“I see.” Iris nodded. “I’d love to stay and hear more, really I would,” her eyes twinkled at her cousin, “but I need to get to the house before the General calls in the troops to look for me.”
Lily reached for another grocery bag. “Join us for dinner?”
“You’re not coming to the house?”
“Cole needs to elevate his leg for at least another day and then take it easy for a couple of weeks.”
“I’m a big boy. I can stay home alone.”
“And off your feet?” Lily actually rolled her eyes. A little more than a day and she already had his number.
“Except for the last few minutes, I’ve been good today, haven’t I?”
Lily closed the fridge door. “Maybe, but still…”
“You’ve already turned your life upside down to help me, the least I can do is stay off my feet so you can have dinner with your family.”
Iris quietly followed the conversation with the same interest as a spectator at the final round of Wimbledon.
“Besides,” Lily stabbed at the meat she’d unwrapped, “I had Katie send me over a couple of steaks and some fresh asparagus. You don’t mind butter, right?”
“Butter’s fine.” In moderation, but now probably wasn’t the time to mention it. He was almost flattered that after their brief conversation she’d taken steps to cook for his diet. He wasn’t going to assume the baking efforts were on account of him as well.
“I thought we’d keep it simple. Lean New York strip with sautéed mushrooms and steamed asparagus. Will that work?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cole gave her a left-handed salute, pleased when the gesture brought a smile to her face.
“That sounds like my cue to leave.” Iris gave her cousin another hug, spun on her heel, and got to the front door just as it squeaked open again.
“Iris!” Violet stood in the doorway, holding a folded card table. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Neither did I until this morning.”
“Oh, this is going to be so fun. I want to hear all about your latest adventures.”
Iris rolled her eyes and groaned softly.
“Okay,” Violet picked up the table and waggled her brows, “not the response I was expecting.”
“Long story.” Iris shrugged. “I need to get to the house and let the General know I’m here.”
“Oh, don’t bother. He’s on his way. He and Ralph have the folding chairs.”
“Folding chairs?” Lily looked up from the kitchen.
Violet hefted one shoulder in a playful shrug. “Looks like you’re hosting fun and games tonight.”
The next thing Cole knew, the tiny cabin overflowed with people. In the kitchen, Lily’s sisters, Cindy the veterinarian, Poppy the youngest, and Callie, short for Calytrix, laughed and giggled with their cousins Violet and Iris while the General explained to him the finer points of whist.
“All right, everyone.” Lily came into the room holding a plate in each hand. “Dinner time.”
First she served the General, then she set a plate in front of Cole. One by one the sisters and cousins came from the kitchen each carrying a plate. His mouth watered at the sight of the sizzling steak. Everyone settled in on the chairs, and the blessing said, Cole dug in.
It only took a few bites for him to realize something was wrong. Very wrong. It started with a scratchiness around his gums and down his throat. He took two long gulps of water and knew he needed to act. Not even thinking about his ankle, he pushed to his feet. Focusing wasn’t coming easy.
“Whoa.” Lily sprang up almost as fast as he had. “Where do you think you’re going?”
He managed to mumble “Benadryl” when he noticed one of the cousins, or was it a sister, hurried to his side.
A female voice asked, “Do you have food allergies?”
He nodded, trying to shake the fog from his brain, suddenly fighting for a deep breath.
“I saw some Benadryl in the cupboard.” Lily bolted over the ottoman and sprinted into the kitchen.
The next thing he knew, Lily held a pill and another glass of water for him to swallow. How could he possibly be reacting to steak and asparagus? He didn’t know how or why, but he was absolutely positive he was in big trouble.
Chapter Eleven
Working with food most of her life, Lily recognized the beginnings of anaphylaxis from the strange way Cole had stared at his plate to the almost aimless way he’d stood. “What are you allergic to?”
“Pitted fruits,” he mumbled, gasping for a deep breath. “Pen.”
Cindy, who had been standing nearby from the moment he pushed off the sofa, waved a hand at him. “Do you have an epi pen?”
The way Cole moved his jaw, Lily had this horrible feeling his tongue might be swelling. Dear Lord, wasn’t it enough she ran him down with her car, now she has to kill him with…what? There was no fruit in the dinner.
“My bag,” he gasped.
Lily and her sisters bolted over the furniture and down the hall. She was the first to arrive, and grabbing his toiletry kit, practically shot out of the room waving the thing in her hand.
“I’ve called 911. Ambulance is on the way,” the General announced.
Lily handed the pen off to her cousin the veterinarian. Lily might be great at injected turkeys, but she wasn’t about to practice on this human.
Jabbing his thigh with the contraption, Cindy coaxed him into talking. “Are you allergic to anything else?”
“What?” he mumbled.
“Cole.” Lily snapped her hand in front of him. “What else are you allergic to?”
He blinked twice. Despite his labored breath, he seemed to be breathing a tad easier. “Shrimp.”
At least she was sure she hadn’t given him fruit or shrimp.
“I’m going to see if you’ve been bitten by something. Okay?” Even though Cindy had asked permission she didn’t wait for an answer before examining up and down his arms, between his fingers, and moving on to his neck.
Cole nodded, then sucked in another breath. “Sesame.”
Sesame? She hardly ever cooked with sesame oil. Had someone before her contaminated the grill with sesame oil? Would it matter at this point?
“So far I don’t see anything.” Cindy examined his good leg and was unstrapping the boot on his injured ankle when it dawned on Lily to check the seasonings she’d used.
The jar was standard cooking stock in all the cabins. She’d poured on some Worcester sauce and then sprinkled the organic no salt seasoning. Onion, garlic, black pepper, she continued reading. Midway down the list of the ingredients there it was staring at her. Sesame. “It’s the seasoning I used. It has sesame in it.”
“How are you feeling?” Cindy asked.
Cole answered the question, but his gaze fell on Lily in the kitchen. “Better. Still hurts to breathe.”
“The ambulance should be here any minute.” The General kept an eye on his watch.
Lily hurried around the counter and came to a stop beside him. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve asked.”
“Should we maybe try to get him ready somehow?” Poppy asked, her eyes round like a frightened owl. Lily’s baby sister had always been the sensitive one in the family, taking everything to heart.
“Do you think you can balance on the scooter?” Cindy asked.
His chest heaving, Cole turned to look at Cindy but didn’t say anything. The sound of the sirens in the distance broke the silent pause that had settled on the room, waiting for Cole to respond.
“I’ll go up the drive and wave them down.” Poppy jumped up and ran to the door.
Callie sprang to her feet. “I’ll go with you.”
Frozen in place, Lily clutched the stupid jar of seasoning as the sirens grew louder. The same two men who had taken care of Cole yesterday morning came rushing into the cabin.
“You again,” Jason teased while swiftly getting Cole from the sofa to the gurney. “I see you’re single-handedly trying to keep us in business.�
�
Lily swallowed a moan. If anything, it was her fault, not his.
The EMT continued to ask Cole questions, but she didn’t hear a word, her gaze landed on the cut kit at the ready in case Cole needed a tracheotomy. Her stomach rolled and pitched. What had she done this time?
“Let’s boogie,” the other EMT said, already rolling Cole out the door. “You coming with us?” He directed the question at Lily.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitating.
“We’ll follow in the car,” someone said. She didn’t even know who. She was already trotting after the two men and saying her prayers.
***
Cole had the mother of all headaches and a pain in his thigh to match. So far, the ER team had taken his blood pressure, his heart rate, and measured his blood oxygen level with the pulse oximeter.
“Drink this.” The nurse handed him another glass of water. “How long has it been since you used the EpiPen?”
Five minutes. Ten. Maybe twenty. Cole had no idea. “I don’t know, but the General gave the exact time to Jason.”
“Yes. According to the report it’s been almost twenty minutes. Does that sound right?”
“Sure.”
“Are you on any medications?”
Cole shook his head and then thought to answer instead. The doctors needed to know he was feeling better. More clear-headed. “No.”
“Do you know how this happened?”
“Yes. I’m allergic to sesame products and the seasoning on the steaks had sesame in it.”
“Good. Good. All right.” The doctor took a step back. “I think the worst is behind you. I’m going to give you a prescription for prednisone.”
“No, thank you.”
“If you know to carry an EpiPen then you should know the drill. This will reset your system and add an extra layer of protection.”
“I don’t like taking steroids. I should be fine now.”
The doctor lowered his chin and looked at Cole over the rim of his glasses. “Humor me. You could have died.”
Suddenly Cole was very glad that Lily had stayed in the waiting room this time. Had she heard those words, he was pretty sure they would have made a difficult situation even worse. It didn’t take a genius to know she already felt mortified at having sent him to the hospital yesterday. This evening’s accident had to be eating at her. And he didn’t like that.
“Your entourage is asking about you.” One of the nurses popped her head inside. “And the pretty redhead who rode here in the ambulance with you is also wearing a rut in the floor. Shall I have her come in?”
While Cole had gotten the same doctor who had treated him yesterday, this was a different nurse. He nodded then almost laughed. Less than two days ago the last person he wanted in the waiting room, never mind here in the ER with him, had been Lily Nelson. Today things didn’t seem right without her.
The nurse turned in place and walked briskly toward the waiting room doors.
“I don’t think we need to admit you,” the doctor continued. “But I do want to keep you here for a couple more hours of observation. Then I’ll tell your lady friend what to look for tonight.”
“I’ll be fine.” Cole was breathing so much easier, he was ready to go home now.
“Seems I’ve heard that song before.” Lily came through the curtain wall, a tense smile failing to mask how truly shaken the events of the afternoon had left her.
“The lady is right. You’re going to lay back and relax and I’ll let you know when you’ll be released.” Letting his scolding scowl slip away, the doctor faced her. “If he’s going to keep getting into trouble like this, you may want to consider locking him in the closet for a few years, or decades.”
Lily nodded at the doctor and sucking in a long deep breath, inched closer to Cole’s bed. Once again plastering on a brave smile. “Considering I’ve almost killed you—twice—my closet may not be the best place to keep you safe.”
From the other side of the closed dividing curtain, the doctor’s footsteps could be heard with his low voice muttering, “Third time better not be a charm.”
“See!” Bright green eyes glistened with building tears.
“Hey, he was only joking.” Cole resisted the urge to reach out and brush away the tears.
Her lids batted furiously up and down in a vain effort to stem the impending flow. “That doesn’t change anything. It’s like I’m a jinx around you.”
“There’s no such thing as a jinx.”
“I know that. Or at least I used to, but I’ve never almost killed someone twice in two days.”
“Lily.” He stuck his good hand out, silently urging her closer. It took three minced steps before her hand was within snatching distance. “Life has no guarantees. Shit happens. If I’d been grilling a steak, I might very well have used the seasoning—”
“You would have read the label.”
“No. Not for a salt substitute. I honestly only read labels on seasonings for Asian recipes. Not steak.” He wasn’t going to mention that he rarely used premixed ingredients and stuck to mostly organic whole foods. “Besides having taught me to read all labels from now on no matter what, I could make a case for you’ve actually saved my life.”
“Hardly.”
“If I’d been the one cooking and used that seasoning, I would have been alone and unable to get to medication.”
“Cindy gave you the epinephrine.”
“You noticed something was wrong. Without the Benadryl, I might not have been lucid enough to tell you my allergies. And had I been alone I’d have never gotten to the EpiPen.” He squeezed her hand, pleased she hadn’t made an effort to pull away. “I am grateful you were there for me.”
Her eyes blinked a few times before a weak smile tipped the corners of her mouth. “For a former jock, you’re not so bad.”
Not exactly the reaction he’d been expecting, but he’d accept whatever positive thoughts he could get at the moment. “Not so bad?” he teased.
Her smile grew a little brighter. “Not bad at all?”
The twinkle slowly replacing the tears eased an unexpected pressure on his chest that had nothing to do with his allergies. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but he did know one thing—he’d have to work on changing not-bad-at-all to totally-freaking-awesome. And he had less than a week to do it.
***
“There you are.” The General stopped mid-stride at the site of Lily’s approach. Her entire family currently at the lake had gathered in the waiting room for moral support. Her mom sat close to her youngest daughter, offering silent comfort. Normally it would take an act of God to keep her mom, the funeral director, from leaving her post if there was a scheduled wake, like tonight. Apparently a daughter’s near miss at manslaughter rated right up there. Violet had taken up her spot on the floor, sitting cross-legged and eyes closed. Even her cousin Iris sat with Callie and Cindy chatting. Installed in a comfy easy chair, her grandmother worked diligently on her latest effort at a crochet masterpiece, but it was her grandfather whose ever constant show of family strength made nervous pacing look more like a military parade. “What’s the prognosis?” he asked.
“All in all, we dodged a bullet. They are keeping him a little longer for observation. But he’ll be able to come home after that.”
“If you ask me,” their neighbor Ralph, who had insisted on coming with everyone for moral support, put down the magazine he’d pretended to read and flashed a cocky grin, “seems like an awful lot of trouble on the young man’s part to avoid your grandfather and me mopping the floor with him at whist.”
Lily tried really hard to smile at the old man’s attempt to lighten the mood. “Somehow I don’t think that’s what happened here.”
By now, Violet had pushed to her feet, and stood beside her cousins. “So what’s the game plan now?”
“I have to keep a lookout for any signs of recurring difficulties for the rest of the night.” She didn’t even want to consider how dif
ferently things could have turned out this evening.
Violet nodded, her eyes twinkling. “I’m in.”
“Me too.” Callie slipped her hand around Lily’s waist and squeezed.
Her mother came up on her other side and kissed her cheek. “What do you need us to do?”
“Nothing really.” Working with foods for as long as she had, Lily had seen more than her share of allergic reactions at all stages. She understood exactly what to keep an eye out for and what the risks were long before the doctor intercepted her on the way to the waiting room with his list of cautions.
“Well,” Virginia Hart Nelson tucked a stray shock of hair behind her daughter’s ear, “there may be nothing for us to do, but there’s no reason at least one or two of us can’t do nothing with you. I know for a fact this family can be very good at watch and wait.”
“Thank you.” The truth was, after the events of the last two days, sole responsibility for the safety of Cole McIntyre was the last thing she wanted. She didn’t think she could handle another life-threatening episode.
Sporting a satisfied look of the cat who had caught the canary, Violet rubbed her hands together vigorously. “I volunteer to make the sacrifice and help my cousin look after the hunky fireman.”
All eyes turned to Violet, her enthusiasm a tad out of place. But then again, if there was anyone in the room to appreciate the delicate balance of life and find the ever-famous silver lining, it would be her cousin.
“Excellent plan,” the General agreed. “There’s safety in numbers. We shouldn’t leave Lily and that young man alone.”
Though it sounded like her grandfather was referring to tonight’s effort to ensure Cole’s good health, Lily had a feeling his choice of words had little to do with the recent scare and everything to do with their current plan of temporary cohabitation. Any moment she expected another lecture on no fraternizing among the troops.
Whichever he meant, she had news for her grandfather. He wouldn’t have to worry about Lily and Cole being left alone. There was no chance on God’s green earth that she was going to risk sticking too close to her patient and testing the doctor’s theory of “third time’s a charm.”
Lily Page 9
