Page 37 of Finding Home

“That’s good. Was he upset?”

“More worried than upset,” Noah replied. “It’s a lot to take in when you get a phone call from out of nowhere.” He looked at his phone, and then at the double doors.

“I know you have a lot of work ahead of you,” Julie said. “Do what you need to do, Noah. I’ll stay here and wait for any news.”

“Thanks. It shouldn’t take too long to rearrange everything.” He moved to the windows overlooking the parking lot, and was already calling someone before he’d reached another set of chairs.

Julie caught fragments of Noah’s conversation as he sat down. Jensen’s name came up, and then Madeline’s. Noah’s voice was low and even, delivering the facts without dressing them up into something they weren’t. From what she heard, he’d rescheduled the two o’clock appointment and the things that needed to keep the resort moving, regardless of Cole’s health.

She looked at the double doors where Cole had gone. They had a small rectangular window set into each one, and through them she could see the edge of a curtained bay, and part of a corridor. It was nothing useful. The doors stayed closed, and there was nothing to do but be on this side of them.

While Cole was being admitted, the nurse had asked if Julie was family. She’d said yes without thinking. Now, in the quiet waiting room, she thought about how quickly she’d replied.

Julie had lived alone for years and had been largely fine with it. She’d built a life organized around her own hours, her own decisions, and the manageable distances she kept between herself and the situations she couldn’t control.

Her family and friends had been there in the distance, providing support when she needed it, but mostly watching from the sidelines.

After seeing the worry in Cole’s eyes, nothing about her career seemed fulfilling or important now. She’d made choices that had isolated her from the people she loved, and created a life that was built on sand.

A doctor came through the double doors and sat beside her. Before he could explain what was happening, she made sure Noah was with them.

The imaging the doctors had done had shown a coronary artery narrowed to the point where blood could barely move through it. It wasn’t fully blocked, but close.

The doctor explained that they were going to thread a thin tube through an artery in Cole’s wrist. They’d guide it to the blocked artery and push a small wire mesh open inside of it to make it as wide as possible.

Without the procedure, the doctor said, the artery would close completely. They’d found it before any major damage could be done.

Julie thanked him for the update, keeping her voice steady, because that was the thing she could do.

After the doctor had gone, Noah touched her arm. “Are you okay?”

Julie’s heart was pounding so hard that she could feel the throb in her throat. “I think so. I’m just glad we got to the hospital before anything more serious happened.”

“So am I,” Noah said.

Julie phone beeped. With shaky hands, she looked at the text. It was from Maria.

I’m at the diner. Just heard about Cole from Cassie. Is there anything you need?

Julie typed back that she was okay and Cole was with the doctors.

A few seconds later, Maria replied: I’m making muffins. Will drop some off at your house. Don’t argue with me about it.

Julie was too stressed to even try.

Beth arrived forty minutes after that. She came through the outer door carrying two paper cups and sat down in the chair beside Julie. Without making a fuss, she handed one cup to Julie and the other to Noah.

“Cole’s going to be annoyed about what’s happened.” Beth said, after a while. “He said he had a really tight timeframe,”

“Knowing Cole,” Noah said, “he’s probably working out how many days he can be away before the crew notices.”

Beth looked at the double doors. “He’s lucky he wasn’t alone in the truck.”

Julie said nothing. She was thinking about talking to the dispatcher on the way into town, and Cole’s slow pulse under her fingers as Noah flew along the highway.

If Cole had been alone, everything could be completely different.

A few minutes later, Pastor John arrived. He shook Julie and Noah’s hand, asked how Cole was, and sat across from them. He didn’t offer platitudes or try to make them feel better. He was simply there, offering his support, and making sure they knew someone was thinking of them.