stiff-looking smile. “And there's a waiting room out there.” Now using an authoritative voice, he called over to the nurse who was standing nearby. It seemed that Clark and Anna were being excused.

“We'll be in the waiting room,” Anna told Hazel, pausing to gently squeeze Hazel's hand. “Just rest and do all you can to get well again, dear. Everyone is praying for you. We need you.”

The sides of Hazel's mouth turned up ever so slightly.

“Don't try to talk.” Anna released her hand. “Just rest. We'll see you soon.”

After a long day at the hospital, Clark and Anna finally felt comfortable about leaving the hospital. Reassured that Hazel's condition had stabilized and relieved to see her able to take some food at dinnertime, they decided it was probably time for them to return to the inn. Lauren had assured Anna that all was well when they'd spoken by phone earlier, but Anna knew that this was a busy time of year and, that their absence would put more stress on the staff.

“Don't worry about me,” Hazel told them as they were saying good-bye. She glanced over at the night-shift doctor who had just examined her. “If I had my way, I'd be going home with you.”

“We just want to observe you a while longer,” the doctor said kindly. He was an older gentleman with what Anna felt were much nicer bedside manners than the previous physician. “It appears to be stable angina,” he explained. “But we just want to be sure you're all right and that the angina medication is helping before we release you to go home.”

Now Anna told him about how she gave Hazel hawthorn earlier. “I did mention this to the other doctor, and I expect it would be out of her system by now . . . but I did want you
to know . . . just in case it was a problem with the angina medicine.”

His eyes lit up. “Yes, hawthorn was just the right treatment,” he said. “In fact it's much gentler and safer than digitalis.” He peered curiously at Anna. “Are you an herbal healer?”

“She most certainly is,” Hazel said quickly. “Her grandmother knew a lot of the old herbs and how to use them.”

“And I had another friend, too.” Now Anna told him about Babette.

“I knew Babette,” the doctor said. “I met her shortly after I set up my practice in town. Wonderful woman.”

Anna nodded. “Yes, I still miss her.”

“You kids go on home,” Hazel told Clark and Anna. “I can tell I'm in good hands now.” She grinned at the doctor.

Clark leaned down to kiss his mother's forehead. “I'm so glad to see you feeling better, Mom.”

“So am I.” Anna nodded.

“Suddenly I realize that I'm hungry as a bear.” Clark patted his midsection. “And I'm sure they've finished dinner at the inn by now.”

“You take Anna out for a nice dinner,” Hazel insisted. “Enjoy a night out.”

He grinned. “I think we'll do just that.”

Anna had such a sense of relief and hopefulness as they exited the hospital. Despite the long and stressful day, she wasn't even tired. The chilly fog had completely burned off, and the air outside was now warm and moist, with only a slight breeze coming in off the ocean. A perfect evening.

“I do feel a bit guilty,” she admitted as they went into the restaurant. “Like we should be back at the inn to help out.”

“They'll get by without us,” he assured her. “And this makes up for yesterday's fiasco.”

She frowned. “What fiasco?”

“My unfortunate picnic plan. Remember?”

“Oh, yes.” She shook her head. “Was that really only yesterday? It seems like so long ago.”

“A lot's happened since then.” He smiled as he pulled out a chair for her. “I'm just so glad that Mom is okay.”

“And even though it was a trying day, I think it was well worth it,” Anna said “to get her to be seen by a doctor.”

“Although it sounds like your home treatment might've worked too.”

“If she'd been taking it.” Anna put a napkin in her lap. “I have a feeling we'll have to stay on her when she comes home, Clark. We may need to remind her to keep up with her medications.”

“I'll talk to her about that,” he promised. “And now let's just enjoy this evening.”

That is exactly what they did, taking their time over dinner, then enjoying a walk down by the docks and finally, slowly making the trip upriver by the light of the moon. “I forgot how beautiful the river is at night,” Anna said as she pulled one of the blankets more snugly around her shoulders and leaned into Clark. “Very romantic.”

He chuckled. “Guess I'll have to take you for more moonlit boat trips.”

“I guess so.” Of course, as she said this, she wondered what the likelihood of that would be. Usually they were busy in the evenings, cleaning up after a meal, preparing for a bonfire session or tending to business. Once again, Anna had to question whether the inn had gotten too big and too busy. Was this really what she'd dreamed of back when they'd started this?

As soon as Clark docked the boat, Anna could tell that their magical evening was over. “Go ahead and go inside,” he told her. “I still need to tend to the boats and get everything ready for morning.”

She offered to help, but he wouldn't hear of it. And so she went on up to the house where the lights were still on and Sarah was sitting in the living room with a frustrated expression. “How is she?” she demanded as Anna came inside. She was obviously very worried about Hazel.

Anna quickly explained about the heart condition. “But she's stabilized now,” she told Sarah. “And hopefully she'll get to come home soon.”

“What made her have a heart problem?” Sarah's eyes were filled with concern.

“I don't know for sure,” Anna admitted.

“I've heard that stress can give people heart attacks,” Sarah said. “Do you think she was stressed out by something here?”

“Maybe . . . or maybe it's just her age . . . and being worn out from her travels.” She touched Sarah's cheek. “I really don't know. But please don't worry about her. I'm sure she's going to be fine now.”

“I hope I haven't stressed her out.” Sarah's brow creased. “I know I haven't been exactly easy to live with lately.”

Anna smiled. Did this mean Sarah was trying to move beyond her bitterness toward Lauren? Perhaps these concerns over Hazel could be a wake-up call—a reminder that life is too short to be angry at someone you should love. “I'm sure we'll all do whatever we can to make Hazel comfortable and at ease when she comes home,” she told Sarah. “And trust me, Hazel is very eager to get back to the inn and her little cabin. She would've gladly come home with us tonight if the doctor had allowed it.”

Now Anna asked about how things had gone at the inn during their absence. “I felt badly for not being here. Did that make it hard on anyone?”

Sarah shrugged. “Well, it was pretty crazy and busy all day. But I guess we took care of it. I didn't hear any of the guests complaining.”

Anna hugged her now. “Thank you, Sarah. You have no idea how much I appreciate your help around here.”

“I'm glad someone does.”

Anna wondered what this was in reference to but, worried that it was probably Lauren, decided not to pursue it. “And you know that, just like always, you'll be paid for your work here,” she told Sarah. “If you like we can keep a portion of it in an account for you like we've done with the other kids, in case you want to use it for college.”

“College?” Sarah looked surprised. “How do you expect me to get into college when I haven't even graduated from high school?”

“I've been meaning to talk to you about that.” Now Anna explained about how she'd heard that Sarah could take a test and get a diploma that was equivalent to a high school degree. “I think it's called a GED,” she said. “Would you like to do that?”

Sarah frowned. “I don't see why.”

Anna tried not to look too surprised. “Well, maybe you'd like to think about it some.” She glanced at the clock. “It's getting late, and I'm sure you're worn out from a long, hard day.”

Sarah just nodded.

“Goodnight, darling. And thanks again for helping out today.”

Sarah said good night, but something about her expression made Anna feel slightly uneasy as she got ready for bed. Had Anna said something to offend her? Was it the suggestion about college? Or was Sarah still out of sorts over Lauren? Whatever it was, it would have to wait until morning. Anna was too tired to figure it out tonight.

The house was quiet when Anna got up the following morning. That wasn't so unusual since it was still quite early, although Clark was already up. Probably out at the boathouse helping the guests who planned to go fishing today. Anna dressed, then got the coffee in the house started before she went down to the dining room to lend a hand there as well. She didn't always help with the meals, but it would be her way of repaying her staff for their extra efforts yesterday. Although it wasn't even seven, Diane was already fast at work. “You're an early bird,” she told her.