Falling for the Teacher by Tracy Kelleher

Author:Tracy Kelleher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LENA REACHED ACROSS the table and rested her hand on Carl’s. “Carl, Carl! Are you all right?”

Carl sat up slowly. A sheen of perspiration coated his pale face. “It must just be a little too much food.”

“Maybe it’s the heat from the fire?” Lena suggested. “Katarina, go open another window.”

Carl smiled at her meekly. “Really, I’m fine. Don’t bother.”

“No, you’re not,” Ben said. He pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and dialed 911.

“Ben’s right.” Katarina rose. She should do something, but the CPR course she’d taken at work didn’t quite seem to apply. Carl was obviously in distress but still alert. “Let me get a cold washcloth,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

She rushed to the first-floor powder room and turned on the cold water. She grabbed a small guest towel from the vanity and happened to glance up at the mirror. Her face appeared as ashen as Carl’s. Fear was a powerful force.

Katarina let the cool water run over her fingers. They trembled as she raised them to her mouth and neck. She closed her eyes, feeling the cooling temperatures bathe her skin. I can do this, I can do this, she told herself. She breathed out and visualized a calm field of waving grain. Then she opened her eyes and nodded resolutely at the mirror. The face in the mirror nodded back.

“Right,” she said out loud, and when she turned off the faucet and wrung out the towel the actions were decisive.

She hurried back to the dining room. “Here, let me wipe your forehead, Carl,” she said, taking the empty chair next to him. Ben was already on his knees beside Carl, his hand was on Carl’s wrist taking his pulse.

Ben briefly looked over at Katarina. “See, Carl, you have your own Florence Nightingale.” His voice was surprisingly gentle.

“I wanted to get her attention, but I never expected to do it this way.” Carl’s voice was weak. His breathing was labored.

“Carl, I promise you. You have my attention.” Katarina rubbed her hand on his arm.

Lena came back from the kitchen. “Carl, I got your son Norman on the phone, and he’s going directly to the E.R. at the hospital. So, he’ll meet you there. I couldn’t get through to Paul. He must be out, but I will keep trying. Norman gave me his cell-phone number, so I should be able to track him down.”

Carl shook his head. He rocked back and forth. “I’m so sorry, Lena, causing a fuss like this, ruining your dinner party.”

“Nonsense. Things happen that we have no control over,” she said.

Carl closed his eyes and swallowed.

Lena looked worriedly from Katarina to Ben. He acknowledged her with a slight nod before turning back to Carl.

“The ambulance will be here any minute. The best thing to do is try to relax,” Ben said, his voice reassuring.

The next moment, strobe lights flashed through the front windows of the house and skittered into the open doorway to the dining room. There was a loud knock on the door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.