Free When Love's at Work by Merri Hiatt

gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. They
rarely spoke, so it must be something important.
    “ I need to check this
message,” Purity said to Alex, as she removed her arm from around
his neck.
    Since no music was playing in the club, she
could easily hear her voice mail: “Hey, Pure, Mom’s in the
hospital. They think she had a stroke. I called Bobby. He said he’d
be on the first flight out he could get. Okay, bye.”
    Purity stood still, taking the information
in and letting it settle in her bones. Her sister hadn’t said if
the stroke was major, like the one her father had two years
ago.
    “ Is everything okay?”
Alex’s words broke through her reverie.
    “ My Mom had a stroke,” she
replied. “I need to go to the hospital.”
    “ I’ll drive you,” Alex
said, taking control of the situation.
    “ No, no, you don’t need to
do that. I don’t know how long I’ll be at the hospital and it’s
already late.”
    “ I’m taking you,” Alex
stated firmly, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
    Alex placed his hand on Purity’s elbow to
guide her off the dance floor. The contact seemed to bring Purity
out of her stunned state.
    “ No, Alex, really,” she
said, pulling her arm out of his grasp. “I’m fine to drive.” What
she didn’t say was that she didn’t want Alex anywhere near her
dysfunctional family.
    “ You’re not fine, Purity.
You’ve just heard some startling and upsetting news. You shouldn’t
be driving.”
    Purity put her hand on Alex’s arm. “Really,
Alex, I’m okay. The hospital is only 15 minutes away. I appreciate
that you want to help, and you’ll be of more help to me by letting
me handle this on my own.”
    The words stung Alex. He was only trying to
help. Women always said they wanted a sensitive, caring man and
then when you were exactly that, they pushed you away.
    “ Whatever you want,” Alex
said, giving in to Pure’s wishes. “Will you call me when you reach
the hospital?”
    “ Yes. I’ll call,” Purity
replied, relieved that he wasn’t going to fight her on the
issue.
    Purity gathered her belongings and Alex
walked her out to her car. The two hugged and shared a brief,
tender kiss. “Call me,” Alex reminded.
    “ I will. I promise,”
Purity said, then got into her car and headed for Hope.
    Pure’s family had a slew of health issues,
so the path to St. Mary’s Gracious Hope Hospital was a familiar one
for her to travel. She knew her mother had a carotid artery that
was 75% blocked and she wondered if that had been the cause of her
stroke. She might need carotid artery surgery. It would reduce her
chances of having another stroke in the future. She sighed deeply.
Every time she received one of these telephone calls, Pure felt
like she aged another three years. Before long, she’d be older than
her parents.
    Alex McCallister was worried. He had
surrendered and dropped the idea of driving Purity to the hospital,
but she hadn’t said he couldn’t follow her to make sure she got
there safely.
    As he watched Pure’s car pull into the
hospital’s parking garage, he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t
sure how long she’d be at the hospital and she’d no doubt be tired
when she left. He wished she had let him drive her. Now he’d be
thinking about her driving home in the early hours of the morning,
tired and worried. He thought about parking his car and keeping
watch, but it could be hours before she left or she might even
decide to stay the night.
    As he pondered his options, Alex’s cell
phone rang. The display showed that it was Purity calling, just as
she had promised.
    “ Hello.”
    “ Hi, I’m here at the
hospital,” Purity said.
    “ Thanks for calling to let
me know, Purity.”
    “ No problem.”
    “ If you need a ride home
or if you need to talk or anything, you have my number. Use
it.”
    “ Thank you. You’ve been
very kind, Alex, and I appreciate it,” she said, adding, “I’ve
called the girls and they’re going