The Gift (The Protectors Book 6)

by Leeanna Morgan

  Beverly picked up her bag and smiled at Claire and Hannah. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. It will be exciting seeing our plans come together.”

  “It’s going to be an amazing day,” Claire agreed. “If you have any questions before we meet again, just give us a call.”

  Beverly stood and gave them a hug. “We will. I’ll see you next Wednesday.”

  Hannah nodded and followed Margaret and Beverly to the front door. “Drive safely.”

  After they’d gone, she returned to the living room. Claire was taking their cups and plates through to the kitchen. “That went well.”

  Claire smiled. “It did. Thank goodness Beverly asked her mom to trim her list. Did you see how many things were on the piece of paper?”

  “I thought it was very restrained of Margaret to stop at thirty items. I was expecting a lot more questions. I’ll let Brett know we’ve finished.”

  “Ask him if he wants a cup of coffee before we head back to the ranch. I can make a fresh pot.”

  Hannah turned on her phone. “Do we have any mini cheesecakes left?”

  Claire laughed. “I thought I was the only one who noticed how interested he was in the box you were holding.”

  “He has a sweet tooth.”

  “In that case, he’s in luck. I bought more than we needed.”

  Hannah smiled as she called Brett’s number. If she weren’t careful, he’d want to pick them up each time they came into town—especially if cheesecake was on the menu.

  ***

  By the time Brett and Pat arrived at Hannah and Claire’s home, it was nearly one o’clock.

  “Don’t forget the sandwiches,” Pat said as he lifted two bags off the back seat.

  Brett opened the passenger door of his truck. “I’ve got them.”

  Instead of visiting Ida at the retirement village, they’d spent the morning with her at the hospital. Overnight, her flu symptoms had become so bad that she’d been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. After several tests and a chest scan, she’d been admitted to a ward with pneumonia. It had been a stressful few hours but, hopefully, once the antibiotics did their job, Ida would be feeling a lot better.

  On their way across town, Brett had stopped at a bakery. Even though Hannah and Claire were staying on the ranch, it would be good to have lunch with them in their home. For a short period of time, he could almost pretend they didn’t have so much happening in their lives.

  He rang the front door bell and waited for someone to answer.

  Pat stepped closer to the window. “Hannah’s coming.”

  When she opened the door, her grin made Brett’s heart skip a beat.

  “You’ve got perfect timing,” she said. “The coffee is hot and I’ve finished packing the rest of my clothes.”

  Brett’s eyebrows rose. “More clothes? I thought you’d run out of closet space.”

  “I can do a little reorganization.” She looked at the bags they were holding. “What have you got there?”

  Pat handed her two of the bags. “Lunch. These are the best grilled cheese sandwiches in Montana.”

  “Yum.” She stepped away from the door and pointed down the hallway. “We can have lunch in the kitchen.”

  Brett followed Pat and Hannah into the kitchen. Sunshine poured through the large windows, bathing the room in a bright, warm glow. He wasn’t surprised to see paintings of all shapes and sizes lining the walls. “You’ve got as many paintings as Pat.”

  “Not quite,” Hannah said with a nervous smile. “We change the canvases each month. It gives us something different to look at when we have breakfast.”

  Brett moved to the painting closest to him. The abstract landscape was huge. Brown, orange, and gold swirls of color rose from the bottom of the canvas. They wove through dense patches of gray and black, creating ribbons of color across the painting.

  On the bottom right-hand side were the initials HW. He glanced at Hannah, then moved to the next painting. This one was smaller but was just as beautiful as the larger canvas. “These are incredible.”

  Hannah bit her bottom lip. “Thanks. They’re different than the painting I was working on at the ranch.”

  Pat stood in front of another painting. “They’re stunning. You should be a full-time artist.”

  Claire came into the kitchen and took the last two sandwich bags out of Brett’s hands. “I’ll put these on a plate. Keep telling Hannah she needs to paint full time. I’ve been trying for the last ten years, but she won’t listen.”

  “What about the residency in Vancouver?” Pat asked Hannah. “From what you told me, it sounds perfect.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  Claire made a choking sound. “There’s nothing complicated about it. If you don’t go, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

  Hannah sent her sister an irritated glare. “I’ve got a couple of weeks before I need to let the university know what I’m doing.”

  Brett’s stomach twisted into knots. He walked toward the coffeepot, ignoring Claire’s pointed stare. If she expected him to tell Hannah she should leave, she was out of luck.

  “Isn’t Mary-Beth moving to Vancouver?” Pat asked.

  Brett poured everyone a cup of coffee. “She leaves in four weeks,” he muttered. He was having a hard enough time getting used to his sister’s decision to leave, let alone think about Hannah’s plans. Mary-beth was in love. It was doing crazy things to her brain and making her even more impulsive than usual.

  “That’s great,” Claire said a little too enthusiastically. “You wouldn’t be alone, Hannah. You could meet Mary-Beth for coffee while you’re both settling in.”

  Brett handed Pat a mug of coffee. “We’ll need to leave soon if we want to be home before it gets dark.”

  Claire slid the plates of grilled cheese sandwiches across the counter. “Here you go. I’ll organize dessert.”

  “How is Ida?” Hannah asked.

  Pat glanced at Brett before answering. “She had a setback this morning.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “Not really. She was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.”

  “Will she be all right?”

  Pat looked down at his coffee. “I hope so. She got pneumonia six months ago and nearly died. With the right antibiotics, she should get better a lot faster than last time.”

  Hannah’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Pat. I didn’t know she’d been unwell.”

  “It’s one of the disadvantages of getting older.” Pat’s hand trembled as he lifted his coffee cup to his mouth.

  Brett didn’t know what he would do if something happened to Ida. She had been his sounding board, the woman who loved him unconditionally even when he was acting like an idiot. She was the mother he’d always wanted and a friend he would have for life.

  Hannah walked around the table. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Pat’s shoulders. “I hope Ida gets better soon.”

  Tears filled Pat’s eyes. “So do I.” He patted Hannah’s hand and took a deep breath. “Some days it only seems like yesterday that we were living on the ranch with Stevie and Brett. Then I look around and wonder where the years have gone.”

  Brett put down his sandwich. He’d never seen Pat look so unhappy or worried.

  “Will you be okay?” Hannah asked.

  “Of course I will. I’m feeling sorry for myself, that’s all.” He forced a smile. “As soon as the antibiotics start working, Ida will get better, and we’ll be back to normal.”

  Claire refilled Pat’s coffee cup. “Over the last few weeks, your life has been anything but normal. Between Dave’s father and his gambling debts, Dave’s injuries, and Ida’s health, it has been a Christmas no one will forget.”

  “What about the painting Hannah found in the attic?” Brett added. “If it’s what everyone thinks it is, it could be worth a small fortune.”

  Hannah pushed away her plate. “I was so excited when we found the painting. But with everyth
ing that’s happened, it seems like the least of our worries.”

  Pat took his dishes across to the sink. “I agree. All I want is for Ida to get through the next forty-eight hours.”

  Brett raised his coffee cup in Pat’s direction. “I’ll second that. Here’s to a healthy and happy New Year.”

  As everyone clinked their mugs together, he wondered if their lives could get any more complicated. And then he looked at Hannah and realized they already had.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Later that night, Brett drove into the parking lot of Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. Over the last few hours, Ida’s health had deteriorated. At eleven o’clock, her doctor had called Pat, asking him to come into town. They’d left the ranch right away, leaving Hannah and Claire with Dave.

  If Brett could have driven everyone into Bozeman, he would have. But staying at the ranch was safer than being at the hospital. The police were no closer to finding the men who had beaten Dave or finding the man who’d been on the ranch. If someone was following Dave, they didn’t want Ida getting involved in what was happening. She had enough to deal with at the moment.

  As soon as the truck stopped, Pat opened the passenger door and stepped out of the truck.

  Brett unbuckled his seatbelt. “Wait for me. The ground will be slippery.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Brett grabbed Pat’s overnight bag and rushed toward him. His foot slipped, the bag flew out of his hands, and Brett’s arms cartwheeled madly in the air. With a bone-crunching thud, he landed butt first on the icy ground.

  Pat stopped for long enough to help him to his feet. “Ida won’t be impressed if you’re wheeled into her room covered head-to-foot in plaster.” He picked up his bag and held onto Brett’s elbow. “Let’s go. I’ll make sure you don’t fall again.”

  “Very funny.” He should have dropped Pat at the entrance to the hospital. Navigating across the frozen parking lot was like ice-skating for the first time in Bogert Park. He’d landed on the ground that time, too. Only it hadn’t been Pat who’d helped him to his feet, it was Mary-Beth.

  Brett was surprised to see two other people walking toward the hospital. The women were moving through the vehicles, their heads bowed against the bitter wind. He wondered if they had been called unexpectedly to sit beside a family member or if they were staff who were working tonight.

  Snow began to fall, swirling around them like glittering confetti. It felt surreal, as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for the next step in a story that might not end well.

  As soon as they were through the front doors, Pat headed toward the elevators.

  Brett checked his phone before turning it to vibrate mode. Hannah hadn’t called him or left a message, so he assumed everything was all right.

  As the elevator traveled to the first floor, he kept his gaze on Pat. The man who never seemed to age suddenly looked like a seventy-five-year-old man. His skin was pale and drawn and he walked with a slight stoop. It was almost as if the weight of Ida’s health problems was too much to bear. With a sinking heart, Brett realized Pat was more fragile than he’d ever seen him.

  “How are you feeling?” Brett asked.

  “I’ve had better days.”

  “Let me know if you need to sit down. You’re too pale.”

  Pat’s tired eyes crinkled at the corners. “You’re always looking after me. Even when I can’t drive into Bozeman to see Ida, you always offer to take me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Brett swallowed the knot of emotion in his throat. “You and Ida are my family. I love you.”

  Pat gripped Brett’s hand. “I love you, too.”

  As the elevator doors opened, memories of the last time they were here flooded Brett’s mind. Ida had been incredibly sick with pneumonia that time, too. She’d been on an intubator, struggling to stay alive. He hoped she was okay, but they wouldn’t have been called into the hospital if she was responding to her medication.

  The tang of heavy-duty antiseptic followed them down the corridor. Brett looked at the bright, fluorescent lights and wondered if he was the only person who craved sunlight in this ward.

  He touched Pat’s arm before opening the main doors to the Intensive Care Unit. “Do you want me to wait outside while you talk to the doctor?”

  “No. Stay with me.”

  “Okay.” Brett washed his hands then followed Pat toward the nurses’ station.

  “Can I help you?” a doctor asked as they crossed the room.

  Pat looked at the doctor’s name badge. “I’m Pat McConachie and this is Brett Forster. My wife, Ida, is one of your patients.”

  The doctor held out his hand. “Geoff Partridge. I appreciate you being here. I imagine you both have a lot of questions.”

  “How is Ida?” Pat asked.

  Geoff motioned toward a family meeting room. “How about we talk in here?”

  Pat nodded and silently followed Ida’s doctor.

  As soon as they were seated, Geoff pulled out a medium-sized tablet. He tapped on the screen and looked at Pat. “We thought Ida was responding to the antibiotics we gave her, but the last scan showed more fluid building up in her lungs. She took a severe turn for the worst this evening. We’re concerned that her infection has spread to other parts of her body.”

  Brett frowned. “How does that happen?”

  “The bacterial infection travels through the bloodstream to other vital organs, like the liver and the heart. If we can’t find a treatment that works, it can severely damage the organs.”

  “Could Ida die?” Pat asked.

  Geoff nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. Ida’s stroke and age make her more susceptible to complications from the infection. We’ve changed to a more aggressive treatment plan, but it’s not without its own side effects.” He paused, giving Brett the feeling they were about to hear the worst news. “We placed Ida in an induced coma half an hour ago. A ventilator is helping to oxygenate her blood. Combined with the new drug regime, we’re giving her the best chance of recovering from the infection.”

  Brett’s heart pounded. He glanced at Pat, hoping this wasn’t too much for him.

  Pat’s face was a blank mask. “When will you know if the drugs are working?”

  “The next three hours will be crucial. But before we go any further, I have something else I need to discuss with you.” The doctor paused. “Before we placed Ida into an induced coma, she asked us not to resuscitate her if her heart stops beating.”

  Pat’s already pale skin had turned gray.

  Geoff placed his hand on Pat’s wrist. “Take a deep breath. That’s it. In and out. Take your time.”

  Brett watched Pat slowly process what Geoff had told them.

  “Ida can’t talk very well. How did she tell you not to resuscitate her?” Pat stumbled over the last words.

  “She spoke to one of our nurses who asked me to see her. Ida clearly said DNR to the nurse. When I asked her if she wanted us to issue a do-not-resuscitate order, she nodded.”

  Tears filled Pat’s eyes. “She’s exhausted. Ida wouldn’t have known what she was saying.”

  “We explained what a do-not-resuscitate order involves. She doesn’t want us to perform CPR, Pat.”

  “But if her heart stops beating and you do nothing, she’ll die.”

  The anguish in Pat’s voice tore through Brett’s chest.

  Geoff nodded. “We’re hopeful the new treatment will work, but if it doesn’t, you need to prepare yourself for the worst.” His pager beeped and he looked at the message. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll ask one of the nurses to answer any questions you have. If you need me for anything, the nurses will find me. I’ll talk to you as soon as I can.”

  With a heavy heart, Brett watched the doctor leave the room.

  “Ida is a fighter,” Pat whispered. “She’s been through so much. She wouldn’t give up. She can’t.”

  Brett wrapped his arm around Pat’s trembling shoulders and hugged him t
ight. He tried to think of something to say, words that would make everything easier to handle. But nothing could change what had happened. All they could do was pray that the new treatment worked.

  ***

  Claire rubbed her eyes as she wandered into the living room. “Have you heard from Brett?”

  Hannah shook her head. “It’s probably too early. He would have arrived at the hospital only a short time ago.”

  “Do you want some company?”

  “I’m okay. You go to bed. One of us needs to be awake early tomorrow.”

  Claire flopped onto the couch beside Hannah. “We’ve survived on hardly any sleep before. Staying up tonight won’t make any difference. Did Pat say anything about Ida before he left?”

  “Only that the doctor wanted to see him about Ida’s treatment. Bilateral pneumonia can be hard to treat, especially with Ida’s medical history.”

  “I’m sure everything will be fine. There are so many drugs on the market that something has to clear the infection.”

  Hannah hoped so, too. “I’m worried about Pat. He didn’t look great when he left.”

  “Brett will take care of him. What about you?”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. You spent a lot of time with Ida when you were working in the retirement village. How do you feel about her being so sick?”

  “Sad. She’s been through so much.” Hannah opened the blanket she’d wrapped around her legs and shared it with Claire. “Ida worked hard to regain some mobility after her stroke. She was determined not to lose her independence. But no matter how hard she tried, she never got to the stage where she could go home. Pat and Brett will be devastated if anything happens to her.”

  “At least she’s in the best possible place. The hospital will do everything they can to make her better.”

  Hannah closed her eyes and prayed that her sister was right.

  “I’ve got some good news if you want to hear it?”

  “Did we win the state lottery?”

  Claire smiled. “Not quite. I opened two emails this evening from people wanting to book weddings with us. They’re getting married in April.”