Page 39 of Unbreakable Vow

I nod. “Marlena and Izzy said it was urgent.” Those two took to her defense the moment I stepped out of my office and found my bride gone. They had no idea where she went, only that there was some sort of emergency and she had to leave.

“Did they give her something to sleep?” I ask. We’re not being loud, but it’s the middle of the afternoon and she seems to be in a deep sleep.

“They did.” She tenses. “I told them not to, but they said they had to because she kept reaching for the bandage. The only reason they don’t have her in the bed binds is because I’m with her.”

“They wanted to bind her to the bed?” My teeth click when I clench them.

“She doesn’t understand.” Cora shakes her head and moves back around the bed where she was sitting. “She has Alzheimer’s,” she explains as she sinks back into the recliner. “She thinks the doctors are trying to kill her.” Her shoulders sag.

“How long has she lived here?” I ask, looking around at the aged room. At least it’s clean.

“A year. My dad died and I couldn’t take care of her like she needed. She’s in late stages now. She needs help with almost everything. He was barely able to keep up himself.” She brushesher fingertips across her mother’s forehead, pushing away the hair to look at the bandage.

“The money you need, it’s for this place?” It’s too much, whatever they’re charging.

“Dad spent everything they had taking care of her. The best doctors he could find, medicines, home care, all of it cost him everything. It was only after his heart attack that I found out how bad they were doing financially. Without his insurance, she had to go on public aid. She’s too young for Medicare.” She doesn’t meet my gaze as she explains. Like this is somehow her doing. She’s failed in some way.

“And this is what they cover?”

She laughs, but it lacks all joy.

“No. They don’t even cover all of this. And now they’ve denied any and all coverage because I sold her house last year to pay off her credit card debts and the mountain of bills that my dad hadn’t put on his credit cards. They say she has too much money, even though she has none.”

“So, you needed the cash to pay the bill.”

She nods.

“Until I can get them to straighten it out, I have to pay out of pocket. The money you gave me will cover next month, and some of the month after that.”

Tension makes my shoulders ache. She agreed to marry me to make sure her mother had a place to live.

There’s a soft knock on the door before Samantha enters.

“Hi,” she whispers. “Is she finally asleep?”

“Yeah.” Cora gets back to her feet, folds her arms over her stomach again. “I think she’ll sleep for the rest of the day.”

“She probably will. They had to give her a larger dose this time.” The nurse walks around the bed and leans over the bed, checking the bandage.

“I think it finally stopped bleeding,” Cora says.

“Head wounds are the nastiest.” Samantha stands up again. “You didn’t tell me you were married,” she whispers over the bed to her.

Cora’s cheeks redden. “It’s new.”

“Very new,” I add to the conversation. They’re not being in the least discreet.

“Gotcha.” Samantha checks the phone attached to her hip. “Almost time for meds. Don’t worry about her, once she wakes up, we’ll give her the evening doses.”

“Thanks, Sammy,” Cora says. “I think I’m going to head out soon. If she needs me, though?—”

“I know, call you right away. We always do.” Sammy smiles. On her way out, she glances up at me.

“You’re ready to leave then?” I ask. There’s no reason to rush. I’ve already cancelled everything else I had scheduled for today. When I realized where she’d run off to, I had everything moved.

“Yeah. She’s going to sleep the rest of the day and even when she’s up…” Her words trail off.

I move to the hallway, giving her privacy as she says her goodbyes. Once she’s come out and shut the door, I grab hold of her hand and lead her down the hall.

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