Nathan might have objected except they’d kept Mia many times in the past. His daughter always slept well and enjoyed spending time with her aunt and uncle. “If you guys are sure, I might do that. I keep worrying about Lynn today, and I’m not sure why.”
“Then follow your instinct and go check on your girl.” Chess winked. “Did you still want to stay for dinner, or head over now?”
Nathan checked his watch. It was just after seven. Lynn would be with Perry now. He didn’t want to interrupt the visit. “I can stay for dinner. I’ll just head that way afterward. Besides, I’ve been smelling Brooke’s chicken parmesan all evening. My stomach will never forgive me if I walk away from it now.”
Brooke smiled brightly. “I’m glad you can stay. Dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes if you guys want to get cleaned up.”
Chess dusted his hands off on his pants. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Nathan agreed. He’d been looking forward to the meal, and now that he knew he’d be meeting up with Lynn later, he could relax more and enjoy it.
An hour later, Nathan pulled into the large hospital parking lot only to find it was full. It left him no choice but to drive into the large parking garage and begin the search for an open space. He finally found one but never did see Lynn’s car.
Once inside, Nathan thought about texting Lynn to let her know he was there, but then figured she might have her phone off if she was in with Perry anyway. Instead, he opted to surprise her.
Thankfully, Lynn had texted him earlier and let him know about Perry’s room change. It didn’t take him long to locate it. Afraid to interrupt or wake Perry if she were sleeping, he tapped lightly on the door. Moments later, it opened.
Nathan found himself face to face with Mr. Truitt. “Good evening, sir. I was looking for Lynn. Could I speak to her for a moment, please?”
Mr. Truitt opened the door wide enough for Nathan to see that Lynn wasn’t inside. “You just missed her.”
Mrs. Truitt leaned over so she could see him better. “She said she felt like she might be coming down with a cold and didn’t want to get Perry sick, so she left early. I’m surprised you two didn’t pass each other.”
Catching up with Lynn shouldn’t be a big deal, but a ball of dread formed in his gut and he pushed back a sense of urgency. “Do you happen to know where she parked?”
Mr. Truitt nodded once. “She’d mentioned she had to park on the sixth floor of the parking garage.” His eyes narrowed. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course. I’m so sorry to have bothered you all. I’m going to see if I can catch up with her.” He waved at Perry. “I’m happy to hear you’re feeling better. I’m praying for you daily.”
The young woman’s eyes lit up as she smiled and waved in return. “Thank you.”
With a last courteous nod to both of Lynn’s parents, he turned and jogged to the elevator.
He couldn’t explain it, but something was wrong. “Please, Father, place a hedge of protection around Lynn right now and guide my steps as I try to find her.”
~*~
Lynn cleared her throat, more than a little annoyed at herself and the timing of this summer cold. Or whatever was going on. She didn’t feel bad necessarily, but her throat was scratchy and she had that heavy feeling in her eyes that always signaled an illness of some kind was incoming.
It’d been incredibly disappointing to have to leave early and not stay with Perry for a while tonight. But she’d still gone in to say hi and explain why she couldn’t stay long. And she’d rather leave than risk getting Perry sick, making it more difficult for her to recover.
If Lynn felt better tomorrow, she’d go back again. For now, what she really needed was to get home and sleep. Maybe some extra rest would help her avoid whatever this was.
First, she had to traverse the walk back to her car. The parking was one thing she disliked about this hospital. Unless you wanted to pay for valet parking, the parking garage was almost always the only choice.
She went down to the fifth floor of the hospital and walked to the opposite side where a sky bridge connected it with the parking garage’s fifth floor.
The moment she pushed the door open and stepped into the parking garage, the air hit her face. It was warmer than the hospital, but not quite as hot as it’d been earlier in the day. She could easily see where she was going, but the sunlight was waning, giving the quiet parking garage an eerie feel.
Lynn swallowed hard, her scratchy throat reminding her of her goal to get home again. Instead of walking up the stairs to the sixth floor, she decided to take the elevator. At least she hadn’t parked too far away from where the elevator was located on the next floor.
Once inside, she breathed a sigh of relief, hit the correct button, and leaned against the wall. The doors began to slide shut, but stopped moments before closing.
Lynn’s attention jumped to the doors and the hand that was in between them. When they opened again, a man stepped inside. She didn’t think anything of it at first, except to wonder why he was in such a hurry and didn’t just wait for the elevator to come back.
He had a baseball cap on that was pulled down far enough to partially block his face.
It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed completely and started moving that he pushed the bill of his hat up and looked at her with piercing eyes.
