Читать книгу The River to Glory Land - Janie DeVos - Страница 18

Chapter 7

Looking from the Outside In

I returned to the waiting room and found that more people had arrived to keep vigil. Janice Reynolds, Buff’s wife, was among the new arrivals. I learned that Buff suffered nothing more than a broken leg from the impact of the collision, and had just gone up for surgery. Marv Tollison, and his wife, Gloria, and Scott Monroe were there as well. Scott, as it turned out was Buff’s first cousin. Laura Aldrich was another addition to the group. When I walked into the room and saw her, I felt the blood drain from my face. Although I said hello to her, my eyes couldn’t quite meet hers. I hoped she wouldn’t notice it. If she did, I prayed she would assume that it was nothing more than everyone feeling at a loss for words. Olivia scooted over on the couch and I sat down by her.

“You’ve been crying,” she whispered, looking stricken. “What did Dr. Aldrich say?” She clearly assumed I’d been driven to tears by what he privately told me about Rusty’s condition. To a certain degree, she was correct.

“He said he’s bad off, Olivia. But we already know that. We’ll just keep praying and, hopefully, his brain will stop bleeding and the swelling will go down. We just have to wait ’n see, though.”

Olivia looked down at her crossed hands on her lap and several tears splattered the tops of them. I put my arm around her shoulders. “He’s in good hands, Sister. They’re doing all they can. Fortunately, Rusty was in good shape, so that helps a lot. If I were a betting woman, I’d put money on him to pull through.” I was lying through my teeth but I hoped Olivia didn’t realize it. “Have y’all had anything to eat?” She just shook her head in response.

I needed some air, and, more than anything, I needed to be away from Laura Aldrich. Standing up, I looked around the room and said, “How about if I get some coffee and sandwiches for everyone? It’s not gonna do Rusty any good—or Buff either—if we don’t keep our strength up.”

“I’ll go with you,” Mama said, standing up.

We went around the room writing down what everyone wanted, and when I asked Scott what he’d like, for some odd reason, I had as much trouble meeting his eyes as I did Laura’s. He told me he was fine at the moment, but thanked me anyway, and then Mama and I left the room.

“Let me run into the ladies’ room,” Mama said. As she did, I waited out in the hallway. Suddenly, I felt exhausted. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes but I opened them a moment later at the sound of approaching footsteps. Scott was walking toward me.

“You know if the men’s room is this way?” he asked, jutting his chin in the direction past the ladies’ room. Now that I was standing next to him, I realized he stood about six feet tall. Though he wasn’t extremely tall, he was well built, making him a good-sized man.

“Yes, it’s just down a little bit,” I replied.

“Okay, thanks,” he said, and started to move away. But before he’d gone more than a couple of steps, he stopped and turned back to me.

“Mind if I give you a friendly piece of advice, Miss Strickland?”

“Uh…no. I guess not.”

He stepped even closer to me, placed his hand up on the wall next to my head and leaned in. He was close enough that I could see his eyes were green, though the shade varied from a dark green at the edge of his irises to a lemon-lime green in the center. Some women would find his eyes sensual, but they made me terribly uncomfortable, as if he could see through me.

Scott looked to the right and left, then seeing that no one was within earshot said, “The next time you’re going to neck with someone else’s husband, make sure there are no windows in the door of the room you’re in. If someone were to walk by and happen to catch a glimpse, they’d sure get an eyeful.”

“Oh, my God,” I whispered.

“Fear not, Miss Strickland.” He smiled, apparently amused because he’d caught me in such a compromising position. “There was no one with me. However, I can’t tell you if anyone else saw anything before or after I walked by. Your secret is safe with me at least.” Suddenly, his grin faded away, and he looked at me hard for a second or two longer. Then, without saying another word, he pushed himself away from the wall and headed down the hallway.