Butterfly Summer. Arlene James

      “Confound it, this is important!” Wallace bellowed, turning red in the face.

      “That’s it,” Dr. Strickland interrupted, placing a quelling hand on Wallace’s chest. “Take it outside, if you please. And you…” He wagged an admonishing finger at the patient. “Calm down. You need to rest.”

      Amy stepped up to the bed and bent to press a kiss to Wallace’s forehead.

      “At least try to follow the doctor’s orders,” she urged, a wry smile curling her pretty mouth.

      “And don’t worry,” Jeremy said. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

      Wallace nodded curtly, his jaw working.

      “I’ll walk you out,” Nurse Franklin said politely but firmly, herding them all toward the door.

      Chris was the first to move toward it, saying, “I’m picking up a little overtime tonight, so I’ll see you tomorrow, Dad.”

      “Call if you need anything, Mom,” Amy said, following on Christopher’s heels.

      “Yes, of course, sweetheart,” Nora murmured. Then she abruptly lifted a hand, stopping everyone in their tracks. “If you talk to your sister,” she dictated firmly, “go easy on her. Melissa is still very young, you know.”

      Tim huffed but didn’t argue. Chris traded looks with Heather and went out. Amy nodded, smiled and, with a final wistful glance at their father, followed Christopher.

      Jeremy hugged Nora, whispering, “I know you’ll take care of him. Just be sure to take care of yourself, too.”

      “Don’t worry about me,” she returned, cupping his cheek with one hand.

      Heather squeezed her mother’s delicate shoulder and kissed her father, while Tim stood glowering at the foot of their father’s bed.

      “It may be his right to make the decision,” Tim said to Wallace, “but we both know that signing that contract is best for the business, and I don’t intend to let him forget it.”

      Wallace slowly blinked his eyes in acknowledgment but said nothing until Timothy had left the room. Heather moved to follow him, hearing her father murmur what sounded like, “Maybe Jeremy shouldn’t have the right.”

      Nora gasped, and Heather immediately halted. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

      Wallace shook his head, but then he blurted, “It’s still my company! Jeremy’s only in charge temporarily, Nora.” Frowning, he muttered, “And maybe I made a mistake with that.”

      Obviously shaken, Nora whispered, “Wallace, what are you saying? Jeremy’s the eldest, and just because he does things differently than you, doesn’t mean he isn’t capable.”

      “I know, I know,” he mumbled, his great energy and strength of will abruptly waning. “It’s just that knocking on death’s door makes you rethink some things.” His head fell back against the pillow, and Dr. Strickland reached for his pulse.

      “I really must insist that you rest now. Nora, that goes for you, too.”

      With a last tender kiss, Nora turned from the bedside and ushered her middle daughter into the sitting room, pulling the door closed behind her.

      “Oh, Heather,” she whispered. “He’s so weak.”

      “In body, perhaps, but not in spirit.”

      Nora smiled wryly. “True.”

      “Dad isn’t really having second thoughts about Jeremy taking over the company, is he?”

      Evading her gaze, Nora turned away. “Your father knows that Jeremy deserves to be president, but in Wallace’s mind I suppose he’ll always be the CEO of Hamilton Media.”

      Even had it been characteristic of Heather to press, concern for her mother would not have allowed it just then. Yet something about the way her father had looked and sounded had disturbed her as much as it obviously had Nora.

      “I’m sure you’re right,” she murmured, trying to believe that it wasn’t more than that.

      “Your father’s so very ill,” Nora whispered. “I’m afraid he’s not thinking clearly.”

      Heather reached out and gathered her delicate mother into a warm hug. “It’s going to be all right, Mom. One way or another, it’s going to be all right.”

      “It has to be,” she said fervently, her eyes closed tight. “I’m trying so hard to trust God to heal him.” She pulled back far enough to give Heather a reassuring smile. “We have to keep holding on. Now is not the time to relinquish our faith.”

      “We’ll keep praying,” Heather promised, “and we’ll keep trusting God, no matter what happens. Now, let me take you home.”

      Nora stepped away then. “No, no. I want to stay close by.” She gestured toward the sofa. “I’ll lie down here for a while. Besides, you need to get back to work, and my car’s in the parking lot.”

      Heather knew that her mother was right. The office couldn’t seem to get along without her for more than an hour or two. Still, after such devastating news, it was difficult to leave her parents here on their own. It just seemed to be one thing after another lately.

      “If you’re sure.”

      “Absolutely,” Nora said, stiffening her spine. “I’ll see you at home later.” She kissed Heather’s cheek. “I’m so glad that you and Melissa are there. I couldn’t bear coming home to that big old house all alone.”

      Heather smiled. She knew that few twenty-seven-year-olds still lived at home with Mom and Dad, but there was plenty of room and the time had never felt right to leave. She’d almost done it after college when her boyfriend of two years had proposed marriage, but that would have meant not just leaving her parents’ home but moving away from Davis Landing and Tennessee for Florida, where he’d had a job waiting in the aerospace industry. She’d known that wasn’t right for her.

      Now, six years later, she seemed stuck, but as much as she prayed about it, she couldn’t convince herself that it was time to strike out on her own. This, obviously, was the life that God meant for her. If the very worst happened and her father died, her mother would need her more than ever. No, now was not the time to be thinking about moving out.

      Nora smiled indulgently. “You go on, darling. Don’t worry about me. Or anything else.”

      “That goes for you, too,” Heather said, moving away. “Get some rest.”

      “I’ll try. Tell Vera Mae not to hold dinner for me, will you?”

      Heather stopped. “Mom.”

      “Please don’t say it. I’ll eat here, with your father, and be home later. Besides, the pastor is coming this evening, and I don’t want to miss him.”

      Heather sighed. She understood Nora’s need to spend as many waking moments at Wallace’s side as possible, but these past weeks had taken a toll on her, too. She had started to look brittle and fragile. Still, convincing Nora Hamilton not to give her utmost to her family was easier said than done. In the end, Heather left her mother just as Nora wished.

      She knew that staying busy would help keep her own mind off her father’s health. Nevertheless, once she was alone in her car in the hospital parking lot, with the air conditioner humming against the mid-June heat, Heather took the time to formulate a cogent and purposeful prayer, one that included family unity during this difficult time.

      Her family truly loved one another, but Wallace’s illness had upset everyone and exacerbated their differences, especially those between Jeremy and Tim. It didn’t help that this crisis had come just after Curtis Resnick’s embezzlement had been uncovered.

      Heather agreed with Jeremy’s decision not to prosecute Curtis and