"I know, sweetie, but that has a nicer ring to it than Catholic Church Camp Castoffs."
Carolyn should be used to the ripping sensation by now, getting torn away from the fabric of her memory, but it jarred her, confused her and frightened her just the same as the image shimmered and she fell into the black hole of nothingness.
Chapter Twenty-Eight.
Hospital, Day 6-mid-morning Carson saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and looked up at his sister-in-law, Kimi, aka the blonde tornado.
He"d wondered when she"d show up. He"d actually made a side bet with Charlie as to which day. Looks like he owed Charlie fifty bucks-Carson figured Kimi wouldn"t last two days without storming in.
They stared at each other, sizing one another up.
"Kimi. You"re lookin" good."
"Wish I could say the same, but Carson McKay, you look like dog s.h.i.t."
"So you"re here to insult me?"
"Yes. No. Maybe." She sighed. "I"m just so frustrated with the situation that I need to yell at someone."
"Poor Cal"s had enough of it and that"s why you"re here?"
"Got it on the first try. And before you ask, I haven"t seen my grandkids since this ICU germ s.h.i.t went down, so I ain"t Typhoid Mary."
"Bet you"re missin" those kids."
Kimi plopped into the chair next to him. "But that sacrifice ain"t gonna get me in to see her, is it?"
"Nope."
"You are so d.a.m.n stubborn."
"You expected less?"
"No. So I did some online research about this."
"Got your WebMD in the last couple days, did you?" he teased.
She nudged him with her shoulder. "Smarta.s.s. I just needed to know more information about her condition for myself. Of course they stressed that every case is different and to listen to your doctor."
"No. Really?"
"Knock it off. And if you get up and do an I-told-you-so dance, I"ll trip you."
"Then I"ll likely break my other hip."
Kimi leaned her head against his shoulder. "We used to crack s.e.x jokes. Now we"re cracking old people jokes. What happened to us?"
Carson put his arm around her. "Hate to break it to you, but we are old. The mind can fool us, but darlin", the body don"t lie."
"I"ll stick with the mental image I have of myself when I was twenty-five, thanks."
Silence settled between them, not uncomfortable, just...there.
"This sucks. I need a d.a.m.n cigarette."
He smiled. "Got a pack in the truck if you"re serious."
"You too, huh?"
"Yeah. It helped."
"You never were addicted to them like I was."
"True. Last time I bought a pack was after Keely"s emergency C-section with the twins. Caro never said a word. In fact she rustled up a pack of matches for me."
"She"s the best."
"No argument from me."
Kimi"s voice was so soft he barely heard it. "I"m scared for her."
"So am I." Carson closed his eyes. "I"m scared for myself because I can"t imagine..."
"Me neither. Besides Cal, she"s everything to me. She"s been there through it all. Watching over me at Catholic school, playing referee in our screwed up family situation, telling me that falling in love with Cal so fast wasn"t a bad thing. Helping me through pregnancy even when she was pregnant herself. Showin" me how to be a good mother and bein" a second mother to my boys, lovin" them as if they were her own..." She sniffled. "Caro"s been a daily part of my life for so long that even when I know she"s here, I picked up the phone this mornin" to call her. As the line was ringing, I"m lookin" at my geraniums, thinking they never grow as good as hers and what is taking her so long to answer the d.a.m.n phone...and then I remembered she wasn"t there." She sniffled again and her voice turned hoa.r.s.e. "G.o.ddammit. I hate that she"s not there. I just wanna talk to her."
"I do talk to her," Carson admitted. "From the moment I sit down in her room until the five minutes are up. In these last few days I"ve relived a lifetime of memories with her and it still ain"t enough. I want more time. I tell her that too."
"Has she responded at all?"
"Like squeezed my hand or something?"
"Yeah."
"Nope. The faceguard forces me to talk real loud, and I"m sure the nurses think I"m just an old fool. But I"m talkin" to her as much for her as for me."
"In some of the articles I read online while I was getting my WebMD," Kimi said dryly, "it said patients who were in a coma remembered things that happened in the room that they shouldn"t have been aware of. So you talkin" to her is the best thing you can do."
"I hope so. It"s the only d.a.m.n thing I can do."
Kimi lifted her head and looked at him. The fear in her eyes matched his own. "I"m sorry for bein" so difficult. Thank you for lookin" out for Carolyn above all else."
"Spent most of my life doin" it, I sure ain"t gonna stop now."
"Cal"s been extra attentive to me the past few days. It"s helped. So I hope you"re not p.i.s.sy that he"s been there for me and not for you."
"Nah. Only thing I"m p.i.s.sy about is you didn"t bring me food. What the h.e.l.l woman? I"m starvin" here."
"Carolyn would kick my a.s.s if I didn"t feed you." Kimi reached into her oversized purse and pulled out a paper bag. "There"s a PB and J sandwich and a baggie of carrots. Satisfied?"
"No cookies?"
She lightly punched his arm.
"Thanks, Kimi."
"You"re welcome. Now that you and me ain"t on the outs, can I come back another time and sit with you?"
"You gonna get all offended and s.h.i.t if I tell you I hope I don"t see you up here again? Because that"ll mean Carolyn"s awake and we"re outta here."
"Fine. I hope I don"t have to sit up here with your whiny a.s.s either."
He laughed.
Neither spoke for a while. Then he said, "It"s been so quiet."
"That"s because your kids ain"t been yappin" in your ear. And they made that choice to stay away. For what it"s worth, they"re regretting their decision."
Carson narrowed his eyes at her. "Been givin" our kids what for, have you?"
"Between me"n Vi we"ve got ya covered."
"I don"t know what to say to that."
"You don"t have to say anything. Because it"s fun yelling at someone else"s kids. But I do have to ask if one of your stubborn kids swallows their pride and shows up here...?"
"Would I turn them away?" He shook his head. "But the parameters haven"t changed for seein" their mother."
"I"ll pa.s.s that along." She stood. "Now get up here and give me a hug."
Carson held onto her for several long moments. "Thanks."
"You tell my sister I love her. You tell her not an hour goes by that she"s not in my thoughts. You tell her I got no one else to gossip with or share secrets with and I need her to get better soon. You tell her I"m pa.s.sing on information to the West family so we don"t get accused of only caring about the McKays. You tell her-"
"Kimi, darlin", I only get five minutes with her."
Kimi laughed, stepped back and wiped her eyes. "Okay. I"m goin". Take care of yourself."
"I will." He started to say something and then stopped.
"What?"
"You"ve been in my life longer than any woman besides Caro. We"ve been through some great times together. Through some real s.h.i.t storms too."
"This counts as one of them s.h.i.t storm times. And I"ll admit that it wasn"t just me keepin" Cal away from here. Caro"s been as much a part of his life as I"ve been of yours. The four of us are tied together on so many levels..." She blinked away more tears. "This is eating him alive, Carson. Knowin" he can"t do nothin" to help you through it. Or me through it."
"What"s he been doin"?"
"He"s been over at Kade"s, wrenching on that d.a.m.n hot rod pickup Kade"s been tinkering with for twenty years. Eliza, Shannie and Peyton have been helpin" him, getting greasy and loving every minute of it, although I don"t think Skylar"s too happy about it." She smirked. "I figured Eliza is b.u.t.tering up Gramps to buy her first car sooner than Kade wants her drivin."
"Can"t blame Kade. When Keely turned eighteen and bought that Corvette with the money her Grandpa West had left her? I thought about takin" her car out and totaling it just so she couldn"t drive it."
"You tellin" me Liesl isn"t already scheming for a car?" Kimi demanded.
"Nope. She"s got Anton to drive her where she needs to go. She"s a bit gun shy on account of her peg leg. Hayden"s not helpin" Cal?"
"He"s splitting his time between early morning ch.o.r.es with Kane and workin" for Ginger at the law office in the afternoons. Maddie and Paul are at camp during the day for a week or so. Rumor has it that Hayden, Ky and Anton are out tearin" it up at night. Hard to believe I was Hayden"s age when I met Cal."
"Doesn"t seem possible. If Keely would"ve showed up at age eighteen and announced she was getting married like Caro did to Eli at that same age? I"da..." Lost my mind and threatened to cut her off like my dad did to me.
"It"s a different world now. Carolyn was young, but you both knew what you felt was real. Fifty years later you"re still goin" strong."
"Cal said something like that to me the day I decided to propose." He studied her. "So if in a couple of years Eliza shows up wearing some guy"s ring, you"d be okay with it?"
"h.e.l.l no. And if she got knocked up? I"d shoot the guy if Kade didn"t get to him first."
Carson laughed.
"I know that makes me a hypocrite and I"m good with that." Kimi stopped before she turned the corner. "Is your truck unlocked?"
"Yep."
"I might b.u.m a smoke or two."
"Go ahead. It"ll be our secret."
For some reason that released a fresh flood of her tears before she disappeared.
He didn"t have time to eat his sandwich before his hourly visitation. He washed up, suited up and scooted the rolling stool beside her bed.
"Hey sugar. I"m sittin" here beside you. I know you can hear me. I need you to hear me. Come back to me. I need you to know that I"m right here, I ain"t goin" anywhere."
He paused and feathered his thumb over her knuckles.
"Your pesky little sister just visited. Kimi is missin" you like a limb. She didn"t carry on as much as I expected, but I suspect she recognized how close I am to the edge and she didn"t want to be the one to tip me over. Guess Cal"s havin" a rough go of it too. The man is always on an even keel. But do you remember the time she and Cal had that epic fight right after Kade found out he was a daddy...?"
By the time Carolyn surfaced after hearing Kimi"s name, she no longer heard Carson"s voice.
Had Kimi been in here?
No.