The Path to Sunshine Cove (Cape Sanctuary #2) - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,90
joyful baby.”
Was that the reason Jack and Eleanor’s love had been so strong, because it had been forged through shared heartbreak? It must have taken so much faith for them to try again after multiple pregnancy losses.
“I guess Nate made up for being an easy baby in his difficult teen years.”
Eleanor looked surprised. “Did he tell you about that?”
“He mentioned he sometimes clashed with his father when he was younger.”
“They wanted very different things. Jack wanted Nathaniel to go to college. Maybe even graduate school. He was so good at engineering and math and could have done great things. But he wanted to build things. I think he got that from my side of the family. My father was a builder and Nathaniel adored his grandfather. And he was always puttering around here.”
She shrugged. “Jack had his own ideas for his future. They fought bitterly about it, month after month. Nathaniel finally ended the argument by enlisting after high school. He only told us about it after it was a done deal.”
That must have taken great courage, for Nate to leave behind all that was familiar. When she enlisted, she had nothing left to lose. Nate had been in an entirely different situation.
“And then, of course, he met Michelle and everything changed. I suppose he’s told you about her.”
Jess wasn’t sure how comfortable she was discussing Nate’s late wife with his mother. “A little. Sophie has told me about her, too.”
“Michelle was beautiful, brave, driven. I liked her very much but could see from the beginning that she wasn’t at all the right woman for my son. I can say that now, though I didn’t dare tell him how I felt back then.”
Jess didn’t know what to say, other than to tell Eleanor not to get the wrong idea about her and Nate.
Jess really wasn’t the right woman for Nate. Not with all her baggage.
“After Nate came home with Sophie when Michelle was deployed, he and his father made their peace. Jack just adored that girl. It was the sweetest thing. He loved to carry her around and sing to her when she was a baby. When she got old enough to walk, she followed him everywhere.”
Eleanor took on a distant look and absently rubbed again at her chest.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” the older woman said, though her features suddenly looked strained. Was she more pale than she had been even five minutes earlier?
“Are you sure?”
Eleanor swallowed, mustering a slight smile. “Actually, I’m not feeling well. Perhaps I should go lie down.”
“That might be a good idea.”
She had to tell Nate about these episodes before she left. He needed to know Eleanor was acting unwell. She should have told him earlier.
“Why don’t you rest in the guest room next door so that I don’t disturb you while I’m working in here?”
“That might be...good.”
Jess rose from the floor. “Let me help you.”
Eleanor waved a hand. “You’re in the middle of things. Don’t stop on my account. I’m fine.”
Before Jess could reach her, she stood. She took two or three steps toward the door then suddenly collapsed as if someone had kicked her legs out from under her, falling forward and narrowly escaping hitting her head on the doorjamb.
Jess gasped and rushed to her. “Eleanor! Are you all right?”
She didn’t answer. Had she hit her head? Jess hadn’t heard a crack.
Her eyes were closed, Jess saw when she rolled her to her back, and her face was deathly pale.
What was happening?
Fear scorched through her, hot and urgent. She tried to shake Eleanor but the older woman didn’t stir.
She was still breathing. Jess could see a faint pulse in her throat and her chest was rising and falling, but she wasn’t responding.
“Eleanor!” she called again, even as she reached for the cordless phone next to Eleanor’s bed so she could call 911.
As soon as she started to dial, she spotted Nate’s number. Still trying to rouse Eleanor, she hit the programmed key first, thinking he could rush over while the ambulance was on the way.
She was immediately sent to voice mail after the second ring.
“I think something is wrong with your mother,” she said quickly on the message. “She suddenly went pale, said she wasn’t feeling well and then passed out. I don’t know what’s going on. She’s unconscious but breathing. I’m calling an ambulance. I’ll try to keep you posted where they’re taking her.”
As she ended the call, she saw Eleanor’s eyes begin to flutter. “I don’t...need an ambulance,” she said, voice breathy.