How Long is Forever

Chapter 12

Della slowly fought her way back to consciousness. She felt like Rip Van Winkle waking from his twenty-year nap. As the fog began to clear, she knew she was no longer in her own bed. Unfamiliar sounds and voices assailed her as she gently moved her head. She looked first to the left, then to the right. Her exploration revealed a hospital room and she was hooked to monitors and an IV bag.

Okay, I've obviously been injured. She started taking inventory of her body. Other than her head which was pounding, she was apparently in one piece. She also felt a lump on the back of her head and her left arm was bandaged…a burn by the feel of it. But how did I get here and who is responsible. Fire! The woods around the cabin were on fire. But…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pretty, petite blonde nurse.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Novak. It's good to see you awake. But I don't want you moving around too much. You've had a concussion and…"

"Wait. Mrs. Nov….no, my name is…"

At that moment, Mitch entered the room. Seeing the confusion on Della's face, he hurried to the side of her bed, taking her hand, holding tightly when she tried to remove it from his grasp.

"Katherine, you're awake. Thank God." Turning to the nurse, he smiled and asked, "Could you give us a few minutes, please?"

The nurse smiled and nodded. "I'll be back shortly. But doctor's orders still stand—don't wear out your wife."

When the door had closed behind the nurse, Mitch released Della's hand and pulled a chair over to the bed. Before he could say anything, Della moved carefully into a half upright position and frowned at him.

"Care to explain yourself, MR. Novak?" Her eyebrows rose with her annoyance.

Mitch had the good sense to look ashamed. He stood and walked to the window, trying to form the words to explain. Turning back, he returned to the chair. He started to take her hand again, but she quickly pulled away, her frown saying volumes.

"Katherine, please let me explain. It was just a spur of the moment… I guess I was… Things were just so…"

"Stop," she commanded with a lifted hand.

Mitch looked distressed at her reaction, but she didn't much care about that. She was concussed, confused, and outright angry. And since the man had the nerve to tell these people she was his wife, she was going to handle things her way. Even if it meant throwing salt in his wounds.

"Why don't you start with how you managed to get me out of the cabin and go from there."

Nodding his head, Mitch explained how he had found her unconscious, carrying her to the boat dock, rowing out onto the lake, the chopper and finally saying the first thing that had come to his mind when the pilot had asked their names.

Della stared at him for a moment, then slid back down on the bed, her head pounding, not only from the injury but from Mitch's deception.

"Katherine?"

"First of all, I do thank you for saving my life. I really am grateful. But…"

"Please don't say it." I can't lose her like this! Are we back to polite strangers? Weren't we more than that? Or maybe I was just feeling something that wasn't real. "I was wrong… very wrong. And I'll tell the doctors the truth. Then I'll leave you…"

Again, Della held up her hand to silence him. "Let's not do anything right now. I just need to have some time to sort things out in my mind, and right now, that's the one organ not working so well."

Mitch smiled at the lovely lady. "I understand. May I still come to see you?"

She returned his smile. "Of course. After all, I do owe you."

Mitch stood and taking her hand once again, placed a soft kiss on the palm. Once the door had closed behind him, Della closed her eyes, trying to decide what to do next.

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Perry was just coming into his office when his private phone started ringing. Knowing only a very few people had that number, he dropped his briefcase where he stood and hurried across the room, only to manage ramming his foot into the desk as he lunged for the receiver.

"Mason!"

At first there was no answer, then a tremulous voice answered back.

"Mr. Mason?"

Perry sat down heavily in his chair, removing his loafer to examine his throbbing foot.

"Hello, Mae. How are you?"

There was a long pause, which caused Perry to grasp the receiver so hard, his knuckles turned white, his throbbing foot forgotten.

"Mae, what is it?" he asked gently, though anxiety was making his heart beat right out of his shirt. She wouldn't call here unless. . . Then it hit him. "Della!"

"Perry, please listen."

Mae explained about the cabin and fire. She had contacted the ranger but there was no word on Della. The cabin had been destroyed in the fire, but thankfully, there were no human remains.

"Perry…I'm afraid Della's missing." For the first time in her life—at least since Perry had entered it, she sounded fragile, vulnerable, and scared.

"Oh, Mae!" he said softly, and his voice carried just the right amount of concern. "Stay calm for me. I'm sure she's okay."

She wasn't so sure, but she needed him to go there, to find their girl and bring her home. "What if she tried to escape the fire and couldn't. What if…"

"Mae, listen to me. You know how Della is. She's quick-witted. At the first sniff of fire, she'd be out of there. Just give me the location of the cabin and I'll start from there. I will find her Mae. I promise."

He was trying to convince himself as well as her aunt. He had to believe Della was alive. Anything else was simply unimaginable.

"Perry, one other thing. She was hiding from herself. And you, I suppose. You'll need to look for a Katherine Kirby."

Now Perry chuckled. "No wonder I couldn't find her."

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A very handsome, silver-haired doctor entered Della's room shortly after Mitch had departed.

"Mrs. Novak, I'm Dr. Howell. How are you feeling today?"

Della smiled at him. "Well, other than a pounding headache, fine. Now, did you come in with my release order?"

The doctor returned her smile. "Please don't be in such a hurry to leave us. You've had a very serious concussion and the burn on your arm needs attention if you don't want it to scar."

He proceeded to take her vitals, checked the IV and then gently probed her head, causing Della to wince. Moving to the side of the bed, he took her arm.

"Let's see how that burn is doing."

Once the bandage was removed, Della was shocked to see a very large, red burn on her arm. It was covered with some kind of protective salve.

The doctor crossed his arms and frowned thoughtfully. "I think we may have been able to save the arm, but…"

When Della gave a small gasp, the doctor winked at her, then chuckled. "Sorry, my idea of a joke."

Now Della laughed. "Just what I need…a comedian for a doctor."

"I try. Seriously though, I believe you'll heal nicely and have very little scarring. When you're released I'll make sure you have a prescription for the salve."

He applied more of the gooey salve and put a clean bandage on her arm. When finished, he made some notes on the chart at the end of the bed.

"Now, if you are a very good girl and stay quiet, I think you can go home in a couple days."

"Why a…"

"I want to be very sure that head of yours stays as beautiful as it is. A concussion is nothing to mess with. Now I'm going to have the nurse come in with some medication. I'll check on you tomorrow. I have a hot date with a golf club tonight, so unless you deliberately do something stupid… Tomorrow we will reassess."

"Thank you, Doctor. I promise to be good."

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Perry had finally located the young ranger at a command center that had been set up after the fire. Mark shook Perry's hand, having heard of the famous lawyer.

"I know Katherine Kirby, Mr. Mason. A beautiful lady. She liked her privacy so I tried to keep outsiders away from her cabin. I went out there as soon as I was able but the cabin was a total loss."

Perry noticed the young man's undisguised worry and…affection for Della. That's my girl, he praised her silently, still breaking hearts wherever you go.

"I understand Mr. Wilson."

"Thankfully I didn't find any evidence of…a…body. I'm sure she got out just fine."

"Was there anyone else nearby? Someone who could have helped…"

"No one. Maybe she just…wait."

Mark grabbed a clipboard, flipping pages up, and running his finger down a list of names.

"Yes. There was a family camping in the area above her cabin. Their name is Novak—Mitchell and family. His son and family got out fine. But Mr. Novak wasn't with them."

"Do you know where I might find this family?"

"Yes sir. I believe they are staying at a hotel in town."

"Thank you, Mark."

As Perry turned to leave, Mark called after him. "I hope you find Miss Kirby. She's a special lady."

Yes, Perry thought, a very special lady. One I will never lose again.