Sisters of the Heart - 03 - Forgiven (2 page)

Sam Miller rushed down the third-floor hallway of Adams Community Hospital, to the obvious irritation of the nurses on duty.

“Sir!” one called out. “Sir, this is a
hospital
.”

“I know.” He raised a hand in apology, but kept on going. He’d finally spotted Eli.

His brother was sitting ramrod straight in the miniscule waiting area near a narrow window, a fuzzy television screen, and a waxy-looking potted plant. Sam exhaled. “Eli.”

Eli jerked toward him, relief replacing the lines of weariness around his mouth when he saw his brother. “Sam.”

His brother could ride rings around him on a horse, outwork him in the fields, and was one of the most upstanding, direct-talking men he knew. However, among the English, Eli was a babe in the woods.

Eli stood up and hugged Sam close for a moment, just like he used to do when they were small. “It’s good to see ya. I’m glad you could come so quickly.”

“I got here as fast as I could.”

“You came. That’s what counts.”

As orderlies pushed carts and nurses and doctors strode by, their expressions filled with determination, Sam concentrated on his brother. “How are you doing? How’s Winnie? Is Caleb here, too?”

“No. I let him stay home. As for me, I’m all right—it’s Winnie that I’m wondering about. Samuel, I can’t get any information. I tell you, finding out the truth here is near impossible.” Directing a scowl down the hall, Eli added, “Every time I get up and ask a question, those nurses act like I’m bothering them.”

Clasping Eli’s arm, Sam took the seat next to him. “How long have you been here?”

“Hours. Since daybreak.”

“Would you like me to speak to the nurses now? Or just wait with you?” The last thing Sam wanted to do was offend his older brother.

“Find out what you can, wouldja?”

“I’ll be right back,” he promised, already standing.

“I don’t understand why they won’t allow me to see Winnie.”

“Maybe there’s a good reason. I’ll see what I can do.”

Backtracking to the nurses’ station he’d hurriedly passed just minutes before, Sam directed his attention to the most friendly-looking of the nurses. “Excuse me.
My brother and I are concerned about a patient. Winnie Lundy?”

The nurse stepped close enough for him to read her name badge. Rebecca. “What do you need to know?”

“More than we know now, which is nothing.” Smiling slightly, he leaned forward a bit. “Rebecca, can you tell me how she’s doing?”

“Not yet.” Little by little, her frosty demeanor thawed. “We’re waiting for the doctor’s report.”

“How long might that be? My brother’s been here for hours.”

“I’m sorry, sir—”

“He’s worried. Certainly you understand that.”

After pausing for a moment, she picked up the phone. “I’ll do some checking and get back to you.”

Sam hated the runaround. But worse, he hated his brother getting the runaround. “When might that be?” he pressed.

She looked put out. “Within the hour.”

“I don’t know if I did much better, Eli,” Sam said when he made his way back to the set of orange vinyl chairs. “However, I did get one of the nurses to promise she’d fill us in as soon as she could. She promised we’d hear something within an hour.”

Eli slumped. “That’s something, I suppose. I hate the idea of poor Winnie sitting somewhere by herself.”

“She might not be. She’s probably getting seen by a number of doctors and nurses and that’s why we can’t disturb them.”

“Perhaps.”

Hoping to take Eli’s mind off the terrible wait, Sam said, “Tell me again what happened. Jonathan’s barn caught fire?”

“
Jah
. It was a terrible thing. Flames shot up something fierce, and then all the hay in the loft ignited. I overheard some of the English say it looked like a bomb. All the commotion woke me up.”

“Is the whole barn gone?”

“Oh,
jah
. Well, enough that it can’t be saved.” Eli shook his head sadly. “A lifetime of work, gone in an instant.”

“That’s terrible.”

“It is. A shame.”

Sam reckoned his brother was right. It was a shame. While it had been a good three years since he’d been to the Lundys’, he knew the farm well. Lush, green, and well kept, it was a showcase for the area. The barn, with its green metal roof, was especially eye-catching.

For a fire to have burnt the whole thing down, it was almost as if part of history had been wiped away. He remembered their father talking about the barn raising as if it had been yesterday.

Eli leaned back in his chair. “It was a fair sight, to be sure. The flames lit up the sky. When I arrived, Jonathan had already gotten the animals out, but Winnie was in the ambulance. She’s been burned, and I think maybe her foot is broken. I don’t know what else.” He turned to him. “You remember Winnie, don’t you? Black hair, dimples in her cheeks?”

Sam recalled a skinny girl with too much on her mind. But it had been years since he’d seen her. “Of course. She was a few years behind me at school.”

“I had forgotten that. Don’t know why.” Circling back to the original problem, Eli muttered, “I wish someone would come out and tell us what is going on. I’m not used to sittin’ around.”

“I know you’re not.”

Sam, however, was far more used to waiting on other people. Government lines, post office lines, shoot, even the lines at the grocery store. He was used to either texting people on his cell phone or making do. Eli, so used to the insular life in their community, was not.

Eli worried his black felt hat. “I promised Jonathan I’d look out for her, and I know he’s waiting for some answers. I feel bad I haven’t called him.” Frustration tinged his words as he gave up trying to make sense of it all.

“Waiting seems to be the norm for everything nowadays.”

“Maybe so. I’m fortunate to have a brother who will still drop everything to help him at a moment’s notice.”

The praise embarrassed Sam. Instinctively, he half waited for Eli to point out the obvious. Yes, he’d come today to help. But what about all the other times Eli had needed him but he hadn’t been around?

Sometimes he felt like he’d abandoned his family, leaving the order. It was hard to come to terms that he’d picked an education over living closer to his family and joining the church. Though no one had ever
said
they resented him for leaving, Sam wondered if they did.

After another twenty interminable minutes, the nurse he’d spoken with approached them. Sam jumped to his feet. “Rebecca, have you found out any information yet?”

“Only a little bit. I’ve been waiting for Dr. Sullivan to give us the okay to accept visitors. After he saw Winnie in emergency, he went on rounds. However, I just got a hold of him and he gave the okay for a brief visit.”

“Thank you, that’s very good news.”

“How is Winnie?” Eli asked.

Rebecca flipped through the papers clipped to the top medical chart she was holding. “She’s just been moved to a private room. It looks like she’s sustained a number of cuts and abrasions, and some burns to her legs. Her right foot is also fractured.”

“Poor Winnie,” Eli muttered.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you both to her room.”

Taking a calming breath, Eli nodded. “That would be fine.”

Luckily, they didn’t have far to go, just a few feet down one gray-checkered hallway, then another couple of yards down a second, this one with blue and green squares. Around them, stainless steel racks and bins lined the walls. The sharp, pungent smell of lemon-scented bleach filled the air.

Finally they arrived. “Here is her room. Number five-forty-one.”

Eli already had his hand on the door handle. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Remember, don’t stay long, and don’t be too worried if she’s groggy. They’ve given her some medicine for her pain.”

Pointing to a brown plastic chair outside her room, Sam said, “I’ll wait out here, Eli.”

“There’s no need. Winnie would be pleased to see you, I think.”

In her condition? Sam doubted that. Lately, he hadn’t met a woman who appreciated seeing someone new without looking her best. “I don’t—”

“Come, now. I don’t want to stand here holding the door forever.”

Reluctantly, Sam followed his brother in, hoping to stay in the back shadows and then slip out when the two of them got to talking.

But he had a hard time concealing his surprise when he did see Winnie Lundy. She certainly looked very different than he remembered her. Even lying down, she looked tall and lean. Eyes the color of a fading winter day set off ivory skin.

Those eyes widened when she focused on them. “Eli?”

“Yes. I’m here. Sam, too.”

Embarrassed, Sam held up a hand.

“Don’t stay too long,” the nurse murmured once more after checking Winnie’s vital signs and slipping out the back door. Sam edged closer. Ready to leave the moment it seemed suitable.

With his usual way, Eli moved to her bedside quickly. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Not so good.” She frowned. “My foot hurts.”

“Only one?” Eli teased.

“Both.” With a frown, she glared at her feet. One was covered in protective gauze and bandages, the other in a temporary cast.

Eli raised his brows and whistled low. “Your feet and legs got the worst of it, I’m afraid. What did the doctor tell you?”

Winnie frowned. “That I’m going to be here for a few days. He said burns are prone to infection, and since I’m going to have a difficult time walking I need to let my body heal a bit here.”

“Das gut.”

“No, it’s not.” Obviously agitated, Winnie gripped a handful of white sheet, almost as if she’d like to be choking it. “The last thing everyone needs is for me to be in the hospital. Jonathan and Katie are going to be busy enough.”

“I came for Jonathan. Samuel is going to help, too. That’s why we have friends and family,
jah?”

“Yes, but I know you shouldn’t be spending your days here either. You’ve got plenty to do, too, Eli. I know it’s planting season.”

“
Jah
, those seedlings will wait for no man. I’m gonna go back tomorrow, but I’m sure Katie will visit tomorrow for a bit. And Sam here has promised to keep an eye on you for us all. He’s going to visit with the doctors, too. Sam—” He looked around. “Sam?”

“I’m here.”

“You look like you were about to leave. Come closer, Winnie can hardly see ya.”

Feeling once again like the little brother tagging along, Sam approached. “Hi, Winnie. I’m sorry about the barn and your injuries.” To his surprise, she smiled, showcasing the pair of dimples Eli had mentioned.

“Samuel Miller, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

Eli chuckled. “I’m sure he’d rather you saw him with good eyes.”

Sam couldn’t help it. He met Winnie’s gaze and smiled, just like they used to do years ago, before they’d grown up and changed. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. You weren’t around when I came to visit my family in the fall.”

“I was in Indiana.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you. I wish we were visiting under other circumstances.”

“I do, too.” After a pause, Winnie looked beyond him to his brother. “So, how is Jonathan? Is he hurt, too?”

“I don’t think so.”

“What about the barn? The animals?”

“I haven’t called to get any information. I’ve been waiting to hear news about you.”

“Will you go call?”

“Winnie Lundy, you are as bossy as ever.”

“I’m only worried about the farm and my family.”

“You should be thinking about healing, don’tcha think?”

“I can’t get better until I know how everyone else is. Go call, would you?”

“I will, when I find a phone—”

“You can use my cell phone,” Sam interrupted, eager to be back in the conversation. Pulling it out of his jeans pocket, he carefully showed his brother how to dial the number and press send. “You’ll have to use it outside, though. Hospitals don’t take kindly to people using cell phones in the halls.”

Looking determined, Eli nodded. “I’ll go call right now. If you’re sure you don’t mind being left again.”

“I’ll be all right.”

With a start, Sam realized that Winnie thought he was going to leave the room, too. Had she really thought so little of him? “I’ll stay with you. That is, if you don’t mind.”

Pulling the sheets a little more securely around herself, Winnie shook her head. “I don’t mind.”

Sam sat in the chair next to the hospital bed. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

A dimple appeared. “You mean besides gettin’ me outta here? No.”

“Did you understand everything the doctors said?” he asked gently. He could only imagine how scared she must be. The sterile hospital was a far cry from her usual environment. “I can speak to them for you.”

“I can talk to doctors, Samuel.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Immediately, regret filled her eyes. “Listen. I am grateful for your help. I imagine Eli is, too.”

“I’m happy to help.”

“But, surely, you have other things you’d rather be doin’?”

Sam swallowed hard. It was obvious that Winnie felt he’d moved on and now no longer cared very much for the people he grew up with. It was evident in her voice, in the way she looked at him.

Sam had essays to read and five students to mentor at the college, not to mention the usual work on his research programs. But all that paled compared to the look of need in this woman’s eyes.

Eli walked back in. “I spoke with Katie’s mother, Irene. She said all the animals are safe, and Jonathan is no worse for wear. Only the barn is a complete loss.”

Winnie pursed her lips. “We’ll have to tear it down and begin again.”

“That we will,” Eli said. “Irene said Jonathan was pretty upset about it, not so much because of the work required but because your father had built the barn.”

“
Jah
,” Winnie said with tears in her eyes.

“Jonathan’s mighty worried about you. I told Irene I’d call back when I spoke with the doctor, but that Winnie was awake.”

“I’m right here, you know. I could tell you how I’m feeling.”

Sam looked at Winnie and grinned. “You never were meek, Winnie. Even when we used to play games at school, you always insisted on being in the thick of things. I guess some things never change.”