Page 80 of Spilling the Tea

“You still haven’t said what threats you made against Victoria, Penny,” Kurt said.

Penny gave Waylon and Kurt a defiant expression. “I told Jantz that if she ever married Waylon, I would do everything in my power to make sure she’s miserable every day of her life. She is not worthy to have the Satterfield name, and as long as I live, she won’t.” She rushed from the room in tears.

Kurt rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “I realize banishing Charlotte was hard on your mother, Waylon, but I don’t understand why she refuses to accept Charlotte was to blame and not the Madarises. Hopefully, one day she will.”

“And what if she doesn’t, Pa? Ma has made her dislike for Victoria known, and whatever threats she made upset Mr. Jantzen.And just so you know, he collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital tonight.”

“My god, is he alright?”

“I don’t know. I’m leaving to go there now. Victoria needs me whether Mr. Jantz wants me there or not. I only came here to confront Ma about what she did.”

“Let me know how Jantz is doing, Waylon.”

He heard his father’s genuine concern. “I will, Pa.” He then turned to leave.

***

“How is my husband?” Etta asked, rushing over to Dr. Hargrove when he entered the waiting room. It was apparent she was trying to keep her voice from breaking.

“Mr. Madaris suffered a stroke.”

The doctor’s words nearly brought Etta to her knees. Milton was there by his mother’s side to keep her standing. Victoria sank in a chair close by, and Felicia wrapped her arms around her best friend’s shoulders.

“He was lucky it was a mild one,” Dr. Hargrove added. “Since Mr. Madaris is pretty much in good health, I can only assume it was brought on by stress that’s been building up for a while that he hasn’t released.”

The doctor gazed from one to the other. “Has he mentioned anything about having headaches lately?”

“No,” Etta said. Milton and Victoria concurred.

“I intend to keep him here for a while. Hopefully, he will recover completely over time if he doesn’t experience any more tension and stress.”

“Is he awake? May I see him?” Etta asked anxiously.

“Not tonight, Mrs. Madaris. The best thing that can be done is to keep him calm, so he won’t have another stroke. He needs to let go of whatever is stressing him out. Otherwise, he might not be so lucky the next time. Since he will be sleeping most of the night, I suggest you all go home and return in the morning.”

“No,” Etta said firmly. “I want to be close in case he wakes up.”

“And I’ll stay with you, Ma,” Victoria added.

“We’ll all stay,” Milton said, getting his mother to sit in the chair.

Etta glanced at Milton. “Your Pa would want you to run things for a while. This is the week he was to move the herd to the south pasture.”

“And we’ll still do so, Ma. Don’t worry,” Milton said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’ll call Rafe and let him know what’s happening.” Rafe Adams was the foreman at Whispering Pines.

“And another thing,” Dr. Hargrove said. “When Mr. Madaris wakes up, he will have difficulty talking since his mouth is slightly twisted, and his words may sound slurred. His inability to speak might frustrate him. Be patient, and don’t get him anxious.”

Etta wiped tears from her eyes. “Alright.” The others agreed as well. Milton walked out with Dr. Hargrove to make the call to Rafe.

“It’s all my fault,” Victoria said.

“No, it’s not,” Etta said to her daughter. “You heard what Dr. Hargrove said. Your father has been under a lot of stress for over a year. Ever since that day the Satterfields showed up at our house with their accusations. I tried getting Jantz to talk about it, but he wouldn’t—he kept it all locked inside. Even after it was proven that Charlotte was a liar and the Madaris named was cleared, it bothered him that we had to go through it.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t planned to elope tonight.”

“Your mother is right, Victoria,” Felicia said, pulling up another chair. “According to Dr. Hargrove, it wasn’t tonight that did it, but a buildup of other times.”

The three women held hands and prayed that the doctor was right and that Jantz would fully recover.

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