Page 134 of My Heart Will Find You

“No one was,” she said. “Max!” She was stern. “You’re going to get into the car and I’m taking you to the hospital. Do you understand me?”

“Sure.” He smiled as though she was amusing. “If it’ll make you feel better.”

She had to help him up, and she kept her arm around his waist as they went to the car. She insisted that he lie down on the back seat.

“My home away from home,” he joked as he got in.

As Etta got in the driver’s seat, her hands were shaking.

“If I’d known being hit by a bell would get me kissed, I’d have done it sooner.”

She was looking at him in the mirror, and she saw that he closed his eyes. She yelled his name twice, but he didn’t respond. It looked like he had passed out.

Etta pushed the red triangle button on the car, making the emergency lights flash, then she sped down the street of Garrett. She was grateful there was no traffic, so when she hit the pavement, she went as fast as she could make the car go.

When she saw the hospital, she laid down on the horn. The staff seemed to know what to do because when she skidded to a stop under the portico, they were outside, a gurney ready.

They had Max out of the back seat and onto the gurney before Etta could cut the engine and get out. As she ran toward the entrance, a young man held out his hand and she tossed him the keys.

Inside, she was blocked from following Max to wherever they were taking him.

“We need some information,” a woman said.

Etta looked at her blankly, not understanding what she was saying.

“I need his name and address,” the woman said.

“I have to tell Henry,” Etta whispered.

The man who’d taken her keys handed Etta her purse. She got her phone, and with shaking hands, she called Henry’s number. It went to voice mail. She left no message. She called Ben and he answered. “Max has been hurt. I’m at...” Wild-eyed, she looked at the nurse.

The woman took the phone from her and gave Ben the necessary information. Another nurse led Etta to a chair and sat her down. The woman who had her phone came to Etta and said, “Ben will be here as soon as he can. Do you understand me?”

Etta nodded.

“I’m going to give you a sedative and when we know something, we’ll tell you.”

“Etta?” she heard someone say. “Etta?”

She was curled up in a chair in a hospital waiting room, and she’d been sleeping. She woke but she was groggy. Bert was leaning over her. “Is Cornelia all right? Where’s Alice?”

“Etta!” Bert said. “You’re dreaming of your book. Max is all right. Do you hear me? Thanks to your swift action, he’s going to be fine.”

Her mind was beginning to clear. “Ben?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“What time is it?”

“Two hours and twenty-two minutes after you called me. One of Caro’s clients has a plane. He set it down on a road near here and I ran.”

She sat up in the chair. “Max!”

Ben sat down in the chair beside her. “I told you. He’s okay, but the doctor said that whatever hit him nearly broke his heart.”

“Max is sad but—”

“No,” Ben said, “not like that. I mean physical. If you hadn’t got him here—” Ben broke off as he began to cry.

---