Nine Months Part 3. BEVERLY BARTON

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      “I thought you’d want to know. Paige is pretty upset. You know how nuts she is about—” Austen paused. “We—that is, Mama thinks Paige needs you.”

      “I’ll leave immediately,” Jared said.

      “We’re still in ER.”

      “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

      * * *

      Paige couldn’t remember ever being this scared. Her big, strong, invincible father had doubled over with severe pain shooting down his left arm and pressing against his chest. Heart attack, the medics had thought, but Dr. Howell had corrected that diagnosis.

      “From the evidence, I don’t think he’s had a heart attack,” Noah Howell told them. “We’re going to run some tests to make sure, but my guess is that Mr. Summers has a blocked artery.”

      “What does that mean?” Dora asked. “Can you operate and fix the problem?”

      “If it is a blocked artery, I’ll send him to St. Joseph’s in Denver for a procedure called balloon angioplasty, which will surgically repair the blood vessel.”

      Paige sat alone on a vinyl sofa in the ER waiting room. Austen leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his vision focused on the floor. The staff had allowed their mother a quick visit with their father.

      “It’s all right if you want to cry,” Austen said. “I’d cry myself if I could.”

      “We need to be strong for Mama,” Paige told him. “She’s the glue that holds this family together, but without Daddy, she’d be lost.”

      “He’s not going to die!” Austen slammed his fist into the side of the sofa.

      Paige jumped. “No, of course he’s not going to die.” She needed to convince herself as much as her brother that their father was going to live. The very thought of losing him was more than she could bear.

      It would be so easy for her to fall apart, to dissolve into a puddle of tears, but that was the last thing her mother needed right now.

      Dora Summers emerged from her husband’s ER cubicle. Paige shot off the sofa and rushed to her mother’s side. Austen walked toward them, but stayed back several feet.

      “Your daddy’s all right. He—he isn’t hurting anymore. They’ve given him something.” Tears gathered in Dora’s eyes. “They’re going to take him upstairs to ICU and monitor his condition overnight.”

      Paige hugged her mother. “Daddy’s tough. He—he—”

      “It’s all right, sweetheart,” Dora said. “You go ahead and cry if you want to. Don’t hold it in and make yourself sick. That wouldn’t be good for you and the baby.”

      “I’m okay, Mama.”

      “Your daddy is worried about you. He kept asking how you were doing. He said not to let you get all upset. He doesn’t want you staying here at the hospital all night.”

      “But, Mama—”

      “You know how Daddy is about us. He thinks he has to take care of us, even—” Dora’s voice cracked and tears streamed down her face. “Even when he’s lying flat on his back in a hospital.”

      “Mama, I won’t get any sleep if I go back to my apartment. I’ll be all alone and worried sick.”

      The automatic emergency room doors behind them opened. Dora glanced over Paige’s shoulder. Jared Montgomery marched into the waiting area.

      “I don’t think you’ll have to go home alone.” Dora turned her daughter toward the ER entrance.

      Jared! He dropped his cane to the floor and opened his arms to her. She flew across the room to him. Encompassing her in his embrace, he held her close, stroking her back with tender care.

      “Oh, Jared. How did you know I needed you? Daddy—Daddy is—” The dam holding her emotions in check burst, flooding her eyes with tears and sending sobbing shivers through her body.

      “It’s all right, honey. I’m here.” He continued his comforting caresses as he kissed her forehead and cheeks. “I’ll make sure that your father has whatever he needs. Only the best for Walt Summers. I can have doctors flown in from anywhere in the world.”

      “Jared, Jared.” She fell apart in his arms, secure in the knowledge that he would hold her together and keep her safe.

      “Come on, honey. You need to sit down.” When he draped his arm across her shoulders, she slipped her arm around his waist.

      Austen picked up Jared’s cane and held it out to him.

      “Thanks.”

      “They think Dad’s going to be okay,” Austen said. “Dr. Howell is keeping him overnight in ICU to monitor him. They’ll run some tests tomorrow to determine if the diagnosis of a blocked artery is correct.”

      Dora patted Jared’s hand that held his cane. “Thank you, dear, for offering your help. If Dr. Howell is right about Walt’s condition, they’ll send him to St. Joseph’s in Denver for some sort of surgical procedure.”

      “What can I do to help, Mrs. Summers?” Jared asked.

      “You can take Paige home with you and make sure she gets a good night’s rest. Her father is worried about her and the baby. He’ll do much better knowing that you’re taking care of his little girl.” Dora smiled at Jared and then at Paige, who leaned her head on Jared’s shoulder. “My Walt is so old-fashioned.”

      “Dad just can’t get used to the idea that modern women can take care of themselves,” Austen said.

      “Sometimes we all need a little taking care of, you know.” Dora sighed. “I’ve rather enjoyed having a strong man to lean on from time to time.”

      Jared squeezed Paige’s shoulder. “Well, honey, will you let me take you home?”

      Paige was torn between her desire to stay at her mother’s side, standing vigil over her father, and the certain knowledge that by going with Jared she would do her father more good than if she stayed here at the hospital and caused him to worry about her.

      “Yes, I’ll let you take me home,” she said. “But you have to promise to bring me back to the hospital first thing in the morning.”

      “I promise.”

      “Go on,” Dora told them. “Austen will stay here with me, and if I need you, he’ll call.”

      Paige hugged her mother and then her brother. “If there’s any change in Daddy’s condition—”

      “I’ll call you immediately,” Austin assured her.

      “Get your coat and wrap up good and tight. I know it’s freezing out there,” Dora told Paige, then turned to Jared. “Take care of her. For—for her daddy.”

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