AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I swallowed, praying that she hadn’t answered because she was with my aunt at the hospital. But I couldn’t help reliving the past, wondering if the worst was yet to come.
“She hasn’t called me, either.”
“What does that mean?”
With fear taking root, I could barely process her question. “Nothing good.”
In a daze, I kissed Morgan goodbye and ran back to my truck before gunning it to the condo. I tossed everything I’d brought into the truck and was on the highway less than ten minutes later.
In a normal situation, I was eleven hours from home.
I hoped to make it in less than nine.
With my foot mashed on the accelerator, I sped over the causeway to Tampa, Toby on speakerphone.
“Walk me through it again,” I said. “From the beginning.”
I’d known Toby all my life, and while he had always seemed unflappable, I could hear the strain in his voice.
“It was Tuesday morning,” he said after a beat, “and Angie was in the office when I arrived, just like normal. I updated her on the repairs to the irrigation system—we’ve been working on that—and then we met with the contractor at the greenhouse to go over the expansion plans. That took about an hour. After that, she went back to the office, and she appeared to be fine. If I’d known or even suspected something was wrong…”
“I’m not blaming you,” I assured him. “Then what happened?”
“Xavier went to see her right before lunch. There was a problem with the Mopack,” he said, referring to the egg-packaging equipment, “and he noticed that something was wrong with her eye. It was kind of drooping, and when he asked her about it, she mixed up her words. He was scared enough to call me, so I hurried over. Right away it was clear there was something wrong with her, so I called for an ambulance. When they arrived, they said she was having a stroke, so they rushed her to the hospital.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I assumed that Paige told you,” he replied, obviously flustered. “I called her right after I called for the ambulance, and she rushed over. She followed them to the hospital, and I know she was there while your aunt had surgery. As far as I know, that’s where she’s been ever since. I’m sorry.”
I realized that I was gripping the wheel so hard that my fingers were turning white, and I tried to force myself to relax.
“Surgery?”
“To remove the clot,” he clarified. “That’s what Paige said, anyway.”
“How’s my aunt doing now?”
“I haven’t spoken to the doctors—”
“When you’ve seen her, I mean,” I interrupted. “Is she conscious? Is she in ICU?”
“According to Paige, the surgery went well. Angie’s not in the ICU. She’s awake, but the left side of her face is partially paralyzed, so it’s hard to understand her sometimes. And her left arm and leg are really weak.”
“Is Paige with her? Right now?”
“I think so.”
“When were you last at the hospital?”
He must have heard my anxiety, because his words began to come even more quickly.
“I was there today, right before I called you. I stopped by for half an hour or so. But that was my first visit in a few days.”
“Did you see Paige there?”
“No, but where else would she be? She hasn’t been home lately. I went over a couple of times and even checked the barn.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
