Adeline felt numb, yet the sensation of devastation hovered around the edges of her consciousness. It was there. Coming, like a hurricane brewing offshore.
Her mother could’ve died. Still could. The doctor had admitted after relentless interrogation that part of the reason for the observation was because many times a second heart attack followed the first. It reminded Adeline of the aftershocks of an earthquake.
Only this wasn’t someplace she’d never been or people she didn’t know, this was her mother.
This washerfault.
“God.” She braced her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands. All of this was so damned wrong. Off somehow, and it just kept getting more and more twisted.
“Addy.” Wyatt’s big, warm hand settled on her back. “The doc said she’s going to be fine. You have to believe that. And stop blaming yourself.”
Adeline sat up, turned her face to his. “She’s hiding something from me.” She looked away, didn’t want him to see the sting of tears in her eyes. She swallowed back the ones crowded in her throat. “There’s something about the past and this case that she’s not telling me. I saw it in her eyes ... before.” She blinked back the emotion that threatened to spill past her lashes. “Whatever it is ... it’s big.”
Bigger than maybe Adeline wanted to know.
This case—coming back here—had ripped apart the fiber of her existence. And the split just kept getting wider and more jagged.
“Ms. Cooper?”
Adeline’s attention swung to the double doors next to the admissions desk. Dr. Hubbard, the physician in charge of her mother’s care, was coming toward Adeline.
She shot to her feet and rushed to meet him.
“You can see your mother now.” He smiled, the expression more comforting than he could possibly comprehend. “She’s been moved to the cardiac unit on the fourth floor. You may have a few moments with her, and then she needs to rest. She’s sedated, so she may fall asleep on you.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
She turned to Wyatt, relief so profound rushing through her body that her knees threatened to buckle. “She’s gonna be okay.”
He hugged her close and she wanted to cry all over again. Her heart ached, needed to feel this. To feel him.
Adeline pulled away. Exiled the powerful emotions. She needed to get a hold of herself. And to get to the fourth floor.
The journey from the ER waiting room to the main lobby and the bank of elevators beyond seemed to take forever. The delay for the elevator car to arrive was even worse. By the time they reached the fourth floor, Adeline felt ready to have a heart attack of her own. Her heart thumped so hard she could scarcely breathe. Her head spun with the lack of oxygen. And all the bizarre fragments of information that didn’t fit together and yet went hand in hand.
Her mother’s cubicle stood directly across from the nurse’s station. There was no door, just a glass partition allowing visual access to the patient from the nurse’s station. As much as it scared Adeline to see her mother in a place like this, she was glad for the close monitoring.
The nurse made Wyatt wait in the corridor since only one visitor at a time was allowed. He squeezed Adeline’s hand, offering that support she needed so badly.
When Adeline approached the bed, Irene’s eyes opened. “Addy.”
Between the ultra-sterile environment, the collage of machines playing their out-of-sync symphony, and her mother’s pale face, Adeline couldn’t stop the tears. “You about scared me to death, lady.” Her mother reached for her hand. Adeline’s heart reacted to the too-cool feel of her skin. “I am so sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to upset you. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have—”
“This is not your fault.”
Her voice sounded so weak. Adeline’s gut clenched with fear and dread and worry, all at the same time. “I’m sorry anyway.”
Irene peered down at their clasped hands. “I shouldn’t have waited. I should have told you a long time ago.” She licked her parched lips.
As much as Adeline wanted to ask what her mother meant, she reached for the ice chips on the table next to the bed instead. “Here.” She placed a few in her mother’s mouth. When Adeline offered more, her mother shook her head.
“I need you to listen to me.”
“All right.” Adeline leaned closer to ensure she didn’t miss a word. Her mother’s voice sounded weak and fragile. Nothing like the strong woman Adeline knew so well. It tore at her heart.
“There were three of you.”
The statement ignited a new kind of fear deep in Adeline’s chest. This moment—what she was about to hear, she instinctively understood—would change everything. “We don’t have to talk about this, Mom. You should rest. I want you well.” She defied the tears that crammed into her eyes once more. “I can’t bear to see you like this.”