Abiding Echoes by Kay Springsteen

Author:Kay Springsteen [Springsteen, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astraea Press LLC
Published: 2012-07-15T02:43:49+00:00

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Beth stood in the doorway studying their work. With the three of them pulling together, the transformation from living room to home hospital room took less than an hour. It was hard to believe only the night before she and Justin had shared a picnic in there by candlelight. The sofa they’d spent the night on had been straightened and now, instead of lining up with the fireplace in the corner, it faced the silver and brown hospital bed they had placed against the opposite wall. They’d carried the leather chairs that had graced either side of the fireplace into the office across the hall.

Justin stepped close behind her and slid his arms around her waist. “Thank you for helping,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck. “With this and with Mom.”

Inhaling deeply, Beth leaned backward into his touch. His musky woodsy scent filled her nostrils, heady and intoxicating. Quite suddenly she needed to face him. She shifted, twisted until she stared into his bright blue eyes. Over the last handful of days, she’d grown used to the spark of joviality in his gaze, his gentle teasing and laughter.

The merriment wasn’t gone from his eyes, but his natural happiness was overshadowed by deep hurt swirling in the pools of blue, along with… fear. Beth lifted a hand and cupped his cheek, moving her thumb back and forth. He closed his eyes and a shudder rippled through him. His hands at her waist clutched and released, then clutched again.

She wanted to hold tight to him forever, to ease his ache and send it packing. Of course she couldn’t take away his pain — no one could. But she could hold him. Beth pushed tighter into his embrace, laying her cheek against his chest with a deep sigh.

“Beth, I—”

Sunlight flashed through the window, and the growl of a powerful engine filtered in from the front of the house.

“He’s home!”

From the corner of her vision, Beth caught a blur of motion in the foyer as Mary hurried to the door.

Justin loosened his arms by inches, seeming reluctant to let go. Beth offered him a smile. It wasn’t enough, it wasn’t nearly enough. She gave his hands a squeeze and then the connection was broken. He pulled himself up and squared his shoulders as he strode across the maroon and white patterned carpet.

Emotion worried at Beth’s heart until her chest hurt like a throbbing toothache.

She slipped into the foyer and lingered near the stairs. Frowning, she ran her hand over the deep indentations Mary’s blows had made in the plaster. Fine cracks crisscrossed the dents, and wheat-colored chips dangled by thread-sized strips of paint, exposing white plaster beneath. Could the damage be repaired? A chunk of plaster popped out under her finger and fell to join the dust on the hardwood step.

Justin stepped back from the open door and joined her in the out-of-the-way space while the ambulance attendants maneuvered the wheeled stretcher over the threshold. Covered to his chin with a white sheet and blanket

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