Echo Of Danger

She’d nearly forgotten that she’d left her car at the library, but Jason had brought it back, running again, and handed her the keys. He had waved off her insisting on paying the garage bill, saying it had just been a loose connection.

Now she willed the elevator to get to Kevin’s floor more quickly. Even knowing someone would call her cell if there’d been any change, she had to see for herself.

Nothing had changed in the quiet room. Judith smiled at her from the chair beside the bed. “It’s been perfectly calm and quiet while you were gone, but I’m certain sure Kevin’s color is better today.”

“Has the doctor been in?” She drew up a chair next to Judith and put her hand over Kevin’s, needing the skin-to-skin connection.

“Not yet.” Judith touched her arm comfortingly. “Soon, I’m sure.”

Now that she’d seen for herself that Kevin was safe, Deidre could manage to widen her thoughts to include someone other than her son. “I’m really sorry to drag you out at this time of the morning. How will Eli manage getting the children fed and off to school?”

Judith chuckled. “He probably gave them cold cereal out of a box, but that’s all right for once. It’ll make him appreciate me more, ain’t so?”

Since they both knew Eli and Judith had the happiest of marriages, Deidre didn’t think Eli needed any prompting. “You be sure he knows how much I appreciate it. Do you have a ride home? I could ask...”

“It’s all settled. One of the ladies from your church offered to drive me. I hear they’ve all been standing by to take turns doing whatever needs done.”

Deidre nodded, and the tears she hadn’t allowed herself to shed for Kevin filled her eyes at the kindness. “So many people have helped me since this happened. I don’t know how I’ll be able to thank them all.”

“Seeing Kevin well is all the thanks anyone needs.” Judith glanced at the clock that was mounted above a mirror on the far wall. “I should probably go down. I don’t want her to have to drive around waiting for me.” She studied Deidre’s face. “If you want me to stay...”

“No, no, I’ll be fine. I’m just eager to talk to the doctor. She said they’d probably let Kevin wake up today if all continued to go well.” Her heart lurched at the thought of seeing his eyes open, of knowing he recognized her. “Please, go on home. I’m fine now.”

Judith embraced her. “We are all praying,” she whispered. And then she was leaving, passing Pastor Adam in the doorway.

“I don’t want to intrude, but I had to see how Kevin’s doing.” He gave her a tentative smile. “Better?”

“I think so. The doctor should be in soon, so...”

Adam nodded. “I understand. I’ll leave you.” But he didn’t. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then he came closer and put his hand on her shoulder. “You know how much I...we all care. If there’s anything, anything at all, just...”

He sounded so eager to help that Deidre wished she could think of something for him to do. “I’ll call you, of course. Thank you, Adam.”

He nodded, patted her shoulder. “I’ll go now. Be sure you call me.”

Finally he was gone. Alone with her son, Deidre wrapped Kevin’s hand in both of hers. “You’re going to wake up soon.” She kept her voice soft. “All the boys and girls from your kindergarten class have made cards for you. When you open your eyes, you can look at them, okay?”

She heard the door and stopped, but Liz Donnelly just smiled and nodded. “It’s okay to talk to him. But right now Dr. Jamison and I want to have a few words with you.”

Jamison followed Liz into the room. He stood silent for a moment, studying a chart he carried, and Deidre’s heart began to thud. At last he looked up and focused on her.

“As we explained to you earlier, the reason for the sedation was to allow the brain time to rest and recover by reducing swelling.”

He seemed to expect a response, so she nodded.

“All of the tests we’ve run are looking good, so we’ve ordered to stop the sedation. Once your boy wakes up, we’ll be able to assess the situation in a different way.”

“Does that mean you’ll be able to tell if there’s been any permanent damage?” Her throat tightened as she said the words, and her hands felt clammy.

Jamison looked at Liz, as if passing the question off to her. Liz came and sat down knee to knee with Deidre.

“We just don’t know. Once Kevin is awake, we’ll want to see if there are any overt signs of damage. But signs can be very subtle, and there’s also the fact that he might demonstrate some impairment at first and then have that completely disappear as his brain continues to heal.” She patted Deidre’s hand. “It’s a game of wait and see at this point, but we’re agreed that we don’t see any indication of trouble now.”

Deidre managed to nod. What it boiled down to was that they really didn’t know. But when she looked at Kevin, his cheeks rosy as they always were when he slept, she found it impossible to believe he wouldn’t simply be himself when he woke.

“When do you think he’ll wake up?”

Liz glanced at her watch. “Anytime in the next hour or so. You can talk to him the way you were, but don’t make any other effort to rouse him. It’s better to just let him come out of it gradually on his own.”

Again Deidre nodded, but with a flicker of irritation. What did they think she was going to do—try to shake him awake?

“Good.” Liz rose, and Dr. Jamison was already halfway out of the room. “We’ll leave you with him, then. When he starts responding to you, just ring for the nurse and have her page me. I expect to be here in the hospital.”

“All right.” Much as she liked Liz, she was ready to have her go. Talking about the possibilities of difficulties with Kevin’s brain made them uncomfortably real.

But apparently she wasn’t destined to be alone with Kevin, because no sooner had the doctors left than Jason came in. “You haven’t been left by yourself, have you?” He seemed to echo her thoughts.

She managed a smile. “You just missed Pastor Bennett. And Judith was here before that.”

“Good.” Apparently he, like everyone else, thought she needed company. He looked at Kevin and nodded, as if pleased with his appearance. “What’s the verdict? Are they waking him up today?”

“Yes.” There was a world of relief in the word, but it was tinged with anxiety.

Jason seemed to pick up on what she didn’t say. He studied her face and then came to sit next to her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head, trying to deny the longing to spill out her worries and fears.

“There must be something, or you wouldn’t look that way.”

She couldn’t help smiling at his words. “You’ve only known me a few days. You can’t possibly know what my expressions mean.”

“Granted, it hasn’t been long, but they’ve been eventful days. You get to know a lot about people when you see them in a crisis.” Jason’s face tightened, making her wonder what had induced that grim look.

“Kevin’s going to wake up soon.” She squeezed the small hand that lay in hers. “When he does, we’ll have an idea of whether there’s any permanent damage. And we’ll know what he remembers.”

That was on everyone’s mind, it seemed. The police, of course, but maybe also the person who’d attacked Dixie. Was he still here in Echo Falls, waiting? Or had he fled? Surely that was what he’d have done.

“Whatever happens when he wakes up, at least you’ll have him back again.” He put a hand on the back of her chair rather than on her shoulder, as Adam had done.

She blinked back sudden tears. “Yes. Maybe I’ll be able to take him home soon. I won’t know what to do when we get back to real life.” She gestured to their surroundings. “This...all of it...doesn’t seem real.”

Jason seemed to consider her words. “It’s not normal, anyway. Well, today is the first step back. By the way, Judge Morris sends his apologies. He wanted to be here this morning, but he had to be in court.”

So that was why Jason had come. It wasn’t anything personal. Surely she wasn’t disappointed. She couldn’t be relying on the man. She barely knew him.

“I’m sure. I’ll call and give Sylvia the latest news once Kevin is awake.”

Sylvia hadn’t come to the hospital to see Kevin, and Deidre had been glad for that. It wasn’t that Sylvia didn’t care; it was that she was too fragile emotionally to be helpful.