Katherine sat in the chair and gave Admissions all the information she could, but they weren’t allowed to see him. An hour later, a physician stepped out to the lobby and escorted them to a private conference room.
“Are you Katherine O’Brian, Andy O’Brian’s niece?”
“Yes, is he okay?”
“He’s conscious, but he’s had a heart attack.”
“Is he going to make it?”
“We won’t know the extent of the damage for a while. But there are some positive findings so far. Do you live close by?”
“No, we live in New York,” offered Daniel.
“There are local motels you can stay at. He’s going to be here for a while.”
“When he’s stable enough to be moved, I want him on a medical flight to New York. Then he can recover at our house.”
Katherine looked at Daniel. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “My uncle doesn’t have insurance, but I’ll find a way to pay for anything he needs.”
“He’s going to need care by specialists.”
“I can get him whatever he needs. I’ll hire a private physician and staff to care for him. I’ll have a room converted.”
“I think we need to take one step at a time.” The doctor felt sorry for this couple. The young man obviously had no medical knowledge, but was so eager to help. Hopefully the cost would deter him from trying to set any plans in motion. “What you’re thinking about doing is going to cost a very large amount of money.
“I can afford it.” Daniel wasn’t about to argue.
“It will cost an enormous amount of dollars for the flight and the rehabilitative care. I don’t think you understand the cost. It’ll be quite a while before we could approve a transfer anyway. This is a very good facility and Mr. O’Brian will be in great hands. Again, please consider the cost.”
“That’s okay,” Daniel thought about his company. “I have billions.”
After many hours had passed, Daniel and Katherine were escorted through a closed door by the nurse.
Katherine was terrified. “I’m so scared!”
“Just hold my hand and we’ll go together, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay, and you don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll get your uncle everything he needs.”
The nurse escorting them stopped before they got near his room. “Your uncle has another set of blood work in three hours. I just wanted you to see that he was alive and getting medical treatment. We’ll know more in the morning, so it would be best if you just go get some rest. The doctor will be in to do his rounds early, and he will be checked on throughout the night. Your uncle will be moved to the cardiac intensive care unit when they get a bed available.”
Katherine walked in, softly kissed her uncle’s cheek, and told him she loved him. She thanked the nurse and walked out the door, trying to stifle a sob. Daniel gave the nurses at the desk his number in case it was written wrong in the chart.
“I should stay. You can go get some rest or fly back to New York, but I can’t leave him.” Katherine broke down in tears, unable to maintain her composure.
Daniel pulled her close to him and whispered in her ear. “It’s better for you to get some rest. We’ll have a long day ahead of us. I promise I’ll get the closest room to the hospital. I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone in this. I’m not going anywhere okay? We’ll sleep for a couple of hours, then we’ll head back up. Come with me, Katherine, the staff will take excellent care of him.”
Following the staff’s recommendations, Daniel escorted Katherine to the motel that was directly across the street.
“This is the room you can stay in. I’ll find one close to yours.”
“No! Please stay with me.” Katherine wrapped both of her hands around his forearm to stop him from walking away.
“Okay,” said Daniel, and he closed the door behind him. He got the extra blanket off the rack and sat down in the chair by the wall in the small room. “We didn’t get the luggage from the limo. I’ll have it brought to the room in the morning or I can call and have some overnight clothes delivered. I’m sorry I screwed that up.”
“No, you didn’t screw anything up, Daniel. Thank you for helping me through this.” Katherine reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m going to lie down so I can be up soon.” Katherine stretched out on the bed. What if he dies? He looked horrible lying in that bed. The tears leaked from her eyes and Daniel listened to her trying to muffle sobs in the darkness.
Slowly, he took the blanket off of himself and lay down next to her. He pulled her toward him and spooned with this woman he cared so deeply for. His thoughts never even went to lust. He kissed her cheek and rocked her slowly in his arms.
Daniel had gotten so used to waking up at five in the morning that he crawled out of bed an hour before the alarm was to go off. He took his phone to the bathroom and called the hospital.
“The doctor has been in to see him several times. You can go have some breakfast and then come on up and visit with him briefly. He’s in the cardiac intensive care unit now.”
“Okay, thank you so much.” Daniel knelt beside the bed and brushed the curls off of Katherine’s face. She slowly opened her eyes, then sat up quickly.
“Is he alright?!”
“He’s doing okay and we have permission to visit him. I was told that we should have some breakfast, then come up and see him.”
“I’m not very hungry, Daniel.”
“You’re eating.” Daniel winked at her. After getting cleaned up, they went to the restaurant next door and ordered breakfast. Daniel laughed at his past. He wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same clothes two days in a row.
Francesco was worried about his son. He pressed the button and waited for Carl.
“Good morning, Francesco.”
“Have you heard anything more from Daniel? I’m very worried.”
“I believe that he is with Katherine at the hospital. The pilot took them to Tennessee. Seems her uncle had a heart attack, but I haven’t gotten word on his condition.”
“I’m going to call.”
“Francesco, I doubt that Daniel can talk on his phone if he’s with Katherine visiting her uncle. His phone isn’t going to work in there. Perhaps it’s best if you wait for him to phone.”
“I suppose you’re right.”