“Any idea if she’ll be on shift?” he asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine there, but I assume she has been called by now by the sheriff so he can inform the parents together,” she supplied.
Running into Stephanie Napier while on shift wasn’t exactly his version of a good idea. Audrey’s emotions were still running high, this was personal, and she might lose her better judgment long enough to ask questions that didn’t need to be asked before a mother was informed of her son’s death.
“Whatever you’re thinking that’s causing you to sit here and idle the engine rather than go inside, don’t,” Audrey said, surprising him.
“I’m good,” he said. “Are you?”
“I can be,” she responded with raw honesty. “If Mrs. Napier is on shift, I’m not going to quiz her if that’s what you’re worried about.” Now, she sounded offended. “Give me more credit, Duke.”
Duke cut off the engine. “I apologize if I offended you.” He meant it, too. “Keep in mind that I haven’t seen or spoken to you in almost a decade and a half. Believe it or not, I’m hesitating because I remember the kind of heart that’s beating inside your chest. You would be upset with yourself if you accidentally crossed a line with Jenson Napier’s mother.”
Audrey kept her gaze on the vehicle in front of them. She gave a slight nod and then exited the truck before he could come around and open the door for her. He knew full well she could open a door for herself, but it was a common courtesy that had been ingrained in him from birth. At sixteen, she used to like it when he circled around the front of his Chevy truck to get the door.
Had she changed, or was she making a statement that she could take care of herself?
Duke shoved those unproductive thoughts aside along with the small part of him that was disappointed. He made a mental note that she liked to do those things for herself now and got on with it. No sense dwelling on the past.
In fact, Duke followed Audrey into the hospital rather than take the lead. Damn. In all the activity, he’d lost sight of the fact she’d been the first responder on the farm road making sure his grandparents were okay. Now that he had her for the next couple hours, it would be nice to have a few of his questions answered.
The only reason he was sticking by her side right now through the Jenson boy ordeal was because his grandparents would tan his hide if he walked away from Audrey after the trauma of the afternoon.
Inside Mesa General, the white sterile tile caused him to tense up. Hospitals and funeral homes were the two places he generally liked to avoid. But this couldn’t be helped.
They breezed by reception with a nod from Flo, who worked behind the counter. She was as good at reading people’s moods as his grandmother was. One look from Lacy Remington, and you were an open book.
They walked straight to the elevator bank. Audrey pressed the button, and almost immediately a set of doors opened. They stepped inside where she pushed the number three. Three thirteen was his grandmother’s room. Grandpa Lor was next door in three fifteen.
The second the elevator doors opened, Duke’s stomach dropped. Based on the flurry of activity at the nurses’ station, someone on the floor was coding.
“Grab the crash cart and follow me into three thirteen,” one of the nurses demanded. She flew right past Duke so close he had to take a step back.
Three thirteen? Duke bit back a curse. Grandma Lacy.
Audrey’s hand pressed against his forearm in a show of support. Duke took off behind the last nurse as Audrey kept pace by his side. Grandpa Lor was hanging on by a thread as it was. Losing the love of his life would certainly be a blow. Would he be able to survive? Would it set him back? Duke couldn’t let himself think about losing his beloved grandma.
As the team reached the door, he tried to scoot in behind the last nurse, a male. The guy turned around to close the door, ran smack into Duke’s chest and bounced.
The nurse shot him a look of sympathy. “Sorry, man. Only personnel past this point when a patient codes.”
Duke welled up to argue but stopped himself. He didn’t want to take critical seconds away from his grandmother’s care by delaying one of her nurses. He took a backward step.
“We’ll take good care of her. I promise.” With that, the door was shut.
Duke could hear a flurry of activity in the room. All he could think about was his grandfather’s reaction should the worst occur.
“They’re doing everything they can, Duke.” Audrey’s voice broke through the noise in his head.
“I know,” he conceded before raking a hand through his hair. “I just hope it’s enough. You know?”
The question was rhetorical, but Audrey’s hand on his arm kept him from losing it. None of this was fair. His grandparents were two of the nicest people on earth. They didn’t deserve to have this happen to them. This was the longest they’d slept in separate beds in their entire lives together.
Nash came running down the hall with a look of concern. He motioned toward the steady beeps coming from the nurses’ station. “What’s happening?”
A nurse was hot on his tail. “Sir, please go back to the waiting room.” She didn’t catch on there wasn’t a chance in hell Nash was turning around to go back to that room without knowing exactly what was going on.
“Grandma coded,” Duke said. Hearing those words come out of his own mouth was the equivalent of a punch to the solar plexus. Not being able to do anything except stand in a hallway was the worst feeling he could imagine. It gave him a whole new respect for victims’ families who paced halls just like these while waiting to find out if their loved one would live or die.
“Did they say why?” Nash’s face showed his age from lack of sleep and worry. The wrinkles were deeper now. Much more so than from years of too much sun working outside.
Duke shook his head.
“What will it take to get the three of you to move to a waiting room?” the nurse asked. Her name tag read Mitzy. “We need to keep the hallways clear. I promise someone will provide an update as soon as possible.”
Duke didn’t want to make her job more difficult. However, he wasn’t leaving. Which basically meant they were stuck. Except...
“We’ll step into my grandfather’s room if that makes it easier,” he said to her. “But we need to be close by in case...” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
Mitzy’s face morphed from stern to compassionate. “Go ahead. It’s visiting hours. I just can’t have you clogging up the hallway making noise since I do have other patients and families to consider.”
Duke nodded his understanding before ushering his group into Grandpa Lor’s room. The three of them huddled in one corner. Seeing his stronger-than-an-ox grandfather laid up in bed with tubes running out of him and machines beeping gutted him.
“Should we let the others know what’s going on?” Nash whispered.
“They’ll abandon their lives and still potentially not arrive in time to see her before she goes if that’s what we’re dealing with,” Duke reasoned. “I’d rather give it a few minutes first.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Nash agreed.
