Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [122]
“Just a minute, Mr. Urlacher.”
The receptionist sounded so calm. She turned to her keyboard and typed in the name. “Your wife has been admitted.”
“Can I see her?”
“It says here she’s on the third floor but doesn’t give a room number.”
“I’ll find her.”
Calla didn’t doubt that he would. Unwilling to be left behind, she followed him. Distraught as he was, Dennis didn’t notice her until after he’d hit the elevator button for the second time.
He stared at her, and Calla shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. “I drove Mom here.”
He nodded, but said nothing.
When the elevator arrived, they both stepped inside. It rose slowly to the third floor, and when the doors opened, Dennis virtually leaped out and ran to the nurses’ station.
“I’m here to find out about my wife.”
Hospital staff might not give Calla information, but they wouldn’t ignore Dennis.
After asking Dennis a few pertinent questions, the woman glanced at Calla.
“I’m her daughter,” Calla said.
“Mr. Urlacher, your wife’s in surgery.”
“Surgery?” The word exploded from Dennis.
“Dr. Leggatt will explain everything as soon as he’s finished. We have a small waiting area here.” She nodded toward a few chairs grouped around a low table. “It shouldn’t be much longer now.”
Looking defeated and broken, Dennis slumped into a chair and leaned forward, his arms braced against his knees, hands dangling.
Calla found a chair as far away from him as possible. It would have helped had there been other people in the waiting area. There weren’t. Every minute claimed more of Calla’s composure. The longer they were required to wait, the more certain she was that something had gone wrong. She could see Dennis had reached the same conclusion. His face was tortured with the pain of not knowing.
“Can you tell me what happened?” he finally asked, hurling the words as if he couldn’t keep from asking.
“I…Mom phoned, telling me she needed a ride into Grand Forks.”
“She didn’t fall or anything?”
Calla shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“She didn’t mention what brought on labor?”
“No, only that she was afraid of losing the baby.”
At this, Dennis ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled harshly. “Did they tell you why the surgery’s necessary?”
“No.”
He was silent again for several minutes, then started to pace, his movemnnts full of frantic compulsion. Past the table, around the chairs, back to the table, again and again. He didn’t look at Calla and she didn’t look at him. At least she tried not to, but soon found it impossible. Dennis loved her mother, loved his unborn child, too.
“She wanted to wait for you, but the nurse told her to get to the hospital right away,” Calla told him.
Dennis stopped abruptly and glanced at Calla, as though surprised she’d spoken. He swallowed visibly, then said, “I’m thankful you were there.”
Calla nodded, no less thankful.
“I realize there’s no love lost between us,” she said, and heaved in a deep breath, “but I can tell that you care about my mother.”
“She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved.” He sank back into the chair.
“I don’t hate you, you know.”
He raised his head. From the expression on his face, she guessed he was sorely tempted to call her a liar.
“I don’t hate you anymore,” she amended.
Dennis waited for her to continue.
“I’ve been a…a jerk the last couple of years and, well, I guess I wanted my mother to love me more than she did you. What I did was create a tug of war between the two of us.”
“Your mother loves you, Calla.”
“I know, but that wasn’t enough for me. I didn’t want her to love anyone else. I understand now that I was asking the impossible.” She squared her shoulders, and figured this was as good a time as any to make the necessary amends. “I’ve said and done things that I’m not proud of, and I was thinking…hoping…you might be willing to forgive me.”
He studied her as though to gauge her sincerity.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you decided not to, but I’m hoping that’s not the case.” She should’ve known Dennis wouldn’t make this easy, but then why should he? She’d gone out