Chasing the Wind

by Patricia H. Rushford

  While Cameron finished his coffee, Anabelle told him about Lucy.

  “I might be able to help,” he said. “A couple of our guys have ham radios. I’ll check around at other hospitals.”

  “That would be good.” Anabelle reached over and gave Lucy a squeeze.

  Lucy propped an elbow on the table. “My daddy’s name is Bill Preston.”

  Cameron pulled a pen from his shirt pocket and wrote the name on a napkin then put the pen and the note in his pocket. “I’ll remember. And I will be praying for you and your daddy.”

  “I already prayed. Jesus will find him.”

  A lump formed in Candace’s throat. Oh, for the faith of a child.

  She suddenly missed her own children. When she got back to the Birthing Unit, she’d try to call them.

  James could think of nothing sweeter than heading home and crawling into bed. But bed and sleep would have to wait for a few hours.

  Thanks to the National Guard and Red Cross, the YMCA was functioning well as an annex to the hospital. James got word that he was needed in surgery, and Elena, in ICU. Seri opted to go to the hospital as well. While Elena took her own car, James waited for Seri to finish a job so he could drive her back.

  On the way into town, they spotted a deserted ambulance in the ditch along with an SUV.

  “Whoa,” Seri exclaimed. “That can’t be good.”

  James pulled up alongside the scene. “Let’s take a look—make sure no one got left behind.” James wasn’t sure why he felt the urge to stop. Chances were that everyone had been accounted for.

  The two of them climbed out of James’s van and walked to the side of the road to get a closer look at the accident scene.

  “I don’t see anybody.” Seri folded her arms and winced as she took in the crumpled car.

  James didn’t either, but he did catch a glimpse of a plastic bag a few feet away. Seri spotted it as well. “You think that might belong to someone in the accident?”

  “Let’s take a look.”

  They found a set of keys inside the bag, but nothing else. James tried them in the SUV, but they didn’t match. He checked the glove box for ID, but the registration had been taken, probably by the police.

  Heading back to the car, they stopped to check the back of the ambulance. The mess inside gave James pause.

  “Oh, look. A teddy bear.”

  James shifted his gaze to where Seri pointed. A stuffed brown bear lay crumpled in a corner.

  Seri reached for it. “Do you think the victim in the ambulance was a kid?”

  “It’s possible.”

  The ambulance had been heading into town. James surmised that another ambulance or two had been sent to pick up the crew and the victim being transported. James offered up a prayer. Judging by the blood spatter, this was, as Seri had said, not a good thing.

  James started walking back to his van. “Let’s take this stuff to the hospital. Chances are, someone is missing them.”

  “I wonder what happened.” Seri held the teddy bear to her chest.

  James shrugged. “With things so crazy around here, I doubt we’ll ever know.”

  “I’m going to carry the bear around with me,” Seri said. “Show it to all the kids who are in the hospital. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  “Good idea. That could well link us to the owner of the keys. James stopped briefly at his house and at Seri’s apartment to get changes of clothes. Fortunately, Fern and the boys were doing okay. After their fiasco at the school the night before, James had brought Gideon home, telling him he was needed there.

  When he got there, everyone was asleep. He kissed Fern awake and let her know what he was doing and that he’d be back, hopefully that afternoon.

  When they entered the hospital through the staff entrance, Seri started for the elevators.

  “Seri.” James stopped her. “Thanks for helping out at the Y. You did a great job.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Bell. So did you.”

  Seri went straight up to the lounge to change while James headed into the main lobby. He’d have to remember to write a note to Anabelle about Seri’s performance for her personnel file.

  James left the keys from the accident scene with the security guard along with a note as to where he found them. “You didn’t by any chance hear anything about an ambulance being in an accident last night, did you?”

  “No, but I’ll ask around. I just got here this morning.”

  James nodded. “How are things, in general, around here?”

  “We’ve got the power back on at least.” He eyed the still crowded lobby. “We’re still full to overflowing though.”

  Back in her office and thankful to at last have a working phone, Anabelle checked with everyone she could think of to locate Bill Preston. She called the Y to find out if Preston had been diverted there. He hadn’t been. She even walked Lucy through the wards in case she could spot him.

  They were running out of options. Practically everyone in the hospital knew about Lucy and her missing father. Anabelle felt certain he’d be found sooner or later.

  Anabelle sighed. “Would you like to see patients with me, Lucy, or would you like to sit in my office and draw pictures?”

  “Come with you.” Her eyes widened in fear of being left alone. Anabelle held out a hand to the child. “All right, let’s go.”

  The first item on her agenda was to look in on a new patient, who’d been admitted to the unit while she’d been in the cafeteria. She looked at the name posted next to the door and froze.

  George Talbot, the name of the man who’d run Kirstie down. That had been ten years ago. Anabelle looked at the age. Fifty-eight—that would fit.

  She hadn’t seen George Talbot since the trial, which was fine with her. And she never imagined he’d end up here—in her unit. Painful memories flooded back and twisted themselves like angry vines around her chest.

  “Are we going in there?” Lucy tugged at the hem of her top.

  She looked down at the child. “Not right now.”

  Anabelle turned her notes on the man over and slipped them to the bottom of the pages on her clipboard. I can’t do this Lord. Please don’t ask me to go in there.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then moved on. It wasn’t as though she’d be shirking her responsibilities. Her job was to keep the unit running well, to make certain all of the shifts were covered, to oversee each of the nurses and aides.

  Suddenly, seeing Dr. Hamilton became a priority. Drew had been her safety net after the accident. He apparently still was. How could even seeing Talbot’s name bring such a powerful reaction? She had done the godly thing and forgiven George Talbot. Or had she?

  Anabelle pushed thoughts and images away and paused just outside Dr. Hamilton’s room to update herself on any new entries to his chart. So far there were no discharge orders, which would likely have him fussing at her.

  “Good morning.” Anabelle smiled, trying to set the tone.

  “Aren’t you going to call me an idiot for pushing myself too hard?”

  She chuckled. “I think you’ve probably done enough of that to yourself. So how are you feeling?”

  “Tired.”

  “I can imagine. I see Dr. Hildebrand hasn’t discharged you.”

  “She wants me to stay another day or two. Run some more tests.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  “No, but she’s probably right.”

  “Does that mean you’re turning over a new leaf?” Maybe their Parade of Patients wouldn’t be necessary after all.

  He sighed. “I wish I could say yes. Believe it or not, I do know better; but I can’t just sit around doing nothing. Taking that month off will drive me nuts. The stress will probably bring on another heart attack.”

  “I doubt that. During your month off, maybe you should think about taking that cruise you and Genna have talked about. You could spend time with your granddaughter.”

  “Maybe.” D
rew had a faraway look in his eyes, and Anabelle doubted he’d take her advice. Being as intelligent as he was, he just didn’t seem to get it. Anabelle thought they might need more than persuasion from past patients, but it was a good place to start. “Where is Genna?”

  “She headed out of here as soon as the electricity came back on. Said she had some kind of project to tend to before it was too late.”

  Anabelle made a mental note to check with her friend later, suspecting the project was their patient parade. She had no idea how Genna and the Quilting Guild could pull the Parade of Patients off with almost everyone in town having to deal with this disastrous storm; but if anyone could, it was Genna.

  At least they would have Drew at Hope Haven for another day. Though he looked much better, Anabelle didn’t trust him.

  “Can I say one thing?” Anabelle asked.

  “As long as you aren’t going to tell me to take it easy.” He pushed himself back in the bed.

  “Hope Haven won’t be the same without you. I know how dedicated you are to your patients; but trust me, we’d all rather have you gone for a month than gone permanently. You’ve had a heart attack, and you could have another one.”

  “I could have a heart attack whether I stay active or take it easy. There’s no guarantee.”

  “So you want to pack as much time in as possible in case you have another heart attack?”

  “Something like that.”

  “And I used to think you were so smart.”

  When she and Lucy stepped out of Drew’s room, Lucy ran straight into Seri.

  “Whoa.” Seri flung her arms out to steady the child. The teddy bear she’d been holding dropped to the floor.

  “My Bookie Bear!” Lucy squealed as she twisted away from Seri and snatched up the shaggy brown bear.

  “Are you sure that’s your bear?” Seri hunkered down beside Lucy.

  “Yes.” She tightened her grip on the stuffed animal. “It’s got a B on the tag and it means Bookie.”

  “Cool name for a bear.” Seri grinned.

  “It’s my name too. Grandpa calls me his Bookie Bear.”

  As Seri stood, she shot Anabelle a strange look and as an aside said, “We need to talk.”

  Chapter Twenty

  AFTER HEARING SERI’S ACCOUNT OF THE accident involving the ambulance, Anabelle informed the police officer she’d spoken to. They were aware of the accident involving the ambulance and would try to track down everyone involved. The problem was that no one seemed to have Bill Preston listed anywhere. The medics involved in the accident were both in critical condition and as yet hadn’t been able to provide any information.

  Since her teddy bear, if in fact it was her bear, had been found at the scene, the victim had to have been in that ambulance.

  Though Anabelle wasn’t prepared to be a foster parent, the arrangement seemed for the best. She prayed they would find Lucy’s father soon and that he was alive and well.

  That afternoon, while Lucy took a nap with her teddy bear on a makeshift bed in her office, Anabelle stepped into the lobby area to watch as the first of Dr. Hamilton’s thankful patients began to arrive. Genna had brought some goodies and balloons.

  His first patient, Cora, a woman who was recovering from hip surgery, came in right after lunch. Though she was still in the hospital and using a walker, she looked ready to go home. She had even walked from Med/Surg.

  Normally, they limited visitors; but today, there’d be no reprieve for Dr. Hamilton.

  Genna winked at Anabelle. She’d told Anabelle earlier that she planned to stretch the visits out for three afternoons.

  Anabelle laughed. “That should tell him something, but he may be discharged today.”

  “He won’t be. I think this last episode scared him. He’s willing to stay until all the tests are done.”

  “Good.” Anabelle nodded.

  “Hey, Doc,” Penny, a recent cancer patient, greeted in a raspy voice. “I heard you’d had a heart attack. Came over to make sure you were okay. And to thank you.”

  Anabelle didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she didn’t want to leave either. She and Genna stood side by side near the door of the CCU unit waiting to hear Drew’s response.

  “Thank me?” Dr. Drew sounded surprised. “You had to have three surgeries before we finally found the source of the trouble. And even then, your prognosis isn’t that good.”

  “Yeah, but you never gave up. James told me that you were consulting with the other doctors after you had the heart attack. I’m glad you did, but you need to take care of yourself so you can be around to help a lot more people down the road.”

  He chuckled. “Let me guess, my wife and Anabelle Scott put you up to this, didn’t they?”

  “What? I can’t come visit my favorite doctor?” She laughed. “Okay, they did tell me you were being ornery and not following your doctor’s advice. I happen to agree with them. You’re an important part of this hospital, and your patients need you to take it easy and come back healthy.”

  “I’ll take that into consideration,” he told her. They talked awhile longer, but Anabelle didn’t stay.

  The Parade of Patients went on for the rest of the afternoon. Just as Anabelle was about to head home, Tucker Blair’s parents came in to thank Dr. Hamilton for working so hard to save Tucker’s life. Tucker hadn’t made it, but the family knew Dr. Hamilton and the staff had done everything possible to save him.

  One patient after another paraded through the lobby. With so many showing up, Anabelle decided to move Dr. Hamilton into the cafeteria along with all the goodies that were showing up. Previous patients were turning the event into a party, and they needed a lot more room than was available in the waiting room.

  She helped Genna set up an area and put a note on the desk in the waiting room redirecting people.

  By the time she returned to the floor, Anabelle was more than ready to go home, but she wasn’t certain what to do with Lucy. The little girl had attached herself to Anabelle big-time. She hated calling Children’s Services and yet, what choice did she have?

  Anabelle called Children’s Services. They were understaffed and overrun with children who had somehow been separated from their parents, and the supervisor—a woman Anabelle knew from church—told her they could make Anabelle a temporary guardian.

  Once her shift had ended in ICU, Elena hurried over to the Med/Surg Unit and asked James about Sarah.

  “She’s asleep,” James told her. “Do you know her?”

  Elena sighed. “I—I was there when she came in last night, remember?”

  “Oh, right. Isabel’s mother.” He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “You can tell I’m wiped out.”

  “So she’s doing okay?” Elena asked.

  “She hasn’t had a seizure since that first one. Did you want to look in on her?”

  “No. I was just curious.”

  Curious yes, but much more. Elena wanted this girl out of their lives. Ever since she’d called the other day, Elena had been in turmoil. Then, seeing her at the YMCA tore her apart. Elena rubbed at her forehead, to ease away the beginnings of a headache. Why God? Why is she suddenly in our lives again?

  Elena told James she might come back later, then hurried to the Cardiac Care Unit in hopes of catching Anabelle. All day she’d been fighting her emotions about Sarah. She needed so desperately to talk to someone, and Anabelle always seemed to be able to see through problems and come up with solutions.

  Seeing Anabelle at the nurses’ station, Elena breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad to have caught you.”

  “I’m glad you did too. Is something wrong?” Anabelle chuckled. “Besides being tired?”

  “I could use some advice.”

  “Actually, so could I.” Anabelle brightened. “Why don’t we pull our little prayer group together? We’ll call James and Candace to see if they can meet at Cuppa Coffee.”

  “That’s a very good idea.”

  “What’s a good idea?”
James came up behind them.

  “James,” Anabelle startled. “We were just talking about you, and here you are.”

  “God’s timing.” He smiled. “What can I do for you?”

  “Anabelle and I were thinking this might be a good time for us to get together to talk and pray.” Elena looked down at the floor. “I have a problem, and I could really use your help.”

  Anabelle reached up to squeeze Elena’s shoulder. “I do too, actually. In fact, I have several.”

  James nodded. “I hear you. I could use some advice and some prayer as well.”

  Elena nodded. “I will call Candace. Anabelle suggested we meet over at Cuppa Coffee.”

  “Sounds good to me,” James said. “I came over to meet Fern. She had her sister bring her here to talk to Dr. Hamilton for the Parade of Patients.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Anabelle said, “but she isn’t his patient is she?”

  “No, but we both think highly of him. I’m especially thankful for the opportunity to assist him in OR.” James smiled. “I need to tell him that. How about I meet you at the coffee shop in, say, fifteen minutes.”

  “Perfect. I’ll see if I can find Candace.” Elena waved at them and headed for the Birthing Unit.

  The four nurses plus a very tired little girl sat in the cozy corner of the coffee shop where a sofa and two cushy chairs made a perfect spot for their meeting. Elena and Anabelle sat on the sofa while James and Candace sat in the chairs. Anabelle set Lucy up in a nearby child’s corner with puzzles, books, drawing paper and a pencil.

  The broken windows, which had been boarded up, served as reminders of the storm. With windows on two sides, the shop owners had been fortunate to only have lost the three on the north end. The entire front had been protected by awnings.

  “I’m glad we’re doing this.” Elena stirred the whipped topping into her mocha cinnamon latte.

  “Me too.” Candace leaned back and crossed her legs. “Maybe I’m just tired, but I’m having a rough time keeping it together.”

  Anabelle nodded and took a sip of her amaretto latte. “Being tired and having gone through a disaster can definitely take a toll on our minds as well as our bodies.” She paused to look around at each of them and then down at Lucy, who seemed content, drinking her raspberry Italian soda and drawing pictures. “Elena, why don’t you start?”