Aunt Nadine nodded. “I hadn’t wanted to admit I had a problem. I was too scared. Admitting there was something wrong with me...” Her eyes teared up. “Well, now I don’t have to be scared. You’ve made my day, doctor, I mean, Carol.”
Carol nodded and smiled.
Aunt Nadine returned the smile, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. “I’m feeling better already.”
Carol patted Aunt Nadine’s hand. “As you should. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients. We’ll keep you one more day, dear, to make sure you tolerate this new medication.”
Carol said her goodbyes and exited. Jack followed her out. “You mean to tell me that her medication has been causing her memory issues?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t discuss a patient’s private health information. HIPAA and all that.”
“She raised me, I’m family, and she’s signed the appropriate documents, so you could speak to me.”
Carol skimmed through the paperwork and appeared to make a decision.
“Well, I’m not telling you more than I said in the room. Yes, in some patients—especially older patients—we’ve seen a strong correlation between symptoms of dementia and this particular medication. It’s true of low vitamin B levels as well. We’ll do what we can and hope for a positive outcome.”
Jack swiped a hand down his face. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “This whole time ... Doctor, I gave up my job to come be with her. I wanted to make sure she’s all right.”
Carol studied him. “You sound like a nice young gentleman who cares deeply about her. I hope you’ll consider sticking around, even if her memory improves.”
He nodded as he watched Dr. Carol Presser head down the hallway and enter a room four doors away.
Jack stood alone in the hallway, soaking in the news. Aunt Nadine was going to be all right. Part of him wanted to be angry at the medication for wreaking such havoc on their lives. Jack realized that even if he hadn’t been shot, even if he hadn’t failed Sarah, he would be back in Montana and, yes, probably working for the Grayback County Sheriff’s offices.
And he realized that if he weren’t Detective Tanner, then he wouldn’t have run into Terra again. Was Providence throwing them together? Were they meant to be? Was this their second chance? He didn’t know.
“A penny for your thoughts.” Terra spoke from behind.
He turned and tried to absorb her lovely smile and the look in her eyes that reflected her compassionate heart. Jack didn’t mind her gorgeous hair, striking eyes, and rosy cheeks either. But who was looking? He grinned to himself. He thought he might actually measure up this time, at least in his own mind, but would she feel the same way? Was he the man for her?
“How is everyone?” he asked.
“Gramps is getting released this morning. Dad is recovering. He’ll be here a couple more days. He could have died. I still can’t believe any of it. Part of me wants to be angry at him. I was so hurt that he left. I carried around with me the memory of that conversation I overheard—Gramps telling Dad not to leave. I rushed to him and begged him not to go. I understand now that he thought it was the only way to keep me safe. But as a kid, how could I have understood any of it? People, those I loved, left me. Dad chose to leave me. But I can’t waste time being hurt and angry now that I have him back.”
Jack had experienced a similar situation when he let Robert’s conversation he’d overheard get to him. Those words had changed his future, had torn him away from her when he made the decision to love Terra by leaving her. What he’d done was not too different from what her father had pulled—and both men had crushed her more with their actions than either of them could ever have known.
Jack wanted to tell her about overhearing Robert’s claim that Jack didn’t come from good stock, but he kept it to himself. Sharing that would only hurt her more. No need to open old wounds. There was enough pain to go around at the moment.
And the way she looked at him now, Jack had no doubt he had nothing to be ashamed of—even if he hadn’t learned his father was a hero and he did, in fact, come from good stock. What Terra alone thought of him meant more than anything else.
“They don’t think your dad’s a flight risk, do they?” he asked. “I mean, he fled the hospital before.”
“He’s cooperating fully. Sharing everything he knows about Tony Gray, who became Marcus Briggs.”
Poor Ruby. When would the news of her son’s activities and ultimate demise be shared with the family?
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Dad could be in trouble for the crimes he committed back then. I’m not condoning his actions, but he’s already paid a high price for his mistake. Are you going to charge him for punching Sarnes?”
“That’s out of my hands. But, Terra, in the end he was a hero. He saved the day. And I made sure to emphasize that in my statement.”
“You weren’t there.”
“Doesn’t matter. He came to save you and to negotiate.”
“He’s not perfect. He messed up, but at least he’s home.” She sniffled and wiped her nose, staring at the floor as if disturbed all over again. “I haven’t told him that someone vandalized the Rocky Mountain Courage Memorial. Oh, wait, he left before that was even built.”