Page 8

Chapter 7

Found

Sydney

I t feels wrong being here at Lindsey’s place, going through her belongings. But I am gathering the list of things Beau wants for her to have at the hospital, things Mom texted me, along with the list of things Lily would need.

I bat away tears as I start to straighten up the place. I’d want someone to do that for me if I was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for my life, and my family may come and stay at my place when they get into town.

I pray it doesn’t get messier than it already is. I know enough about the situation that they do not like Beau, and I’m sure that makes him dislike them.

I fold the white knitted blanket and toss it over the back of the couch.

“Laundry,” I say to myself. “At least get the bedding changed.” I had to peek in rooms around the house to find the master bedroom.

A clean set of sheets and duvet covers sit on the top shelf in her closet, which is full of unpacked boxes, most likely containing summer clothes. I’m sure a Georgian has many more of those than winter attire.

As I’m making her bad, I cringe when I think of the other things that I would want someone to check for me, like my nightstand, to make sure I didn’t have an adult toy stashed away that my mother may find. Not that there’s anything wrong with having toys, but that doesn’t make the thought any less devastating. And even worse, what if her father finds it?

I don’t find a toy—I mean, maybe she doesn’t need one, maybe she and Beau have an arrangement. Hell, if he were my baby’s daddy, I’d have an arrangement … But what I do see is a letter with his name, Boone, written in beautiful cursive across the envelope. I am sure that is not something she wants her parents to find, so I stick it in the bag of things to give to him.

After I finish up in the master bedroom, I head to Lily’s room. The sheets are slightly rumpled but still clean, so I just straighten them out and fluff the pillows. Then I pack a few outfits for Lily, along with some toys and books to keep her entertained.

As I’m gathering everything into bags, my phone rings. It’s Mom.

“Hey, Mom,” I answer, trying to sound cheerful despite the heavy weight in my chest.

“Hi, honey,” she replies, sounding equally somber.

“How’s Lindsey? How’s Beau?”

“Nothing new with Lindsey, so we’ll assume she’s healing, and Beau … he’s okay. I need you to promise me you’ll get to the Riley and Hudson’s safe, okay? If the roads are too bad, your dad, or grandpa?—”

“I have four-wheel drive and confidence in not only my ability but those who taught me to drive.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“You were the queen of pulling the emergency brake in the parking lot when it was a sheet of ice to teach me how to deal with a situation where I may lose control.”

“In a very controlled environment.” She sighs softly. “Just let me know when you get there, and please wear your seat belt.”

“Mom,” I whisper as I walk out and lock Lindsey and Lily’s lake house door, “was Lindsey wearing hers?”

“I don’t know, Sydney, I just don’t know.”

As soon as I’m on the main road, my phone rings. I hit accept on the steering wheel.

“Hello?”

“Hold on; let me get the girls on the call,” Riley says.

I have a love/hate relationship with conference calls—we always end up talking over each other. I prefer group messaging, but also, I cannot read messages right now while I am white-knuckling my steering wheel, thankful that I know this road because I sure as hell can’t see the lines.

“All right, we’re back,” Riley says quietly.

“How bad are the roads?” Maggie asks.

“I’m just happy the plows seem to be out so I can see the path. They suck. Ten out of ten recommendation for just staying home—all of you.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re going to cancel school today,” Brooklyn Cohen says quietly.

“God, how I used to love snow days.” London sighs.

“If they do end up closing shop, maybe all the kids can get together and go sledding down by Harper’s place,” I suggest. “I could grab some stuff from the shop to make cocoa and bring some treats. I think you should ask Beau if he’s okay with that, Riley. It would keep Lily busy.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Izzy yawns.

“Until we know for sure there’ll be a snow day, and then make sure it’s okay with Beau that Lily joins the kids, everybody should go back to bed before they fall asleep. They should pray—pray for Lindsey’s complete healing, and strength for all three of them.”

“That’s a given.” Maggie yawns now. “Anyone see the online articles already out there?”

“Seriously, already?” I grumble.

“It’s tasteful,” Izzy states. “I may have insisted Mom get involved and ahead of it.” She clears her throat then reads, “ Local Woman in Coma After Icy Road Crash Following Football Playoff Celebration. Blue Valley, January tenth. A woman in her mid-twenties is in critical condition following a single-vehicle accident on icy roads late Monday night, just hours after The Knights secured a playoff victory.

“ According to local authorities, the woman, whose identity has not been released, lost control of her vehicle around elven thirty p.m. on Route 7, a stretch of road notorious for hazardous conditions during winter. The car slid off the icy pavement and struck a tree, resulting in serious injuries. She was transported to St. Joes General Hospital, where she remains in a medically-induced coma. No other vehicles were involved in the incident, and police have confirmed that weather and poor road conditions were major contributing factors.

“ Officials are urging drivers to exercise caution, especially after celebrations that saw many fans heading home on slick, untreated streets. The Blue Valley community is rallying behind the woman and her family as prayers pour in from both fans and residents. ”

“Isn’t she at Upstate?” I ask.

“No one needs to know that,” Izzy says with the kind of satisfaction outsmarting the media, who will be all over this story when they realize it’s Beau’s … Lindsey.

I give her well-deserved props. “Good job, Izzy Ross.”

“I do what I can.” She yawns.

“All right, love you all, but I’m gonna hang up and pay attention. Riley, I’ll be to you in about twenty minutes. I know the code, so go get some sleep. It’s going to be a busy day.”

“We’ll chat soon,” Riley says.

“Love you all.”

Before I have a chance to type in the code, Riley opens one of the large double doors.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” she says, ushering me in. “It’s cold.”

Inside, I set both bags on the ground, and we hug, and then we both cry.

Riley whispers, “Her little girl needs her. What was she doing out there at that time? None of this makes any sense. Jesus, she had Bossy with her. That’s why Liam got called to the scene. Poor little Bossy has a sprained leg.”

“Oh my gosh, there’s a lot of questions, and I’m sure she’ll answer that when she wakes up. She’s gotta wake up.”

“Hudson says it’s awful, that she doesn’t even look like herself. They passed the scene of the accident on their way to the hospital, and the vehicle wasn’t even recognizable.”

“Well, Bossy made it out and is, I’m sure, going to be okay. I know Lindsey will be, too.”

“But what if she’s not, Sydney? What if she’s not?”

“You’re going to take all of that back and not ever put it out in the world again—positives only. When she’s healed, when she is able to leave the hospital, when … just when from now on.”

Riley nods her head as tears streak down her face.

“All right, no more of this.” I wipe away her tears. “You’re pregnant, so you have to avoid as much stress as you can. So, how about you go climb into that big old bed of yours and get some sleep? I’ll go lay down with Lily until she wakes up.”

“She’s going to be confused.”

I nod. “Only for a couple seconds, and then we will distract her with lots of sweetness.”

As we’re walking upstairs, my phone vibrates in my hand, and I look down at it and read the message.

BVCS

Due to weather conditions, all Blue Valley Central schools will be canceled for the day.

I pull up the phone and show Riley the screen. “I’m gonna shut my phone down and snuggle that little beauty until she wakes up.”

“Make sure to wake me up as soon as she’s up.” Riley yawns.

“Of course.”

When I wake up, I am startled when I see Boone lying on the other side of Lily, dark blue sapphire eyes boring into mine.

I immediately begin to panic, and tears fill my eyes, knowing what this means.

“Oh, Beau, I am?—”

“She’s still hanging in there,” he cuts me off, whispering. “Her folks and I …” He shakes his head. “They don’t like me much; thought I’d clear the way for them to see their daughter.”

“Praise Jesus.” I sigh out my relief.

“Gonna have to tell my little flower her mommy got banged up pretty bad.” His brows knit.

“If I can help in any way?—”

“Gonna take you up on that, Cupcake.”

And it’s not the most opportune moment for my face to flush.

“Daddy,” Lily’s sleepy little voice interrupts the awkwardness. “We got to make sweet toast and go to school?” She sits up, stretching. Then she notices me lying beside her and smiles that big, beautiful smile. “My Sid stays with me and Daddy?”

“I only just got here.” I kind of lie, but I don’t feel bad about it. I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of lies and half-truths told today, but the kind meant to help, not harm.

“Do you like sweet toast?”

“I do.” I push her little curl behind her ear. “But I love it with fruit on top.”

“And sweet creamy?”

I’m pretty sure she’s referring to whipped cream. “Only if I have it.”

She smiles. “Daddy always gots sweet creamy.”

He nods.

Her little head tilts to the side, and she claps her hands on both cheeks, asking, “You sad, Daddy?”

His eyes are getting misty.

I slide off the bed. “How about you use the bathroom, and then we’ll head down to the kitchen to make sweet toast, and you and Daddy can talk.”

“You gotta pee, too?” she asks.

“I do.”

She slides off the bed and holds out her hand. “I show you.”

When we exit the bathroom, Beau pushes off the wall, squats down, and holds out his arms. “Bring it in, little flower.”

My heart constricts as he swoops her up in them.

“Okay, let’s go make some sweet toast and talk about some pretty grownup things.”

“Like a big girl?” she asks.

“Something like that, yeah.” He swings her around on his back then heads to the top of the stairs. As he passes me, he takes my hand and pulls me along beside him. Me? I just go with it.

Beau stands against the island counter, and Lily slides down onto it.

“I’ll grab the ingredients while you two chat,” I offer.

I watch as Beau pulls out a stool and sits in front of her, taking her tiny hands in his giant ones. Her big, innocent eyes blink up at him, full of trust, as he takes a deep breath, steadying himself. This isn’t a conversation any father ever wants to have.

“All right, little flower,” he starts softly, brushing a curl from her face, “Mommy got a big boo-boo. A really big one.”

“Oh no, Daddy. Did she run with scissors or slip on the ice. Was it a shark?”

A sad smile creeps on his lips as he shakes his head while looking at her adoringly. “Mommy was in an accident. Right now, she’s at the hospital where all the doctors and nurses are helping her fight hard to get better.”

“Is she fighting for the W’s Daddy?” she asks, lower lip wobbling slightly.

“Yeah, little flower, she’s fighting for the W.”

My eyes immediately tear up as I crack eggs in the bowl and begin to whisk them.

“We gotta get a Mommy jersey and cheer for her.”

“Yeah, Lily, we’ll do that.” His voice breaks, and I fight like crazy not to cry for them. He pulls her in tight. “She’s sleeping right now so her body can rest, which will help her heal better. They’re taking really good care of her.”

Her bottom lip quivers more now, and she hugs him tighter. “She sleep for a long time?”

He leans back and presses a kiss to her knuckles. “For a while. It may be quite a long time before you can see her. The hospital?—”

“No cry babies at the hospital. I already knows that, Daddy, from last time.”

“Last time?” I ask.

Her eyes widen as she looks between him and me then shakes her head and changes the subject. “She wake up soon?”

“I hope so, sweetheart,” he answers, but I see it in his eyes that he’s wondering what last time meant. “And we’re gonna help her, okay? We’ll draw her pictures and hang them up so they’re the first thing she sees when she wakes up. We’ll talk to her on the phone and tell her about your day, even if she’s sleeping.” He smiles at her, one full of love and hope. “She might not answer right now, but she can still feel our love. And love is really, really powerful.”

She snuggles into his chest, her tiny arms wrapped around him. “We love Mommy so, so much,” she whispers.

He squeezes her close. “And she loves you so, so much.”

“You have Sydney cooking breakfast; this is certainly a treat,” Riley says as she walks into the kitchen, Hudson following right behind her, and Major behind them.

“Oh no, Daddy, we gotta get Bossy. She’s all alone.” And that’s when that sweet little girl finally breaks.

The four of them have become like a little family in a way, and Lindsey is a part of that now.

I stay busy as they console one another, and then, when they tell her that Bossy was in the vehicle and is at the vet hospital, they console her some more.

“Hey, Lily,” I call her attention from where she is consoling Bossy’s littermate, Major. “You want to tell me when there’s enough whipped cream, or should I decide?”

During breakfast, Lily found out we had a snow day, which brightened her day just a little bit. We made a big deal about it because it was her first New York winter. Riley and I talked to her about going sledding with some of what we called the Knights family to keep it simple. She asked Beau to come, too, and he told her that he wanted to go back to check on Lindsey and talk to her grandparents. Lily wanted to make sure Hudson was going with him so he wouldn’t be all alone.

“She’s had a long day,” I whisper as I tuck her in.

“She’s been a trooper.” Riley yawns as we exit her room.

I smile. “You know who else has been a trooper?”

She makes a surprised face and points toward herself. “Me?”

“Of course, you. You’re supposed to be resting and being pampered by your football player fiancé .”

“I don’t want to be pampered by my hot football player fiancé. I can pamper myself. But what that boy does to my body cannot be recreated. I rather like being F-U-C-K-E-D by him.”

“Oh my God, is that my daughter?” My aunt Jade laughs from the foyer down below.

“Certainly hope it’s not mine; that would be odd.” Hudson’s mother, Linda, giggles.

“Fuck me,” Riley whispers, or at least she thinks she does. She has a horrible habit of talking louder than she thinks she is.

“Sweetheart, you’re pregnant. I know what you and my son do, and as wrong as it sounds to say this—and I will never give him a pat on the back or an attaboy—but yeah, attaboy. I’m happy the two of you make each other happy. Never stop doing that.”

“Unless the two of you promise to stop talking about this, I’m going to bed,” Riley threatens, but does so pleasantly.

We both stop when we hear quiet murmuring coming from Lily’s bedroom.

“You go down with your mother and future mother-in-law. I got this.”

“I can help.” Riley yawns again.

“If we go in there, and she’s awake, and we end up laying with her, you’re gonna be asleep in ten seconds. Go say hello to your mother and soon-to-be mother-in-law. I’ll be down in a bit.” I shoo her away.