Hometown Star - By Joleen James Page 0,38
about his hips. The stench of booze and sweat gagged Star.
“John, what’s happening?” Star asked.
“A pain.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “My chest. Get aspirin.”
Star spun from the room, nearly running into Cade in the hall.
“What’s going on?” Cade asked.
“It’s John,” Star said. “Possible heart attack.”
“John?” Cade shook his head, heading for the bedroom.
In the medicine cabinet Star found a bottle of generic aspirin. She heard Cade asking John questions. She raced back to John with the pills. Fingers shaking, she shook out a tablet.
“Under my tongue.” John opened his mouth. Star placed the tablet inside.
“Destiny,” Cade called over his shoulder. “Take my truck. Go to the house and call 911.”
For a second Destiny didn’t move. Star said, “Go, Mom.”
Destiny ran from the room. The front door banged shut.
“How can I help?” Star asked Cade.
“Let the aspirin work,” John said.
Star wracked her brain, trying to remember the one CPR/First Aid class she’d had.
“Hang on,” Cade said, the voice of reason. “Help will be here soon.”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” John said, his words sounding more like a wheeze than actual words.
“It’ll be okay,” Cade told him. “Try not to worry. Relax.”
But in the back of Star’s mind she saw Patsy having her own heart attack. She hadn’t survived. Would John?
Sweat beaded John’s brow, his upper lip. Star retrieved a dry washcloth from the bathroom. She blotted the moisture from his face.
“Is the pain any better?” Cade asked.
“Some.”
“Hang on, John,” Star said. “Mom’s sure to be at Cade’s by now. Help is on the way. An aid car can make it here in minutes.”
He nodded, clearly too spent to argue with her.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” she droned on, not sure what else to say. She exchanged a concerned look with Cade. Thank God, Cade was here. Silently, Star prayed that John would live, that he’d be okay. Destiny would never recover if she thought her sexual prowess had killed a man.
After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the slam of a car door. Destiny was back.
“Help’s coming,” her mother called out.
To Star’s untrained eye, John looked better. His face wasn’t as pinched, and he didn’t seem to be sweating as much. Had the aspirin worked?
From outside the faint whine of a siren cut through the night.
“Here they come,” Star said. “I’ll go and flag them down.”
“Thanks, Star,” Cade said, a long look passing between them.
Star ran from the room. Her mother sat on the couch, Star’s blanket wrapped around her body, Destiny’s pretty face, ravaged by tears. Star barely spared a glance for her mother as she flipped on the outdoor lights and went outside. An aid vehicle came toward her, the red light spitting color everywhere. The shrill siren knotted her stomach. She met the EMTs in the driveway.
“He’s inside,” she said. “Follow me.”
The men, both clean cut and young, probably in their late twenties, grabbed their gear and followed Star inside.
“Is he still responsive?” one of the men asked.
“Yes,” she said. “He’s talking to us.”
Star and the EMTs blew by Destiny. Like Star, the men barely glanced at her mother. When they reached the bedroom, one of the men said, “Wait here.”
Star did as she was told. She hovered in the hallway. She could hear the men talking to Cade, asking more questions. Star wrapped her arms around herself. A chill invaded her body. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
A minute later, Cade joined her. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Just cold.”
“Son of a—” Cade raked his fingers through his hair, and Star realized he felt as emotionally charged as she did.
“Yeah,” Star said, totally getting it.
Cade reached for her, gathering her to his chest. The wall inside Star crumbled and she melted into him. Her arms wrapped around him. They held each other, and funny, some of her anxiety dissolved.
Minutes later, one of the EMTs stepped out into the hall.
“He’s stable,” the man said. “We’re going to transport him.”
“Okay,” Cade said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Star turned at the sound of Ernie’s voice. “What’s going on?” he shouted at Destiny. “What did you do?”
Her mother burst into tears.
“Cade,” Ernie said when he saw them. “Is he okay?”
“Yes.” Cade walked to meet Ernie. “He’s stable. They’re getting ready to transport him to the hospital.”
Ernie turned to Destiny, but thankfully, no words came out of his mouth.
“This is my fault,” Destiny said between sobs.
“Get a grip, Mom,” Star said. “This could have happened to him anywhere, with anyone.”
“But he was so...energetic,” Destiny said.
Star groaned. “Mom,