“I didn’t see, but Tommy said you fell.”

“Tommy…is he ok?” His voice trailed off.

“Yes, he’s just fine. His mom took him home.” Katherine smiled and was thankful for a fresh wave of patience—this was the third time he had asked these same questions.

“My ankle hurts,” he said, trying to sit up.

“Stay there.” Katherine gently pushed his shoulder. He settled back into the pillows, and Katherine explained. “You broke your ankle when you fell. You also hit your head.”

“Did I fall?”

“Yes.” Katherine’s heart squeezed. It pained her to see the confident, gruff captain so feeble and confused. Lord, help him! she prayed again. It was the only prayer her mind could form since the captain’s fall, but it had become like breathing to her.

She watched as his eyes slowly drifted shut again and wondered, What would I do without him? The thought filled her with dread, and she inched her chair just a little closer to the hospital bed.

She looked into his weathered face and remembered the first time she had met him. She would never have guessed that the gruff, distant man would end up so dear. She recalled his bluster about the Harborside being a family business, and her eyes filled with tears. He was family, maybe not by blood, but family, nonetheless.

Resting her forehead on his rough, wrinkled hand, she repeated the verse which she had been clinging to, feeling in deeper need than ever of its truth.

There is no fear in love…

14 Shipwrecked

Katherine slowly drifted awake in the dim light of the hospital room. Through sleep-bleared eyes, she peered around, unsure at first where she was. As her eyes cleared, she became aware of stiff legs and arms, and a back aching from being too long in an awkward position.

She gingerly straightened her legs and began to stretch. The chair she had curled up in was far from comfortable, but she hadn’t wanted to leave the captain. He was still sleeping, so she stood and gingerly took a few steps around the room, trying to wake up her painfully tingling limbs.

Limping back to her chair, she moved it closer to the hospital bed and sat, watching the captain sleep, wondering how everything could change so completely in just an instant.

She looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. Time to start the morning baking. But there was no way she could leave the captain. Miss Harriet’s would have to stay closed for now, as would the Harborside.

And then, what would she do later on, when the captain went home? Katherine knew he would need some care. Other than Serena, far away across the world, she was all he had. She would help him get around while his leg healed—but what about the shops? Her head spun and she felt her aching muscles tighten as she tried to figure out how to manage both shops and care for the captain.

Once she was certain the captain was sleeping soundly, she slipped out into the hallway to stretch her cramped legs. The nurses at the nearby station looked up briefly, then went back to their conversation as if she didn’t exist. Katherine had never felt so alone. A wave of emotion threatened to engulf her there and then, but she took a breath and kept pacing to wake up her legs.

Standing in the doorway so she could keep an eye on the captain, she pulled out her phone to check for messages. A flicker of relief—Serena was coming. And Sally would arrive in the afternoon—she could help keep Miss Harriet’s limping along.

Leaning against the doorway of the captain’s room, she remembered her conversation with Mrs. James the night before.

“Sally will be there tomorrow. I’ve given her the keys to my car so you two will be mobile.”

“Thank you.”

“Katherine,”

“Yes?”

“I think I should cancel the rest of the trip.”

Katherine’s heart squeezed in her chest. As much as she longed for her friend to be there with her, she couldn’t let her give up the long-awaited trip to her childhood home. “No. You can’t… you’ve been looking forward to it for so long, and your brother’s expecting you!”

“I know. But I can’t leave the whole burden of my tea shop on your shoulders while I go off to England to enjoy myself, especially at such a time.”

“I’ll have Sally.”

There was a long pause.

“Is it enough, Dearie? Will you be able to manage with just Sally to help?”

Katherine had silently prayed before giving an answer.

“I think so.”

“Our flight leaves at nine tomorrow evening. Will you promise to call me right away if you decide you need me home?”

“I promise.”

“Good girl.”

Katherine’s heart warmed at the matronly tone that felt like a hug.

“How I wish I could be there with you, Katherine. I can’t imagine how hard this is, and all of us so far away.”

Tears had trickled down Katherine’s cheeks.

“You know you can call me at any time, even in England. And I’ll be praying for you.”

“Thank you.” She had barely managed a whisper.

The steady beeping of the monitor slowly brought her back to the present. Captain Braddock’s forehead creased in a frown as he drifted awake.

“Good morning.” Katherine said softly, returning to her chair by his bedside.

“Katherine.”

“Do you know where you are?” she asked trying to smile.

“It…appears…I’m in a hospital.” He said haltingly, trying to raise a hand tethered by an IV and oximeter.

Freeing the cords from where they had gotten tangled, she waited for the question, praying it wouldn’t come this time.

“What happened?’

Here we go again.