Old Dream Die Hard (Wild Hearts, Contemporary Romance Book 4)

by Nancy Adams

  Judy hugged her again. “Well, don't worry,” she said, “I'll be right here, anytime you need me.”

  Judy went back to her room, and Katie Lou snuggled back down into her bed to try to go back to sleep. Once again, sleep was elusive, but when it did come, it left the nightmares behind somewhere else. Katie slept through the rest of the night without any further interruptions.

  Morning, however, comes whether you want it or not. Katie woke to find the sun shining in around the curtains on her window, and though she remembered instantly what had happened the night before, it was almost hard for her to believe that what she remembered was true, and not just another nightmare. Her first thought was to pick up the phone and call Rob, just to see if he was okay, but she pushed it back down. He needed his time with Anna, and they both needed time to grieve. He said he would call her that day, so she determined herself to simply wait. He would call when he could, that she was sure of. Until then, she could do her part and just be patient.

  She rose, noticing on the clock beside her bed that it was already a little after eight in the morning, and she found herself wondering if Rob and Anna would even go into the clinic for the day. She knew that if it had been her, she wouldn't be going to work. She probably would swing by and just tack a note on the door that, due to a death in the family, the clinic would not be open for a few days. All appointments would be rescheduled, that's what she would say. Surely, his patients would understand.

  And if they didn't, so be it. There were some things that had to take precedence, even over business, even over a practice. The loss of a family member, especially your mother, should come first. The human animal must grieve for its losses, and even doctors were human.

  Unfortunately, not all of his patients would be. Some of them would expect him to be there, no matter what happened in his personal life. That was something every doctor learned, as did every other type of professional. Their clients expected you to be there for their convenience, regardless of what was going on behind your own scenes.

  She made her way to the bathroom without grabbing the walker, balancing herself against the footboard of her bed, then her dresser and finally, the bathroom door itself. The hydraulic lift that had helped her get in and out of the bathtub was gone, but one of the brackets that had held it was still mounted to the wall, and that allowed her to hold on while she positioned herself to use the toilet. When she was finished, she went back out into her room to her dresser and dug out clean clothing for the day, then went back to take a shower. The addition of a shower chair made it easy, and was just one more little victory she had claimed for herself.

  A little bit later, she came out of the bathroom with her makeup done and her hair nicely arranged, dressed for church. The Sunday morning service was a family tradition at the Brennan household, and particularly after the night before, Katie Lou felt a need to be in church that morning.

  She grabbed hold of the walker and made her way down to the kitchen, where her mother was frying eggs and bacon. Judy looked up and smiled as Katie entered.

  “Oh, good,” she said, “you can start the toast.”

  Katie Lou smiled. “You got it!” She went to the breadbox and got a loaf of bread out, then turned her walker so that she could sit on it near the counter where the toaster waited. She made a long arm and snagged a plate out of the dishwasher, which was standing open, then grabbed a knife and got the butter from the refrigerator. Thus equipped, she popped the first four slices into the toaster and waited for it to do its thing.

  “So did you sleep any better after your nightmare?” Judy asked.

  “Actually, yeah,” Katie said. “I drifted off to sleep after a bit, and didn't have any more bad dreams. Woke up and realized it was morning, so I got up and got ready for church.”

  Judy smiled. “We'll have to remember, when they ask for prayer requests, to mention Rob and his sister.”

  Katie nodded. “Yeah, I was planning to. I hope they're doing okay. I know this has got to be rough on both of them.”

  “Oh, of course it is. It isn't easy to lose someone, and especially someone that you've actually been taking care of. I'm sure that, in some ways, it's more like they lost a child than one of their parents.”

  “I'm sure it is,” Katie said.

  Kylie came into the room just then, also dressed and ready for church. She smiled at her mother and sister. “Where's Dad?”

  “He'll be here in a few minutes,” Judy said. “He's doing the tie ritual, you know, trying to decide which tie goes best with the same blue suit he's worn for the last two years. I keep telling him that the red tie or the brown tie is always best, but he goes through this ritual almost every week. I think it's a man thing.”

  “Lord, I hope not,” Katie Lou said. “I can just imagine Rob trying to pick a tie. Do you know, he actually told me that he had to get Anna and Linda to help him choose…Yeah, well, let's just drop that line of thought.”

  The girls' father came in just a few moments later and sat down to breakfast. They said the blessing, then dug in, and the topic of conversation, of course, was the events of the evening before. Katie brought them fully up-to-date on the situation as far as she knew it, and they all resolved again to ask the congregation to pray for Rob and Anna.

  Breakfast was over in plenty of time for them to make it to Sunday school, so they all freshened up and headed for church. They decided to go as a family, rather than take separate vehicles, so Willie the Walker was loaded into the trunk of Allen Brennan's Chrysler two hundred for the 10-minute ride. When they pulled up at the church, he popped the trunk and was going to get the walker out for Katie, but she stopped him and insisted on getting it for herself.

  “Thanks, Dad, but I've got to be able to fend for myself.” She unfolded it and used it more to balance herself than for support as she made her way into the church.

  This wasn't the first Sunday she'd been to church since the accident, but she ran into several people she hadn't seen before, so she was surrounded by people demanding to know how she was doing. A few told her that they had heard about the end of her relationship with Darren, and everyone expressed their condolences, but she assured them that she was fine.

  She made her way to her Sunday school class and parked Willie out in the hall. By holding onto the door frame, and then the backs of the chairs, she was able to make her way to the spot she liked to sit in. Once again, there were greetings and congratulations and condolences all around, but she bore it all with a smile.

  Most of her Sunday school class time was usurped by well-wishers and friends who wanted to know more about the accident, and what had happened since. A couple of the people there hadn't seen her since she was in a wheelchair, so seeing her on a walker had been a bit of a surprise. Katie was proud of her progress, and wasn't afraid to say so.

  “God's been good to me,” she said. “If it weren't for Him, I know that I'd be lying in my coffin right now. I actually got to see the car, and to be honest, I don't have any idea how I survived. The windshield was broken completely out, where I went through it, and the whole car was just mangled.”

  “Oh, I know,” said Mary Jane Hankins. “My uncle Charlie works for the fire department, and he was there when they picked you up from where you'd landed. He said he honestly thought you were dead, even then.”

  Katie laughed. “Well, then, we'll say a special prayer of thanks that he was wrong, won't we?” Her friends all got a chuckle out of it with her.

  The class teacher managed to touch briefly on the day's lesson, but the bell rang before they actually got into it. Katie waited until almost everyone else had left before she made her way to the door. The way was clear that far, but it seemed like everyone in the church was moving through the hallway, and somehow, the walker had been shoved to the other side. She stood there, leaning against the door frame, until someone who knew her realized what she was waiting for, and brought the walker over.

  “Thank you,” Katie said, and then looked up i
nto the face of her benefactor. It was David Olson, who happened to be Darren Allsip's cousin, and she was startled for a second. “Oh,” she said. “David. I didn't see you, at first. How have you been?”

  David shrugged. “I'm okay,” he said. “Now, Darren? He's a mess. I talked to Uncle Jim a couple of days ago, and he says Darren can't keep his head on straight.” He smirked. “I say that's what he gets for treating you the way he did. That wasn't right, not by a long shot.”

  Katie Lou blushed. “Well, he should've thought of that,” she said, “before he decided to get rid of me. You know they actually paid me a settlement, to keep me from talking about the accident, right?”

  David's face burst into a huge smile. “No way! Really? Well, I hope you took them for a fortune! They deserve it.” He nudged her with his elbow and winked conspiratorially. “And if you did, remember that I'm the last single man in the family, and I don't have any political ambitions.”

  Katie winked back, but it was with a giggle. “Sorry, David,” she said, “but I've known you since we were both in kindergarten together. Dating you would be like dating my brother, and that's just not something I care to experience, thank you. Besides, the last I heard you were doing pretty well with some socialite, isn't that right?”

  David shrugged again. “It could be,” he said, “depending on which socialite. There's actually a couple of them who seem to think I fit their plans for a future source of alimony, but I'm looking for a girl more like mom, one who wants to get married once and stay that way forever. Best of luck to you, though, and it's great to see you up walking.” He winked once more, and hurried down the hall.

  David had kept her occupied until most of the traffic in the hall had gone by, so once he left, she was able to maneuver her way to the sanctuary. The aisles were fairly broad, so she had no trouble parking the walker in between them, but her family had chosen to sit near the back of the church, to make things a little easier on her. She took a seat at the end of the pew.

  Katie enjoyed singing, and jumped at the chance whenever she got it. That included singing in church on Sunday mornings, so when the music director stepped up and announced the first song of the morning, Katie was delighted to see that it was one of her old favorites.

  There is a name I love to hear

  I love to sing it's worth

  It sounds like music in my ear

  The sweetest name on earth

  Oh! How I love Jesus!

  Oh! How I love Jesus!

  Oh! How I love Jesus!

  Because he first loved me.

  Katie smiled as they finished the first song, and the pastor stood to welcome the visitors and ask for prayer requests. There were several, and Katie was surprised to hear her own name put forth by a couple of girls she had known in high school. When the opportunity came her way, she raised her hand and asked for prayers for Rob and Anna, only saying that their mother had passed away suddenly and without warning the evening before.

  Somewhere behind her, one of the young people in the church ran the computer that was connected to the projector that showed the lyrics of the hymns and the pastor's scriptural references on the two screens that hung above and behind the pulpit. As names were added to the prayer list, they were hastily typed and projected on the screens, so that everyone there could remember who they were praying for. Katie smiled as she saw Rob and Anna added to the list, just a few names down from her own.

  5

  When church was over, the Brennan family—like so many others—headed for one of the restaurants around town to have lunch. It was a Sunday tradition, one that many families had adopted throughout the Midwest, and even in other places around the country. Judy referred to it as “Mom's day off,” but everyone else just thought of it as Sunday lunch at The Bread Basket, or whichever other restaurant they had chosen that particular week. It was safe to say that none of the restaurants in town were likely to go without business on a Sunday, because the only thing that outnumbered the restaurants was the churches.

  They had just been seated when Katie's phone chirped to announce a text message.

  Let me know when you're free, it said. It was from Rob, of course, and Katie smiled.

  Church is over, she sent back. We're having lunch, and I'm free if you want to call.

  She waited a moment for a response, and then her phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey,” Rob said. “Are you okay?”

  Katie's eyebrows went up. “I'm fine,” she said. “How are you and Anna?”

  “Anna is sleeping, that's how she deals with stress. As for me, I've just been sitting here all morning, trying to figure out what to do next. The insurance company from the wreck has been paying an allowance for Linda every month, all these years, and they'll pay for her burial expenses, as well. I'll have to make the arrangements tomorrow, of course, and then Anna and I will have to go through all of her things and decide what to do with them.”

  “Rob, I wish there were something I could do to help. I mean, if you need to talk, that's my specialty. I just wish I could be more of an active help through all of this.”

  “Thank you,” Rob said. “I appreciate that, and I'm sure I will need to talk a lot. This is—there was no warning, no sign that she had any problems. The doctors are calling it sudden arrhythmic death, which basically means that she had a sudden, unexpected and undiagnosed arrhythmia in her heart that interrupted its normal function and caused it to simply stop. The shock apparently rendered her unconscious, so she never even got the chance to let Anna know something was wrong. She just passed out, and then she died.”

  “Oh, Rob, I'm so sorry,” Katie said. “But at least it sounds like it was peaceful, and hopefully not painful.”

  “Well, if there was any pain, it would have been only for a few seconds at most. That's what caused her to lose consciousness, so she wouldn't have felt anything after that. Most likely, it all happened pretty much at once, and she probably didn't feel a thing. Just, one minute she was watching TV, and a second later she was gone.”

  “Does Anna know that yet?” Katie asked.

  “Yeah, she was with me when I talked to the doctors last night. She said the same thing, that at least it went quickly and she didn't suffer. Listen, I'm really sorry I had to dump you at the hospital like that…”

  “Don't be ridiculous,” Katie Lou said. “You were in shock, and your sister needed you. Believe me, I understood. It's not a problem. Kylie came and picked me up, and we've all been praying for you both. And, again, if there's anything at all that I can do, all you got to do is let me know.”

  “That means a lot, Katie, it really does. I'll probably call you again later, if that's okay. I'm not going to open the clinic tomorrow, I'll be busy making funeral arrangements and such. I'll probably see you on Tuesday for your next appointment, okay?”

  “Of course,” Katie said. “Call me anytime, and I'll see you Tuesday.”

  Katie pushed the end button, and looked up at her family. Judy was smiling at her, while her father and sister were playing the little game that sat on the table, the one with the golf tees and the wooden triangle.

  “I ordered you the pot roast, I know it's your favorite here,” Judy said. “How are they doing?”

  “Anna is sleeping a lot; Rob says that's how she deals with things. He's just trying to figure it all out. The doctors last night said it was just a sudden, unexplained heart problem that happened so quickly it was like someone flipped a switch. I said it was at least good that she didn't suffer, and he said that's true.”

  “That's how I want to go,” Allen said. “God can just flip the switch, and I'll be gone. No muss, no fuss, and you can just put what's left in a garbage bag and set me out at the curb.”

  Judy smacked him on the shoulder. “Don't you even joke about things like that,” she said. “It's not funny, and I don't want to hear it, especially not right after something like this has happened.”

  They enjoyed their lunch together,
and then went home. The rest of the afternoon found them sitting around watching television, although Kylie surprised them all that evening by announcing that she had a date. One of the young men from their church had asked her out for the evening, and she had accepted. It was simply a casual date, she explained, but Katie noticed that she took a little extra time with her makeup and hair, more than she usually did. Whoever the guy was, Kylie must have thought he was kind of special.

  Katie hadn't slept well the night before, so she was tired and went to bed promptly at ten. That night, she actually slept without dreaming, or at least without any dreams she remembered when she woke. Morning came, as it always does, and she rose and made her way to the bathroom by holding onto the bed's footboard and the dresser, where she stopped to dig out clothing for the day. A quick shower woke her up, and she even spent a few moments on her face before getting dressed.

  Clean and fresh, and dressed in jeans and a nice top, she finally hobbled out of the bathroom and let Willy the Walker escort her to the kitchen. Her parents were already gone for the day, each to their own business, but Kylie was at home and had French toast ready to drop into the skillet.

  “Oh, that sounds so good,” Katie Lou said, when Kylie told her the breakfast menu. “Go for it, and I'll set the table.”

  The two sisters did their parts, and shortly they were sitting down at the table together, enjoying the kind of breakfast that they hadn't had since they were younger. French toast had been a Saturday morning staple at their house, and they both remembered being allowed to sit in the living room floor and watch Saturday morning cartoons as they ate.

  “I still remember the time you got in trouble for spilling syrup on mom's new rug,” Katie Lou said, and they both laughed.

  “It wasn't really all that funny,” Kylie said, doing her best to stifle the laughter that was still coming out, “but I'll never forget the look on your face. You thought mom was going to kill me, didn't you?”

  “Oh, I did,” Katie said. “All we had heard for a week was how lucky she was to find that beautiful rug in a rummage sale, but I'll be honest and tell you that I thought it was one of the ugliest things I had ever seen in my life. I mean, come on, who would want a rug with nothing on it but a picture of Marilyn Monroe with her dress blowing up?”