All She Ever Wanted by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9780983599319
Publisher: Barbara Freethy
Published: 2011-05-10T10:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Cole's mother was being discharged when he drove up to the ER entrance at Good Samaritan Hospital, located across town from St. Timothy's. He thanked God for that small favor. The last thing his mother needed today was to run into Natalie. Getting out of his car, he jogged over to where his dad was helping his mom get into their car. She was obviously upset, her cheeks red from crying, her brown hair matted from sweat. When she saw him, she practically fell into his arms.

"Oh, Cole. I'm so happy to see you," she said tearfully.

"I'm happy to see you, too," he muttered. His mother had always been small and slender, but today she felt frail in his arms, as if she could be easily broken. It occurred to him that he'd spent the first part of his life worrying about his little sister and the last decade worrying about his mother. At least his father was strong, except when it came to his wife. She was his Achilles' heel. As he looked over his mother's shoulder, Cole could see the worry in his father's eyes.

"We should get you into the car, Janet," Richard said. "It's breezy out here. The last thing we need is for you to catch a cold."

Janet pulled back and put her hand against Cole's cheek, a sorrowful look in her brown eyes. "You look tired, Cole. Are you all right?"

"Hey, I'm the one who should be asking you that question. Dad said you collapsed."

Richard gave Cole a warning shake of his head, but it was too late to pull back the question.

"I couldn't believe what those reporters at the house were saying about Emily," Janet replied. Her expression pleaded with him to tell her it wasn't true, that it was all a horrible nightmare, and he wanted to do just that, but he couldn't.

"We're going to fix it," he said instead. "Don't worry about anything. Just take care of yourself and feel better."

Her eyes blurred with tears. "I thought it was over, Cole. It should be over. Why isn't it?"

"It will be," Richard Parish said with authority. "We'll find out everything we need to know, Janet. But you need to go home and sleep now. That's what the doctor said. Lots and lots of rest."

"Will you come to the house with us, Cole?" she asked. "We can still have dinner as we planned."

"Don't worry about dinner. Rest tonight and we'll talk tomorrow."

"All right. Don't work too hard." She got into the car and Cole shut the door behind her.

"Is she really okay?" Cole asked his father.

"She's never okay, not when it comes to Emily," Richard said with a heavy sigh. "We were having such a good trip, too. She was happy in Italy. She loved Venice. I couldn't get her out of those gondolas. But she got a little stomach bug the last few days. Combine that with the long flight and the reporters waiting for us at the house—it was just too much for her.

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