Page 102 of One Sweet Day I Found You

Nick stepped a little closer to her. “Thanks for what you did, Court. If you hadn’t come along when you did…” His eyes suddenly felt moist and his throat closed up. He looked away, blinking back a tear.

There was no use thinking worst-case scenarios right now. He needed to hold it together. He sniffled and pinched his nose for a second.

Courtney let Ash jump down from her hands onto the porch then reached up and cupped Nick’s face in her hands. She pulled him in close, put her forehead against his chin, and held him there. A tiny sob escaped her but she steadied her voice. “She’s going to be all right, Nick. She’s one strong lady. Don’t worry, okay?”

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, then finally pulled away. She wiped the back of her hand against the tip of her nose.

He ran a forearm across his eyes and sniffled again. “I know. She’s going to be fine.” He swallowed and brought his voice back to normal. “Okay, so, I’m going to meet them at the hospital. You coming? I’ll drive.”

Courtney blinked. Had she heard him right? “Yeah. Yeah. Let me just go grab my things and lock up the cottage.”

“Okay.”

Ash was wandering the porch aimlessly and she hurried over to grab hold of him again. She carried him into the house. Nick followed and closed the door behind them. “Do you know where Victoria keeps her keys?”

“Uh, no, I don’t. You don’t have one?”

He shook his head.

Then she remembered. “Oh, wait, I have one right here.” She reached into her pocket and produced the key. I found it out back under a flowerpot. It’s how I got in.”

“You did?”

She handed it to him. “Yeah, I was able to get in so the firefighters didn’t have to waste time or break her lock.” Nick was impressed. “If it doesn’t work on the front door, we can leave through the basement.”

“Oh. Okay, great. Oh, and I’ll call Josie right now.” He pulled out his phone, called Josie Schlagel, and left a message when she didn’t pick up. Josie would want to know what happened and how Victoria was doing, but she’d also want to keep an eye on the house, the bills, and the contents of the refrigerator, however long Victoria might be away.

A few minutes later, Courtney came back into the room with her purse, a light jacket for later, an umbrella, and a couple of towels. She handed Nick a towel. He wasn’t quite as soaked as she’d been, but he took it and ran it over his head and neck. “Thanks.”

Courtney eyed up the room. “Do you think we should bring her some of her clothes and stuff?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s probably a really good idea.” He wasn’t too sure what kinds of things a woman of her age might want and made a face that saidhelp. “Do you mind looking through her drawers?”

“Not at all. No problem.” Courtney hurried into Victoria’s first floor bedroom. She returned a few minutes later with a canvas bag loaded up. “This ought to do it.”

Nick was standing by the front door. “Right. Okay, thanks.” He gave her a soft smile. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, I should make sure Ash has some food and water first.”

“Good idea.” Nick laughed with relief. “Wow, you’re good at this.” There were too many things on his mind right now. He was grateful she was thinking clearly.

Courtney went and filled the bowls as Nick checked the key she’d handed him. It worked on the front door lock.

Courtney appeared at the front door a couple of minutes later.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

* * *

The driveto the medical center in Sturgeon Bay was about thirty minutes long. Outside the safety of the Jeep, dark clouds still hung heavily over the evening sky and the rain picked up again.

After twenty minutes with nothing but a few polite words between them, Nick cleared his throat. The silence was deafening, and he was incredibly grateful and humbled by what she did for Victoria today. He should tell her.

“Look, Court, I know things ended on a bad note between us last night. But thanks—for everything, today. Victoria’s lucky to have you around.”

“Of course. And you don’t need to thank me.”

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