Plain Pursuit (24 page)

After two hours of wailing, Anna was finally asleep in her playpen. Poor baby could sense all the tension around her, and Carley knew she was a weak substitute for Lillian. She had found herself crying along with Anna earlier—for reasons she wasn’t sure of. Frustration. Exhaustion. Noah.

She was curled up on the couch, two lanterns lit, reading the Bible. Something else she was doing for reasons she wasn’t sure of, but right now it was providing her with much-needed comfort. It had been a long time since she’d read the Good Book.

“‘And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.’”

The Scripture reading brought a gush of emotion. “There’ll be no multiplying for me,” she whispered. “And Noah can go on to replenish the earth with his
girlfriend
.” She waved her hand in the air.

Instantly she regretted her flippant attitude.

She closed the book, closed her eyes, and tried to
open
her heart. “Please, God . . .”

What she wanted to say to God and what she was thinking were not coming together as one. Feelings laced with bitterness overshadowed feelings of love and peace, emotions she’d had a glimpse of lately. She wanted more of them. She needed more of them. And she suspected God was the answer. But in the end, she felt unworthy to address Him about anything related to her personally.

Anna’s tiny body shifted in the playpen. Carley darted her gaze in that direction, fearful she might wake up. She knew Anna’s entire schedule had been disrupted, but having to go through another crying spell would put Carley under. That she was sure of. She was exhausted. With Lillian and Samuel at the hospital, she’d been guilty on more than one occasion of sleeping later than the customary four thirty. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the demands on their day.

The chirp of her cell phone sent her jumping off the couch. She didn’t dare take the time to see who it was for fear another ring would wake up Anna. “Hello,” she whispered.

“Did I wake you?”

She had mixed feelings about hearing Noah’s voice.

“No, I wasn’t sleeping.” Carley tiptoed through the den to the kitchen and quietly slipped onto the front porch.

Noah covered routine niceties for a couple of minutes, but she knew what was on his mind. And despite what Dana had shared with her, she felt the need to reach out to him.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” she asked.

“No, not really.”

You sound nervous
, Carley thought.

“I’m nervous for David. He’s just a kid,” he added. “They moved David to the hospital in Philadelphia this evening.
It’s too bad Lancaster General isn’t set up to do the transplant. The move was a tedious process, and I could tell David was uptight and uncomfortable.”

“What time do you have to be at the hospital?”

“Six o’clock tomorrow morning. A mere nine hours away.”

“I’ll be there. I’m going to bring Anna with me. I think Lillian, Samuel, and David will be glad to see her before the surgery.”

“Oh, I meant to thank you for taking Dana and Jenna home.” Before she could say anything, he went on. “And I have another favor to ask you.”

“What’s that?” She was hoping it didn’t involve Dana. She didn’t need to hear any more about Noah’s
girlfriend
.

“I know you have your hands full, and I hate to even ask this, but a guy from Finley’s Glass Company is supposed to be at the clinic tomorrow to replace the glass in the front. Obviously, I’m going to be in the hospital. Would you be able to go over there and let him in? The timing of all this is really bad—not that there’s ever a good time for something like this. I had all kinds of people lined up to deliver equipment in the next couple of weeks too. I can cancel all that and reschedule, but . . .”

“Why? You don’t have to cancel, Noah. I can go let them in or whatever you need me to do. It’s on my way to the hospital. Just tell me what to do.”

Seemed like a job the
girlfriend
should handle. But of course, she was out of the country.

And at a time like this.

But the clinic was Noah’s passion, and she hated to see things fall apart while he was doing something so amazing for David.

“Are you sure, Carley? I mean, it’s important for me to keep things rolling, but I know you’ll be taking care of Lillian’s family, especially Anna. She’s really lucky you’re here right now.”

“Well, I’m glad to be able to help, though it’s great the way the entire community has pitched in.”

“I’d ask Dana to do it, and I know she would, but she has a new job and her hours vary from day to day. Plus she’s taking a couple of classes at the community college.”

“No, no. I’ll do it. I don’t mind. I know it’s important to you.”

“I’ll get you a key to the place in the morning.”

Carley sensed the conversation was coming to a close, and she strained to come up with a way to question Noah about his love life. The words weren’t materializing.

“Hey,” he said hesitantly. “I had a dream about you last night.”

“Really?”
Interesting.
“What about?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t really remember.” He paused, sighed. “I mean, I do remember, but I don’t. It was about you and me and . . . Oh, never mind. I guess I don’t really remember.”

Carley had a strange feeling he
did
remember, but he quickly ended the conversation by wishing her a good night’s sleep. P

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was quiet at five thirty in the morning. Lillian and Samuel were sitting in chairs on each side of David, watching him sleep, when Carley walked in. She suspected neither of them had gotten much sleep.

“There’s my baby girl,” Lillian whispered. She took Anna from Carley and coddled her.

Carley noticed David’s breathing was labored, and his complexion paler than the day before. The fear in Samuel’s eyes was immeasurable.

“Thank you for coming so early and bringing Anna.” Lillian continued to smother Anna with kisses. Facing the baby toward Samuel, she added, “There’s your
daed
.”

Samuel smiled at his little one but quickly turned his attention back toward David after nodding a thank-you in Carley’s direction.

“Good morning.” Dr. Lukeman entered the room with Dr. Bolton alongside him. Since David was their patient at Lancaster General, they were joining the team here for the surgery. “I see our boy is still sleeping. We just came by to let you know everything is moving along according to schedule. Someone will come to get David about seven this morning and take him to the operating room. One of you will be able to go into the operating room with him.”

“Samuel is going to go with David,” Lillian said, glancing at her husband, who nodded.

Dr. Lukeman turned toward Carley. “One person can go in with Noah.”

“Oh, I’m not a family member.” Carley couldn’t think of anything more horrific than walking into an operating room. She was still struggling to adjust to these back-and-forth visits.

“Well, perhaps another family member might be interested in accompanying Noah,” Dr. Lukeman said. “Any questions?”

“How long is the surgery?” Carley asked even though his question had been directed to Lillian and Samuel.

“Usually three to four hours. David and Noah will be in adjoining rooms with a different team of staff members overseeing each operation. First they’ll be given a general anesthetic. Once Noah’s kidney has been successfully removed, I will make a small incision in David’s lower abdomen. I’ll attach the artery and vein from the new kidney to David’s artery and vein. Once the ureter from the new kidney is connected to David’s bladder, the new kidney should start making urine as soon as the blood starts flowing through it. But as I explained to Samuel and Lillian, it can take up to a few weeks before it starts working properly. Noah should only need to stay in the hospital about a week and then finish his recovery at home. David will be here about two weeks,” Dr. Bolton added. “Generally, a transplant recipient starts to feel better almost immediately, once the anesthesia wears off. David will need to take medication here at the hospital and also when he goes home, to help prevent rejection of the kidney. But we’ll talk about that after the surgery.”

“I believe we’ve covered all the risks with you,” Dr. Lukeman said. “But now’s the time to address any other concerns or questions you may have. Most of the risks are on the recipient’s end. We don’t expect any issues as far as Noah is concerned.” Dr. Lukeman paused. “Which brings me to another point. Noah would like to visit with David before the surgery.”

Carley and Lillian both looked at Samuel.

It looked as though he might deny the request, but then he glanced at his wife. Her eyes pleaded with him, and finally, Samuel nodded.

“Noah has been admitted. He’s right down the hall. Can I bring him in?” Dr. Bolton asked.

“Yes, we’ll go get some coffee,” Lillian said as she motioned for Samuel and Carley to follow her out the door.

Carley edged toward the door.

Samuel didn’t budge. “I don’t need any
kaffi
. I will stay.”

“Samuel,” Lillian urged. “Maybe just give Noah a minute alone with David, no?”

Sighing, Samuel glanced at Dr. Bolton, who seemed to agree with Lillian.

“Pop, please let me talk to Noah alone.”

They all turned their attention to David, who spoke before he even opened his eyes. As they watched him gain focus, his gaze centered on Samuel. “Please, Pop.”

Samuel slowly stood up, reaching down to grasp his son’s hand. “All right, boy,” he said softly. “I will be back soon.”

The six of them eased out of the room, leaving David alone. Once in the corridor, Carley could see Noah down the hallway, waiting
to see whether or not he’d be able to see David.

Dr. Lukeman excused himself and walked down the opposite hall.

“I’ll go get Noah,” Dr. Bolton said. “If you’d like to go have some coffee in the cafeteria, I’ll come find you after their visit.”

Samuel nodded but glanced back through the open door of his son’s room.

“Come on, Samuel,” Lillian coaxed.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Carley said sheepishly to Lillian and Samuel.

Lillian and Samuel headed down the hallway. Carley walked alongside Dr. Bolton the short distance down the corridor to where Noah was standing.

Dr. Noah Stoltzfus. A man who took care of everyone around him—his patients, Dana, Jenna, and now David. Noah wanted to make right the wrongs he’d done and take care of his family and the community too. As Carley eyed him, standing tall and confident, she wondered,
Who takes care of you, Noah?

The answer made her sad. That person should be here.

He smiled warmly at her when she and Dr. Bolton came within a few yards of him. But Noah wasn’t fooling her. He was nervous.

“Samuel agreed to let you speak with David,” Dr. Bolton said when they reached Noah. “I’ll leave you two for now. See you in a while, Noah.” He tipped his head in Carley’s direction and was gone.

Noah deliberately stood still, waiting for Dr. Bolton to move out of sight. Then he gazed into her eyes in a way that made her uncomfortable.

“What?” she asked.

“Carley,” he said softly. He tilted his head to one side and smiled.

“What?” she asked again.

Then, with no warning, Noah wrapped his arms around her, cupping the nape of her neck with one hand. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart against her ear. The moment was nice. It was tender. It was intimate, his body next to hers. It was . . .

It was
wrong
!

She pushed him away and stepped back. “You shouldn’t hug me like that.”

“What?” His face soured with a mixture of anger and hurt. “It was just a hug. I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends, but hugs like that should be reserved for
special
friends.”

“Oh, and we’re not special friends?” Noah placed his hands on his hips and leaned toward her.

“Of course we’re special friends.” She ran her hands through her hair and blew out a hard breath. “I meant it should be reserved for a girlfriend—or a wife.”

A smile stretched across Noah’s face. “Are you asking to be my girlfriend or my wife? Which is it?”

“What?” Her voice was loud enough to draw attention from a few passersby. She backed away from him. “What are you talking about?”

“What are
you
talking about?”

There couldn’t have been a worse time to talk about this. “You can reserve those types of hugs for your girlfriend.” She knew she sounded irritated.

“Back to the same question, I guess.” Noah was still grinning. “Are you asking to be my girlfriend?”

She shook her head. “I understand the position is filled.” He was disgustingly handsome, challenging her with his playful remarks.

“Filled?” He wasn’t smiling anymore, and confusion swept across his face. “By who?”

Carley raised her shoulders, dropped them, and sighed. “Dana told me you had a girlfriend, Noah. That’s all. Hugs like that should probably be reserved for her, and I think—”

“What?” His brows shot upward. “Dana told you what?”