Page 42 of Starting Anew

Lynn had imagined their reunion many times, but none of those compared with the way Perry’s eyes lit up, her mouth opened wide, and she clasped her hands in front of her.

“It’s Bethany! Mom. Dad. Do you see? It’s Bethany!”

That’s when Lynn went forward and gave her sister a gentle hug and placed a kiss to her brow. “Yes, it’s me. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Are you hurting?” When she stood again, Lynn was happy that Perry still held her hand tightly.

Perry nodded. “I’m sore. But mostly, I’m tired.” Her eyes closed for several moments before she forced them open again. “Will you come see me again later, too?” She looked right at Lynn.

“Of course I will.” She smoothed some of Perry’s hair away from her eyes. “But for now, you need to get some rest.”

Perry nodded. She looked around the room at her family and smiled as she allowed her eyelids to fall.

Relief and love flooded Lynn’s system in equal measure. Not only was Perry happy to see her, but she wanted Lynn to come back again. It was everything Lynn had hoped for. And much of it was thanks to Nathan not letting her give up and walk away when her Dad wanted her to leave.

She’d wait in the room to make sure Perry was going to stay asleep and then go find him again. She couldn’t wait to tell him how well things went.

~*~

There were quite a few people in the cafeteria when Nathan arrived, but the hospital had it running like a well-oiled machine. It wasn’t long before he’d been able to pay for two ham and cheese sandwiches and bottles of soda.

He didn’t want to be gone long in case Lynn needed him. He was proud of her for going back and facing her dad. As a father himself, he was all for respecting and obeying your parents. But from what he’d seen, he wasn’t sure Lynn’s dad had done anything to earn her respect. Certainly not as an adult, anyway.

With his bag of food, he left the cafeteria and made his way down the hall to the elevator. As he waited, he barely noticed another man walk up and wait as well. Once the doors opened, they both stepped inside. Nathan pushed the button for the eighth floor. The other man chose the sixth.

Only the two of them were in the elevator as it approached the sixth floor. Suddenly, the other guy turned to look at Nathan, an intense expression in his eyes. “You think you know Bethany, but you don’t. She hasn’t come close to telling you everything about her past—or about me. Stay away from her. I’ll find out where you live.”

“Are you threatening my family?” Who was this guy? Nathan wanted to push him against the side of the elevator and demand some answers when the doors opened again.

Multiple people walked onto the elevator as the man who’d threatened him pushed through and exited. With one foot on the tracks so the door couldn’t closed, Nathan stepped out and looked around, but found no sign of the man.

Knowing Lynn was waiting for him, and not wanting her to run into this guy, he got back on the elevator again. He half expected to see the guy standing there when the elevator doors separated again. Just down the hall, he walked into the waiting room at the same time as Lynn did on the other side.

Nathan waved a hand in greeting, relieved to see that the guy from downstairs wasn’t here. “That was a fast visit. Is your sister okay?”

Lynn’s smile brightened up the room. “She’s going to be okay. She fell asleep again, but she was really happy to see me.”

He followed her to some chairs and joined her after she collapsed into one, clearly exhausted. “I’m glad to hear that. I know you were nervous about it.”

“We were always so close, but it’s been years. I was afraid she might take one look at me and not want anything to do with me.” Lynn frowned, but a moment later, her smile broke through again. “She seemed really excited. I want to make sure I come see her after I get off work while she’s here. Spend a couple of hours with her.” She paused. “I was going to say if my parents let me, but I guess they don’t necessarily have a choice. Right?”

“That’s right.” Nathan smiled at her and handed over the bottle of soda he’d chosen. “So you are planning on going back to work tomorrow? Mia and I didn’t scare you away for good?” He was joking—partially.

Her expression clouded which had Nathan second guessing things again. Was her choice to stay home all week because she didn’t want to see him? “It was supposed to be a joke,” he said lamely.

Lynn’s eyes opened wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. No, it’s not you. Things are…complicated.” She glanced at the door as though half expecting someone to come through. It looked as though she were going to say something again but seemed to think better of it.

Nathan suppressed a sigh of frustration.

She was still keeping something from him. All he really wanted was for her to open up and tell him what was going on. Especially if it had anything to do with the man downstairs.

Then again, he wasn’t even sure where they stood. Which meant Lynn wasn’t, either. Especially when he was the one who told her he needed space.

What they really needed to do was talk.

He’d just taken a bite out of his sandwich when Lynn’s parents re-entered the waiting room. When Lynn stood, Mrs. Truitt held up a hand to reassure her.

“Perry’s sleeping, and the nurse suggested we go get something to eat.” She hesitated.

“I’ll stay here while you guys go, just in case something comes up,” Lynn assured them.

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