Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Tildy sat next to Hawk, rubbing her St. Christopher medal between her fingers. “It’s the wrong Saint,” she whispered miserably. “They’re not lost.”
Hawk squeezed her shoulder. “God will listen anyway. She’s been through too much for Him to abandon her now.”
Hours later, Chris came out. He looked tired. Everyone got to their feet. “She’s still not awake,” he told them. “But then she wouldn’t be. The baby’s in the NICU in an incubator. They say her oxygen level is pretty good, considering. There’s a window; you can see her. You can see Sarah when she wakes up.”
Despite his exhaustion, he said this firmly, as though there were no other option. Sarah would wake up. She had to. She had to meet her baby.
Chapter 57
Tildy couldn’t sit and do nothing. She’d said her prayers; now it was time to be useful. Two hours had passed, and Sarah had not yet woken. Tildy was now convincing Chris to take care of himself, since there was nothing he could do for his wife.
“I don’t need a break,” he snapped at her.
Tildy didn’t flinch. “The nurses do,” she replied.
Chris had not settled down for a moment, since he’d entered the hospital.
“Chris,” Tildy said quietly.
“No,” he insisted.
“Chris, your baby needs you.”
The man Tildy had come to know as strong and stoic now looked stricken. “She needs her mother.”
“She needs her father too,” Tildy told him.
“I love her,” Chris whispered and glanced through the glass at his wife. She looked peaceful, as though she were merely sleeping. “She’ll know,” he added.
Tildy frowned. “She’ll know what?” she asked, following his gaze to Sarah.
“She’ll know I didn’t choose her.”
Not Sarah, then, but the baby. “She won’t,” Tildy replied. “Not unless you tell her. She’ll never have to know.”
“I do love her,” Chris insisted.
“Then tell her every day. Starting now. I’ll wait with Sarah. Go meet your daughter.”
Chris struggled then finally nodded. He turned and walked down the hall, as Tildy entered the ICU. She washed her hands and headed across the large, open room. She brushed her friend’s hair back then sat in the chair that Chris had moved closer to the bed. She took up Sarah’s hand and squeezed it.
“I’ve seen her, Sarah,” Tildy whispered. “She’s beautiful.”
Sarah did not stir.
“My parents never wanted me,” Tildy admitted quietly. “Not really. If I existed or didn’t exist, it made no difference to them. But I see you and Chris, and I can’t imagine what her life will be like with so many people who loved her before she was even born. You’ve got to wake up, honey. It’s time.”
As if she’d heard, Sarah’s hand moved slightly. Tildy’s heart leapt. “Sarah?” she prodded. “Sarah, wake up now.”
Sarah tugged on Tildy’s hand then let go.
“Oh please, God,” Tildy whispered fervently. “Sarah,” she repeated.
Sarah opened her eyes. Tildy felt tears welling up in her own. Sarah looked confused, first staring at Tildy then around the ICU. Tildy bit her lip. There was some possibility Sarah had suffered a stroke before she collapsed.
“Sarah, can you hear me?” she asked, because Do you know me wasn’t something she could bring herself to ask.
Sarah grabbed Tildy’s hand again. With her other hand, she pressed against her now empty belly. She made a strangled noise. Tildy jumped up, shoving the chair back so hard it slammed against the wall. The racket garnered the attention of the nearest nurse.
“Move back,” the nurse ordered, but Tildy stood her ground.
“Sarah, listen to me,” Tildy said firmly. “She’s alive. Your baby is alive. She’s just down the hall. She’s in the NICU. She’s alive, Sarah. I swear to you.”
A ragged noise tore from Sarah’s throat, as she struggled to get up. Tildy couldn’t be sure she understood until Sarah rasped, “I want her. Bring her to me!”
Tildy breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Sarah’s hand again. “We can’t. We can take you there though.”
The nurse again tried to get Tildy to move. “First we need-”
Tildy whirled on the older woman, still not letting go of her friend’s hand. “Take her to her daughter,” she demanded.
It didn’t happen as quickly as either Sarah or Tildy wanted, but they did move Sarah’s recovery bed from the ICU to the NICU for a visit. Sarah’s mobility was severely hindered from the C-section, but Tildy watched from the hallway, as Chris moved out of the way so Sarah could put her hand in the incubator.
Tildy felt two large hands on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and leaned back into Hawk’s larger frame. “Maybe it wasn’t the wrong saint,” she whispered.
Hawk leaned down until his lips brushed her ear. “Maybe it was an Angel.”
Chapter 58
In the waiting room, Abby cried into Tildy’s shoulder. Hawk thought even the other brothers looked to be on the verge of tears. God knew he almost was.
Tildy announced she was getting everyone coffee and brought Abby along with her to the cafeteria. Hawk smiled as he watched her go; then his gaze caught the large double doors swinging open again, and Shooter emerged. He took the empty chair next to Hawk and collapsed into it. He looked as ragged as Hawk had ever seen him, even in the desert. “You’re not staying?” Hawk asked, nodding to the doors.