Love Inspired January 2014(257)

                                      Chapter Ten

                Emma laid a cool washcloth on Tonya’s head, gesturing for Katie to back up as she continued to bounce nervously. Apparently her burst of adrenaline over finding Tonya facedown in straw had yet to fade. “Careful now. Let her breathe.”

                She could say the same for Max, who didn’t seem to care in the least that he was breaking his own rule about staying out of the female dormitory. He hovered over Tonya’s bed, frowning down at her pale face, her dark hair stark against the white pillow.

                “I still think we need to take her to the hospital.”

                Tonya lifted from the pillow, panic highlighting her expression. “No!”

                He flinched, and even Katie backed up a step. No way could someone truly ill coax that strong of a tone. Emma raised her eyebrows at Tonya. Something was going on, for sure—had she been faking to get out of barn duties? She needed to run the idea by Max, but not in front of Tonya.

                “Why not, Tonya? Afraid of needles?” Stacy spoke up from her spot on her bed across the room, and Tonya glared at her.

                “That’s enough.” Max’s voice left no room for disagreement—or sarcasm. Stacy slumped back against her pillow, but her smug smile didn’t fade. Max caught Emma’s eye and gestured with his head to the entryway area outside the dorm. He wanted to talk to her alone, too. About Tonya? Or their unfinished conversation?

                She wasn’t sure how she felt about the interruption earlier. One part grateful and two parts disappointed. She probably shouldn’t have finished the sentence she’d been tempted to before Katie arrived panicking, but saying it would have felt so good. So relieving.

                Sort of like justifying her decision and her secret for the hundredth time.

                Great. How healthy was that? There she went again, trying to fix everyone around her while ignoring her own broken pieces. Too bad counseling oneself didn’t work nearly as well. Though she knew what she’d tell herself if she were a patient—that truth was always better than lies. That anything worth hiding was worth telling. That relationships built on untruths would only crumble.

                Saying it was easy. Living it, not so much. Especially when one’s son could potentially go to jail based on the consequences of said truth.

                And speaking of secrets, Tonya definitely had one.

                Emma adjusted the washrag on the teen’s forehead. She didn’t feel warm, and her pulse had calmed. Maybe she really had faked it and knew an examination from a professional would rat her out. Still, she’d never been one to shirk out of chores before. If anything, Emma would have expected that behavior from Stacy—not Tonya.

                At least the girls didn’t seem to have heard the awkward conversation between the adults in the barn. Maybe Tonya passing out cold had been a blessing in one sense.

                Max traded places by Tonya’s side with Katie. “We’ll be right back. Katie, keep this rag cool and come get us if something happens, okay?”

                The eager redhead nodded and immediately stood guard and stared at Tonya as though she might fade away into the sheets if she so much as blinked. “Yes, sir.”

                Stacy snorted again, but Max let that one go. Emma followed him just outside the bedroom door and lowered her voice as she secured her stance by a potted fern. “So what are you thinking?” Best to let him lead the conversation, or she’d put them right back where they left off in the barn. She still couldn’t decide if that would be good or bad.