She processed that for a moment then said, “The FBI agent said a DEA agent was shot. Is he going to be okay?”
Floyd’s face became grim. “They don’t know. He was shot through the gap in his armor under his arm and the bullet is lodged near his lower spine. They’ve got him in surgery right now to see if they can get it out.”
Her face became pale and she said, “Then we need to pray for him right now.”
She led Floyd and Penny over to a bank of chairs against one wall, sat them down on each side of her, and said, “What’s his name so we can pray for him by name.”
Floyd hesitated for a moment then said, “Well, he was undercover but I’m sure his cover’s been blown by now. So I guess it’s okay to tell you his name now.”
He touched Sue Ann’s cheek with his fingertips. “His name is Mike Bates.”
If it hadn’t been such a serious situation, Floyd would have laughed out loud at the wide-eyed expression of incredulity on her face.”
“Mike Bates! You mean the Mike Bates I know? The Mike Bates I dated a couple of times? You mean the Mike Bates who’s a history teacher at the high school?”
Floyd nodded his head. “One and the same. I was surprised too when I found out he was an undercover DEA agent.”
Sue Ann sat there almost in shock for a moment then she realized they still needed to pray for him.
“Well, all the more reason to be praying for him since we know him. Let’s pray.”
She grabbed Floyd’s hand in her right hand and Penny’s hand in her left hand and began to pray for Mike.
When she finished praying, she realized she still had Penny’s coat in her lap so she handed it to Penny who was wrapped in a hospital blanket.
Penny looked down at her coat and said, “That creep took it away from me and gave me a stinky old blanket that made me itch. Then when Dad got there, he even took that away from me.”
Sue Ann looked into Penny’s eyes. “Are you sure he didn’t hurt you in any way?”
She nodded her head and frowned, then looked over at Floyd on the other side of Sue Ann. “He didn’t hurt me, but I sure hurt him when I bit his hand.”
She seemed proud of herself.
Sue Ann gave Floyd a puzzled look so he explained. “Hennesey had his arm around Penny’s neck with a gun to her head and was about to shoot me when she bit him. When he let go she rolled away from him.”
He blew out a breath and shook his head. “Before I could get my gun out of my boot, Hennesey had the drop on me. That was when Mike yelled out and they shot each other.”
While Sue Ann was still trying to process all that, Penny said, “I sure didn’t like the way he kept talking about how he was going to kill you Dad.”
Floyd came around Sue Ann and pulled Penny up so he could hug her. “Penny, I should have told you this before but since Hennesey took you, I’ve realized that I love you as much as if you’d been with me all your life.”
Sue Ann was shocked to see tears streaming down Penny’s cheeks as she hugged Floyd back as hard as she could.
That emotional situation was interrupted by the sound of a man clearing his throat nearby. Sue Ann looked up to see a stranger, a man in a dark suit. He was around fifty with brown hair streaked with gray. Otherwise, he looked just like all the FBI agents she’d been exposed to in the past couple of days.
She was only slightly surprised when he flashed a badge and introduced himself.
“Sheriff McCracken, I’m Ollie Short, DEA. We spoke on the phone last week.”
Floyd turned around with Penny still in his arms and gently sat her in a chair. He turned around and shook the man’s hand.
“How is Mike?”
Floyd shook his head and said, “I don’t know much more than I did when I called you an hour ago. The ER doctor said he was hit twice. The first slug hit his protective vest and must have spun him around so that the second shot hit him in the gap under his arm. That one is lodged near his lower spine and they’re in surgery right now trying to get it out.”
Just then, James Norton came through the entrance with two of his agents. When he saw Short, he motioned to him and moved to an empty section of chairs.
Short turned back to Floyd and with a snort said, “Thanks Sheriff. Excuse me. It looks like the FBI wants to flex their muscles.”
Short started walking that way. But before Floyd could even laugh at the obvious interagency jealousy that comment implied, Norton motioned for Floyd to come too.
He placed a hand on Sue Ann’s shoulder then the other one on Penny’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back. Will you two be okay for a few minutes?”
Sue Ann tried to smile up at him. “Sure, Penny and I have some catching up to do, don’t we Penny?”
Penny turned her gaze from Floyd to Sue Ann and a strange look passed over her face and was gone quickly. Sue Ann thought she was going to argue but then she smiled back at her and said, “Sure.”
As Floyd walked away, Sue Ann turned back to Penny, clasped both her hands in hers, and said, “Penny, are you sure it’s okay with you that your dad and I are getting married?”
Penny looked straight into Sue Ann’s eyes and she wasn’t sure what was coming.
Slowly Penny began to nod her head then said, “Remember, it was my idea in the first place. Why would I change my mind now?”
She thought about it for a minute. “Even though my mom never told me about my dad, I don’t want to forget her.”
Sue Ann could feel the tears coming again. “No, Penny. Neither your dad nor I would ever want you to forget your mother.” She thought for a moment. “Do you have any pictures of her?”
Penny nodded. “A few in my stuff at home and Dad has a few more too.”
“Will you show them to me sometime and tell me about her?”
Penny nodded and reached out to hug Sue Ann.
Sue Ann couldn’t help but think that everything was going to be all right now.
* * *
Just as Floyd left the group of federal agents and headed back to where his daughter and his fiancée were sitting, Jo and Gil came through the entrance and joined them.
As he approached the four of them, he noticed that Penny was having trouble keeping her eyes open.
After hugs were shared all around including one from Jo, which felt like it was going to crack a rib or two, they all sat down. Jo demanded that he bring her and Gil up to date on all that had happened that night.
Night? He looked at his watch and was shocked to see that it war four o’clock in the morning. No wonder Penny was sleepy. He needed to get her home.
When Floyd finished telling everything to Jo and Gil, they all seemed to notice at the same time that Penny was sound asleep with her head in Sue Ann’s lap.
Jo stood and so did Gil. “Floyd, why don’t you let us take Penny home with us so she can get some decent sleep?”
Floyd looked at Sue Ann who said, “I’m not going anywhere, so I think that’s a great idea.”
He smiled at her and then said to Jo, “Okay, that’ll be great. The poor kid’s gone through an awful lot and has to be wiped out.”
He bent over and picked Penny up in his arms and it felt strange yet so fantastic at the same time to be holding his daughter. As he did, Sue Ann wrapped Penny’s coat around her and he carried her out to Gil’s car.
Gil opened the back door and Floyd laid Penny down on the seat and covered her with her coat. When he closed the door, Jo was standing next to him.
“Floyd, you be sure to keep us updated on Mike’s condition. Even though Carla is over her case of puppy love with him, she still likes him a lot as a teacher.”
He hugged her quickly and said, “Sure will. You take good care of my little girl, you hear?”
When he went back into the waiting room, Sue Ann was standing and stretching.
“This has been pretty rough on you too. Why don’t you go home? You won’t be able to get any real rest here?”
She gave him a ste
rn look. “Oh no you don’t Floyd, you’re not getting rid of me that easy. I’ve been with you throughout this whole nightmare and I’m not about to leave you now.
That comment made him feel so good all over that all he could do was just smile and hug her. He pondered the fact that he’d given and received more hugs in the last six months than he had in the last six years or even more.
They sat back down and Sue Ann suddenly sat up. “Floyd, has anybody called Mike’s family? All I ever heard him talk about was an ex-wife.”
Floyd smiled at her and said, “The DEA people called his sister who lives in Tulsa. She and her husband and two kids are on their way. That was only an hour ago, so it’ll probably still take them another three hours to get here.”
He frowned down at her and said, “You’re not going to like this one little bit.”
She gave him a frown and said, “What do you mean? What is it?”
He blew out his breath and frowned. “When I met with Mike about the drug ring, I asked him about that ex-wife.”
She didn’t say anything but he knew if he dragged it out any longer, she would. “Well, the ex-wife was just part of his cover. He’s never been married.”
He thought she was going to get mad at first. Her face clouded up and then she started laughing. He was quickly concerned when her laughter almost became hysterical. He grabbed both of her shoulders and shook her slightly.
She sobered up and frowned. “I’m okay Floyd. And to think I was mad at him for going out with me before his divorce was final.”
Floyd chuckled. “And I was mad at him just for going out with you, period.”
They laughed again then they both settled into their uncomfortable plastic chairs and wound up dozing a little.
After a while, Floyd roused himself and looked at his watch. Six o’clock. It had been three hours since they’d had any kind of an update on Mike’s condition. Maybe they would hear something soon.
He looked over to where the two federal agent supervisors were sitting and realized how especially Ollie Short must feel. He knew how he would he feel if it was one of his deputies in there right now? It was bad enough now and he didn’t really know Mike Bates all that well. In fact, before he’d found out the guy was DEA, he hadn’t really had a very high opinion of him.
That was when it suddenly hit him that Mike Bates was in there fighting for his life because he had saved Floyd’s life. It was like a ton of bricks had just fallen on him out of nowhere. That man may die because of him. Man!
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe.
Before he realized it, Sue Ann’s arms were around him and her face was inches from his. “What is it Floyd? Are you okay?”
He gave her a dazed look. “No. I’m not okay.”
He looked around the room at the groups of people. He looked at the feds in their little corner. He looked back at Sue Ann. Everyone else seemed to be the same. Why was he not the same anymore?”
He knew why. A good man could die because of him. He stood and barely noticed that Sue Ann clung to him.
“Floyd! You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” He shook his head hoping to clear it some. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. It just hit me that that man in there may be dying because he stuck his neck out and saved my life.” He swiped a hand across his face. “That’s what’s wrong.”
He felt strong hands other than Sue Ann’s on him pulling him back down in his chair. He looked up and saw the DEA agent, Short, looking down at him with a worried look.
He heard the guy talking to Sue Ann as though they were far away. “Is there someone you can call who can help him? I’ve seen this sort of thing before. He needs someone who can help him through this right now.”
He heard a rustling sound then heard a cell phone being punched. He sat back and laid his head against the wall closing out everything and everybody around him.
He didn’t know how much time had passed but the next thing Floyd knew there was a new voice in his ear. He knew that voice. Who was it? Gil!
“Floyd, talk to me.”
He heard fingers snapping near his face.
“Come on Floyd look at me and talk to me.”
He focused on Gil.
“That’s better. Now talk to me Floyd. What are you thinking? You had nothing to do with Mike being out there last night. You had nothing to do with him getting shot, Floyd.”
Then he heard the voice of an angel. No, not a real angel, but his angel. She still sounded far away though. Why? He wanted to get to her so he could hug her and kiss her. So he could marry her.
“Floyd! Floyd! I love you.”
That was great. The fog began to clear and he was finally able to focus on her beautiful face.
“Floyd, you know you would have done the same thing for Mike. It’s what men like you do. I can’t explain why it was him instead of you. But God is still in control. Let’s ask Him right now to help Mike. Okay?”
Gil’s voice was now very clear to him. He listened as Gil prayed for Mike then he prayed for Floyd to understand God’s will in things.
When Gil finished, Floyd felt a warmth like none he’d ever felt before. He looked over at Sue Ann and said, “I’m okay now.” He tried to smile. “And I love you too.”
An hour later, Floyd was feeling much better and Gil had gone back home. He looked up when the outside door opened. There was a man, woman, and two small kids coming in. That must be Mike’s sister and her family.
The DEA agent grabbed them as soon as they walked in the door. Floyd was glad he didn’t have to talk to them. He knew that this long without word was not good.
Short was bringing them over to where Floyd and Sue Ann were sitting when Dr. Stella Martin came out into the waiting room between the two groups. She wore scrubs and looked extremely tired.
She looked around the room and when she saw Floyd, she made her way to him.
“I suppose you’re here for Mike Bates?”
Floyd held up a hand. “Yes, we are, but if you could wait just a second, I think that’s his sister coming this way.”
She looked around and waited for the others to get there.
She introduced herself and so did Mike’s sister and her husband.
Stella blew out a sigh and began. “Well, he made it through the surgery well enough. But we weren’t able to get the bullet out. It was too close to his spinal cord. All we could do was clean out some metal fragments that had broken loose and repair some minor damage to some of his intestines that got in the way.”
When no one spoke, she said, “Hopefully, down the road a few months the bullet might shift away from the spinal cord far enough for us to go back in and get it. But all we can do now is wait.”
Mike’s sister spoke up. “Is he . . . Is there any . . . damage?”
Stella shook her head. “I’m sorry. We won’t know for sure until he wakes up in recovery but going by where the bullet is, he probably won’t have any feeling in his legs.”
Mike’s sister burst into tears.
“Now don’t lose hope. We’re praying that we’ll still be able to go back in and get that bullet and he’ll be able to walk again.”
Stella pulled Floyd off to the side and he could see Sue Ann sending them a dirty look. He hoped this was good.
“Floyd, I just wanted you to know that the other man who was shot is out of surgery also and will recover. There are two FBI agents guarding him.”
Floyd snorted. “Did they tell you he has a brain tumor that’s going to kill him real soon anyway?”
“No. Then I guess he probably won’t be spending much time in prison, will he?”
She started to walk away but turned back and whispered, “I think Mark and I are going to make it this time.”
With that, she walked off leaving Floyd with an angry fiancée to explain things to.
* * *
Things settled down in the waiting room after Stella left and Sue Ann looked at Floyd and
wondered if he was going to go back into the funk he was in earlier. His face had gone pale and he was staring at the floor in front of him.
“Floyd, are you okay?”
He snorted then tried to chuckle. “I guess you could say I am now.”
He stretched his neck and rotated it to get the kinks out. Then when he looked back at her, she wasn’t sure what that look meant. She’d never seen the mixture of fear and relief on his face like that before.
When she was about to ask, he said, “I was so scared!”
She waited, knowing there was more.
“When Hennesey came toward me with Penny in his arms and a gun to her head, I was so scared I didn’t know what to do.”
He did chuckle this time. “Then when she bit his hand and got away from him, I couldn’t believe it.”
He turned and finally looked at Sue Ann. “Do you think that was God’s way of solving things?”
She tried to smile at him. “Yes, oh yes Floyd, I do. Don’t you remember that I said God would come up with a solution?”
He frowned and shook his head. “It sure was better than any I could have come up with.”
“Yes, Floyd, God always has a better solution if we’ll just trust in Him.”
They just sat there holding each other for what seemed like a long time. Then Floyd pulled back and said, “I want to go get Penny. I need to have my daughter with me right now.”
Sue Ann agreed and they stopped by the federal agents on their way out.
A few minutes later, they were on their way over to Jo and Gil’s house to get Penny and take her home. Sue Ann thought that it was a good thing she was sitting for she knew she was about to drop in her tracks any time now. She sure was glad it was only ten minutes away. She didn’t think she could have stayed awake much longer. Even at that, she was drowsy by the time Floyd drove up the hill behind the church to the parsonage.
Penny met them at the kitchen door and threw her arms around Floyd’s waist.
Floyd looked at Sue Ann and winked. “I thought you were supposed to be sleeping Penny.”
She looked up at him so quick that she had to brush her hair out of her eyes. “I did. I guess I forgot to tell you that I’d been asleep when that creepy guy took me out to where we met you?”
A Better Solution (Crowley County Series Book 2) Page 22
