Healing Hearts: A friends with benefits, small town romance (Hope River Book 3)

by Margaret McHeyzer

  “There is, but in a nutshell, this is the stroke that usually involves the fewest complications. The fact it happened when you were home, and you got her here so fast is a godsend, because if it is what I think it is, your aunt should make a close to, if not full recovery.”

  Tabitha smiles, but then breaks down in tears again. “It’s okay,” I say as I gently rub her back. “What happens now?” I ask the doctor.

  “We still have some more tests to run. Although our hospital is small, we have all the staff and equipment we need here to help her. So, I just wanted to let you know that you both did an amazing thing getting her here as fast as you did. Now, I need to get back to see where May is at with the tests we’re running.”

  “Can I see her?” Tabitha asks.

  “Not yet. It might be worth going home, having some lunch, maybe even a nap if you can, and coming back later.”

  “No, I’m not leaving,” Tabitha says adamantly while shaking her head.

  “You don’t have to, but I can say with certainty I won’t have a definite answer for you for a little while. You’re welcome to stay though.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait until you come and see me again. I can’t go anywhere in case…” Tabitha drops her gaze. “I’d like to stay, please.”

  “Okay. There are vending machines down the hall to the right. And there’s a coffee station in the alcove opposite the vending machine. If you need anything, one of the nurses should be able to help. I’ll come out when I have more news.”

  “Thank you,” both Tabitha and I reply in unison.

  The moment the doctor leaves, Tabitha leans right back, and looks up at the bright fluorescent lighting. “I can’t go home, Charlie,” she says.

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  “If I go home, and something happens, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

  “I’ll stay with you.”

  “You don’t have to, I’ll be alright.”

  Here she goes, doing what she always does. This shit stops now. “No, I’m staying here with you,” I say firmer.

  Tabitha turns her head and sighs. “I’ll be okay,” she says again.

  “Tabitha, this ends now. You’re not going to crawl back into your little hole and refuse to let me in. Right now, at this very moment, you need me. And I won’t let you fall.”

  The edges of her lips turn down, and her already red, puffy eyes well with tears. Her chin quivers as more tears leak. My heart absolutely breaks for Tabitha. Her life has been one disappointment after another, starting with a mother who blatantly said she didn’t want her. Who does that? People like her mother don’t deserve to have children.

  Tabitha is a mess, and I’m going to make sure she knows I’m here, no matter what. My words don’t sink in right now, because I suspect all she’s ever heard are false promises. It will be my actions that’ll make her see I’m the man for her.

  “Thank you,” she finally says in a tiny voice. “Thank you for not leaving me.”

  Fuck me, she’s thanking me for not leaving her in her moment of need? I hold her closer, grabbing her under the thighs and swinging her legs over me. She needs to know I’m not going anywhere.

  Tabitha

  My eyes are closing, but there’s no way I’m going home. Not until Aunt May talks to me. I’m sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair next to her bed. Her skin looks better, not so gray and sickly, but the dark circles under her eyes are still quite visible.

  I place my head on the mattress, completely exhausted by the last twenty-four hours. Wow, these last few days have been nothing but a whirlwind. “Tabby?” Aunt May says.

  I look up, so grateful she’s okay. “Aunt May.” I burst into tears as I hold her hand in mine.

  “Shhh, don’t cry.” Aunt May sounds different. Her voice is slurred and slower.

  “Aunt May, I panicked, I’m sorry.”

  She smiles, but the left side of her mouth struggles to match the right side. “You’re sorry for saving me?”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you. You’ve always done so much for me, and been there for me when no one else was.”

  “Tabby, you did the right thing. You called Charlie, and you saved me because of how fast you both acted. Thank you.” She lifts her right hand and strokes my cheek.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask.

  “Like I’ve been in a boxing ring for hours.” She smiles again. “Martha’s a kind woman, remind me to donate more money to the hospital,” Aunt May says.

  “Martha said she’s going to come back and speak to both of us. I’m waiting for her. I’ll go find her.”

  “Okay, darling. You go, I’ll be waiting, considering I can’t go anywhere.” There’s the Aunt May I know. Full of life, and sass.

  I get up, give Aunt May a kiss on the cheek, and head out to find Martha. When I arrive at the nurses’ station, I notice a lot of people from town hovering around, waiting for someone. “Tabitha!” Murray calls when he sees me. I walk over to where he’s standing. “How’s May, is she okay? Does she need anything? What can we do to help?” Murray asks.

  I notice how everyone who was waiting is now congregating behind Murray. Shit, they’re all here for May. “Thank you, everyone, for being here.” I place my hand over my heart. “But right now, Aunt May needs to rest and heal. She’s okay, and as soon as I find out more, I’ll let you all know.”

  “Can we see her?” Murray asks.

  “It might be a bit overwhelming for her at the moment. As soon as she gets the all clear for visitors, I’ll let you know.” I smile, totally in love with the small group of people who’ve come out to see how Aunt May is doing.

  “Hmmm.” Murray looks to the side. “We’ll just wait then.”

  The people behind him all agree in unison. “For now, it might be better if you all go home. Because we still need to talk to Martha and see what’s happening, what Aunt May’s test results tell us. But I promise, I’ll keep you all up to date.”

  Murray inhales and exhales intensely. “Can we do anything for you, Tabitha?” he asks, genuinely concerned.

  “I’m okay. Thank you.”

  “You have my number?” he asks.

  “And mine?”

  “Yes, mine too?” everyone starts asking.

  “Yes, Aunt May has all your numbers, but I can’t call everyone. So, I’ll let Elle know, and she can pass the message on to you all. Okay?”

  “Thank you, Tabitha,” Margery says as she takes my hands in hers. “You’re a beautiful person. Anything you need, I’m here for you.”

  “Thank you.” They all turn and start walking away as a group. Aunt May will be touched by how beautiful the townsfolk are, coming to see if they can help.

  “Tabitha?” Martha calls, and I spin around to see her walking toward me. “How are you holding up?” she asks as she leads me over to the chairs Charlie and I were in yesterday.

  “Okay, I think. Um,” I stop talking, just thinking. “I’m overwhelmed by it all, and I just need to catch my breath, because these last twenty-four hours have been really surreal.”

  Martha smiles as she nods. “Important thing is, May’s here and she’s recovering. But, let’s head into her room so I can fill you both in on what happened and where we go from here.”

  “Okay.” I move to stand, but Martha places her hand on mine, stopping me from getting up.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Everything is tremendously immense, and my mind is still spinning. “Yeah, I’m good. It’s just a lot to take in. But, I promise, I’m fine.”

  “You’re eating? Drinking? I won’t ask about sleeping, because I know these chairs aren’t the most comfortable.”

  “Yeah, Charlie made me have a protein shake, and brought me some water, so, I’m good.”

  Martha smiles again. “Okay then. Shall we?” She stands and begins the short journey to Aunt May’s room.

  Aunt May is trying to pull herself up when we get in
there. “Aunt May, what are you doing?” I ask as I rush to stop her.

  “I’m getting out of here,” she says in her slurry speech.

  “Well you can’t, May,” Martha replies sternly. “You’ll be here for a few more days.”

  “Ugh,” Aunt May reacts with a groan and a roll of the eyes.

  “So, with all the testing we did, I’m confident about what happened. You did, in fact, have a stroke and it was an ischemic stroke. When you were admitted, I administered a tissue plasminogen activator, or TPA for short. What that does is break down any blood clots that could be blocking the blood flow to your brain.”

  “So, it’s over then, I’m fine?” Aunt May asks. “I can go home, right?”

  “As I said, you’ll be here for a few days. And there are dietary changes you’ll need to make, and you’ll need to do some rehabilitation because your speech has slurred and your left side is weak.” Martha points to Aunt May. “You’ll need some strength training for your arm and leg.”

  Already my mind is spinning with what I have to do around the house. There’s a handful of steps leading up the porch, there’s no way Aunt May will be able to navigate those. And there’s no handrail in the bathroom. I have to get the faucets all changed to single-handle faucets, and easy to turn ones, too. I have so much to do to make sure Aunt May can come home safely when Martha releases her from hospital.

  “What about the rehabilitation? Where is that? What happens there?” I ask.

  “I can recommend a facility. It is over in Mulberry Point though.”

  Aunt May groans. “Mulberry Point?” She rolls her eyes. “I only go to Mulberry Point on vacation! I need to take a packed lunch to travel over there.”

  “It’s only about half hour or so, Aunt May.”

  “Or so…” she mimics.

  “If that’s what we have to do, then we’ll do it,” I say sternly.

  “How am I supposed to get there, Tabby? I can’t drive, right?” Aunt May turns to Martha to confirm.

  “You know what, old woman? You’re being a pain in the ass. Don’t worry about how you’re going to get there,” I say equally as frustrated with her as she is with the process.

  “I don’t expect you to…”

  “Stop!” I say holding up my hand. “Please, keep going, Martha,” I say to the doctor, who looks quite amused.

  “I’ll have one of the nurses who’s also a qualified dietician come in and speak to you about your diet. But, May, I must say, I’m glad to tell you, you don’t have diabetes.”

  “No, of course not. It doesn’t run in my family.”

  “No, but with age, a breakdown can happen, and diabetes can occur.”

  Aunt May narrows her eyes at the doctor. “Are you calling me old?” she says in a stoic tone.

  Martha smirks, shakes her head, then steps toward the door. “I’ve arranged for one of the rehabilitation nurses to come and start working with what you will need to do as of today.”

  “Already? But I’m not ready,” Aunt May protests.

  “The quicker your start, the quicker you’ll be back to your normal charming self.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re teasing me?”

  I smile. Martha grins too. “You’re a good person, May, and I can tell you, you’re very loved by the entire town. You need to make a recovery, if not for you or Tabitha, for this town.” Martha reaches out and rubs Aunt May’s arm. “I’ll leave you to it.” She leaves and closes the door behind her.

  “So, there you have it, Aunt May. You’ll start your rehab today, and I for one can’t wait to get you back home.”

  “Martha said the town loves me, but I don’t see anyone breaking down the doors to see me.”

  “Trust me. There was a group of people I had to send home because they all wanted to come see you.”

  Aunt May slightly nods. “That’s a start.”

  “You’re such a diva!” I add with a laugh. Truthfully though, I’m so grateful Aunt May will recover from this terrible situation. My thoughts are distracted by my vibrating phone. Taking it out of my pocket, I look to see who’s calling. “Hey, Dad,” I say as I look over to Aunt May. She gives me a slight nod, and a lopsided smile. I hate seeing her like this. I stand, and walk out of the room.

  “Hey, darling. How are you?”

  Leaning against the wall, I look down and take a deep breath. “Well,” I start saying.

  “What’s wrong? You sound stressed.”

  “Aunt May had a stroke, and she’s in the hospital.”

  “Jesus, is she okay? Do you need anything?”

  “She’s okay. The doctor said she needs to start rehabilitation today. It all happened really fast, Dad. I was there when it happened. I panicked, and didn’t know what to do. So, I called for Charlie, and thank God he kept a level head about him, because I don’t know what would’ve happened if he wasn’t there.”

  “She needs rehabilitation? And who’s Charlie?”

  “Yeah, Martha—the doctor—said the rehabilitation facility is over in Mulberry Point, and she’s arranged for someone to start by coming by to the hospital this week. But Aunt May isn’t too keen on having to travel to Mulberry Point.”

  “Can you get me the name of the nurse who’s going to come by today please?”

  “I can, but what for?”

  “I’d like to speak to him or her about May’s needs. And, who did you say Charlie is?”

  “What do you mean about Aunt May’s needs?” I ignore his question about Charlie.

  “Sweetheart, your aunt looked after you while I didn’t, now it’s my turn to help her out.”

  “Oh, Dad, that’s really sweet.”

  “Now, who’s this Charlie character?” his voice changes. It becomes deeper, and more serious.

  “Um, he’s the guy I’m kinda seeing.”

  “What? Who is he? How did you meet him? Is it serious? How long have you been seeing him for?” Dad fires an onslaught of questions at me.

  “He’s new in town. Well, kinda. He and his sister Hope moved here. They’re house flippers, and they bought a house and turned into the B&B I’m working at now.”

  “Oh, you did tell me about Hope, but I didn’t realize she had a brother, who you’re seeing. I’ll have to meet him when I come to town for the next festival.”

  “What? Why?” Jesus, meet Charlie? That’s not something Dad’s ever done before. But I’ve never really had anyone who was more than just a fuck buddy before, either.

  “Because I want to make sure he’s a good enough man for my daughter.”

  “He is. Anyway, I have to go. I’ll get the nurse’s details to you.”

  “Bye, darling. Call me if you need anything. Love you.”

  “I will. Love you too, bye.” I walk back in and sit beside Aunt May. “How are you feeling?” I ask. She’s looking out the window, and her eyes are glistening with threatened tears. “Are you okay?”

  Aunt May slightly nods. “I thought I’d close my eyes and go to sleep,” she says.

  “I can leave if you’d like.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I was hoping when my time came, that I’d close my eyes and slip away quietly in my sleep. But this scares me, Tabby.”

  “Oh, Aunt May.” I crawl up on the bed with her, and hug her as tightly as I can without hurting her.

  “It’s got me thinking.”

  “Yeah, what about?”

  It takes Aunt May a long time to reply. “It has me thinking about healing hearts that have been broken, or betrayed. Mine was broken when the boy I loved left one night and never returned. He was drinking, stumbled upon the train tracks and was hit by a freight train. It feels like yesterday when we shared our first and last time together, but it’s been a lifetime since it happened. You see, Tabby, life is deceptive. It sneaks up on you, and takes you by surprise. When you think you have a lifetime, you have less than a moment before everything changes.”

  “Why didn’t you ever meet or marry someone after him, Aunt
May?”

  “Oh darling. I had plenty of fun with men after him, I am a woman after all, and I have needs. But as far as giving my heart to someone else…” She slightly shakes her head. “No one ever came close to Henry.”

  “He must’ve been amazing.”

  “He was my true soulmate, in every possible way. Regardless of the scandal.”

  “Scandal?” I ask. “Oh, what scandal?”

  “It’s a story for another time, but I will say, his daddy and my daddy didn’t quite see eye to eye, so we had to keep our love a secret.” She smiles, but it quickly fades. “Until there was nothing left to keep a secret when Henry passed and left me behind.”

  “How tragic,” I say. “To love someone so much and not have more than a moment with them.”

  “It’s not tragic, it was a pure gift to have even one single heartbeat with him.” She exhales slowly and deeply. “Down by the river, there’s a row of river birch trees. Among them is one magnolia tree. Henry planted it for us.” She laughs as if there’s a secret behind why. “He planted it, because it would be the place we’d meet when our parents thought we were out with friends. When we were together, we were in our own time bubble, and it was someplace not a lot of people went. The river was never a meeting place for anyone, so it was perfect for Henry and me.” She pats my hand. “Anyway, I’d like for you to open your heart to that boy, Tabby. Give it to him freely, because one day you’ll find yourself seventy and pining for a man you loved who is no longer here to love you back.”

  I nestle closer into Aunt May. “I’m trying.”

  “I know, but don’t let your past sabotage your future. You deserve happiness, regardless of what your past has shown you. Let him prove himself to you, and don’t allow those damned walls to get in the way of love and happiness.”

  There’s a knock on the door, and as if he knew we were talking about him, Charlie comes in holding a vase full of roses. “Can I come in?” he asks.

  “Sure,” Aunt May responds, as I move to get off the bed.

  “These are for you, Gran.”

  “They’re beautiful, Charlie.” She smiles lopsidedly again, and with her speech impediment and crooked smile, I’m reminded of what I could’ve lost.