Page 14 of Knight's Fall

Tabby nodded. “Of course. I’ll call you an Uber, and we’ll cover your shift for today. Don’t worry. Will you be all right at home alone?”

Courtlyn couldn’t answer that question. Her only thought was with Mr. Fielder and how his life had been in her hands.

Chapter Eight

Courtlyn didn’t go home. The Uber dropped her off there, but she never went inside. She sat on the front steps and stared out into the neighborhood. The adrenaline rush from helping Mr. Fielder had slowed, and she felt numb. Her brain was tired and unable to communicate to her what she should do next.

She finally called Olivia.

“Girl, you have got to read this sex scene I just wrote. It’s so hot, I thought my laptop was going to burst into flames.”

“I need you,” Courtlyn managed to say.

“I’ll be right there.”

Liv didn’t have to ask where she was. They had a tracker app on their phones that showed their locations. It had been Liv’s idea. Since they were both single women living alone, they looked after each other. Courtlyn never considered it a violation of her privacy. It was comforting to know she had someone close who would drop everything to help her when she needed them.

Olivia was pulling her compact car into Courtlyn’s driveway ten minutes later. She silently stepped from the car and joined Courtlyn on the front steps. Without saying a word, she wrapped an arm around her friend. Courtlyn laid her head on Olivia’s shoulder, and they sat quietly for several minutes. Then Courtlyn started to talk. She started with Sissy’s attitude after catching her thinking about Sexy Neighbor, and she ended with doing CPR on Mr. Fielder.

“Did the paramedics say what happened?” Olivia asked her.

“Not that I heard. They can’t tell me anything anyway. I’m not related to Mr. Fielder. I just make his breakfast four times a week. For all I know, it was the steak and eggs that gave him a heart attack or something.”

“Only if that bitch of a waitress poisoned his food when she served him. You helped to save his life, Coco. That’s a big deal.”

“I don’t feel like it’s a big deal. I feel…numb.”

“Then let’s go.”

Olivia stood, and Courtlyn stared at her.

“Go where?”

“To the hospital,” Olivia answered. “We’re going to check on Mr. Fielder’s condition.”

“They won’t tell us anything. We’re not family, remember? I don’t even know who his family is. All this time that he’s been coming to the diner, and I don’t know much more about him other than his food order.”

“I have a friend at the hospital. A nurse practitioner. She let me hang out with her at work when I was doing research for a book. She wouldn’t be able to share details, but I bet she’d tell us if he’s stable or not if we explain what happened. We have to at least try, or you’re going to worry yourself sick wondering.”

Courtlyn hesitated. “Even if she can’t tell us anything, I think I would feel better if I did something.”

“Of course, you would. Now come on. Time’s a-wastin’.”

The ride to the Lenfield Medical Center was a quiet one. Usually Olivia filled the silence when Courtlyn wasn’t in a mood to talk, but this time her friend must have sensed she needed the stillness to deal with all that happened to her. She had been so wrapped up in her own world — worrying over a man whose name she didn’t know and worrying about a co-worker who needed to be nasty to others to make herself feel better and worrying about how soon she could save enough money to open her own food truck.

When she thought of Mr. Fielder, a sweet man who ate alone four times a week at the diner, who tipped his waitress well even if she didn’t do a good job and who could have died if Courtlyn hadn’t happened upon him when he collapsed, she realized how unimportant her worries were.

Sometimes gaining perspective was like getting kicked in the gut by an ornery mule.

The hospital was bustling with activity, but Olivia knew exactly where she was going without having to ask. Courtlyn followed blindly along, her eyes darting all around her, taking in the suffering patients waiting for care and the staff trying to shuffle the emergency versus non-emergency cases. Courtlyn couldn’t imagine working in such organized chaos on a daily basis.

After speaking with a volunteer manning an information desk, Olivia motioned for Courtlyn to fall into step beside her as they moved to the elevators.

“My friend is working on a different floor. They called her to tell her we were here, and she’s coming down to meet us by the elevators.”

They turned a corner and found the elevators at the end of that hallway. They passed a small waiting room on the way, and Courtlyn casually glanced inside. She stumbled over her feet when she recognized two familiar faces.

“You okay?” Olivia gripped her arm at the elbow to aid her in regaining her balance.

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