Page 11 of Trevor

Henry watched the young man pace.His entire family was with them, but he only had eyes for Trevor.When he’d called him a few hours ago, he’d been calm and collected.Since arriving at the hospital, he’d been anything but.He thought for sure one of his sisters-in-law was going to smack him around.Hearing what Jade had said to him before she’d gone into surgery with Henrie, he was sure that if she was out here, he’d be sitting in a corner with his thumb in his mouth.She was scary.

“It’s taking longer than they said.”He held onto Anna’s hand and said that didn’t mean anything, that they told them it would be two hours or more.“I know, but I want to see her.We didn’t get to before they sent her off to surgery.”

“Jade told us that she just needed to remove the bullet from her ribcage, and she’d heal from that.We need to not worry if there is nothing to worry about.She’s going to be spitting mad when she finds out how many people are here for her.And to be honest with you, I’m glad for the company.”She said that she was as well.“I know.They are very good at keeping people calm, don’t you think?”

“Except for Trevor.He looks like he’s about to explode.”He had to agree with her and laughed a little.“I guess I didn’t know that things had progressed that far between the two of them.He’s worrying after her like she’s his wife or something.And if he keeps pestering the nurses, they’re going to sedate him and put him in a room alone.”

He laughed, drawing attention to them.Waving off the Strongs, he was thrilled when one of the women, Carrie, sat a little girl in his lap.Her name was Sunny, she told him before she handed off one to Anna.Her name was Bethany.They were the cutest little girls he’d ever seen, and loved that they were dressed in similar but not matching dresses.Their little shoes, too, were something that he found amusing.Black patent leather shoes with lacy socks that had him thinking of his own granddaughter.

“Mr.& Mrs.Banister?I have some information on Henrie if you’d like to follow me.”Anna said that they could talk in front of these people because they were there when she’d been hurt.“All right.The surgery is over.Doctor Strong said to tell you that Henrie is about as stubborn as she is.Also that Miss Henrie will have to stay in the hospital for a few days.The bullet broke three ribs when it entered her in the back.”

“The man that shot her, can you tell me what’s happened to him?”She said that she didn’t have any information on him but would find out for them.“He shot her in the back.There has to be some rules about hurting someone when their back is turned.”

“I’m looking into it, Mr.Banister.”He nodded at Jenson and thanked him.“That’s all right.Two men on my team were hurt as well, so that’ll carry a heavy penalty for him.”

It was nearly three hours later that they got to go to her room.They’d had her in intensive care for a while, making sure that her ribs were going to be all right.When he sat in the chair next to her bed and took her hand, he broke down in tears for the way that she looked lying there.

“She looks so tiny, don’t you think?And pale.She’s usually so brown this time of year when the winter months come along.”Squeezing her hand, he was thrilled when he felt her squeeze it back.“I think she’s waking up.I would love to have her complaining about all the fuss that is going on around her.”

Trevor and his family stood around the room, but one by one, the others left them to her.Mr.Strong, Barkley, told him that he could contact him later.Just as Jenson was leaving, his cell phone rang and he went to the hall to answer it.When he came back in, he told them that Peabody was dead, that he’d tried to get away from the police when they were arresting him, and he didn’t fare as well as Henrie.He told him, too, that it didn’t end there.They were going to make sure that he paid even after death.

“My goodness, I’ve read about that.”Anna spoke to Trevor when Jenson and the others had left.He tuned her out to watch his baby girl sleep.She was his world and he didn’t mind saying that to anyone that came into the room with them.He half listened to Anna as she spoke to Trevor.“The courts will continue with a trial to make sure that any victims’ families are taken care of.Yes, that’s what it said, I just remembered that.”

Wiping at the tears when Henrie looked at him, he asked her how she was feeling.Of course, she had to be a smart ass and tell him that she felt like she’d been shot.Holding onto her hand, he told her about Peabody too.

“He tried to kill Trevor.I heard him saying that the little bastard was right there, and I tried to wrestle the gun from him.He was going to kill someone over a couple of beds, grandda.”He burst into tears again, just holding onto her hand.“I didn’t even know he was that close to Trevor when I felt the burning of the shot.At first, I thought that I’d been just cut with a knife or something.What is wrong with people nowadays, grandda?I think I’m going to stay in my truck from now on and not interact with people.”

“I don’t know, baby, I don’t know what most people are doing nowadays.”He kissed the back of her hand.“Trevor is here with us.I’m going to leave you to him while I take your grandma down to get her something to eat.I don’t want her to get sick when we’re going to have to be taking care of you, love.”

“I’ll be fine.Tell him to go home.”When she closed her eyes, he knew that she was still drugged up.Getting up, he told Trevor what she’d said, and he just knew that he was going to stay put.There was something about him that made him think he was going to be family, even if Henrie managed to push him away.He and Anna made their way to the cafeteria to get some much-needed food.He needed to eat because of his diabetes, and Anna, she needed to eat with him to make sure he was eating the right things.

The place was empty now.It was late, he realized, later than he’d even thought.But once they were seated with their trays, neither one of them could eat.Anna sobbed in her handkerchief, and he tried his best to be strong for her.It was just too much for two old people to bear, he wanted to tell her.

“Do you think that she’ll hurt him?”He laughed a little, thinking of Henrie taking Trevor to task.“He might not be in love with her right now, but I’m betting that he’s about as close as he’s ever been before.”

“I don’t know what to think about the two of them, do you?”She shook her head, asking him if he thought that Trevor was someone that she could love.“I don’t know why not.I mean, he’s a good man and seems to have his head out of his bottom all the time.He certainly did look like he was worried for her when we got to the hospital.My goodness, wouldn’t that just set her up nicely?I’d really like to be around when she has children.”She picked up her spoon to taste her soup.

“I guess we both should be taking better care of ourselves and eating better.”He tasted his soup and found that it was delicious.Not only did he eat all the soup, but he’d made a big dent in his salad as well.

It was nice to have all the greens in a bowl mixed up.Their cook usually put them in little piles in the bowl, making it hard for him to taste it all.“I’ll have to have this done for me at home.I love having all of it mingled around.”

Trevor joined them just as they were splitting a piece of lemon pie.He said that they’d given her something for pain, and she’d be out for a few hours.When he got up to get himself something to eat, Henry thought of all the things that he wanted to ask him, especially in light of how he was acting around Henrie.As soon as he sat down, Henry asked him about her.

“I don’t know what I feel about her.”Anna asked him if he liked her.“Very much so.I find myself thinking of things that I’d like to do with her just to make her upset with me.I haven’t any idea why that is fun for me but I’m learning when to back off too.She has a nice temper on her, doesn’t she?”

“Don’t hurt her.”Anna took his hand when he said that to Trevor.“She’s all we have in the world right now.Her momma, she’s a good woman, but she doesn’t come around all that often.AndI don’t remember the last time I saw our son.But Henrie, she’s been our rock since…well, since she’s been born.”

“I have no intentions of hurting her, but that’s something that I can’t promise.Like I said, I don’t know how I feel about her, but I do find that I want to be with her.Even when she’s yelling at me to go home and get some sleep.”He laughed a little, and it made him smile.“I really do find her to be my good luck charm.She told me that Peabody was aiming at me when she stepped in front of him.She might not have saved my life—I don’t know if he would have killed me or not.But she certainly didn’t allow me to get hurt like she is.I owe her for that, if nothing else.”

“I did know that.She told us that she was wrestling the gun from him when she felt a burning pain.I’m not saying that I’m glad it was her, but she more than likely saved a great many people from getting hurt by what she did.”He said he’d thought the same thing when she’d told him what had happened.“I know that he’s dead, but I can’t imagine someone shooting at someone else for the price of a bunch of furniture.What is this world coming to right now?It’s just chaos.Henrie said she didn’t understand them either.”

The three of them talked for a little while.Trevor enjoyed the soup as much as they did, but instead of a salad like they had, he had two burgers with the works.Oh, to be young again, he thought.

The three of them headed back to Henrie’s room and he had to admit, he did feel a good deal better after eating.The company was good, too, so he felt like he could handle seeing his little girl again.But he couldn’t.

As soon as he saw her with the oxygen on and a monitor watching her heart, he broke down again.She was just too young to be going through this kind of trauma, and he wished that it had been him lying there instead of her.

It was nearly sunrise when they went home.He was glad for Trevor driving them home.He might well have fallen asleep while driving as it was he was dozing at each stoplight and could have caused an accident.That would have been just like him to get hurt when he was needed the most.

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