Chapter Seven
Before Lenora rushed out of the boutique, she tried calling Jonathan. Frustrated that he wasn’t picking up, she held the steering wheel tightly. As she stayed in the left lane, she gunned the gas pedal, glancing down at the speedometer. She took a breath, looked to her right, and passed back to the right until she crossed over to the lane leading to her exit.
“Please protect my family, protect my child. Lord, please send your angels,” she prayed over and over again.
It took her longer than she cared to find a parking space. By the time she found a space in the hospital parking garage, Lenora’s heart was beating so fast she feared they would be giving her a hospital bed. She smashed the elevator button as if she could make one of the elevators doors open magically. Then, she nervously twisted her hands and watched the elevators make a slow descent. Her mind was overloaded with thoughts.
Who was the man, and how did he know her family? Whoever he was, did he purposely target her son? He was certainly tormenting her.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Lenora pressed the floor number and leaned back against the elevator walls. Her family had been featured on the news and several Charlotte magazines in the past year as the church and her business had grown. Not to include the social media connections everyone in the family had. Anybody could have found simple information like her sons’ names.
The media had been keeping the story of the hit-and-run accident in the news as well. Many people she didn’t know probably knew about her family. It didn’t explain the text messages which, she had to admit, were downright threatening.
Lenora stepped off the elevator and walked briskly down the hall toward her son’s room. She opened the door and stopped.
Her heart did another slight drop. Keith was not in the bed. Where is he? Lenora spun around and went toward the nurses’ station in the center.
“Hello, have you seen my son?”
The short nurse looked at her. “Your son? Oh, Mrs. Freeman. I believe he is scheduled to be discharged today.”
“Today?” Jonathan didn’t tell her.
“Lenora?”
She turned around at the sound of her name. “Jonathan.” She walked away from the nurse. “Where’s Keith? I don’t understand.”
Jonathan reached his arm out and placed it around her shoulders. “He’s fine, Lenora. The other nurse came and took him for a walk down the hall. They should be back soon. In fact, the doctor said we can take him home. I was going to call you after I signed the discharge papers.”
Lenora shook her husband’s arms off and looked at him. “Well, why is he up walking? I thought he should be resting.”
Jonathan stared at her, and then looked behind him. He leaned into her. “Quiet your voice down, Lenora. Look let’s go in Keith’s room. I will explain what they told me. okay?”
She took a breath and walked ahead of Jonathan into the room. Lenora could feel her husband’s stare.
After a few seconds of silence, he asked. “Are you okay?”
Lenora held her hand to her forehead. “Yes, I just want to know why Keith isn’t lying down resting. Why is he being discharged now?”
Jonathan sat down in the chair. “The doctor gave orders for him to get up and move around some. With broken ribs, a person is more susceptible to blood clots and things going on with the lungs. There isn’t really anything else they can do. The ribs will heal naturally with time and rest. This is a good thing, Lenora. There’s no need to worry.”
That made sense to her. Lenora bit her lip and sat down in the other seat. There was a slow ache at her temples now. She closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Lenora opened her eyes and looked over at her husband. “I just panicked when I didn’t see Keith. That’s all.”
“If anything was wrong, don’t you think I would have called you?”
“Of course, you would. Look, don’t sit over there and look at me like I’m crazy. I’m a mother, and my child could have died. The person responsible is still out there.”
Jonathan frowned. “It was a hit-and-run accident.” He folded his arms. “You sound like someone is out for our son.”
Lenora looked away, blinking to keep a sudden appearance of tears from flowing down her face. A memory from long ago floated in her mind.
Her mother had been gone a decade. Joan Houghton was strict, but loving. She couldn’t make up for Lenora’s dad not being there, but she did what she could to keep her children happy. Thoughts of her mother always brought memories of her older brother who she lost when she was twelve. Her brother was sixteen, the same sensitive age that Michael was, when a classmate took his life.
She could never articulate to Jonathan or her boys how deeply losing her brother had affected both her and her mother. Her mother made up for her brother’s loss by being extraprotective of Lenora. Lenora, in turn, tried to protect her own sons who, in height and features, so often reminded her of her deceased brother.
Lenora would not let harm come to her sons.
Keith and his nurse showed up at the door. She rushed to Keith’s side. “Honey, how are you? I can’t believe you are up and walking. I’m so glad we can bring you home.”
Keith cringed as they slowly sat him on the bed. “Yeah, but everything hurts. I need some more pain medicine.”
Lenora asked the nurse, “What kind of medicine can we give him for the pain?”
The nurse responded, “Ibuprofen or Tylenol used as directed will work for the pain. In about two to three weeks, the pain should completely go away.”
“Good.” Lenora gently rubbed her hand across Keith’s forehead.
“Mom, really?”
“What? You are never too old for your mama to rub your head.” For added measure, Lenora did it again.
Keith grinned and lay his head back on the pillow.
She loved her sons, and yes, she had been overprotective of both of them. Lenora sensed Jonathan was watching her, but she wouldn’t look at him, knowing he still had questions about her behavior.
Being married to someone for twenty years, it was hard to keep things from the other person. Lenora was rarely rattled by anything, which was why she was the most-sought-after wedding planner. She could put a bride’s mind at ease, tell a family to back off, and make sure the caterer and all other participants stayed on time.
She probably should have shared the text messages with Jonathan, but she knew he was still adjusting to his father’s death. He wouldn’t admit it, but his growing role at the church had become his sole focus. He was the third generation in a legacy established by his grandfather and carried on with his father’s grace.
With Keith’s accident, the last thing Jonathan needed was to have the weight of someone’s nasty prank on his shoulders. The problem was, Lenora really wasn’t sure the text messages and that voice were a prank. She was determined to find out.