Come Rain Or Shine Part 25

"No," she said, gathering her things.

He opened his eyes and grabbed her hand. Silently he ran his fingers over the stones.

"It's you and me. Me," he said, touching the black onyx in the center, "and you," he touched the circle of creamy white pearls surrounding the black stone. "You, surrounding me in light. Lying in that truck on the way here, I looked up and the sun was shining behind you. Your angel face was surrounded in light, looking down at me with so much love. I thought it was the last time I'd see you." His eyes were gla.s.sy with unshed tears.

Emmie leaned down and kissed his lips. She left her mouth there, breathing him in. Unfortunately, the nurse chose that moment to return to the room.

"Miss, the man needs to rest and this is highly improper," she squawked, sounding like an old hen.

"Yeah well, I was just kissing him goodbye," Emmie said, never taking her eyes away from him. He laughed and then sucked in a breath of air through his teeth at the pain.

"If you won't go shopping, try to find a place for me to stay when I get outta here. That's going to be happening soon. I'd like to be able to kiss my girl without being walked in on." He grinned at the nurse. Emmie smiled at his request. Silas didn't need a place to stay. He needed a comment to fl.u.s.ter the nurse. To his satisfaction, it worked.

"Out," the older woman said, pointing to the door.

Emmie couldn't help but laugh as she walked past her. She stole one last glance at Silas before she left the room. He winked. She closed her eyes and released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She knew without a doubt he was going to be okay.

Chapter Fifty.

Emmie was no more than fifty feet from the hospital when she spotted something that made her stop in her tracks. It was a large fancy sign with big, bold, red letters: Future site of Stone's Crippled Children's Hospital. She walked over to the sign and ran her fingers along the letters. This must be founded by the doctor who works with Max. Hadn't Mae said they were trying out their methods on kids like Max in an effort to expand in the future? It must be working. She took in the residential area spotted with a handful of medical buildings. So that must mean Max was close. She walked a little farther down the street keeping her eyes out for anything that might give her a clue where they were working with him.

After a moment of searching she spotted a little girl with crutches and thick braces on both legs walking into a large white Victorian house. Emmie followed the gravel drive to a sidewalk that led to the front door. A makeshift ramp had been built on the front of the house. A few mothers and their toddlers sat in chairs at the entry. The two small parlors had been converted to an exam room for children, filled with a mix of handmade toys and medical equipment. The children, nurses, and physicians seemed to be so engrossed in their work, no one noticed her. The kitchen was fully functional and again filled with a couple families. One mother was crying while another consoled her. A few kids ran by, playing tag. Emmie thought they must be siblings of children being seen here, judging by their agility as they moved. She peeked to the back yard and found some dads huddled under a tree. This place was organized chaos. She understood the need for a new facility-people were crammed in every corner of this house. She still had seen neither hide nor hair of Max. She went upstairs and found the bedrooms were actually being used as bedrooms. Only they were severely overcrowded. Each tiny s.p.a.ce held at least two beds and a couple cots. Emmie watched as a father and two children emerged from one of the rooms.

"Are you new here, Miss?" he asked.

"Umm, actually, I'm looking for Max Jones," she said sheepishly.

The man frowned and slipped into a white coat. "Alice, Leigh, head on downstairs and finish your lessons." Then he turned his attention back to Emmie.

"Max is working with his teacher right now, may I help you?" He looked defensive.

Emmie took a good look at his coat. She noticed he moved with a slight limp. He pulled something out of one of the large pockets and draped it around his neck. He was the doctor.

"Sorry, forgive my manners. My name is Emma Talbot and I'm a family friend. I'm here visiting Max's family." Emmie gave the man her best carefree smile.

The man's shoulders seemed to relax a little. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Jonah Stone. Do you go by Emmie? Max has told us about a Miss Emmie who taught him to read."

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as she nodded.

"If you'll follow me downstairs I'll take you out to him," the doctor said.

"That would be great." Emmie watched as another family slipped into one of the bedrooms.

"Dr. Stone, do people live in your office?" she asked.

The man grinned, holding tightly to the loose handrail as he descended the curved staircase. He nodded and laughed. "Although, saying I have an office where people live might be a more accurate statement."

Emmie looked around at the crowded s.p.a.ce and couldn't help but agree with him.

"Max's family is one of the lucky ones that can afford to rent a house. In the beginning I thought I was just turning my home into an office. I don't like to turn kids away based on money. So it seems I've also turned my home into a hotel," he explained, leading her to the backyard.

Emmie's mouth nearly dropped open at his words. She noticed his limp again as they made their way through the gra.s.s to a small building behind the house. It was only a little bigger than a shed. "I suppose you and your family will find some relief when the new hospital opens."

"That we will," he agreed. "We will be able to convert the two parlors into living quarters and take in a few more families."

Emmie knew at that moment why Max had found so much success in this place. It wasn't that this doctor possessed some kind of magic formula to help kids improve. He just had the heart and soul for his work. As he led her into the shed he walked past children and helped them reposition their bodies. And adjusting one child's brace, he moved to the front row. He patted and asked them each questions, letting her know he had a relationship with each one. When Max saw Emmie his face split into a wide grin.

"Miss Emmie," he shouted, abandoning the book he was reading.

He shuffled up to her, weaving through a row of children. He tripped when he was nearly there and Dr. Stone reached out his arm and caught him.

"Pick up that right foot, Max," he said, sounding more like a father than a doctor.

"Yes, Dr. Jonah," Max said, already moving past him.

"Miss Emmie, they said you were fine but I've been so scared because I didn't see you again after-" he cut himself off and looked around, "after those bad guys came."

"We are all fine, Max. No reason to worry," she said and hoped he believed her.

The three of them spoke just a moment longer before his teacher moved Max back to his seat. She was young, probably Emmie's age, with honey brown hair. Emmie watched her move from child to child before she left the makeshift cla.s.sroom. Did she wish she were that teacher? Was that the life she wanted? Emmie shook her head and looked at the ring on her left hand. Sometimes to get what you wanted you had to give up other things. As much as she would like to be in that cla.s.sroom, she wanted to be with Silas more. Although some small part of her still believed there was a way to work with children and marry Silas. She just hadn't put the pieces together yet.

When she left Dr. Stone's house she realized she still had a half hour before visiting hours would start. So she did what Silas wanted her to do. She went shopping, popping in the first store she came to. It was a fancy store where the clerks looked down their noses at her until she pulled out the cash from Silas's wallet. Apparently they decided her money spent as well as anyone else's. She changed and freshened herself in the dressing room. She chose something blue, as it seemed to be Silas's favorite color. She patted her hair and painted her lips. G.o.d help her if she didn't enjoy it. Keep this up for another few weeks and she was going to have to change her name to Ava. Her heart panged at the thought of her friend. She'd left without even saying goodbye and now she had no idea where Ava was. Hadn't she mentioned something about staying at a hotel in the city? She would need to talk to Al. Maybe he would help her call Chicago.

She walked quickly back to the hospital and up the two flights of stairs that led her to Silas's room. As she drew nearer to his room she realized that visiting hours must have already started. She heard a voice from inside. Emmie paused on the other side of the wall, not wanting to interrupt him if he was with Trick.

"You're dumber than you look to be showing your face here, boy," Silas said quietly.

"Either dumb or brave, I ain't worked out which one I am yet," he said.

"I'm leaning toward dumb," Silas said angrily.

"Yeah, well, since when did I ever care what a Yankee thought of me?" At those words Emmie froze. Bo Johnson was in Silas's hospital room.

"Emmie girl, how's he doing?" A deep voice with an Irish lilt called out to her.

She spun around to find Al, Trick, Marco, and Silas's father, Michael, walking toward her. Her heart pounded in her temples. This was not good.

Chapter Fifty-one.

Emmie had to work to keep her feet planted outside Silas's door. She knew the polite thing was to wait for the men but everything inside her wanted to get into that room with Silas and Bo. She forced a smile on her face and nodded h.e.l.lo to the group of men nearing her.

"He is doing well. Eager to leave this hospital, I think. The doctor said in the next few days he should be good to go as long as he doesn't have any sign of infection," she said, as they neared her. She didn't tell them Bo was on the other side of the wall. It was probably better for everyone involved for the men to be surprised.

"Good to hear, girl. Trick tells me you've been a good nurse to my boy. Thank you, child. I knew you were one of the good ones." Michael winked and wrapped her in a hug.

Marco kissed her cheeks, the same as Al always did, to say h.e.l.lo. She squeezed his arm in return, thankful neither of them were asking her to talk about anything. One good thing about this family was they usually knew when to talk and when to be quiet.

"Looks like you cleaned up fine, Emmie. Did you decide to let the grandma dress go? If anyone could pull off that Victorian look, it would be you," Trick said with a grin that showed his dimples.

Well, almost everyone in the family knew when to keep their mouth shut. Emmie rolled her eyes but could not help the laugh that escaped her. Trick was right; she had looked bad. Emmie stood in the hall and let the men enter first. She wanted to be able to see everyone's reaction in case someone became jumpy. She wasn't sure who she would need to calm down.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?" Trick shouted as soon as his feet crossed over the threshold.

Bo put his hands up to show he was unarmed. Emmie couldn't really see him, just his hands. The room was filled past capacity. They probably only had a few minutes before one of the gatekeeper nurses kicked some folks out. She closed the door, knowing this would need to be a private conversation.

"Those were my thoughts exactly, Trick," Silas said, moving around in the bed. Emmie couldn't see him, but she could only imagine he was trying to sit or stand. She pushed her way between Marco and Trick so she could see Silas.

She was right; Silas had sat up in the bed. His blankets had fallen, revealing his bare bandaged chest. Emmie could tell by the way his teeth ground together, as he adjusted in the bed again, he was in pain but didn't make a sound.

"Silas, stop trying to sit up. If you get too high-handed about moving around, you'll open that hole right back up. Do you want to be in here longer or do you want to go home?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood. She adjusted the pillow behind him, attempting to get him to move back. He didn't. She wasn't surprised.

"Emmie, why don't you let us men talk? This might be an ugly conversation you shouldn't have to hear," Silas said without looking at her.

"Only if everyone in this room is willing to give me everything they have that can be used as a weapon," she answered with a sweet smile.

He looked at her then his eyes changed as they raked over her body. The look Silas gave her made her blush. She'd been with him long enough to know what he was thinking. And he should not be thinking that in a room full of people. He reached across his body and grabbed her with his good arm. He pulled her into him and whispered loud enough for the room to hear, "My beautiful angel. Mo Chuisle." Then he kissed her softly on the cheek, then the lips.

"Silas," she chastised with a sigh. As much as she wanted to melt into the kiss it wasn't the right time.

"Way to treat her like a lady, Yankee," Emmie heard Bo mumble.

He was standing no more than a few feet from her. She saw him from his boots up, surprised to find he wasn't wearing overalls. He was in a nice pair of pants and a red flannel shirt. His hair had grown out a little and he'd slicked it back. The men in the room wouldn't know it but he was dressed up. The thing that surprised her most about his appearance was the swollen blue-black lump that went from his eye to his temple.

She turned to look at him straight on. Impulsively she reached out and tenderly touched the spot on his head. He leaned into her touch and looked her right in the eyes. That's when she noticed his. They were bloodshot, swollen, and full of pain.

He grabbed a handful of her hair and snorted. "He took you up there to make you look like one of them."

"Dry it up, Bo," Silas shouted.

Emmie shook her head. She knew Bo was trying to distract her from the question she was about to ask. "Did your father do this to you?" she asked.

Bo looked down at the ground. His refusal to reply was enough of an answer for her.

"I'm sorry, Bo," she said softly.

"Don't apologize to him. He doesn't deserve your sympathy or your pity," Trick said from behind them.

Bo turned and glared at Trick. "I figure I've got good reason to be mad enough to shoot you without feeling bad about it, buddy. So you best keep your mouth shut. My sister told me what you called her."

Emmie stared at Bo wide-eyed.

"Your sister diddled around with me to pa.s.s information off to your father and his man Parbour. I didn't call her any name she didn't earn," Trick said with a grin.

Bo's hand clenched into a fist like he was about to hit Trick but Al stopped him.

"Listen son, Walter told us your piece. We appreciate that you tried to intervene and went against your father's plan, but I'm not sure now is the best time for this conversation," Al said, his voice not unkind but also not friendly.

He fiddled with a b.u.t.ton on the sleeve of his flannel shirt. "He used her just like he did everyone else. She didn't know he would use the information to hurt you. Millie is a soft girl just like Emmie."

"Just tell us what you came to say and leave before we help you out, boyo" Michael said from Silas's bedside.

"I just wanted you to know I'm sorry. You know I've never been a fan of yours," he said, looking at Silas. "But I didn't want you dead, not most of the time anyway." He swallowed hard. "Also, before I head home, I wanted you to know I will be continuing to supply in our area."

"You will, will you?" Silas said, amused.

"I will. And if you won't buy it others will. Walter and I are going in together. I'm the head of the Johnsons now and I will take care of my family. Maybe not the same way my father did but I will not skirt that responsibility. If you're planning to shoot me over something, I'd rather get it outta the way now rather than spend the next year looking over my shoulder," Bo said.

"Where's the fun in that game?" Trick asked.

Silas laughed. Emmie looked at him through slitted eyes.

"No one is going to shoot anyone, kid, but it's time for you to go," Al said, nodding to the door.

Bo nodded and turned to Silas. "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. Maybe all of this could have been avoided. The way Walter tells it, if I could have called three minutes earlier, you would have had them all out of the house."

Silas nodded. "What Walter said is true."

Bo looked at Emmie. "Are ever going to come get your dog?" He tried to sound lighthearted but came up short.

Emmie nodded and pointed at Silas. "As soon as he's out of the hospital. Thanks for taking care of Spotty, especially in the midst of all of this. And thank you for everything. I am sorry . . ." but her voice trailed off because she wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

Bo shrugged. "We're all going to be better off, right? He never really cared for anyone but himself anyway." He said the words but she knew he wasn't feeling them. He was experiencing a pain that only time would dull. She couldn't fully understand what he must be feeling. His father was not a good man but there was always pain in losing a parent regardless what they had done.

Emmie squeezed his arm. He almost smiled but his face fell as he grabbed her hand. His head snapped around to Silas and then back to Emmie. "So, you've decided to be Mrs. Silas."

"I've decided to be Emmie McDowell, not Mrs. Silas," she said, lifting her chin. There was a big difference in those two names.

He grunted and nodded, mumbling something under his breath. Emmie followed him out the door. They heard the men in the room pick up a quick conversation before they made it all the way into the hall.

"I don't expect you to walk me out," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Bo, I meant what I said. I'm sorry you are hurt. If I can do anything, just let me know. You are still my friend," she said, looking up at him. "I think it's honorable that you want to care for your family but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous to hear that you and Walter plan to go in together."