“Give Ethan a few minutes,” Allan said softly. “We can talk to her later.”
Katie could see that her mom was torn between wanting to see Diana and letting Ethan look after her. “She’ll be okay, Mom.”
“How’s her ankle?”
“Zac X-rayed it and it’s broken. An orthopedic surgeon will look at it in Polson.”
“Oh, my,” Mabel sat beside Katie.
“Barbara and Penny are getting everyone a cup of hot chocolate. They shouldn’t be too far away.”
Allan sat on the other side of Katie and gave Charlie a hug. “Who’s a good boy?”
Charlie started panting and his eyes closed in ecstasy as he enjoyed every moment of his hug.
When her dad sat back in the chair, Charlie settled at his feet. “Barbara told us what had happened. She said Charlie led you to the old garage.”
“When he arrived at the inn without Diana, we knew something was wrong. He took us straight to the shed.” Katie’s eyes filled with tears. “What if we’d left the inn? We’d talked about going to Penny’s house, but Wyatt’s in the middle of a painting and we didn’t want to disturb him.”
Her dad’s hand squeezed hers. “There’s no point worrying about what might have happened. It didn’t, and that’s all that matters. Charlie just might have saved Diana and the little girl’s life.”
Taking a deep breath, Katie clamped her lips together to stop them from trembling. She wanted to tell her dad the little girl’s name was Adele but, if she said anything, she’d burst into tears.
When the door opened again, she was shocked to see Peter. He looked as white as a sheet.
“Thank goodness you’re okay.”
She stepped into his open arms and buried her face against his jacket.
His arms tightened around her in a fierce hug. “Theo told me what happened. Will Adele and Diana be all right?”
Katie nodded. “I think so. Diana’s broken some of the bones in her ankle, so she’ll need to see another doctor.” Hot, salty tears stung her eyes. “She was in so much pain.”
Instead of telling her everything would be okay, he held her close, waiting for the wave of emotion to pass.
“It’s just as well we bought extra drinks,” Penny said from the doorway in a voice that was far too cheerful. She smiled at Katie. “Sip this. It will make you feel better.”
Katie wiped her eyes and took the takeout cup. “Thanks.”
Barbara handed her parents a cup of hot chocolate each, before passing one to Peter. “Theo and Wyatt will be here in a few minutes. We bought extra drinks if anyone else arrives.”
Mabel left her cup on the coffee table. “Ethan is with Diana and the little girl’s parents are here, too.”
Penny sat on the edge of a chair. “Does anyone know how far away the ambulance is?”
Katie shook her head. “Zac will know, but I haven’t seen him since we arrived.”
“It can’t be too far away,” Barbara muttered. “I could call the emergency dispatchers and ask them?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Mabel said. “It will be here as soon as it can.”
A worried silence settled over the waiting room.
Allan moved seats to be closer to his wife and Peter sat beside Katie, holding her hand.
It wasn’t until Ethan walked down the hallway to see if Mabel and Allan wanted to see Diana, that their mom cried.
And within seconds, Katie, Penny, and Barbara were crying, too.
