“I didn’t know you played tennis,” Carrie said, directing the comment to Heath.
“Your aunt is much better than I am. The real reason I’m willing to make a fool of myself is so I can see her in a skort.”
Julia smiled. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s a fine tennis player.”
Heath led her into the basement parking garage. “Did you know Michael’s friend Eric and Carrie are dating?”
Julia had heard rumors along those lines. “I haven’t heard much. What do you know?”
“Michael thinks it’s great that Eric has finally found the incentive to get outside of his condo. Supposedly, Eric’s become a workaholic and is shy by nature, but smarter than anyone Michael knows.”
“Carrie would be good for him.”
“I think so, too. Eric took her to a movie last week and a dinner this week. They seem to get along great. He doesn’t know Carrie’s related to you and I didn’t mention it.”
“Probably a good idea.” Later, Julia would make a point of asking her niece more about this budding relationship.
Heath drove, and they arrived five minutes before their scheduled court time. Over the last few weeks, they’d managed to get in a match or two about once a week. When they’d first started playing, Heath had been rusty and Julia generally bested him. It’d taken three or four court times for Heath to keep up with her and become a worthy opponent.
The first game they played went to Heath. “Hey,” he called across the net. “You’re losing your edge. This match is mine.”
She snickered. “In your dreams, smarty-pants. I was going easy on you.”
* * *
—
Bending forward, her racket in hand, Julia bobbed in a standing position, balancing on one foot and then the other, waiting for Heath to serve. The ball bounced just inside the line, but she reached it in time to return it toward the far corner. Heath raced across the court and then abruptly stopped.
The ball flew past him as his racket fell onto the court.
Heath dropped to his knees.
“Heath?” she cried, wondering if he might have stumbled.
Then he looked at her and she knew.
He hadn’t tripped. This was serious.
Frantically, Julia screamed for help as she raced around the net to reach him.
He looked up at her before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed facedown onto the court.
Chapter 19
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”
Julia’s voice trembled so violently that she was barely able to speak. A man from another court over had rushed to Heath’s side, reaching him almost at the same time as Julia. Immediately assessing the situation, he started CPR while Julia hurriedly located her phone to call for help.
Within minutes, she heard the sirens and raced to meet the paramedics who came to tend Heath. Everything happened so fast that she barely had time to absorb what was going on before Heath was taken away, sirens blaring.
Collapsing onto the bench on the side of the court, she buried her face in her hands. Her knees were shaking so hard she was in danger of slipping off the edge of the seat.
A woman she didn’t know came to sit down beside her. She gently touched Julia’s arm. “Are you okay?” she asked softly, as if afraid of alarming Julia.
“I…I don’t know.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she drew in a deep breath, hoping to ease the frenzied beat of her heart so she could think clearly. Her greatest fear was that she was about to lose Heath. It crippled her mentally, to the point that she found it difficult to move. The look in his eyes right before he collapsed was branded in her memory. It seemed, in those last seconds, before he lost consciousness, like Heath was saying good-bye. A giant sob shook her entire torso.
“Is there someone you can call?”
Julia couldn’t think clearly enough to figure out what was necessary, what she should do next. Then she noticed Heath’s bag sitting at the end of the court. His phone was inside.
She should let Heath’s sons know.
Later, she decided. It was more important that she get to the hospital and find out his condition. If she contacted Michael and Adam without any details, it would freak them out worse.
“I have to get to the hospital,” she said, desperately needing to know if Heath had survived before she contacted his family.
“Here.” The man who had given Heath CPR handed her a bottle of water. “Drink this first.”
She nodded, not realizing how dry her throat had become. Guzzling down the liquid, she paused for a moment to calm herself. Her own heart raced at an alarming pace. All she could think about, all that mattered, was getting to Heath. Getting to the man she loved.