“Thanks, Sheriff.” Tori disconnected the call and stuffed the phone into her briefcase. “Abuela and Abuelo need to realize it’s time for them to move here so I can help out more,” she said aloud to herself. “I can’t move to Segundo now, I’m so close to finishing my thesis, and school’s just starting….”
Tori rushed across the parking lot and through the automatic doors to the emergency room. She stepped up to the counter. “Excuse me, my grandmother was being transported here from Segundo Emergency Clinic. Is Maria Sandoval here yet?”
“Let me go check.”
The nurse returned a few minutes later, shaking her head. “Her flight was delayed. If you’ll have a seat in the waiting room, we’ll call you when she arrives.”
“Any idea how she is?”
The middle-aged woman smiled. “She’s stable. We’ll send her directly to the neurology center.”
“Thank you.” Tori nodded numbly and turned to find a seat. After assessing the lack of available space, she decided to wait outside. Maybe the fresh air would help to clear her mind. She walked back to her vehicle before realizing she’d left her bagel on the table next to the door at her condo. “So much for breakfast.”
She had known this time would come, when her grandparents would need more care than was available in Coal Valley. Tori closed her eyes, questions racing through her head a dozen at a time. She glanced at her watch again. Time stood still.
Stable. What did that mean exactly? Had her grandfather reached the rest of the family? Now what? Mom and Dad can’t come home for months. Aunt Juanita is still recovering from chemo treatments. I can’t take care of them in Segundo.
Tori saw the cross on the hospital sign and cringed. She hadn’t been a regular church attendee in years, but her grandparents didn’t miss a week. Surely God wouldn’t turn a deaf ear. Lord, be with Abuela and give her strength, and help the sheriff find someone to bring Abuelo here. Pacing the sidewalk to ward off the early morning chill, she twisted her watch around her wrist and noted that less than five minutes had passed.
Opening her planner, Tori checked her schedule. Orientation with the new teachers. School improvement plan with building administrators—skip. Attendance forms—format. Tori rubbed her temple, making new notes for the day.
Half an hour passed before she heard the stutter of a helicopter’s approach. A bright pink glow painted the horizon and spilled across the sky as the copter landed on the hospital roof. Tori returned to the waiting room in time to hear her name called. She was then directed to an examining room where she introduced herself to the medics. Then she turned to her grandmother. “Abuela, it’s Tori.” Her grandmother didn’t respond. The left side of her mouth drooped. Her skin looked gray despite the oxygen tube under her nose.
“Is she okay?” Tori whispered to the medics.
“She’s stable. She became agitated when we moved her into the copter. We delayed the flight until she calmed down again. She was worried about your grandfather driving here.”
Tori smiled. “That’s been taken care of. He has a ride.”
“Good. It’s not easy separating loved ones at times like this.” The paramedics rolled the gurney into the service elevator and pushed it to one side. “Come on. We’ll save you the trouble of finding us again.” Tori patted Abuela’s hand, alarmed that it didn’t move. Tori felt the tears sting her eyes. She followed in silence while they settled Abuela into a room.
The nurse introduced herself and offered to wait until Tori’s grandfather arrived to complete the check-in. Tori answered what questions she could, sure Abuelo would be worried and tired when he got to town. He’d already gone through the “check in and wait” routine at the Segundo clinic.
Staff came in and left the room, but Abuela didn’t stir. “Is it normal for her to sleep so much?” Tori asked the nurse.
“Very. The neurologist will run tests soon.” She adjusted a small clamp on Abuela’s finger and waited for the new reading. “Her oxygen is improving.”
Tori tried to think of questions to ask, but only one mattered. “Will Abuela be okay?”
The nurse finished recording the numbers flashing on the monitors then motioned for Tori to follow her out to the hallway. In a hushed tone, the nurse apologized that she couldn’t give a definite answer. “The tests will give us a better idea of the extent of the damage she’s suffered. I know this isn’t the answer you want, but I’m afraid that only time will tell. Maria appears to be a strong, active woman. That helps.”
Three hours later Tori finally gave in to the nurse’s urging and went to the cafeteria for some breakfast. She balanced a fruit yogurt cup and a frothy-topped caramel latte, struggling to keep her purse on her shoulder. She turned in to her grandmother’s room and ran into a solid male body, bathing him in caramel, cream and mixed berries.
“Whoa. That gives an all-new meaning to ‘freshly brewed coffee.’”
Tori looked at the man and dropped the cup. “Ah, ah,” Tori gasped, stumbling on the slick floor as she stepped back. “Oh, my, I’m so sorry, Doctor. I didn’t see you.”
The man with salt-and-pepper hair, a deep tan and whiskey-brown eyes caught her by the arm and steadied her. “Careful.”
She studied the mess trickling down his faded denim shirt and jeans. “I am so sorry. Did it burn you?”
“It’s…warm.” His eyes drifted to her pink polo shirt. “But I don’t think there are any serious burns. How about you?”
She hadn’t even realized her splatter was a mirror image of his. Looking up, she suddenly felt very…warm, as well. “I’ll be fine. The nurse insisted I get something to eat, that you wouldn’t be back again until Grandfather arrived.”
A smile teased his lips. “I think there’s some confusion….”
“Tori,” her grandfather said a little too loudly, “this is Steven Remington from Stonewall Ranch. But I guess you already know that since you arranged for him to bring me here.”
“¡Abuelo!” She glanced at the man she’d assumed was a doctor, then stepped over the mess, allowing Steven Remington’s hand to steady her as she walked around the bed to hug her grandfather. “When did you get here?”
“Just a bit ago, angel.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. “I’ll take a rain check for a proper hug after you’ve cleaned up. Steven isn’t a doctor. He teaches math at Coal Valley High and helps his uncle at the ranch. It was right fine of him to bring me here so mi esposa has a few of her own things.” Tears filled Abuelo’s eyes. His voice softened as he spoke to his wife in their native language.
Tori looked from her grandfather to the man she was supposed to know, but didn’t. She stepped back around the bed and stared at Mr. Remington, puzzled. “I’m sorry. I thought you were another doctor. Have we met before?”
“I don’t think we’ve had that pleasure. Sheriff Martinez knew I was headed to the Springs today to pick up supplies, and asked me to give your grandfather a ride.” He turned slightly and whispered to her. “I think Jose’s pride is a little scorched this morning, not being trusted to drive himself here.”
Tori nodded, understanding Grandpa’s prickly mood. “I can imagine.” She picked a fresh strawberry from her shirt and dropped it into the trash, trying to hide the tears that she’d just managed to dry before she’d entered the room. “Thank you so much for your kindness—” she hesitated “—Steven.” The name fit him perfectly. Suave and sophisticated. Rugged, yet classy. “As I’m sure you guessed, I’m Tori Sandoval, Jose and Maria’s clumsy granddaughter.”
Steven knelt down to add more fruit to