Her smile didn’t show even a hint of anger, which just made him more determined to break through that wall. To what end? He didn’t know.
“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Her brown eyes lifted to his.
He nodded, not really wanting to be reminded of that at this moment.
“Let’s go out to the party and afterward...” She held on to his shoulders as she slipped her feet into her shoes.
His imagination could do a lot of things with afterward.
She kissed his jaw. “Afterward.”
The background noise changed. It had been so subtle he hadn’t even noticed the music and laughing beyond the door, but the sudden lack of it gained his attention. He thought he heard someone call his name.
“Something’s happening.” Luke opened the door and found his way out from behind the curtain. The overhead lights were on and everyone was hovering near the dance floor.
Luke’s heart pounded against his chest as he saw someone lying on the floor beyond the crowd. His training kicked in as he rushed forward.
Breaking through the crowd, he froze when he saw Sam unconscious on the ground, his face ashen. Luke’s world lurched. “What happened?”
“He just fell over,” an old man who looked familiar said.
“Everyone back up and give him some space,” Luke ordered. “Has anyone called 911?”
“Yes. The ambulance is on the way.”
Luke checked Sam’s pulse. He was still breathing, but his pulse was faint. “Bring over a chair.”
Luke pulled Sam’s bow tie off and unbuttoned his collar. When Amber dragged over a chair, Luke lifted Sam’s feet up onto the seat.
“Where are Brady and Maggie?” Luke asked the nearest woman.
“They just left.”
“Is he going to be okay?” Tears ran freely down Amber’s cheeks. Penny kneeled next to Amber and held out her arms. Amber collapsed against her but kept her big blue eyes on Luke and Sam.
“We need to get him checked at the hospital.” Luke met Penny’s eyes and saw the worry there.
He tried not to think about it as he worked on evaluating Sam’s condition.
“The ambulance is here,” someone said.
The paramedics came in and Luke gave them a rundown of what he knew, which wasn’t much. Sam had fainted and hadn’t regained consciousness.
“Should I call Brady and Maggie?” Penny asked as Luke stepped out of the way to let the paramedics work.
“Not yet.” Luke ran a hand over his face. “They just left for their wedding night, and we have nothing to tell them. They’d just worry or, worse, spend their wedding night in the hospital waiting room.”
She nodded, still holding on to Amber. “Maybe I should take Amber home.”
“No.” Amber shook her head. “I’m going with Uncle Sam.”
“It’s late. We can go wait at my house with Flicker, and your uncle Luke will call with any news.” Penny’s gaze met Luke’s, looking for his support.
He nodded, but that wasn’t enough for Amber.
“I’m supposed to stay with Uncle Sam tonight,” Amber said. If Luke knew anything about his family, it was that stubbornness definitely ran in it. But he had only just met his niece.
“What if—” Penny looked up at Luke “—we go to the hospital and see that Uncle Sam is taken care of, then you and I will go get Flicker and drive out to check on the farm?”
Luke nodded in agreement. What else could he do until he knew what was going on with Sam?
“I wanna ride in the ambulance.” Amber turned her stubborn little chin up at Luke.
“No,” Penny said, her voice more firm than he’d ever heard it before. “You ride with me or the deal is off, kiddo.”
“Okay.” Amber pouted but went to grab her flowers and sweater from their table.
“Did you want to ride with us or with the ambulance?” Penny’s presence actually calmed his racing heart for a moment.
“I’ll drive Sam’s truck and meet you there.” Luke watched as the paramedics wheeled Sam out the door. He felt lost, as if he could have prevented whatever was happening.
Penny wrapped her arms around him in a hug that had nothing to do with sex. “He’ll be all right.”
He returned her hug and breathed in her floral scent. The knot in his stomach loosened slightly.
She released him before he wanted to let go, but things had to get done. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m going to talk to the wedding coordinator and make sure everything is taken care of before we head to the hospital.”
Amber came back over with tears in her big blue eyes. “Can I ride with Uncle Luke? Please?”
Penny gave him a questioning look, leaving it up to him. He looked around at the people waiting and the chaos beyond. It might take Penny a half hour or more to finish up here and Amber would be left sitting alone. He remembered how that felt when his father had been rushed to the hospital. No one had taken the time to tell him what was happening. He was just left waiting.
Luke held out his hand to Amber. “Sure. Let’s go.”
* * *
An hour later, Luke sat in the waiting room of the hospital in Owen with his niece fast asleep against his side. Sam had woken during the ambulance ride and had been cranky as ever. When he arrived at the hospital, the doctor ordered several tests to make sure he hadn’t had a heart attack or wasn’t on the verge of having one. The doctor had insisted Luke go to the waiting area since Sam didn’t look to be in any eminent danger.
A flicker of gold caught Luke’s attention. He lifted his head in the direction of the hallway. Penny sauntered toward him with her heels in one hand and a soft smile on her lips. It had been only an hour or so since he’d held her in his arms, but it felt as if an eternity had passed.
Careful not to wake Amber, she sat gently on his other side and whispered, “How’s Sam?”
Luke took a deep breath and released it. “No word yet. Apparently a few months ago, he had an X-ray that showed an enlarged heart, but he skipped his follow-up with the cardiologist. The fainting could mean a number of things, from cardiomyopathy to hypothyroidism to hemo—”
Penny took his hand between hers. “Lots of doctor mumbo jumbo. Is he going to be okay?”
“I hope so.” He ran his other hand through his hair. Their family history of heart disease was the reason Luke had gone to med school and why he’d specialized in cardiology. If Luke had known at fourteen what he knew now, maybe he could have prevented the heart attack that killed his father. The warning signs had all been there. No one had pushed Dad to get checked out. Not that his father could have been pushed. A trait Sam inherited.
“I guess I should take Amber home and get her into bed.” Penny didn’t move and he felt her eyes on him. “Unless you want me to stay.”
Luke didn’t know what he wanted. Earlier it had been easy to just pull Penny into his arms and forget the past and future. He would definitely prefer to argue more with Penny instead of sitting in a waiting room with months-old magazines and a news channel on a muted TV. If his niece weren’t here, he might even flirt, if only for the distraction.
As if sensing his hesitation, Penny