Page 25

The hospital was a maze. I would need all the exit signs to find my way back out.

A few minutes later, Cole was stationery again, and his bed on lockdown and plugged into a bunch of wall sockets.

Darlene opened the cupboard at the end of the bed and handed me a set of blankets and a pillow. “Here you go. These are for you. Don’t feel bad if you feel like you need to go home. You wouldn’t be the first to be defeated by the chair.” She smiled warmly before closing the door behind her.

It wasn’t much, but it would make the recliner bearable. I kicked off my sandals, extended the chair, and nestled in for the night. I wasn’t going to leave Cole’s side.

If I thought sleeping on the hard living room floor was rough, it was nothing compared to wrestling sleeping positions in a hospital recliner. I opened my eyes, remembering where I had spent the night.

“Good morning,” Cole whispered.

“You’re awake.” I hopped out of the chair faster than I should have. My shoulder and leg had both fallen asleep. The dizziness hit me. I stumbled, but grabbed the end of the bed to gain some balance.

“I’ve been watching you sleep. What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I couldn’t leave you here all night by yourself. Are you ok? What happened?” I still had no idea what kind of accident he had.

“Where’s Grayson?” His eyes darted back and forth.

“He’s ok. Sasha canceled the sitter and stayed with him all night. She knows where to take him to school.” I smiled.

He motioned for the water cup on the rolling cart. I picked it up and handed it to him.

A few seconds later, he cleared his throat. “I was coming down off the roof, and my foot slipped. I got hung up in the ladder. It twisted my knee before I finally landed on the ground. That’s the last thing I remember.”

He examined his leg.

“The good news is that you didn’t sustain a concussion,” I reported. Darlene had told me that much.

“Yeah, good thing.” He reached for my hand. “Thank you for staying. And thank you for making sure Grayson had someone.”

I moved closer to the bed. A metal side rail separated us. “I would do anything for you and him. What can I do now? How can I help?”

The door opened and a doctor hurried into the room. “Good morning, Mr. Thomas.” He didn’t look up from his charts. “How’s the pain level? We’ve cut back your pain meds.”

Cole grimaced. “It’s bearable.”

I could tell from the sweat on his forehead he didn’t mean a word he said.

“Good. That’s impressive progress considering it’s been less than twenty-four hours since your accident.” The doctor scribbled something on the chart. “You’re going to have to stay off that leg for at least a week. I’ll have the nurse schedule an appointment with Brownsville Orthopedic in seven days. They’ll check you out and let you know about your rehab schedule.”

“Rehab?” The word was out before I knew I was butting in.

He turned to me, shoving a pen in the top pocket of his white coat. “Yes, there was a pretty severe sprain to the knee and ankle. The x-rays came back negative for a break, but the sprains are both serious enough that it may take physical therapy to get things back to normal.” He faced Cole. “I’ll sign your discharge paperwork, get a set of crutches assigned to you, and you’ll be on your way. No walking for a week though.” He wagged his finger.

Cole nodded. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t challenging the doctor or asking for a second opinion. A week with no walking was going to kill him.

I looked at him. “You’re going to be ok. That’s what matters.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“Easy, guys. Easy.” I held my breath as Cal and Lance maneuvered Cole through the kitchen door of the beach cottage. They had managed to carry him all the way up the stairs without so much as banging a toe on the railing. I was impressed.

They looked around the bare living room. We still didn’t have the living room set we wanted.

“He’ll have to go on the bed.” I pointed to the hallway that led to our bedroom.

Cole hadn’t said much since he had been discharged from the medical center. I thought it was partly the exhaustion of the entire experience combined with the pain meds’ side effects.