Chapter 14
"I found some towels!" Di exclaimed.
"Leave them where they are," Jim shouted. "They’ll be more useful when the rain stops than right now."
"Everyone should probably put a life jacket on," said Brian. "Here, Honey, this one should fit…Honey? Honey, where are you?" He finally saw the heap at the front of the boat and he rushed to her side. "Honey!" he shouted. Everyone else followed him to the front of the boat.
"Hmmm…ohhhh, it hurts," she mumbled.
"Where does it hurt?" Brian asked.
"Here," Honey said as she placed her hand on the right side of her abdomen.
Brian placed his hand where she told him the pain was. It felt swollen and she cried out in pain when he touched it. "I’m sorry, Honey. I know it hurts and we need to act fast here, ok, but we’ve got to stay calm. I’m almost certain you have appendicitis. Has it ever hurt as bad as it does right now?"
"It’s been bad, but never this bad," she said quietly.
"Ok, we need to get you to the hospital. You need to keep very still and quiet, ok?" he asked. Honey nodded.
"Jim, Dan, help me lift her onto the back seat. It’s more sheltered back there. Mart set off another flare," Brian ordered. Everyone respected Brian and knew that he could handle this situation, so they all diligently obeyed his orders.
"Dan, grab her under her legs, Jim you get her head and I’ll support her middle. We need to keep her as flat as possible, just like if she were on a stretcher." The boys lifted Honey and carried her as steadily as the wind and rain would allow to the back of the boat. Trixie and Diana didn’t know what to do, so they were just clinging to each other and trying to stay out of the way.
"Girls," Brian shouted. "Bring those towels." Di and Trixie jumped to action and grabbed the large beach towels out of the storage compartment under their seat.
"We need to keep her as warm as possible so she doesn’t go into shock," Brian said. "The only thing I can think of to do is for all of us to gather as closely around her as we can and hold these towels over her. The storm seems to be letting up. Maybe the rain will stop soon."
‘Oh, please let it stop soon,’ Trixie prayed silently. She was trying to be brave, but it was hard to watch her best friend in so much pain.
Within seconds the rain did subside. "Mart, do we still have some flares?" Jim asked. He had been very quiet during the whole ordeal. It was obvious he was very worried about his sister.
"I have one left," Mart said. "I don’t know whether to use it now or wait until we see someone from the lake patrol."
"Let’s wave the flashlights around for a while and save the flare," Jim decided. He and Dan took the flashlights and stood at the front of the boat and waved the beams of light in all directions. By now they had been tossed and turned so much in the middle of the lake, no one could set their bearings straight.
"Which way is the lodge?" Trixie asked.
"It’s so dark it’s hard to tell," Jim said. He felt at a loss. He had a wonderful sense of direction on land and could take care of himself for days if need be, but the water in the dark was a different story. He shone his light around again and this time he let out a triumphant yell. "Hey, I think I see a boat!"
The other Bob-Whites, except Honey, shouted for joy. Honey just let out another groan.
"Is it the lake patrol?" Trixie asked anxiously. "Keep waving the lights!"
The boat didn’t seem to be getting closer.
"I’ll set off the other flare," Dan shouted.
Diana, Trixie, Jim and Mart all started yelling to see if they could attract the attention of the people in the boat, but it was no use. It was just too far away and the wind was pushing them in the other direction. Brian was still hovering over Honey trying to keep her warm and comfortable.
Dan was having a hard time getting the flare to work, but he finally did. The flare shot high into the air and they started waving the flashlights and yelling once more. After what seemed like an eternity, they could see that the boat was getting closer.
"Oh, thank God," Diana said. "I wonder if it’s the lake patrol or just someone else who got caught out in this mess."
As the boat got closer they could hear people yelling their names.
"I hear Miss Trask," Trixie said excitedly. "It’s us Miss Trask, hurry!"
"Who are the others with her?" Diana asked. "Oh, it’s Michael and Colleen. I can see them now."
When the boat got within hearing distance, all of the Bob-Whites started talking at once. When everyone finally quieted down enough for their rescuers to make sense of the situation, they quickly tied the Bob-Whites’ boat to theirs and began towing them to shore. It was slower being towed, but they couldn’t leave the boat in the middle of the lake, and they really didn’t need to risk moving Honey to the other boat. It was more comfortable for her to go at a slower pace anyway. Michael radioed the lodge to have Rob call for an ambulance to meet them at the dock.
Within half an hour the Bob-Whites were safely back to shore and Honey and Brian were in an ambulance speeding off to the hospital. The rest of the Bob-Whites hurried inside to change into dry clothes and gather up clothes and things for Honey and Brian. Soon they were on their way to the hospital with Miss Trask driving the station wagon.
"Rob said that we make a right on the main road and it’s a straight shot from there," she told them. The rain had stopped but it was foggy and hard to see.
‘Oh, I wish I had insisted on driving,’ Jim thought. He was sitting up front with Trixie and Miss Trask. He kept peeking at speedometer. ‘Forty miles an hour. She won’t go more than forty. I know it’s foggy, but this is my sister we’re talking about. I should have been the one to ride with her in that ambulance.’ Jim breathed a sigh of relief when they finally arrived at the hospital several minutes later.
"Miss Trask, you and the others go on in," Mart said. "Dan and I will go park the car."
"Oh, that would be great. I really need to find out what is going on," Miss Trask said shakily. "I should have never let you all go out on the lake knowing that there were supposed to be storms. I know you’re not all children anymore, but still…" Miss Trask, Jim, Trixie, and Diana exited the car quickly.
"The storm really had nothing to do with it," Trixie pointed out as they were walking up to the building. "We would have been stranded regardless. I just don’t understand why someone is out to get us—or out to get Honey. All of the bad stuff is happening to her. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was feeling bad before we left, I would suspect that someone had poisoned her instead of her having appendicitis."
"I know what you mean," Di said. "Poor Honey. Some vacation this has been for her."
They were in the hospital now looking for someone to point them in the right direction. It was a small hospital and Jim hoped that they were even capable of handling something as routine as an appendectomy. Finally they came upon a nurses’ station and were pointed toward a waiting room. They saw Brian sitting in one of the chairs still soaking wet. Everyone rushed over to him and all started asking him questions at the same time.
Brian held his hands up to silence them. "I don’t know anything yet," he told them. "They are still doing the examination I guess."
"Here," Trixie said, holding Brian’s duffle bag out to him. "I didn’t want to take the time to go through it and grab a change of clothes for you, so I just grabbed the whole bag. Go change into something dry, you’ll feel better."
"I want to be here when the doctor comes back," he said. "I’ll change after he lets us know what is going on."
Before long a man in scrubs and a white coat walked into the waiting room from one direction at the same time Mart and Dan came in from the other. The doctor shook hands with Miss Trask and Jim and informed them of Honey’s situation. He introduced himself as Dr. Edmonds.
"Her appendix is on the verge of rupturing," he said. "I need a signature from a relative and then we can start prepping her for surgery. Make yourselves comfortable; it could be a long night. Let one of the nurses know if you need anything. I’ll keep you informed of how the surgery is going."
"I’m her brother," Jim said. "I’ll sign." The doctor handed him a clipboard and a pen. Jim signed his name on the line at the bottom. The doctor also gave him a bunch of papers to fill out.
"Jim, why don’t you go call your parents and I’ll fill out the paper work," Miss Trask said quietly after the doctor had disappeared.
Jim turned to go find a phone. "I’ll go with you," Trixie said. Jim didn’t seem to hear her, but she followed anyway. She caught him by the hand and pulled him to a stop. "She’s going to be fine."
Jim just nodded his head and squeezed her hand. Luckily he was able to get in touch with his parents without any problems. They were going to have to wait until the next morning to come however because storms were raging all over the state.
"I’ll call again as soon as the doctor tells us anything, I promise," Jim told them. "Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. I won’t leave her until you get here. …Ok…that sounds good. See you tomorrow…Bye."
He hung up the phone and turned to Trixie. She slipped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. He returned the embrace and they stood for a while just holding each other. They were both extremely exhausted but knew that they wouldn’t be getting any sleep for several more hours.
"Trixie, we have to find out who is trying to hurt her. It’s driving me crazy. Let’s go back and talk it over with the others."
In any other situation Trixie would have fallen over at Jim’s statement, but understanding that it was his sister who was in danger, she knew Jim would be willing to do anything to solve this mystery.
Chapter 15
"Ok, let’s try writing this down and see if we can find anything," Trixie said, grabbing a pen and small notepad out of her purse. She divided one piece of paper in half and wrote ‘suspects’ on one side and ‘motive’ on the other.
"First we have Robert. His motive is that his family has lived there forever and he doesn’t want the lodge to be sold," Trixie said while writing quickly in the notebook.
"Then there is Rob and his wife. Possible motive could be that they don’t want to sell either, but then it was their decision to sell so that theory may not work," said Mart.
"But if they are being forced to sell, they may just be buying time until they can get money together to fix the place up and be able to keep it," Di pointed out, but no one felt that this theory held much water either.
"Next, come Michael and Colleen, but I have no idea what their motive would be," Jim said, running a hand through his tangled red hair. "They did act rather suspiciously tonight, I guess. They hurried off because Michael wasn’t feeling well, but he sure seemed fine at the party and when they came and rescued us."
"It’s amazing what people can do when their adrenaline is pumping," Brian pointed out. "But I still have a bad feeling about him."
"I like them," Di said, pouting. "I can’t stand to think that they could be out to hurt Honey."
"Yeah, but we can’t leave out anyone," Trixie said. "We don’t really know any of them."
"What about those brothers that we met today at the lodge?" Dan asked. "We don’t know anything about them either, but they sure do keep to themselves a lot."
"I think their names were Dave and Darrell Colburn," Mart said.
"Yeah, that’s right," Trixie said. "Dave seemed alright, but Darrell looked awfully nervous about something."
"This is great," Dan said sarcastically. "We have four suspects and no solid motives or clues."
"I keep going back to the fact that the snake was in Honey’s bed, so whoever put it there had to know that it was Honey’s, but how?" Diana’s words were running together and tumbling over each other.
They all sat in silence for a moment and then Trixie suddenly snapped her fingers and cried, "That’s it!" Noticing a couple of stern looks from nurses at the nearby station, she quickly quieted her voice and began explaining her discovery. "Honey told Colleen about the bear Brian gave her."
Brian’s cheeks began to turn pink. "So, what’s your point?" he asked.
"Honey told her about the bear and that it’s name was on the ear tag. The bear’s name is Honey, the bear was on Honey’s bed," Trixie explained.
"That’s right, Trix," Diana said. "But we still don’t know why they would be trying to hurt her."
"I know, but it’s a start," Trixie said with less enthusiasm than before.
A nurse came into the room then to let them know that the surgery was going well and that they had managed to get to her appendix without it rupturing. "You are all welcome to stay here in the waiting area as long as you want, but there is really nothing you can do. The surgery is almost over. She is going to be fine and she will sleep for several hours when she comes out of surgery. I’m sure you would all be more comfortable back at your cabin. As late as it is now, I don’t think she will wake up before you all could get back here in the morning." She promised to be back with more news as soon as the surgery ended and turned and walked out of the room.
"I guess she’s right," Miss Trask said. "Why don’t you all go on back and get some sleep and I’ll stay with her."
"I’m not leaving," Jim and Brian said in unison.
"There is nothing we can do," Di said. "We know she’s going to be alright and the surgery is almost over. I vote for going back."
"Me too, now that I know she’s ok," Trixie said. She was loyal to her friend, but she was also exhausted and she wanted to get some sleep so they could work hard on solving the mystery tomorrow."
"I’m not leaving," Brian said. He lowered his voice, "We don’t know these people, what if one of them is involved in what is going on and tries to hurt her when we’re gone?"
"Brian, I think you are suffering from a major lack of sleep. That’s the craziest idea I’ve heard all night," Mart exclaimed.
"Maybe so," Brian agreed, "but I’m still staying here."
"No you go on back," Jim said. "I’ll stay."
"No, I’m staying," Brian argued. "She’s my girlfriend, I can’t just leave her."
"She’s my sister and I can’t either!"
They stood in silence just glaring at each other for a moment, then they both relented and in unison said, "No, you stay. I would feel the same way if this had happened to Trixie."
Everyone laughed at the coincidence. It was obvious that both guys cared very deeply about their sisters and their girlfriends. It was finally decided that Jim and Brian would stay with Honey. Everyone else gathered their things and headed to the car, after reassuring Miss Trask over and over that everything would be fine and she should go get some rest.
About an hour after the others left, the doctor came back to the waiting room to let them know that the surgery was over and Honey had come through just fine. She would be spending several days in the hospital, but before long she would be back to normal.
"Can we see her?" Brian asked hopefully.
"We’ll have her moved to a room soon," Dr. Edmonds assured them. "Then you can go in and stay with her."
"I’m glad this hospital doesn’t stress visitor’s hours," Jim said after the doctor had left. "I just don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up. It would scare her if she was alone."
"Well, it looks like I’ll get to spend my week in a hospital one way or another," Brian said.
"Well, I want you to know that I’m glad you decided to come on down today. None of the rest of us would have known what to do on that boat," Jim said.
"I didn’t really do anything," Brian said. "There wasn’t much I could do except make sure she stayed still and calm and didn’t go into shock."
"Well, still, I thank you for looking out for her and I just want you to know that I’m happy for the two of you."
"Thanks, Jim," Brian said. He clapped him on the back. "Now, let’s see if we can find out which room they are going to put her in and be there waiting on her when they roll her in."
"Ok. After you, Doc," Jim gestured for Brian to lead the way.
Chapter 16
Early the next morning Honey began to stir in her bed. She woke up not knowing where she was, but was quickly comforted by the sight of Brian asleep in the chair by her bed. She lay there just looking at him for a while. ‘He’s so cute even in sweats and a t-shirt,’ she thought. His hair was rumpled and he needed to shave, but Honey still thought he was the most handsome guy in the world. ‘And he’s my boyfriend. I hope this isn’t all just a dream…well, the appendicitis and surgery part could be a dream…but I hope I wasn’t dreaming when he asked me to be his girlfriend.’
She tried to raise herself up in the bed, but groaned with discomfort when she did. ‘Ok, so maybe moving is not the thing to do right now.’
Brian must have heard her groan because he began to stretch and shift around in the chair. His eyes fluttered open and he seemed confused. Honey giggled, but groaned again. ‘Note to self, no giggling and no moving,’ she thought.
Brian smiled when he saw that she was awake. "Hi, sleepyhead. How do you feel?"
"I’m sore, but I think I’ll be just fine. I’m tougher than everyone thinks I am," she was smiling too.
Brian stood up, stretched, and yawned. "Jim stayed with you for the first few hours after you got out of surgery while I slept, now I was supposed to be on watch, but I guess I fell asleep on the job," he grinned sheepishly.
"On watch, huh?" Honey said. "Why do you think I need to be watched after?"
"I think it could be because ever since you got here someone has been trying to hurt you, remember?" Brian asked.
"Yes, unfortunately I do remember." Honey shuddered. "So do you think they could still be after me?" Honey asked.
"I don’t know. I don’t think anyone would try anything here, but neither Jim nor I could stand to leave you here, so we both ended up staying."
"I’m glad you stayed, but I hate that you didn’t get much sleep. I know you must be exhausted." Honey reached for his hand and he came closer to the bed. She patted the bed beside her and he sat down. "Thank you. For everything," she said, giving his hand a squeeze.
"I’d do anything for you, Honey." He reached up and gently brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face.
For the first time, Honey thought about how she must look. Her hand flew to her hair and she fiercely tried to comb the tangles out with her fingers. "Oh, I must look like a wreck," she cried.
Brian pulled her hand back away from her hair. "You look perfect to me. You’re alive and you are going to be ok. That’s all that matters right now."
Tears were glistening in Honey’s eyes and Brian gently wiped them away. "You even look good in that hospital gown, and I’ve never seen anyone who can pull off that look," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Honey smiled. "You’re wonderful, you know?" She reached up and placed her hand on the side of his face. "I’m glad you are here."
"Me too." He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and one on each cheek. "Now, I think I had better go let your brother and the nurses know that you are awake. I’ve been stingy long enough."
He started to rise from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, but Honey grabbed the front of his shirt. "You…you aren’t leaving, are you?" she asked, sounding almost fearful.
"Not a chance," he said. He leaned down and hugged her gently. "I’ll stay as long as you want me to."
Honey’s skin tingled at his touch. ‘I’m so lucky,’ she thought. She relaxed and settled back into her pillows as Brian tucked the covers in around her. ‘If Brian’s going to be around, I think I can stand being here a few days.’
"I hate that I ruined everyone’s vacation," Honey told him. "I didn’t mean to worry everyone so much."
"Shhh. Everyone is concerned because they care so much about you. No one is upset with you. I’ll be back after I get Jim and notify the nurses that you are awake. They will need to come and take your vitals again." Brian walked out the door and down the hall. He found Jim asleep on one of the couches in the waiting room and shook him awake. Together they found a nurse and walked back to Honey’s room.
"Hey, sis!" Jim exclaimed as they walked in. "How do you feel?"
"Well, I don’t think I’ll be up to any boat rides today, but for someone who just came through surgery, I don’t guess I’m doing too badly."
Jim leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I’m glad it wasn’t anything too serious. I just wish you had let us know how sick you were sooner. Don’t ever do that again, ok?" he wagged his finger at her, trying to sound stern.
Honey rolled her eyes and looked at Brian, but he had the same look on his face. "Promise us you won’t hide something like that from us again."
"Ok, ok. I promise." She tried to get in a more comfortable position, but every time she moved she winced in pain.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" the nurse asked. She had been bustling around Honey’s bed, checking her IV and vitals.
"Only when I move," Honey answered quietly.
"Let me see when you were last given your pain medication," the nurse said, looking over Honey’s chart.
Brian looked at his watch. "I think it was a little over four hours ago," he said. He had tried his best to keep an eye on what all of the nurses were doing when they had come in and out of the room throughout the night.
"I can give you some more now," the nurse was saying. "You can have this every three to four hours, so let us know when you need it. You should probably try to get some more rest. Is there anything else you need, sweetie?"
"Well, I was wondering if it’s ok for me to sit up," Honey said. The nurse showed Brian and Jim how to raise her bed into a more upright position and quickly scurried out of the room.
"That’s better," Honey said. "I’m more comfortable now."
There was a knock at the door and Trixie stuck her head in. "Can we come in?" she called.
"Yeah, it’s fine," Jim answered. "I figured you would all be here soon." He walked over to Trixie and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Everyone took turns fussing over Honey and giving her awkward little hugs, trying not to hurt her. Trixie, Di, Mart, Dan and Miss Trask had brought balloons and flowers. Trixie handed Honey the bear Brian had given her and sat down the bag of personal things she had brought for her in the corner of the room.
"Thanks for everything you guys," Honey said. "You are all so great. I’m sorry I worried you so much. I should have gone to the doctor several days ago."
"Don’t you worry about anything, dear," Miss Trask said. "All that matters is that you are ok now."
"I don’t guess you guys made any shocking discoveries over night did you?" Jim asked hopefully.
Mart shook his head. "We haven’t really looked for anymore clues just yet. We wanted to come and see Honey first thing. We’re going to head back soon and get started though."
"Be careful," Honey said groggily. "I’ll feel horrible if any of you get hurt on my account."
"Don’t worry," Trixie said giving Honey’s hand a squeeze. "We’re going to find the person who has been after you. We’ll be careful, I promise."
Honey’s eyes were getting heavy and not much was making sense to her anymore. Everyone realized she needed more sleep and they began to leave the room.
Jim decided to go back with the rest of the Bob-Whites to work on the case. Miss Trask insisted on staying and so did Brian. Miss Trask went to speak to the nurses and to call Honey’s parents.
"Get some sleep, sweetie," he said. He lowered her bed back down a little. "How’s that?"
"Good," Honey whispered. "Thanks." She gave him a small smile and closed her eyes. ‘Sweetie,’ she thought. ‘I like that, too.’ She was soon sound asleep.
Brian ran his hand over the side of her face and pulled the covers up higher around her and tucked the teddy bear into the crook of her arm. He sat down in the chair and watched her sleep, taking in the events of the last few hours since he had arrived. ‘This is exactly where I needed to be all along,’ he thought. ‘She’s so beautiful, even in the hospital. I’m so glad she said she would be my girlfriend. I don’t know what I would do without her. God, please don’t let anything else happen to her,’ he prayed.
To Be Continued