Carina smiled as she turned onto Patricia’s street. Heck, she’d been smiling all morning. A smile that lifted her spirits and had little parts of her soul doing a happy dance. Because Flynn was coming home today.
How was it possible that she could miss a man when a few weeks ago, she didn’t even know him?
Maybe there’d been an empty section of her heart, a section she hadn’t known existed. And now that he’d filled it, brought attention to it, there was no going back.
The raindrops started just as she was pulling up at Patricia’s house. Big, fat raindrops that splatted across the glass. The sky had been gray all morning, so it wasn’t a surprise.
She reached across to the passenger side and grabbed her bag before stepping out of the car. At the twinge in her knee, she cringed. Crap. She’d forgotten to put on her knee brace. Not good. Especially with the slippery, wet ground. Most days, the brace was the only thing that kept her knee feeling stable.
Well, not much she could do now.
Carefully, she walked up the stairs. Don’t slip was pretty much on repeat in her head the entire way.
She was just opening the door when she heard it. Loud clattering. Pots and pans, maybe?
Frowning, she stepped inside. Her mouth dropped open at what she saw.
The house was a mess. It looked like someone had broken in and trashed the place. Cushions covered the floor. Every drawer in the living room and kitchen was open and empty, the contents tossed everywhere.
Her gaze shot over to Patricia in the kitchen. She had her head in a cupboard and was midway through emptying the containers.
What the heck was going on?
Carina dropped her bag by the door before moving across the room and bending down beside her. “Patricia, what are you doing?”
The woman looked up, and Carina almost pulled back at the wild look in her eyes. “Where are they, Dorothy?”
Carina frowned. “Where are what?”
“My car keys! Where are my keys?”
Patricia didn’t have a car—not since her Alzheimer’s had progressed and her license had been canceled. “Why do you need your car keys?”
“To find David! I’ve searched the entire house. The entire yard. I even tried calling him, but the number didn’t work!” Patricia rose to her feet, her gaze skittering around the room in an almost manic way. Whether she was looking for her keys or her late husband, Carina wasn’t sure.
Carina touched her arm. “How about we have some tea?”
She was scared that if she reminded the older woman her husband was deceased right now, that would just upset her further.
“Tea?” Patricia stepped back, and Carina’s hand fell. “Did you hear what I said, Dorothy? David’s missing! I can’t have tea when David’s missing. I need to find him. He might be in trouble!” The older woman pressed a hand to her chest. “I have this awful feeling inside me. Like he’s not okay. You need to help me find him!”
Oh, gosh. “Okay. I will.”
Patricia frowned. Carina’s chest tightened with unease as the woman took another step back. “Why aren’t you panicking? Do you know where he is?”
Carina was careful to keep her voice calm. “No.” God, she’d always been a terrible liar, and by the angry look on the woman’s face, she saw right through her.
“You’re lying! Where is he?”
“Patricia—”
“Did you take my keys?”
“How could I have taken your keys? I just got here.” Carina took a small step forward, her hands raised. “Why don’t I try calling him? Maybe I’ll get through.”
Carina was hoping and praying that if Patricia was calling her Dorothy, she might be confused enough to think Flynn was his father.
“I already told you,” Patricia shouted in obvious frustration. “He didn’t answer.”
Patricia turned, moving out of the kitchen and toward her bedroom. Carina followed, watching as the older woman tugged clothes out of drawers. She wasn’t going to stop.
Carina grabbed her phone from her pocket. “I’m going to call him. I’ll be back in a second.”
Patricia didn’t even acknowledge her words. Quickly, Carina stepped out of the room and called Flynn.
Usually, he answered on the first ring. This time it took three. “Hey, honey.”
The man sounded tired. He was never tired. Guilt flooded her at disturbing him when he’d just finished a two-day job.
“I’m sorry to call.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. What’s wrong?”
Could he hear it in her voice? “It’s your mom.”
Suddenly, the exhaustion left his voice. “What happened? Is she okay?”
“She’s not good today. She’s pulling her house apart looking for her car keys because she wants to go search for your dad.”
Flynn cursed over the line. “Okay, I’ll—”
A bang sounded from the other room, cutting off Flynn’s words. Carina raced back into the bedroom and gasped at the sight of Patricia on the floor, clutching her wrist.
“Oh God.” She ran over to the woman and dropped down beside her.
“What happened?” Flynn asked. A whoosh of air sounded over the line, like he was running.
“She fell. She’s holding her wrist.” Carina touched Patricia’s elbow. “Patricia, are you okay?”
“I just… I need David!” A tear fell down the older woman’s cheek as she continued cradling her wrist.
Carina’s heart broke for the woman.
“I’m in the car. I’ll be faster than an ambulance.”
“Okay. See you in a second.” Carina hung up.
She leaned closer, inspecting the wrist. Just by the swelling and tenderness when she probed it, Carina was almost certain it was a break. Her fingers were moving though, so there was circulation. She needed an X-ray.
Quickly, Carina rose to her feet. “I’ll be back in a moment, Patricia.” She raced into the kitchen and hunted through the recycling until she found a sturdy piece of cardboard. She also grabbed a small towel from the hall cupboard before running back into the room.
“I need to immobilize the joint, so I’m going to make a splint for your wrist. Is that okay?”
The woman gave a small nod, her eyes still foggy with confusion.
Carefully, Carina wrapped the wrist with the towel to cushion the joint before placing the cardboard beneath her arm. Then she grabbed a shirt from the floor and used it to fasten the splint. She tied it tightly enough to keep the wrist still but not tight enough to cut off circulation or hurt the woman.
Once she was done, she looked back at Patricia. “Flynn’s going to be here in a second, and then we need to get you to a hospital.”
“Flynn? I don’t…” Patricia shook her head, the tears once again building in her eyes. “I’m confused.”
This poor woman. “I know. I’m sorry.” So damn sorry, her chest felt like it was bleeding. “But I’ll be here with you until he gets here, okay? You won’t be alone.”
She didn’t know if that offered the woman any comfort, but she hoped so. A lot of the time in hospitals, when older patients came in, company in times of pain helped.
It wasn’t long before she heard the front door open, then Flynn ran into the bedroom. Carina inched back as he bent down in front of his mother, his eyes pained when he glanced at her wrist.
“Mom?”
Finally, some of the confusion slipped from Patricia’s face. “Flynny. You’re here.”
“I’m here, Mom. Let’s get you to the hospital.”
Carina picked up her bag and followed, locking the door behind them. She sat in the back with Patricia, helping to keep her arm stable as Flynn drove. When they arrived at the hospital, he carried his mother to the reception area and then into a patient room, where he lowered her to the bed.
It was about five minutes later when Victoria stepped into the room. Carina’s stomach cramped, but she was careful not to show it. This wasn’t about her—it was about Patricia.
“Good morning, everyone,” Victoria said, her gaze brushing over Flynn before landing on Patricia.
He shook his head. “No. I want a different doctor.”
The corners of Victoria’s eyes creased, her lips thinning. “It’s a very busy day in the ER, Flynn. Every doctor is working with other patients right now.”
The veins in his neck bulged.
Carina remained silent. She was sure his mom would be fine with Victoria. As far as they knew, the woman didn’t have anything against Patricia. But this was Flynn’s decision.
Victoria stepped forward. “I promise you, your mother is safe with me.”
Patricia groaned. He looked at her, taking in her pale face.
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth.
Victoria nodded, stepping beside the bed and lifting Patricia’s arm. “Patricia, can you tell me what you’re feeling?”
“My wrist hurts.”
Victoria gave a small nod as she started to unwrap the wrist. “And can you tell me what happened?”
Patricia frowned before shaking her head. “I don’t… The morning’s a blur.”
Carina pushed off the wall. “She slipped. There was a lot of clothing on her bedroom floor, so I assume she tripped on them.”
Victoria turned cold eyes toward Carina. “You assume?”
“I was turned away and on the phone with Flynn.”
There was a slight thinning of the woman’s mouth before she turned back. “Based on the deformity of the wrist and the swelling, it looks to be a distal radius fracture, but I’ll order an X-ray so we can know for sure.”
She lowered Patricia’s wrist carefully. “I’ll just go check when they can do the scan.”
Carina took a small step back as Victoria left the room.
Flynn stepped forward, talking quietly to his mother. She’d never seen him this worried—or this tired. It had her heart tearing with guilt. The fall shouldn’t have happened. It was her fault for not following Patricia when she left the kitchen. She shouldn’t have taken her eyes off the older woman.
When tears welled in Patricia’s eyes again, Carina stepped into the hall, wanting to give them some privacy.
Her finger clenched the strap of her purse. Her fault. The words continued to repeat in her head. Maybe she should have tried harder to calm Patricia. Maybe she should have offered to drive the woman to find David and taken her to Flynn.
It was probably better that she stay in the waiting room. Scrubbing her hands over her face, Carina turned and walked straight into Victoria.
“Oh, my gosh.” Carina took a quick step back. “I’m sorry.”
Victoria gave her a tight smile. “It’s fine.” Then she stepped around her and headed into Patricia’s room.
Carina blew out a long breath. She’d only taken a few steps toward reception when she heard Flynn.
“Carina. Can you come in?”
She hesitated. The guilt was eating at her. And surely, Flynn felt what she felt. That this was on her.
But she wasn’t going to walk away from him when he was asking for her.
Turning back, she stepped into the room. When Flynn held his hand out for her, she almost sighed in relief. She dropped her bag by the lone chair, and moved to his side. His fingers wrapped around hers. Maybe he didn’t feel the same.
