The Moonglow Sisters - Lori Wilde Page 0,56
nodded.
“All right,” Madison said, not caring who she had to fight. They were going in. She hooked her arm through Darynda’s and escorted her back to the room.
Madison cracked open the door. The staff didn’t notice her. They were too busy with Grammy. Darynda tightened her grip on Madison’s arm.
Feeling fiercely protective of her grandmother’s oldest friend, Madison held on tight.
Her gaze flew to the monitors over the bed. Instead of the haywire readout that had set off the alarm, there was now a steady, recognizable heart rhythm.
Grammy was back.
“What happened?” Darynda asked. “Is she going to make it?”
The nurse who had thrown Madison out of the room left what she was doing at the crash cart, and another nurse took her place.
She came over to Madison and in hushed tones said, “Your grandmother suffered a heart attack because she’s septic.”
Septic.
That sounded bad. Really bad. Fear turned to terror. Madison thought she could handle this, thought she was prepared to lose Grammy. She was not.
“What does this mean?” Madison rubbed her crystal necklace as if it could save her somehow.
“She has developed an infection and she is in grave condition. If there are family members you need to notify”—the nurse paused—“now is the time.”
“She’s going to die!” Darynda wailed and she clasped both hands to her mouth.
The dread that had been sitting on Madison’s shoulder swooped in like a vulture to feed.
“We’ll do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen,” the nurse said. “But you and your family do need to prepare yourselves.”
Although the news was alarming, having knowledge calmed Madison. Ambiguity bothered her, but once she had facts, she could act. Facts she could work with. Not knowing? Well, she’d never been much good with open-ended scenarios.
“Now could you please stay outside?” The nurse’s voice was kind, understanding.
Nodding, Madison took Darynda back to the waiting room. The elderly lady burst into tears.
Devastated, Madison knew she couldn’t break down as well. She was in charge now. It was up to her. Putting on a brave face, she said to Darynda, “Grammy is a fighter. She’s strong. She’ll survive.”
“I love her so much.” Darynda sobbed.
Madison sat beside her, enfolded Darynda in her arms. “I know.”
“She means the world to me.” She buried her face against Madison’s shoulder.
Darynda’s tears battered Madison. She felt hollow, spent. She had no friends like Darynda and the rest of the Quilting Divas. No neighbors like Mike. No one who would turn up at her hospital bed with hugs and prayers and casseroles and well wishes. There was no cadre of people willing to put their own lives on pause while they helped her through a crisis.
Her friends were coworkers and nothing more. She had no life outside her job. No boyfriend. No baby. All she had were her sisters, and she wasn’t even so sure about that.
When had she gotten so isolated? When had her world shrunk so small? She’d achieved everything she’d ever dreamed of—a hit TV show, wild financial success, a fine apartment in the most vibrant city in the world.
And yet, it felt so empty.
What was all that success worth without a family to come home to and friends to support you? A job couldn’t hold you tight at night. All the money in the world couldn’t cure loneliness.
When and where had her life gone so wrong?
It’s you. You’re the problem. All this time, she’d been blaming Shelley because she didn’t have the courage to face the truth.
Madison knew she was the architect of her own life. She was the one who’d built and designed a frosty landscape. Only she could thaw it.
But dear God, that was a lot of ice to melt.
Chapter Fourteen
Gia
EASING: The process of working in extra fabric where two pieces do not align precisely, especially when sewing curves.
FOR A WEEK, Grammy’s condition was touch and go.
They threw away Madison’s carefully constructed schedule. Let go of the house renovations and the quilting and the pop-up store. With Mike’s help, Gia moved out of her apartment, and officially moved back into her old room with Shelley. Madison stayed in the blue room.
Memorial Day passed without acknowledgment or commemoration. It felt weird not to celebrate because holidays had always been a big deal at the Moonglow Inn. But for now, only one thing mattered.
Seeing Grammy through this crisis.
Terrified their grandmother might pass away without one of them at her side, the sisters thanked the Quilting Divas for their help but took over the shifts, sectioning them out in eight-hour