Even though I ate everything they told me to eat, the doctor said they still wanted to keep me overnight in the hospital. To make sure I

was 'stable', and could remain that way.

I kept my mouth shut when the doctor was telling Adam and Brian and Hannah all of this. I just sighed and leaned back against the

pillows on the bed, feeling defeated.

They pushed me down the hall in a wheelchair, to another room. A real room.

"Let's hop up there on the bed," the cheerful nurse told me.

I obediently got onto the hospital bed, and she headed out of the room with the wheelchair, pausing at the door to ask, "Visiting hours are

nearly over. You all can head on home. We'll take good care of Harlie."

"I'll be stayin' the night with her," Adam said.

"Oh. Alright, then. We'll see about getting you some blankets and a pillow," the nurse told Adam.

When she'd gone, Hannah surveyed the chair beside the bed, looking skeptical. I knew she was thinking there was nowhere for

Adam to stretch out his long legs.

"I think I should stay," Hannah said.

"No. You go on home to Scooter," Adam said.

"Alright," Hannah said, looking as though she was torn.

"We'll talk to you in the mornin'," Brian was saying to Adam. "See if they're gonna let her head home."

"I'm not staying here for two nights," I announced, trying to sound assertive, but nobody paid any attention to my comment.

Hannah gave me a hard hug. "Get some rest," she said.

I nodded, and then reached up to hug Brian's neck as he leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "Behave yourself, peach," he told me.

"No promises," I said, and he and Hannah left.

The nurse bustled back into the room, telling me to go into the adjoining bathroom, and change into a hospital nightgown.

"I'll help you," she told me, holding onto the white gown.

"I don't need any help," I said firmly.

Once I was back into bed, and had pulled the blankets up over myself, I felt as though I was on the last remnants of my energy.

I sighed, looking over at Adam as he leaned back in the chair.

"Tired?" he asked me

I nodded. "Uh huh."

"Well, settle back and rest."

As the nurse came in, a different one this time, announcing that she would be my night nurse, I held out my arm, while

she checked my blood pressure, and my pulse.

"You're Clare's little sister, huh?" she asked me, with a grin.

I didn't correct her. Besides, I figured if that's the way that Clare wanted to introduce me, then it was fine with me.

"Yeah," I said.

"She's off duty, and headed home with that handsome husband of hers," the nurse chattered on. "She told me to take good care of you."

When she'd gone, I had just started to relax when the door opened yet again, and another nurse brought in a tray.

"Hot tea and some peanut butter crackers," she told me.

"Thank you," I told her.

When the door closed behind this nurse, I looked over at Adam. "How is a person supposed to get any rest? Every two seconds there's

another one coming in for something."

"You sound more like Brian every day, you know that?" Adam said dryly.

I shrugged, and he said, "That's the way of hospitals. Get your rest while you can." He stood up.

He took the lid off the cup of tea, releasing the steam.

"Drink your tea," he told me. "I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee. I'll be right back."

I nodded, and sipped at the tea until he came back.

"Eat your crackers so you can get to sleep," he said.

"I'm stuffed now," I complained. "I'm not used to eating this much."

"Maybe that's part of the reason you're laying there," Adam said, gesturing at the hospital bed. "Because you haven't been eating right."

I blinked back easy tears. I didn't think it was really fair that he was getting onto me like that.

I picked up a cracker and started eating.

Adam sat down in the chair again. He sipped at his coffee, and the room was quiet for a few moments.

When I'd finished the crackers, and the tea, too, I leaned back again, pulling the blanket up almost to my chin.

Adam sighed, and I looked over at him.

"I don't mean to scold you, sugar," he said. "I know it's a constant battle to keep diabetes under control. I just want you to

do what you need to do to stay healthy."

I nodded in acknowledgement of his semi-apology.

Adam got up to turn off one of the lights, and then paused beside the bed, pulling the blankets up around me.

"Alright?" he asked. "Need anything else?"

"I'm alright. I'm ready to go to sleep."

"Okay," he said, and sat back down in his chair.

In the partial darkness and quiet, I felt myself relaxing and getting drowsy.

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"I feel bad about the cattle."

For a moment Adam was silent. Then he said, "The only way I can explain it is this, Harlie. Those cattle, they belong to all of us. If we need to

sell some, for whatever reason, then that's what we'll do. The family comes first. Always. Do you understand?"

"I understand. But I still hate that it's because of me."

"Not because of you," Adam said, accentuating the word 'because'. "It's for you. There's a huge difference." He paused to let his words sink in.

When I was silent, he said, "We know what we're doin', sugar."

"Okay," I said.

"Okay," Adam echoed, sounding relieved. "Do you want to watch some tv while you go to sleep?"

I said yes, and Adam turned the television onto a rerun of Three's Company. I drifted into easy sleep while Janet and Chrissy tried to hide

Jack from Mr. Roper.

7

If any nursing staff came into the room during the night, I didn't know it. I slept deep, not waking up at all.

When I did wake up the next morning, the room was partially light, sunshine streaming thru the cracks in the window blinds.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was to my left, Ford sitting in a chair beside the bed, his sock feet propped up on the foot of my bed.

He was reading a book, a really thick book, and I felt gladness come over me, just seeing him sitting there like that.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," Ford said, laying his book down and looking at me.

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"About three this morning," Ford said, with a grin.

"You didn't have to come, you know. It's not like I'm going to die, or anything," I told him, with a little grin.

Ford laid the thick book on the bedside table, and stood up, leaning over the bed.

"Listen, you," he said. "For your information, I was comin' home this weekend anyway. I was missing Hannah's cooking."

"Yeah?" I challenged him.

"Yeah," he said.

"That's why you got home at three o'clock in the morning," I scoffed.

"I had things to do before I left," Ford said. "I'm a busy college guy. Remember?"

I smiled at him, the gladness in my heart soaring as I looked at his face.

"I'm glad you did come," I told him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah. Really, really glad," I said, and reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. He leaned down further to give me a hug.

"Where's Adam?" I asked him.

Ford gave a nod towards the other side of my bed, and when I looked, there was Adam, sprawled out in the reclining chair, one arm laying over

his face.

"Some nurse he is," I said, jokingly, lowering my voice so as not to wake Adam.

"He didn't go to sleep until after I got here this morning," Ford informed me. "When I came in, he was sitting here, just watching you sleep."

I felt a clutching in my chest.

"He was?" I asked.

"Yep." Ford sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Poor Adam," I said. "Having to deal with all of this crap."

"Diabetes isn't exactly something that you chose to have," Ford said.

I fiddled with the cuff of Ford's shirt. "I'm not talking about just the diabetes. I mean-everything."

"Aw," Ford said, in understanding. "Karissa. Well, you didn't choose that mess either, did you?"

"No. I didn't choose it. But, it's still mostly my fault."

"I don't understand why you feel that way," Ford said, frowning a little. "Explain."

"If I hadn't snuck around meeting up with her, if I'd told Adam and Brian right away, then maybe all of this wouldn't have happened."

Ford looked as though he was considering what I'd said. "You did some things that weren't so smart, maybe. But what's happening isn't your fault, Har. Not at

all."

I looked into his serious face, feeling a little better.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay," he echoed.

"You don't think there's any chance, do you?" I whispered. "That the case would go her way, I mean."

"Of course not."

"I don't think I could stand it, Ford. If I had to leave everybody-" my voice trailed off.

"There. Is. No. Chance." Ford accentuated each word.

I had to smile a little.

"Okay," I said.

We sat there, whispering about the book Ford was reading, until Adam began to stir from sleep. He stretched, and then sat up on the edge of the

chair. "Morning," he said.

Ford and I both said good morning to him. Adam stood up, stretching some more.

"Doctor been in yet?" he asked.

"Nope. Nobody's been in," Ford said.

"Okay." He paused beside the bed. "How're you feeling?" he asked me.

"Good," I told him.

"I'm gonna grab some coffee. I'll be right back before the doctor starts makin' his rounds," Adam said.

While Adam was gone, they brought me some breakfast, checked my levels, and then Adam came back, telling Ford to go to the cafeteria to get himself

something to eat.

I made quick word of my breakfast, causing Adam to smile a little.

"Good job," he said.

"I was hungry," I said.

By the time the doctor came around, Ford was back, still munching on a doughnut that he'd brought up from the downstairs cafeteria.

The doctor greeted us, shaking hands with Ford.

"Another brother, huh?" he said, with a grin. "They just keep on coming."

"Your level looks good this morning," he went on. "We'll get the paperwork done, and discharge you."

"Yea!" I said.

"I want you to take extra care," the doctor went on. "The right foods. Stay hydrated."

"We'll pay better attention," Adam told him.

"It's not anyone's fault," the doctor said. "Diabetes is tricky, at the very least. Just do your best to stay on top of things."

The doctor smiled at me, and again, I had to admire his all-American good looks.

"Take care, young lady," he told me.

"I will."

"Even though you're the prettiest thing on this whole floor, I don't want to see you back here anytime soon," he joked, and gave me a wink.

"I'll try," I told him, smiling back.

I would have ridden home with Ford, so we could talk some more without anyone else around, but I had a feeling that I couldn't explain.

I felt as though I should be with Adam for some reason. So when Ford asked me, as we reached the parking lot,

"Riding with me?"

I told him that no, I would ride with Adam.

He nodded in understanding. That's the great thing about Ford. He just seems always in tune with other people's feelings.

On the drive home, Adam and I were mostly quiet, until I spoke up,

"Thanks for staying the night with me."

"It's alright," he said.

Then he added, "We have a meeting Monday afternoon with John."

"Oh." I felt an immediate letdown.

"He's a good man," Adam said.

"Brian said that you both have a lot of faith in him."

"We do." Adam sounded confident.

"I won't know what to say to him."

"You answer his questions. Tell the truth. That's it," Adam said.

I nodded, looking over at him. "I feel like going riding when I get home," I said.

"I don't think Hannah's going to want you to do that. You ought to rest."

"I'll rest later. And I'll eat a big lunch," I promised. "Will you tell her it's alright?"

Adam hesitated, a smile at the corner of his mouth. "You think I have that much influence, do you?" he asked.

"I know you do." I smiled at him a little. "Don't you know, you're Superman?"

Adam smiled a little, too, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was a sad sort of smile.

"I'm not Superman, baby," he told me. "If I was, you wouldn't have diabetes. And we wouldn't be seeing a lawyer on Monday."

He sounded so sad for that moment that I didn't know what to say. Adam rarely shows any vulnerability.

Before I could answer, he reached over to pat my knee. "I'll tell Hannah you're going riding," he said.

I nodded, my throat tightening in emotion, and we finished the ride home in silence.

7b47b

"Alright. I'll talk to her," he agreed.