Sweet as Honey (Aster Valley 2)

I burst into tears.

Summer acted like it wasn’t happening. She kept chattering on happily, probably because she was used to patients losing their minds in the emergency room, and it was her job to stay as upbeat and calm as possible.

But Sam looked horrified.

“Tru? What… what’s happening? Are you in pain?”

I nodded and immediately shook my head which only made his thick blond brows furrow deeper. He looked up at Summer. “How can we find out what’s wrong with him? Is it food poisoning? We were at Mikey’s house, and there was a ton of food there.”

He’d whispered the word “food” so softly, I almost laughed through my tears.

“We’re going to get an IV going to get some fluids started. Meanwhile, I’m going to need to ask you some questions when you’re ready,” she said to me. “No rush. Why don’t you take a minute while I gather everything I need?”

As soon as she was out of our little curtained area, Sam stepped closer. “What can I do? I feel so helpless.”

I reached for my phone with shaky hands and unlocked it before pulling up Chaya’s contact info. “Text her and ask her to come sit with me so you can go back to the lodge.”

“What? Why?” He took my phone and did as I asked.

I shook my head as more tears came out. “This is going to take a long time, and I don’t want you to have to sit around here all night. I don’t want you to miss dinner at the lodge and everything.”

Sam’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding? I thought we already defined things this morning, Truman.” He almost sounded angry. “Do you even know how hard it is for me to hold back from telling you how much I—”

A familiar voice screeched through the curtain, “Tell me where he is right this minute!”

“Barney?” I asked, genuinely surprised to hear his voice in the emergency room.

He threw back the curtain and blew out a breath of relief when he spotted me. “Thank god. Oh, thank god. I was so worried.”

He bustled over and put his hand on my forehead as if checking for a fever. I flinched away from his touch at the same time Sam jerked his hand into a fist and held it tightly to his thigh. He didn’t move from his chair, though, and I was impressed with his display of self-control. I knew he hated the man.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked.

He reached for my face again to try wiping my tears away, but I held up my hand to block him. He sighed and reached for the box of tissues on a nearby shelf instead. I took a few tissues from the box to wipe my face.

“Mrs. Danielson called me the minute she saw you come in. She’s here with Henry’s angina. Are you okay? What happened?”

Before I could answer, a hospital administrator bustled in to take down all of my insurance information for their records. Barney took great pride in knowing the answer to almost every question, so I didn’t have to exhaust myself answering the poor woman.

By the time she had everything she needed and Summer had finished inserting the IV, Barney had forgotten what we were talking about. He asked me about the insurance claim, the fire investigation, my plans for the shop, and a whole host of other topics I was way too tired to care about.

“I don’t feel well,” I said, finally reaching the end of my manners. “So I’m going to… stop talking now.”

“What happened? What are you here for, sweet pea?”

“Just a touch of food poisoning. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said. “Go on home.”

My attempt at a dismissal failed, but then again, he might not have heard it over the sound of Chaya forcing her way into the room.

“Holy fuck on a fiddle, what the hell happened?”

Her hair was wild, like a physical manifestation of her mood. It was a relief to have her here.

“Vomits,” I said, unable to say more about it without feeling sick again.

Sam snuck his hand back in mine where it rested next to my leg on the bed. His skin was so warm and his grip gentle. If he’d done what I asked and left me there to go back to the lodge, I would have cried even more.

Barney tried to nudge Chaya out of the way so he could reach for the hand Summer had put the IV in. Thankfully, Chaya bodychecked him.

Barney mumbled about this being caused by stress. “I’m sure it’s because of the fire. Those Stanners set that fire. I’m sure of it. And look at the stress it’s causing you.”

Chaya turned to him. “The Stanners have an alibi. They were here celebrating Craig and his wife having their new baby.”