She got the floor nurse on Dwight’s ward and talked to her. After introducing herself, she explained about Dwight and Winnie and the nurse was sympathetic enough to tell her what had happened. When she hung up, she knew it was going to be impossible for her to leave. Dwight was in intensive care and he might die. She was trapped. She couldn’t leave Winnie at a time like this, even if it meant having to endure Gene’s hatred in the process.
Chapter Eight
Winne came home at lunch, red-eyed and wilted, supported by her worried mother.
“Oh, Winnie, I’m so sorry,” Allison said, hugging her friend warmly. “Is there any change?”
“Not yet.” Winnie wept. “Allie, I can’t bear to lose him! I can’t!”
“Head injuries are tricky,” Allison said quietly. “He’s in a coma, but that doesn’t mean he won’t come out of it. I’ve seen some near-fatal injuries that recovered fully. Give it time.”
“I’ll go mad!” the blonde wailed.
Allison hugged her again. “No, you won’t. Come on, I’ve made lunch. I’ll bet you’re both starved.”
“I certainly am,” Mrs. Manley said gently. She smiled at Allison. “Bless you for thinking of food. We really hadn’t.”
“I can understand why. What happened?”
“Nobody knows. The car he was driving went down a ravine. They only found him early this morning. Gene and Marie are at the hospital. Gene looks really bad,” Winnie said.
Allison averted her face before anyone could see that she did, too, and make any embarrassing connections. “I’ll pour the coffee,” she said.
She didn’t want to go to the hospital with them, but Winnie pleaded, so she did.
When they walked into the waiting room, only Marie was there, and Allison thanked her lucky stars. She hugged Marie and murmured all the comforting things she could think of. Then she went in search of the floor nurse she’d talked to on the phone, while Winnie and Mrs. Manley sat with Marie.
Tina Gates was in charge of the intensive care unit, a twenty-two-year veteran of nursing arts. She welcomed Allison and showed her through the ward, pausing at Dwight’s bed.
“He’s bad,” she told Allison. “But he’s a fighter, like the rest of his family, and strong-willed. I think he’ll come out of it.”
“I hope so,” Allison said gently, staring at Dwight’s unnaturally pale face. “My best friend loves him very much.”
“Sometimes love is what it takes.” She continued the tour, and they came back to Dwight’s cubicle when they finished. “If you ever want a job, we’ve got a place for you,” she told Allison. “Help is hard to get out here, and you’re more qualified than even I am. I never had the opportunity to go on and get my degree in nursing arts.”
“I was lucky,” Allison said. “My parents sacrificed a lot for my education. It’s important work, and I love it. I don’t know that I could get used to the routine in a hospital. I’m too accustomed to primitive conditions. But I appreciate the offer, all the same.”
“I’ll repeat it at intervals, if you promise to consider it,” Tina promised, smiling. “This is pretty country, and there are some nice folks here. You might like it.”
“I already do. But I made a promise to my parents that I’d carry on the work they did,” Allison said finally. “I don’t like to break promises.”
“Actually, neither do...look!”
Tina went quickly to Dwight’s side and watched him move restlessly. His eyes opened and he groaned.
“Head...hurts,” he mumbled.
“Hallelujah!” Tina grinned. “If your head hurts, Mr. Nelson, it means you’re alive. I’ll get Dr. Jackson right now!”
“I’ll go and tell Winnie. Dwight, I’m glad you’re back with us,” she said gently, touching his arm where the IV was attached. “They’ll give you something for the pain. Just try to relax and don’t move around too much.”
He looked up at her, licking dry lips. “Gene?” he whispered.
Her face closed up. “Do you want to see him?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll try to find him. Rest, now.” She patted his hand and walked out, all nerves.
Gene was in the waiting room when she came out. He stiffened as she approached, but Allison pretended not to notice. After the night before, it was all she could do to stay in the same room with him without breaking down and crying.
“He’s out of the coma,” she said, talking to Winnie and Marie. “They’re getting the doctor. I think he’ll be all right.”
“Oh, thank God!” Winnie burst out, and Marie laughed and cried as the two women hugged each other.
“Your first-aid training qualifies you to make prognoses, does it?” Gene drawled suddenly with cold mockery. Having her deliberately ignore him had hurt him terribly.
“First-aid training?” Winnie asked, frowning. “Gene, she’s a registered nurse, didn’t she tell you?”
Gene scowled. “A nurse!”
“A graduate nurse, with a college degree,” Winnie said. “You didn’t tell him?” she asked Allison.
Allison’s eyes warned her not to give anything else away. “There was no need to,” she said simply. She didn’t want him to know about the life she’d led. “Dwight is asking for you,” she said.
“He wants to talk business,” Winnie muttered. “Well, that can wait. I want to see him first. Marie, come on, we’ll go together.”
“But the doctor...” Allison began.
“We’ll ask first,” Winnie promised, dragging a smiling Marie along with her.
Allison was left alone with Gene, who shoved his hands into his pockets.
“A nurse. No wonder you were so good at patch-ing people up,” he said absently. Even Dwight’s miraculous return to consciousness didn’t quite register through the shock. He glared at her. “How many other secrets are you keeping?” he asked bitterly. She hadn’t trusted him at all. Did everyone know things about her that he didn’t?
“Enough, I suppose,” she said, folding her hands in front of her. She turned away from him and stared out the window.
“I thought you were leaving today.”
“So did I. Don’t worry. This is just a temporary setback. The minute Dwight’s off the critical list, I’ll be on the next plane out.”
His eyes narrowed. Was that what she thought? That he couldn’t
