“Grand-ma! You—kay?” Mindy leaned near Eleanor.
She licked her lips. “Now, I am.” Her eyes closed for a few seconds, then she looked again at Mindy. “You’ve grown.”
Mindy straightened to her full height. “Gus—says—at least—an inch.”
“Mom, can I get you anything? Bring you anything from home?”
“No, just tired.” Her eyes blinked closed. “Rest.”
“I’ll be back later, Mom.”
Tory, Slade and Mindy started for the door when Eleanor whispered, “Slade.”
He turned and went back to the bed. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
His brow wrinkled. “For what?”
She swallowed hard and glanced at Tory. “For bringing my baby home.” Then her eyes shut and her head sagged to the side.
He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re welcome.”
Tory’s swirling emotions collided with her exhaustion. She made it outside the room before collapsing back against the wall and hanging her head so Mindy wouldn’t see the tears gathering in her eyes.
“Mindy, why don’t you go find Ashley and Jamie?”
Tory heard Mindy walk away, her foot dragging slightly on the linoleum floor. Then Slade laid his hand on her shoulders and lifted her chin so she looked him straight in the eye.
“I’m taking you to your sister’s. No more sleeping at the hospital. You need to sleep in a bed and get some rest or you won’t be any good for your mother.”
She didn’t even have the energy to argue with him. He was right. She knew it even though she hated leaving her mother.
Slade walked with his arm around her to the waiting room where he called to Mindy. Together they left the hospital. The trip to Judy’s house was a blur. When she arrived at her sister’s, Slade immediately escorted her to a bedroom where she saw their suitcase and sat her on the bed.
“Take a nap. When you wake up, you can eat something then go back to sleep. You have two days’ worth to make up.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” She wanted to salute but couldn’t lift her hand. Instead, she fell back and let Slade remove her shoes and place her legs on the mattress. Then he covered her, kissed her on the forehead and pulled the drapes before leaving the bedroom.
* * *
The warmth and softness of the bed cocooned Tory in a safe haven. Someone touched her shoulder and shook her. She burrowed deeper, not wanting to open her eyes to the real world.
“Tor-ee—Mom—are you—all—right?”
The frightened tone penetrated Tory’s sleep-groggy mind. Her eyes bolted open to find Mindy standing next to her, her face crunched into a frown. “I’m fine, honey. Just tired.”
“Mindy, you know you weren’t supposed to bother Tory.” Slade strode into the room.
Mindy hung her head. “I know. I was—wor-ried.”
Tory reached up and cradled Mindy’s face in her palm. “Don’t be. I needed to catch up on some sleep.” She looked toward the bedside clock and noticed it was nine o’clock. “Morning or night?”
Slade grinned. “Night. You haven’t slept that long. Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” She started to rise.
Slade motioned her back down. “I’ll bring you a sandwich. You stay put and rest.”
“But, Slade, I—”
He shook his head. “No arguments. You’re still pale and you have dark circles under your eyes. A four-hour nap isn’t nearly long enough to make up for two days without much sleep.”
Her eyes drifted closed as the two left the room. Now that she was awake, her stomach was rumbling, and she realized she hadn’t eaten much in the past two days, either. She’d mostly lived on caffeine to keep herself going. No food and lots of caffeine were not a good combination.
Ten minutes later she heard the door opening. She sat up as Slade came into the room with a tray. “You’re spoiling me. I’ve never had dinner in bed. Actually, I’ve never had any meal in bed.”
“Maybe the way I delivered it will help you to overlook the way I made the sandwich. I got carried away.”
Tory laughed when she saw the layers of food between two pieces of bread. “You expect me to get that in my mouth?”
He lifted his shoulders, looking sheepishly at the plate with a three-inch-high sandwich on it. “You might want to remove some of the meat—or cheese—or lettuce—or—”
“I get the picture. You put everything on this except the kitchen sink.”
“I wasn’t sure what you wanted.” He sat on the bed, facing her, the tray between them. “I probably should have cut it in half, too.”
“Probably.” Tory peeled back the top piece of bread and took off some sweet pickles, a slice of tomato, a slab of cheddar cheese and one layer of meat. Then she cut the smaller sandwich into two sections. Her stomach rumbled in the silence.
Slade glanced at her and grinned. “You’re not hurrying fast enough for your stomach.”
Tory opened her mouth wide and bit into the smaller version of her dinner. After washing it down with some ice water, she ate some more. She gestured toward the remains on the plate. “Please help yourself.”
Slade popped two slices of sweet pickle into his mouth, then rose. “I’m gonna put Mindy down to bed. I’ll be back for the tray in a little bit.”
By the time Tory finished eating her dinner, Slade reentered the bedroom. “Where is everyone?”
“In bed.”
“Already?”
“You have to admit it has been a long day. Even Ashley and Jamie have gone to bed.”
“Good. Judy needs her sleep as much as I do.” Tory covered her mouth and yawned.
Slade retrieved the tray, saying as he made his way to the door, “I’ll be back.”
Tory slipped out of the bed when he closed the door and rummaged around in her suitcase for her pajamas. She used the bathroom off the bedroom to scrub her face and brush her teeth. When she inspected herself in the mirror, she could understand Slade’s concern. She combed her fingers through her messy hair and flipped it behind her shoulders before leaving.
Slade came back, dug his pajama bottoms out of the suitcase and went into the bathroom after her. Tory got into bed and pulled the sheet up, reminded
