The Strawberry Hearts Diner(38)

Her heart felt like a stone in her chest, and she thought she’d throw up. The room did half a dozen spins before the walls stopped moving. Her glass hit the floor.

“Mama?” Emily asked.

“It’s Nettie. She’s had a heart attack. She dropped in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. They’ve admitted her.” In her own ears, Vicky’s voice sounded to her like it was coming from the depths of a deep barrel.

“Go. Both of you go. I’ll manage the place by myself. I worked in fast food. I can make burger baskets,” Jancy said.

“Hey, ladies.” The bell above the door chimed, and there was Andy. “It’s a hot one out there. Thought I’d stop by for a tart . . .” He stopped with a puzzled look on his face. “Is something wrong, Vicky? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“It’s Nettie. She’s had a heart attack,” Jancy said.

“Where is she?” Andy asked.

“Palestine,” Vicky whispered.

He turned around and opened the door for her. “Come on. I’ll take you.”

Emily threw an arm around Vicky’s shoulders and guided her outside. “That way you can bring Nettie’s car home. We’ll close early and be down there as soon as we can get out of here. Don’t worry, Mama. Jancy and I can run the place. I’m less than thirty minutes or a phone call away, so . . .”

Andy opened his truck door, and Vicky crawled inside without arguing. What would she do without Nettie? And how did this happen?

“Has she been sick? Did the ambulance take her?” Andy asked.

“No and no,” Vicky said. “She went in today for a regular checkup, and they called about the same time you walked into the diner. She’s complained a few times with her arm but thought it was arthritis.”

“Well, thank goodness she was at the medical center when it happened. They would have gotten her immediate help.”

She wrapped her arms around her body and shivered.

Andy reached over and turned down the air-conditioning. “Don’t go to the dark place unless it’s absolutely necessary. There’s always hope.”

“It’s Nettie. She’s been like my mother for years. She’s been a grandmother to Emily and my partner in business. That dark place you mentioned terrifies me. I don’t know how I’d manage without Nettie,” Vicky said.

“Did you ask them about the severity?”

She shook her head. “They said it was a mild heart attack and that she was asking for me.”

“I’ve got a gut feelin’ that it’ll take more than a heart attack to get that woman down.”

“Why would you say that?” Vicky cut her eyes around to glare at him.

“Hey, no offense meant. That was a compliment. The way she stood up to Carlton Wolfe at the town meeting and then at the picnic impressed the devil out of me.” Andy smiled.

She stopped shivering. “She is a force, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is, and that means a lot. We’re halfway there. Another few minutes and we’ll be at the hospital. You might want to take your apron off,” he said.

“Oh. My. Gosh!” She gasped. “This apron is the least of my worries. I didn’t even bring my driver’s license or money.”

“The girls can bring your purse when they drive down here. I’ll stay with you until they arrive, so you are in good shape except for the apron.” He grinned.

She undid the ties at her waist, leaned forward and pulled the thing off. She glanced at him and he tilted his head toward the back seat of his crew-cab truck.

“Just toss it back there. I’ll make sure it comes back home.”

When she saw the blue hospital sign, the tension in her whole body eased up a little. He turned into the parking lot, and she took a deep breath. She’d have to be strong for Nettie. If it was bad news, like, God forbid, open-heart surgery, she couldn’t break down and cry. This wasn’t about her or her problems. It had to be about Nettie’s well-being.

He stopped at the front entrance. She slid out of the truck, slammed the door, and hurried inside the hospital. The lady at the information desk told her what floor and how to get to the elevators. She was pushing the “Up” button for the fourth time when Andy walked up beside her.

“Open sesame,” he whispered, and the doors opened immediately. “A little magic never hurts.”

“Save some of that for Nettie,” she said as she hit the right floor button.

She heard Nettie’s familiar voice when she and Andy stepped out into the hallway and stopped in her tracks to catch her breath.

“I’m tellin’ you that I’m not stayin’ here all night. Put that damned thing in me right now and turn me loose. I’ve got work to do and . . .”

Vicky took off so fast that Andy had trouble keeping up. She marched through the open door with her finger already up and shaking toward the bed. “You will do exactly what this doctor says, and I’ll hear no more of that tone from you.”

“I’m the nurse, ma’am,” the tall guy said. “The doctor has been in already.”

“And?” Vicky asked.

The nurse looked at Nettie, who nodded and said, “Tell her. I already put her name on the list so that she can know everything about me.”