The Eleventh Hour (The Fiery Furnace Series #3) - EBOOK

Backed against a wall with time running out...

Challenged by the recent discovery of past events, Jermaine holds fast knowing that God wouldn’t bring him this far … just to leave him. He’s new in the faith, but determined to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Just when a ray of light breaks through the turmoil, Jermaine receives yet another debilitating blow that attempts to change his life forever. Will he be able to endure the trial that stretches his faith to the limit?

Moving into a new phase of life, Nia Thomas reveals a piece of her past for the
sake of sanity … but is there something else she’s holding back? Racing against the hands of time, Nia comes to term with the fact that the whole truth must be told. Determined to break free from bondage, she must first learn how to forgive. Will Nia surrender all that she has for a future of peace or hold onto what’s old and familiar?

Chapter 8 | Nia

The blinding red and white lights drew closer to the driveway. I dropped the curtains and snatched the front door open. The frozen wind beat against my face as I waved the paramedics inside, yelling, “Please, hurry!”

I looked on as they rushed through the living room to the kitchen. I stood near the China cabinet as two of them knelt at my mother’s side and placed a red medical box on the floor. Ma was still responsive, stirring with slow, deliberate movements. The paramedics asked her a few health-related questions before they quickly turned to me. I answered as many questions as possible about what she was doing before she fell, inwardly debating with myself about what I’d do without her. They soon decided to transport her to the hospital.

Ma was lifted into the ambulance while I quickly called Johanna. She didn’t answer, so I left a short message. I locked the front door to the house and followed the medics out to the backside of the emergency vehicle. Just as I shifted both crutches to one hand, a man sped up alongside the ambulance. He quickly jumped out of his car with a raised arm and rushed in my direction, shouting, “Wait a minute!”

With my guard up, I stared at this person who was wearing flashy jewelry and a slick, tan suit.

“What happened, Nia?” he shouted in my direction.

I suspiciously peered at him. “Who are you?”

He patted his chest. “It’s me, Willie, Bobby’s friend.”

I immediately drew back. “We’re on our way to the hospital!” I rolled my eyes away from him and handed my crutches to a medic.

“What’s going on?” he asked, staring into the ambulance. Willie then pointed at Ma who was strapped onto a stretcher. “What happened?” His eyes regained contact with mine.

“Does it even matter?” I furiously stared at him before one of the attendants quickly helped me inside the back of the vehicle.

“Wait, what about Bobby’s things?” Willie carelessly asked. “There’s a suit he needs to get out of the house.”

I cautiously glanced at Ma who then started to stir. I looked to the medic with a firm hand gesture, and he forcefully pulled the doors shut.

Willie stepped back as the doors slammed in his face. My eyes pierced into his through the narrow window on the door. He slipped his hands to his waist and helplessly looked back at the house.

I scooted toward Ma and reached for her hand. “It’s going to be okay,” I whispered in a comforting voice.

I closed my eyes and prayed to God, please save my mother. I raised Ma’s right hand to my cheek and trusted that this too would pass. I nervously tapped my fingers on my thighs, hoping that each time one of the medics administered something to her, it would do some good.

“We’re going to do everything to help her,” the attendant sitting across from me said. “Her vitals are slightly off course, but it's a good sign that she’s conscious. You did the right thing in acting so quickly, following the operator’s instructions. You probably saved her from any permanent damage.”

I peered back down at Ma and questioned, “What happened to her?”

“By her symptoms it appears to have been a mild myocardial infarction.”

“What’s that?” I grasped for understanding.

“In layman’s terms, she may have had a mild heart attack.”

“Oh my God,” I cried.

“Once we get to the hospital, we’ll complete a full heart evaluation to confirm. Her information has been transmitted so everything will be in place when we get there.”

I glanced at Ma’s pain-stricken face, wondering why this happened. “What causes a heart attack? Why did this happen to her? There was nothing wrong with her.”

The paramedic nodded understandably and then answered, “It could be an array of things, eating habits, lifestyle, even stress.”

I slowly closed my eyes, thinking about all I had confessed, and all Robert had said to her.

“But we’ll take good care of her.” He then turned his attention back to the computer screen.

I sat back as we took sharp turns around corners before arriving in front of the emergency room doors only moments later. The paramedics jumped out of the back door and lowered the stretcher to the ground. I used my crutches to help myself out. I maneuvered inside of the building as my mother was rushed into an area where she was immediately hooked up to what the paramedic called an EKG machine.

“Would you like a wheelchair?” A nurse in the ER was nice enough to ask me. “Those crutches don’t look so comfortable.”

I smiled at the young Asian woman. “Thank you. I’d really appreciate that.”

She nodded and soon disappeared to a back hall. I moved over to where Ma was and gazed back and forth as padded wires were placed all over her body. Her eyes soon found mine and she forced a smile.

I peered down and whispered, “You’re going to be all right.”

Ma reached for my hand and softly smiled. “I know.”

“Nia,” a familiar voice called me from behind.

I peered over my right shoulder and watched as Johanna jogged ahead of the nurse pushing the wheelchair.

“Oh my goodness, Jo, I’m glad you’re here.” I hugged her.

“I just got your message after finishing my shift.” She then said to the other nurse, “Thanks, Taelin. I can take it from here.”

Taelin nodded and smiled as she walked away.

Johanna grabbed my crutches and pointed to the wheelchair. “Sit down and tell me what happened.”

I eased down into the seat and somberly looked back at Ma. “I think she had a heart attack. She started shaking, holding her chest, and she just collapsed onto the floor.”

“Don’t worry, girl. We’ll take good care of her.” Johanna seemed to keep an upbeat appearance for my sake.

Johanna walked closer to my mother and gently stroked her arm. She told her that everything was going to be all right. Ma’s smile appeared empty of any worries. But she had always put up a strong front, especially in the toughest situations.

Just then, I heard footsteps resonating from behind me. I turned and watched as a man who appeared to be in his early thirties dressed in a distinctive white coat hurriedly approach our area. He quickly slipped on a thin pair of dark trimmed glasses as the badge dangling from his front pocket flipped sporadically. His necktie was neatly tucked midway inside of his collared shirt. As he got closer, I read the name embroidered onto his coat where the sleeves were rolled up slightly above the wrist: Dr. Levi S. Devine.

“Hello,” he said in a mellow, welcoming tone.

“Hi.” My lips barely parted as I slowly raised my hand to the man who looked the part of a tall, gorgeous cover model.

His smile caused my pulse to accelerate. I discreetly swallowed as he nodded at me. I looked on as he retrieved Ma’s chart from another attending nurse. Johanna handed him the EKG reading and filled him in on a little background information concerning the stress my mother had been under. I settled into my seat and allowed her to handle the details. The attending nurse seemed to appreciate the way Johanna stepped in to help even though she had just finished a full shift.

The handsome doctor flipped through a few pages of the report and initialed the paperwork. He then stood at my mother’s side, observing and asking her questions. I listened as he told her that she had indeed suffered a heart attack, but it appeared to have been a mild one. He authorized further testing to be administered immediately followed by treatment to prevent any permanent damage to her heart.

“Get her a room upstairs and make sure that Dr. Caldwell sees her,” Dr. Devine said to Johanna as he glanced down at his watch.

“Okay, Doctor. Did you want the usual blood work-up?” Johanna asked.

He scribbled something in Ma’s chart as he answered, “Yes, get a lipid panel.” He paused, momentarily folding in his full lips, peering down at the paperwork. He then turned to Ma. “Ma’am, I’m aware that you had a fall. How do you feel?”

She nodded and said barely above a whisper, “I’m feeling better, just tired.”

“Did you hit your head on anything?” Dr. Devine questioned Ma as he examined her head, gently tilting it from one side to the other with slight movements of his fingers.

“No, she didn’t,” I nervously interjected. “I was there when it happened. She fell but missed the counter in our kitchen.”

He looked over at me, displaying his distinguished features. “Did you notice if she landed on anything on the floor?”

I shook my head, glancing briefly at Johanna, before responding, “No, nothing. There’s a rug in front of the sink where she was standing. That’s where she fell.”

He paused as if in thought before asking, “Were there any other symptoms that you noticed?”

I glanced upward before gazing back into his dark brown eyes. “Only that her hands started shaking just before she fell.”

Dr. Devine nodded in acceptance before turning his attention to my mother again. “Mrs. Moore, has anything like this ever happened before?”

Ma looked at me before back to the doctor. “Not recently,” she eased out.

My lips parted in surprise. “Ma, when has this happened before?”

She cleared her throat and confessed, “A long time ago. I had a different physician at the time, and he dismissed it as being stress related. He said that I was all right. It only happened that one time … way back.”

Dr. Devine seemed to sympathize with my mother. He slid his fingers into the palm of her hand and told her that everything was going to be okay. He assured her that the specialist was going to take good care of her by providing a treatment plan that would monitor her progress.

“After we get your blood work back, Dr. Caldwell will explain more in detail the plan of action.” He tucked one side of his jacket behind his wrist as he slid his hand into his pant pocket. “He’s a cardiologist. But the preliminary reports that we have now gives me enough indication that you should be monitored overnight.”

“Thank you, Dr. Devine,” I graciously said.

He looked away from Ma and humbly smiled at me. “You’re welcome.” He then looked down at my leg. “What happened here?”

I peered down. “Oh, I messed up my leg in a bad car accident. I was lucky to be released so soon from the hospital.”

Dr. Devine softly grunted with a raised eyebrow. “Luck?”

I cleared my throat, peering over in Johanna’s direction.

“Were you released from this hospital?” he questioned, regaining eye contact with me.

“Uh, no, in North Carolina.” Unexpectedly, my insides flurried with familiar emotions. “I think I had a lot of prayers going up for me.”

He easily smiled. “Now, that sounds better. Luck had nothing to do with it.”

Johanna smirked and then winked at me.

“Are you being followed up by anyone?” he asked.

Johanna interjected, “Oh, Dr. Devine, this is Nia Thomas. I told you about her earlier. She’s the patient coming in to see you tomorrow at your office.” She then smiled in my direction.

He rotated his eyes away from Johanna and back to me. “Oh, Ms. Thomas, from Charlotte.” He held his hand out to me.

I placed my hand inside of his large palm as my lips easily curled into a permanent smile. “Uh, yeah, you can just call me Nia,” I bashfully added.

Dr. Devine grinned, peering back and forth between me and Johanna. “Okay, Nia, call me Levi.”

Johanna giggled as she folded her arms and covered her mouth with one hand.

“Well, Levi, I look forward to my appointment tomorrow.” My eyes roamed from his tantalizing smile down to the fourth finger of his left hand. No ring. “I’m going to need some med refills.”

He dampened his lips and said, “I’ll get you all fixed up.”

This time I blushed. “I’m glad we had a chance to meet.”

“Yes, me too.” He then peered back at Ma. “I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances though.”

I replied with a single jot of my eyebrows. “Yeah, I know.”

He handed Ma’s chart to Johanna, rattling off additional instructions for her. “Well, I have another patient to see. Make sure that they don’t have Mrs. Moore waiting down here too long.” He turned to Ma. “We’re going to take good care of you. You just make sure to do that for yourself.”

Ma half-smiled. “I’ll try.”

I’ve been trying to get her to do that for years, I thought to myself.

“And I’ll see you tomorrow.” Looking back at me, Levi smiled and shook my hand again before he hurried away.

I shifted my eyes to Johanna who mockingly pointed a finger at me.

“What?” I helplessly blushed again.

“Now, that’s a good man,” she whispered, easily pointing in the direction Levi had disappeared to.

“Don’t even think about it.” I rolled my eyes away from her as I moved my chair closer to Ma.

“What? All I said was that he’s a good man. What’s wrong with that?” Johanna smirked, pulling the cap off her ink pen.

I turned away from her and asked Ma if there was anything she needed.

Ma gently moved her head from side to side and answered, “No, I’m all right.”

“Well Mama Rose, we’re going to get you all fixed up, just like the good doctor said.” Johanna smiled in my direction again. “I’m going to put these orders in, and we’ll have you in a room shortly.” She handed Ma’s chart off to the assisting nurse and then turned her attention back to my mother. “Do you mind if I take some blood?”

Ma smiled at Johanna as she had done so many times before. “Do I have a choice?”

Johanna giggled as she winked at her, and smartly said, “No ma’am, you don’t.”

Here you'll find the Reading Order for my books by series. Several titles are Stand Alone that can be read in any order. All of them are listed below.

The Fiery Furnace Series
The Kiss of Judas
Confessions
The Eleventh Hour

The True Love Series
The Christmas Beau
Single, Saved, & Searching
A Test of Faith
Through the Storm
Song of Joy

Stand Alone Titles
In the Presence of My Enemies: A Novel
Once Upon a Sunday: An Inspirational Short Story
A Time to Praise: A Christmas Anthology
Miracle From On High: A Short Story (*Also featured in A Time to Praise)
Soul Ties: Breaking Up With a Past That's Killing Your Future

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