Following the staff's recommendations, Daniel escorted Katherine to the motel that was directly across the street.
"This is the room you can stay in. I'll find one close to yours."
"No! Please stay with me." Katherine wrapped both of her hands around his forearm to stop him from walking away.
"Okay," said Daniel, and he closed the door behind him. He got the extra blanket off the rack and sat down in the chair by the wall in the small room. "We didn't get the luggage from the limo. I'll have it brought to the room in the morning or I can call and have some overnight clothes delivered. I'm sorry I screwed that up."
"No, you didn't screw anything up, Daniel. Thank you for helping me through this." Katherine reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm going to lie down so I can be up soon." Katherine stretched out on the bed. What if he dies? He looked horrible lying in that bed. The tears leaked from her eyes and Daniel listened to her trying to muffle sobs in the darkness.
Slowly, he took the blanket off of himself and lay down next to her. He pulled her toward him and spooned with this woman he cared so deeply for. His thoughts never even went to lust. He kissed her cheek and rocked her slowly in his arms.
Daniel had gotten so used to waking up at five in the morning that he crawled out of bed an hour before the alarm was to go off. He took his phone to the bathroom and called the hospital.
"The doctor has been in to see him several times. You can go have some breakfast and then come on up and visit with him briefly. He's in the cardiac intensive care unit now."
"Okay, thank you so much." Daniel knelt beside the bed and brushed the curls off of Katherine's face. She slowly opened her eyes, then sat up quickly.
"Is he alright?!"
"He's doing okay and we have permission to visit him. I was told that we should have some breakfast, then come up and see him."
"I'm not very hungry, Daniel."
"You're eating." Daniel winked at her. After getting cleaned up, they went to the restaurant next door and ordered breakfast. Daniel laughed at his past. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing the same clothes two days in a row.
Francesco was worried about his son. He pressed the button and waited for Carl.
"Good morning, Francesco."
"Have you heard anything more from Daniel? I'm very worried."
"I believe that he is with Katherine at the hospital. The pilot took them to Tennessee. Seems her uncle had a heart attack, but I haven't gotten word on his condition."
"I'm going to call."
"Francesco, I doubt that Daniel can talk on his phone if he's with Katherine visiting her uncle. His phone isn't going to work in there. Perhaps it's best if you wait for him to phone."
"I suppose you're right."
"The horses should be arriving today. Rosie is so happy this morning," said Carl.
"Yes, she even laughed in her sleep. She was just like a little girl."
"What?"
"Oh, never mind."
"You're blushing, Sir."
"I suppose I am, Carl, I suppose I am."
Daniel walked behind Katherine as she stepped onto the intensive care unit.
"We're here to see Andy O'Brian," said Daniel.
The doctor approached with his hand outstretched. "I'm Doctor Mathews. I wanted to speak to you before you visit with your uncle."
"Is he okay?"
"He's had a heart attack. Thankfully it wasn't real severe, but he's going to have a long recovery."
"What happened to him?" Katherine was feeling even more guilt about not being with him.
"Apparently he dropped down to the ground with severe chest pain. He never lost consciousness and, luckily, there isn't a lot of heart damage. It's imperative that your uncle changes his lifestyle and diet. That's all part of the recovery process."
"So his heart never stopped?" Please tell me no. Katherine continued to beat herself up.
"No, it never stopped, which is a good thing. I understand you want some of his rehabilitation to take place in New York?"
"Yes, that's correct," replied Daniel.
"He can't travel for a while yet. This is the best place he could be in. When you visit your uncle, try to keep things low key. We don't want him getting angry or upset."
"I won't upset him. Thank you, Doctor." Katherine and Daniel shook his hand and then headed for Andy's room. They heard him in the hallway.
"I'm not drinking that, it tastes like shit! Can't you get me some real stuff?"
Katherine stopped the nurse. "Why is my uncle upset?"
"He wants regular coffee and he can't have caffeine. His diet is very strict and he isn't happy." The nurse smiled and let out a long sigh.
"May we see him now?" Katherine was so eager.
"You sure can. Just remember he's still weak."
Katherine and Daniel walked into Andy's room and saw him sitting up in bed with his eyes closed.
"We should come back and let him sleep," whispered Katherine.
"Nonsense! Come in, Katherine." His voice was still loud but shaky. He looked ten years older.
"How do you feel?" Katherine kissed him on the cheek and held his hand.
"Okay, I guess. I just wish they'd shut all this damn equipment off and take these needles out of my arms, maybe give me a cup of coffee and some decent food!"
"Uncle Andy, do you remember John Williams?"
"Sure do, how ya been? I see ya found Katherine!"
"Good to see you, Andy. My real name is Daniel Giordano. It's a long story which I'll explain some day when you're feeling better."
Andy's brow furrowed.
"Uncle Andy, how has the bar been doing?" Katherine needed to change the topic. The last thing she wanted was to get him riled up. Being lied to was a sure way down that path.
"Pretty bad. I lose money every month, and this last week I borrowed a few dollars just to make payroll."
"Do you think it was the stress from that place?"
"I think so. That and the doc says my diet wasn't anything to brag about."
"I don't think you should go back there and try to run that bar. I also don't believe you were seeing a doctor back home."
"Katherine, I know you're just worried, but it's my job. If I don't do that, what the hell else will I do? The town's pretty dead, and I can't survive on my good looks! The last thing I can afford to pay is medical bills. This is going to cost a mint."
"Uncle Andy, we want you to come to New York with us. We'll explain things later, but living out there with no one taking care of you, the bar failing, and the building falling apart isn't a way to live. Besides, I miss you, and Daniel is going to help me get into the top design school in New York. I can't stay in Tennessee with you, but you could come and be with me. New York is supposed to be an amazing place."
"I'm not going to be a burden on anyone."
"Andy, you're not going to be a burden. We would love to have you, and I think you'd get along good with my father. He would enjoy the company, and he's a good man. You also don't have any medical bills."
"What's your father do?"
"He's in the shipping business." Daniel was hopeful with Andy asking questions.
"Oh, yeah. Like packages and stuff. Does he have his own mail store like in Nashville? They got a pretty good one there."
"No, not that kind of shipping. He has vessels."
"Really? I never met anyone who did that. Does he get seasick? Even if he's a captain, being on a boat can do your stomach in."
"No he owns them. Many in fact."
"So your father is a rich man I take it."
"Uncle Andy, don't worry about that. The point is, we want all of us to be together."
"You're a couple now?" Andy let out one of his laughs.
"No, not a couple, just friends." Katherine's cheeks turned red and Andy didn't miss a beat.
"Bullshit. Look, I lost the woman I loved fifteen years ago. Don't assume the person you long to be with will be there the next day. Stop wasting time."
"We're going to let you get some rest, Uncle Andy. We'll be back in a couple of hours, okay? We have to get our luggage."
"What the hell happened to your luggage? The airport eat it?"
"We accidently left it-"
Daniel cut her off. "Yeah, it's in the car." This was just too much information for Andy to take in. He was glad that Katherine was ending the visit, but knew he would definitely have to work on the 'just friends' part. There was no way he was going to lose her.
When the area for the horses was complete, Francesco came and got Rosie and led her outside by the hand. He did a good job by keeping her away from that side of the mansion so he could surprise her. He'd also warned all the staff.
"Okay, my sweet. Now you have to close your beautiful eyes."
Rosie smiled, closed her eyes, and let Francesco lead her around the side of the estate. When he had her standing in front of the beautiful red barn, he bent down, kissed her lips softly, and told her to open her eyes.
"Oh my! Francesco, you did this for me? You told me you would make an area for my horses, but I had no idea you were doing all of this! Thank you so much!" Rosie wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear for the fifth time that day, "I love you, Francesco."
"I love you too, my Rosie. Now I have one more surprise for you." Francesco got his phone out and dialed a number, let it ring, then hung up.