“Hope, I need you to sit up front with Mr. Tony. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Tony helped me place Lorelei in the back seat and I climbed in next to her as she laid her head in my lap.
“I told you to go to the doctor. Now look at you.”
She moaned. “Hope.”
“She’s with us. She’s up front with Tony.” I stroked her hair.
Tony pulled up to the doors of the emergency room. I climbed out and went inside, telling them I needed help. Two nurses brought out a stretcher as I picked up Lorelei and laid her down.
“What’s going on with her?” one of the nurses asked.
“She’s been coughing really bad the past couple of days and not feeling well. She’s burning up.”
“Are you her husband?”
“No. I’m her boss. This is her daughter.”
They wheeled her inside and down the hall. One of the nurses told me and Hope to have a seat in the waiting room and that they’d be out shortly. Hope wrapped her small hand around mine and when I looked at her, all I could see were eyes filled with fear. I led her over to the chairs in the waiting room.
“She’s going to be just fine, Hope. I don’t want you to worry. The doctors will take good care of her and get her better.”
“I want my grandma and grandpa.”
“I can call them. Do you by chance have their number?”
“No, you can’t. They’re on a cruise.”
“Oh. Okay. Is there anyone else I can call?”
“My Auntie Stella is out of town visiting her boyfriend’s father who’s really sick.”
“Okay. What about your other grandparents?”
“I don’t have any other grandparents.”
I pulled my ringing phone from my pocket. It was Coco.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Jack, where the hell are you?”
“At the hospital. I had to bring Lorelei in. She’s very sick.”
“Oh no. What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll call you when I know more.”
“Okay.” Click.
I put my phone in my pocket and looked over at Hope.
“Are you hungry or thirsty?” I asked.
“Kind of. I didn’t eat breakfast.”
I looked around and saw a vending machine. “Let’s go see what they have in the machine.”
We stood in front of it and Hope looked through the glass.
“There’s Pop Tarts.”
“I only like strawberry. Those are blueberry.”
“How about a granola bar?”
“Ew. Those are gross.”
“Okay. How about those little muffins? They look good,” I lied.
“Sure. I like chocolate chip muffins.” She smiled.
I reached inside my pocket and pulled out my wallet, taking out two one-dollar bills and putting them in the machine.
“Press the buttons for the muffins,” I told her.
She did and reached inside and grabbed them.
“How about a drink? There’s orange juice over here in this machine.”
“I want apple.”
“They don’t have apple. How about some cranberry juice?”
“Yuck.” She made a face at me and I smiled.
“Go sit down. I’ll track down some apple juice.”
I walked over to the nurses’ station. “Excuse me, but I need someone to go find me some apple juice for that little girl over there.”
“We have apple juice in the cafeteria,” one of the nurses spoke.
“Well, I can’t very well leave at the moment.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Whoever goes and gets that little girl some apple juice can keep the change.”
The nurse named Samantha took the twenty from my hand. “I’ll go get some apple juice for you.”
“Thank you.” I smiled.
I took a seat next to Hope as she sat there and ate her muffins.
“Your apple juice is on its way.”
“Want one?” she asked as she held the mini muffin up to my face.
“Umm. No thanks.”
“Just try it. They’re good. I know you’ll like it.”
“No. No.” I waved my hand. “You eat them all.”
“Please, Mr. Sutton,” she whined. “Just taste it.”
I sighed as I took the muffin from her hand and put it in my mouth. God that was the worst thing I ever tasted. Hope watched me eat it.
“You like it, don’t you?” She giggled.
I nodded my head. “Yes,” I lied.
The nurse came back and handed Hope her bottle of apple juice. A few moments later, a man in blue scrubs came into the waiting room.
“For Lorelei Flynn?” He looked around.
“Yes.” I stood up.
“Lorelei has pneumonia, and a pretty serious case of it. We have stabilized her and we’re trying to get her fever down. She’s very weak and dehydrated. It’s a good thing you brought her in when you did. I’m going to admit her. She will be here the next few days.”
“May we see her? This is her daughter.”
“You can visit with her but only for a few minutes. She needs total rest.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“Follow me. I’ll take you to her.”
Hope once again wrapped her hand around mine as we followed the doctor down the hall and to the room where Lorelei was. When we walked in, she opened her eyes and tried to smile when Hope ran up to her.
“You’re in a good place, Mommy. They’re going to make you all better.”
I stood in the doorway and stared at Lorelei lying in that hospital bed. My heart ached seeing her like that. Then I thought of something else. If she was being admitted to the hospital, who was going to look after Hope? Shit.
Walking over to Lorelei’s bed, I placed my hand on her arm.
“I want to go,” she whispered in a weak voice.
“You need to get better first.”
“Hope.”
“Don’t worry about Hope. I’m going to see that she’s taken care of while you’re here.”
Lorelei shook her head no at me. I was offended.
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave now. Our patient needs her rest,” the nurse spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be okay,” Hope spoke as she laid her head on Lorelei’s arm. “Get better, Mommy.”
A tear ran down Lorelei’s cheek. I pulled a dollar from my pocket and handed it to the nurse. “Could you take Hope to the vending machine and buy her a candy bar?”
“Sure, thing.” She smiled.
When they walked out, I placed my hand on Lorelei’s head and leaned closer to her, wiping the tear from her cheek.
“I don’t want you to worry about anything. Hope is going to be well taken care of. I’ll see to that. You just focus on getting better. I need my personal assistant back in the office.” I smiled.
She slowly nodded her head and then closed her eyes. I pressed my lips against her forehead.
“We’ll be back to visit you as soon as they say we can.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Jack
I had Tony drive us back to Lorelei’s apartment. As soon as I unlocked the door, I told Hope to go and pack a bag.
“Where am I going?” she asked.
“You’re coming home with me for a few days since your grandparents and Stella are out of town.”
She went to her bedroom and I stood in the living room wondering if I had made the right decision. I had no choice, but I knew absolutely nothing about kids. I took in a deep breath. I couldn’t let Lorelei down. I cared about her and she needed my help regardless if she wanted it or not. I dialed Madeline.
“Hello.”
“Madeline, make sure the guest room is ready. We’re going to have a visitor for a few days.”
“Sure thing, Jack. I’ll see to it now.”
“Thank you. We’ll be arriving shortly.” Click.
“I’m all packed,” Hope said as she emerged from her room holding her pink bag and a rag doll.
I grabbed her bag and we went down to the limo. As we were on our way to my penthouse, I looked at Hope’s doll.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Luna. I’ve had her since I was a baby. My mommy said it was a gift from my daddy and that he’ll always be with me.”
“She’s a special doll.” I smiled and she hugged her.
When we arrived at the penthouse, Hope’s eye widened as soon as we stepped off the elevator. Madeline walked into the foyer and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hope.