Page 77 of A Summer Mismatch
With those tasks completed, the sun was just beginning to rise in the sky, turning it from black to dark purple, and covering up the stars he and Julia had stared at… was it only just the night before? It felt like a lifetime had passed. Exhaustion pressed down on Logan’s bones.
The morning crew arrived early, having been called and notified of everything going on. Logan gave his report to the on-call vet who came in to replace him, while Allison and Finn spoke with the new trainers. Kai and Gary stood off to the side, speaking as well, while their PR director continued to take pictures. He’d posted on social media through the night, asking for thoughts and prayers for Adia.
“Ready?” Kai asked after he broke free from chatting with Gary.
“Let’s go.” They stopped by the office to get their wallets and keys, and Logan grabbed his suit. Even though he’d changed before administering Adia’s fluids, it was going to need a good cleaning before he wore it again.
“Do I even want to ask how the gala went?” Kai asked.
Logan only groaned. “I can’t even think straight enough to talk about it. It’s going to be a miracle if I make it home without falling asleep.”
Kai frowned. “I got about an hour to nap while you were working on blood samples. I’ll take you home.”
Logan thought about arguing, but realized it would be the safer thing to do. They hadn’t even left the parking lot before he drifted off.
“We’re here,” Kai told him. “Don’t call me until after lunch, but then I’ll come pick you up and we’ll head back to the center.”
“Fine,” Logan said. He’d only planned on sleeping three or four hours, but it probably would be better if he got more like six or seven. He stumbled into his house and dropped down onto his bed fully clothed, emotionally wrung out.
Had they done enough for Adia? Should he have ordered an antibiotic as well? Or an H2 blocker? He needed to do an ultrasound as well, but they’d wanted to give Adia a break from being poked and prodded. She’d been incredible, and all of her training had been showcased tonight. If he could give her all the treats in the world, he would. But she loved their praise the best.
And Julia—he couldn’t think about her without his heart twisting. He didn’t know how to fix their relationship that seemed destined to be pulled apart by people who didn’t want them together. He had too many unfixable problems with variables he couldn’t control. He hadn’t felt this helpless since the days and months following his mom’s death, as he saw his family falling apart.
His noisy and jumbled thoughts were no match for the heavy weight of his exhaustion, and they were finally silenced by sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Winnie
“No,youwillnotcut your trip short for this,” Winnie said to her daughter firmly. The already-fuzzy connection started to break up.
“Mom. You collapsed… and had… the ER.”
Winnie closed her eyes. She sat on the couch, ensconced in one of her own warm quilts, though the summer heat was already drifting in to her bungalow.
“And they didn’t even keep me overnight,” Winnie assured her. It had been quite the night, though.
Between Sweetie causing mass panic and her own light-headedness when she’d arrived so quickly at the gala, she’d had only a moment to register that, for some unexplainable reason, Julia was wearing a costume Winnie had sewn for Sweetie.
Then she’d awoken on the sand with Horace and Julia beside her, an ambulance already on the way, though she’d been insistent they cancel it. They didn’t listen, and whatever romantic atmosphere might have been salvageable after Aaron corralled Sweetie and Bear was completely ruined by the arrival of sirens and red-and-blue flashing lights.
After half a dozen tests in the ER, it was determined that her blood pressure was not stable, and she’d been sent home with new meds and strict orders to rest, destress, and follow up with her doctor within a week.
“Let me talk to Dad,” Flora insisted. Winnie sighed. Her daughter had gotten her stubbornness from her dad.
“Horace. Flora wants to talk to you.”
Horace walked in from the kitchen with a plate of washed and cut fruit for her, and a contrite expression on his face. They hadn’t spoken about last night yet; she didn’t think either of them had the heart for it.
“Stay on your vacation. I’ll keep an eye on Mom,” Horace insisted, much to Winnie’s relief. What could Flora do if she came home? Watch her rest and destress? That would stress Winnie out even more.
A knock sounded on the door, and Horace hopped up from the couch, but Winnie waved him back into his seat. They’d moved on to talking about Cameron, and she hoped that the distraction in conversation would be good for both of them.
She was feeling quite a bit better and could answer the door. She stood slowly to keep the room from spinning, and she walked carefully to the door.
Nancy, wearing a breezy white sundress, stood at the door. “Are you up for a walk?”
“Yes. I’m going to go crazy if I don’t get out for a few minutes.” Winnie found her shoes, and then mouthed to Horace that she was leaving.
