The Caregiver by Shelley Shepard Gray Read Free Book Online

she usually did, it seemed rather empty. She sighed in relief when she found her wallet.
    But then Lucy’s stomach knotted.
    Her diary was missing. Inside the leather cover, she’d scrawled pages and pages of her innermost feelings. All her anger and fear and worries. And now it was in someone else’s hands—just waiting to be opened and read.
    Her words, bare and exposed. Penned for anyone to see.
    C alvin bit back a burst of frustration as he left the makeshift nurses’ station in the back of the terminal. No matter how hard he’d argued, the train personnel hadn’t allowed him to do anything but get examined by the nurse the moment he’d gotten off the bus.
    “It’s policy, sir,” a representative from the train had said while he took Calvin’s name and address. “I’m sure you understand. We don’t want to get sued.”
    Sued? He didn’t understand that reasoning at all. “I don’t want to sue anyone. I just want to be on my way.”
    “In due time. Go take a seat.”
    After telling John that they’d meet up with him when he was finished, Calvin took Katie’s hand and led her to the small grouping of chairs.
    After twenty minutes, he was called over to a curtained area, Katie in tow.
    “Your forehead needs stitches,” the nurse murmured after she cleaned his wound.
    “Are you sure?”
    “I’m positive, Mr. Weaver,” she said briskly, looking at his form. “Now close your eyes, and I’ll try to make this as painless and quick as possible.”
    Beside him, Katie hopped to her feet and inched closer.
    “Katie, this might make you squeamish. Why don’t you go back to our chairs?”
    “Nuh-uh. I’m standing here. I want to see the nurse sew you up.”
    “I guess this is exciting, ain’t it?” he asked, sharing a grin with the nurse.
    “Loyal and Graham are gonna be jealous,” she said.
    “And who are they?” the nurse asked kindly as she gave him a shot.
    “They’re my other big brothers,” Katie answered. “I’ve got three of them. And an uncle, too.”
    The nurse shared a smile with Calvin as she pulled on latex gloves. “I’ll make the stitches as small as possible, Mr. Weaver.”
    “Makes no difference to me,” he said. “My nose is already crooked.”
    “Calvin broke his nose four years ago,” Katie explained helpfully.
    “Hush, child,” he said as the nurse began to stitch.
    Amazingly, Katie stayed quiet and still beside him. Only slipping her hand into his as the nurse got to work.
    “You might want to get an X-ray for your swollen wrist when you get home,” the nurse said when she finished and pulled off her gloves. “I don’t think it’s more than a minor sprain, but sometimes you just can’t be sure.”
    “If it gets worse, I’ll do that,” he promised.
    “And keep the stitches clean. They can be removed in about a week.”
    He was already guiding Katie toward the door. “All right.”
    “And Mr. Weaver . . .”
    Impatiently, he looked at the nurse. “Yes?”
    “I hope you get home soon,” she said with a smile.
    Her good wishes embarrassed him. “Thank you,” he said. “And I thank you for your assistance as well.”
    The nurse beamed. “You’re welcome. Send the next person over on your way out, please.”
    Calvin told the teenager sitting by the door to go back, then entered the wide-open space of the terminal. Immediately, he was besieged by noise. “Hold my hand again, Katie.”
    Staring at the throng of people, Katie slipped her hand in his without a word.
    At least two hundred people were in the enclosure. Some milled around, others were standing in long lines. Instead of being irritated by the crowd, he was relieved. If there were this many people, Lucy had to be around somewhere. “Let’s look for Uncle John now.”
    Katie nodded. “And Lucy, too.”
    “Yes, and Lucy, too, of course,” he replied.
    On a mission, Calvin practically stomped to the closest line of people and began to scan faces for John or Lucy. They located John