Loving Through the Pain

Loving Through the Pain

KAREN WARD

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 Glenda Hays

Writing as Karen Ward

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be used, transmitted, or reproduced in any manner, electronic or otherwise without prior written permission from the copyright holder except in cases where permitted by law.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

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Cover images from COVERS BY RAMONA

Edited by Cynthia Moore Stouff

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

About the Author

From the Author

PROLOGUE

Brewton, Alabama

I glance at my watch. Good! I have just enough time to grab a bagel and a cup of hot coffee before my shift begins. Francis Perkins, the woman behind the counter in the hospital cafeteria greets me, Good morning, Jenna. Are you having your usual?

Good morning, Francis, yes, bagel and cream cheese, please. Thanks.

I grab a cup of coffee, pay for my food and head over to my usual table in the corner. As I sink down in my chair, I see a copy of the local newspaper lying on the next table and glance at the headlines. A cold chill runs down my spine and my heart shifts into overdrive when I see the headline across the top of the front page. RICKY SCOTT GRANTED PAROLE. Dear God, please no! My heart starts slamming against the walls of my chest with apprehension, my appetite vanishes, and my hands are shaking as I grab the paper and read the article. Sure enough, the parole board granted him parole and he is supposed to be released this Saturday. Oh my God! That's only two days from now. I've got to leave. I've got to go somewhere where he will never be able to find me!

Francis Perkins glances up just in time to see Jenna running from the cafeteria. Good heavens! What in the world is going on? Jenna looks like she is being chased by the devil himself!

My heart is pounding heavily with fear. How am I going to manage this? I can't tell anybody where I am going ... well I don't even know where I am going yet. I walk in a trance to my nursing station where I speak to my supervisor.

I'm so sorry, Mrs. Blankenship, but I have an emergency and I have to leave. I won't be able to work here anymore. Please forgive me for not giving you a notice.

Jenna, can I do anything to help you? Are you in trouble? What's going on?

I'm sorry, but I really can't talk about it. It would put you in danger. Please, don't say anything to anybody. I've got to go. I'm so sorry.

Mrs. Blankenship tries again. But Jenna, I need to know where to send your last paycheck.

Give it to charity. I don't know where I'll be. I call over my shoulder as I head for the door.

Mrs. Blankenship watches as Jenna turns and hurries away. Now that is really strange. This must be something terrible and it must have happened since she got to the hospital this morning. Otherwise, why would she be wearing her scrubs? She shakes her head and walks back into her office where she sees a copy of the local paper waiting for her perusal. After reading the headlines, she understands completely what happened to frighten Jenna.

I speed to the daycare center and pick up my two year old son, Jeffrey. The center director asks me the same questions.

Please, I can't talk about it. I've got to go and Jeffrey won't be coming back.

From the daycare center I drive as fast as I dare to the bank and close my checking and my savings accounts giving me approximately ten thousand dollars in cash. At least that is enough cash for me to find somewhere and get settled again. It should keep us afloat until I can find another job. I don't know how long it will take for me to get my nursing license in another state.

Now, I just have to get our clothes packed and leave. Thank God I decided to rent a furnished apartment three years ago instead of trying to find a house. At least this way I don't have to worry about trying to move furniture. My lease is up next month, at the end of May, so I only have to pay one more month's rent.

After packing all of our clothes and personal belongings into my Camry, I load Jeffrey back in his car seat and head to the apartment complex office. I drop off my last month's rent and my termination notice. Okay, that should be everything.

Finally, just after lunch, Jeffrey and I hit the interstate headed north. I'm not sure where we are going, somewhere big enough that I can get lost in the crowd. Maybe Dallas, that ought to be far enough away with plenty of hospitals for me to find a job.

As I am driving, memories of the horrible day three years ago that changed my life forever flood my mind. I loved my new husband, Charles McElroy. We had only been married for two months when his best friend, Ricky Scott killed him.

I never liked Ricky. He always made me uncomfortable. He would stare at me and follow me around. When I wasn't at work, I would see him everywhere I went and I always felt like he was stalking me. He never said anything or did anything improper but he just really made me nervous. In hindsight, I should have told Charles about him long before that horrible day.

Ricky stopped by the house while Charles was still at work. When I answered the door that afternoon and found him standing on the porch, it didn't take me long to realize he was drunk. I tried to shut the door on him, but he forced his way inside. I was scared to death. He forced himself on me, raping me right in the living room of my and Charles' home. When I fought him, he slapped me across the face and punched me in the stomach. He told me if I told Charles that he would kill me. I was terrified.

When Charles got home from work, I was a total wreck. I couldn't stop crying and he forced me to tell him what happened. He could see the bruise that was forming on my face and he was furious. He left the house carrying his shotgun. I couldn't stop him so I called the Sheriff to try to prevent the tragedy that I knew was going to happen. One of them was going to end up dead.

By the time the Sheriff got to Ricky's house, Charles was dead. Ricky was standing over him holding the shotgun. They arrested Ricky, tried and convicted him of manslaughter, and he was sentenced to ten years in prison. I always knew I would have to leave Brewton, the small town in southern Alabama where I grew up, if they released him. Now that day had come.

I take Interstate 65 toward Birmingham and then turn west on Interstate 20. Now that I have decided to settle in Dallas, picking a route is easier. Around six that evening, I decide to stop for the night. So far, Jeffrey has been a little angel. He has slept most of the time, so I know he is not going to go to sleep anytime soon. I get us a room at a nationally known chain hotel in Jackson, Mississippi. We have dinner at a chain restaurant down the road and play ball in the courtyard until the night air gets too cool for Jeffrey. Amazingly, he falls asleep before ten.

I rise early the next morning and hit the road again. I want to make it to Dallas today as early as possible. I pray Jeffrey is as good today as he was yesterday. He just turned two so I am absolutely amazed by how well-behaved he has been.

I spent some time last night applying for jobs in the Dallas area on the internet. Unbelievably, I had a call around noon on my cell phone from the Plano Medical Center. I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at two with the nurse manager on their surgical floor. I haven't quite worked out yet what I am going to do with Jeffrey during the interview. Hopefully, I will find someplace safe for him to stay for a couple of hours.

I finally reach the outskirts of Dallas late in the afternoon. When I turn onto the bypass around Dallas, Interstate 635 my heart speeds up and my hands start shaking. I have never driven in this kind of traffic before. I am so scared I get in the center lane and pray, please God, keep us safe! Then, when I turn onto US 75 North, my stomach twists into a tight knot. I have never seen so many cars in one place before. The traffic is bumper to bumper and flowing at the unbelievable speed of seventy miles per hour. How will I ever get used to this? Again I pray, please God, keep us safe!

I breathe a sigh of relief when I finally see the exit to 15th Street. This is the road the hospital is located on and I hope to find a place to stay close to the hospital. After driving around for at least an hour, I finally locate an extended stay hotel just a few blocks from the hospital. Maybe I won't get lost tomorrow. The nice lady at the front desk tells me about a daycare center just around the corner that will take drop in children. It sounds like a perfect place to leave Jeffrey during my interview. I breathe a sigh of relief and thank God for delivering us safely to Dallas.

The next day my interview goes well and when I leave the Plano Medical Center I have a new job. They are even going to assist me in getting my Texas Nursing license. I am extremely excited. Now all I have to do is find a place for us to live. The Human Resources department of the hospital gave me a list of apartments in the area that offer special deals for employees, so Jeffrey and I will start looking first thing tomorrow morning.

By the end of the next day, we have a new furnished apartment and have settled in. Everything is falling into place nicely for my new life in Dallas.

CHAPTER 1

It's only late May but it is already hot in Dallas. The humidity is not as bad as it was in southern Alabama but it is still hot. I am extremely grateful everything is air conditioned and that my apartment and the hospital both have covered parking.

I have been working at my new job now for over a month. My Texas Nursing License arrived last week, so I now have a full complement of nursing duties and am once again doing direct patient care. One of my patients today is a young woman by the name of Julie King. She was in an accident as a young girl that left a terrible scar on her face. One of the plastic surgeons at the hospital, Dr. Ben Simpson, removed the scar and repaired much of the damage.

The man that accompanied Julie to the hospital is absolutely gorgeous. I don't' think I have ever seen a more handsome man in my life. He introduced himself to me as Jarod Taylor. It is extremely obvious that he is very much in love with Julie. He hasn't left her side for a minute since they brought her back from surgery. She is a very lucky lady.

I haven't dated at all since Charles was killed two and a half years ago. I have been too busy taking care of Jeffrey, our son. I had only suspected that I was pregnant on that horrible day when Charles was murdered. I hadn't even had a chance to tell him. Now, my self-imposed exile is beginning to bother me and I feel very lonely. Maybe it's partly because I am new in town and really don't have any friends here, but I wish I could meet someone to love, someone to lean on occasionally.

Jenna, stop feeling sorry for yourself! You have been very blessed. You have Jeffrey, a good job, and a new life. Things will get better over time. Besides, you know you will never find a man that will understand your issues. I shake my head to clear it of the depressing thoughts. I absolutely refuse to go down that road.

I better go and check on my patient again. She should be waking up from the anesthesia soon. When I walk into her room, I see her watching Jarod Taylor sleep in the chair in the corner. Love is glowing from her eyes and a wave of loneliness washes over me again.

Well, Miss King, how are you feeling?

Good. She replies, never taking her eyes off of her man. I let my eyes follow the path of hers then respond wistfully.

You are a very lucky lady. He obviously loves you very much. He has been at your side every second since they brought you back from surgery.

She blushes and replies, I feel very blessed.

I smile and tease, If you ever decide to trade him in on a new model, send him my way, okay?

She whispers, I won't. I am going to keep him forever.

Jarod Taylor stirs in his chair and I change the subject, All of your vitals look good. The doctor will be by in an hour or so to check on you. Are you hungry? I can bring you a snack to tide you over until dinner comes around six.

Jarod Taylor approaches the bed and kisses Julie's hand. Wow! So romantic! She smiles at him and then replies to my question, I would love to have a Diet Cola if you have one. Is it all right for me to get out of bed?

Sure ... since you are awake, I'll take out your catheter and IV and you can move around anywhere you want. You can even take a walk down the hall. Would you excuse us for a couple of minutes? I look over at Jarod. He nods his acceptance and walks to the door.

After I finish with my tasks, I head out the door to get her diet soda as he comes back into the room. What I wouldn't give to have someone love me like that.

*****

A couple of mornings later, I answer the phone at the nurse's station and am shocked when the caller introduces herself as Janice Taylor, the Director of Nurses at the hospital. She requests that I come to her office at one that afternoon for what she calls a chat. I am scared to death. Has someone complained about me? Has something happened to cause them to question the validity of my license? Oh God, what am I going to do if she fires me?

By the time I walk into the Director of Nurse's office at one, I am a nervous wreck. The receptionist looks at me when I walk in the door.

Um ... hello, I'm Jenna McElroy. I had a request from Mrs. Taylor to meet with her at one.

Yes, Mrs. McElroy. Mrs. Taylor is expecting you. Go right in.

My knees are literally knocking together as I walk to the door of her office. I know my face is bound to be completely void of color, and I feel a trickle of sweat down my back. I knock and she looks up from her desk as a warm smile slides across her face. Jenna?

Yes, ma'am. She rises from the chair behind her desk and extends her hand while examining me from head to toe. I must have passed muster because her smile grows bigger as she speaks again.

Please come in and sit down. I'm Janice Taylor. I wanted to personally welcome you to Texas and tell you that I have been receiving a lot of very complimentary comments about your work. From what my son tells me, you gave his friend, Julie King excellent care earlier this week.

I feel a blush flow across my face. Oh, well, thank you.

Listen, I am having a few people come to my house this Saturday night for dinner and I would love for you to join us. My son, Jarod, and his friend, Julie, are going to be joining us. Do you remember her?

Um, yes, ma'am, I remember Julie. I hesitate briefly then continue, I should tell you that I have a small son and being new in the area I don't have anyone to babysit for me at night.

That's fine, bring him with you. My two year old granddaughters, Jarod's twins, are going to be coming too, so your son will fit right in.

Well, okay, if you're sure. Thank you.

I'll have my administrative assistant email you the directions to the house. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Thank you. I'll see you then. I rise from the chair in a state of shock and go back to my floor to finish my shift. Wow! I can't believe that the Director of Nurses just asked me to her home for dinner. I can't believe she makes a regular habit of inviting the odd nurse to dine at her home. It is a real compliment.

*****

At noon on Friday, I receive a call from the Director of Nurse's administrative assistant who tells me the location of the dinner has changed. We will be dining at Jarod Taylor's home and she is emailing me new directions. She wanted to make sure that I received them before leaving the hospital. I thank her, check my email, and print the new directions.

When I drive up in front of the huge house on Saturday that I think is the right address, I am amazed. Wow! Jarod Taylor lives in this beautiful home? He must be very wealthy. I have never been to somewhere so grand. I pull up to the gate and am approached by an armed security guard. I nervously roll down my window.

Um ... I think I am at the right address. Is this 42001 Running Brook in Willow Bend?

Yes, ma'am. What is your name please?

Jenna McElroy.

Yes, Mrs. McElroy, Mr. Taylor is expecting you. Just drive up in front and park. Someone will meet you at the door." I follow his directions and pull around the circular drive to the front door. I sure hope I am dressed appropriately in my sundress and sandals. I had no idea I was coming to such a magnificent house for dinner.

When I ring the bell, the door is opened by Julie