Page 47 of Give Me a Reason

The cheerfully decorated waiting room felt anything but as they waited for Bethany’s CT scan results. The sound of Coraline’s muffled sobs broke Anne’s heart, while worry for her baby cousin gnawed at her insides.

She glanced at Frederick, who sat a little apart from their group, his face pale and set. He blamed himself for Bethany’s fall, and she didn’t know how to convince him otherwise. She sighed, feeling helpless and lost.

Everyone rose to their feet when the doctor walked into the room at last. The white coat over her blue scrubs looked a bit rumpled, evidencing a long day, and loose strands of dark hair fell from her low ponytail. Even so, she exuded a calm competence Anne immediately trusted.

Coraline and Joe rushed toward her, and the rest of them crowded around a few steps behind them. Tessa reached for Anne, and she squeezed her little sister’s hand even as her own pulse thudded in her throat.

“How is she?” Coraline asked, her voice husky from tears. Joe rubbed circles on her back.

“Her CT scan shows signs of a moderate concussion, but we believe she’ll make a full recovery in two to three weeks,” the doctor said succinctly but not unkindly.

“Oh, thank God.” Coraline covered her mouth with a trembling hand.

“We need to keep her overnight for observation, but she’ll be discharged in the morning,” the doctor continued.

“Once she’s home, make sure she gets plenty of rest. She can ease back into her normal routine gradually.

She might have lingering symptoms for as long as four weeks, so she needs to listen to her body and slow down when it tells her to. ”

“Thank you so much, Doctor,” Joe said, shaking her hand.

“Of course.” Then the doctor turned to Coraline with a small smile.

“I’m sure your sister will be relieved to hear that we were able to repair her scalp laceration without shaving any of her hair.

She needs to rest for another hour before we can allow visitors, but you can give her the good news when you see her. ”

“I will. Thank you.” Coraline let out a watery laugh. “She’ll be very happy to hear that.”

With a nod at the couple, the doctor left with brisk steps, probably rushing to her next patient. As soon as the door closed behind her, the waiting room exploded with raucous cheers. Luckily, there was no one else in there.

Anne released Tessa from a bear hug, then turned to find Frederick on her other side. She hesitated for the briefest second before she threw her arms around him. With a long sigh, he sank into her embrace. Tears rushed to her eyes when she felt him trembling against her.

“She’s going to be okay,” Anne murmured, running her hand down his back in long, soothing strokes.

Frederick buried his face in her neck, and she pushed onto her tiptoes to hold him tighter. She couldn’t even worry about what her sister or anyone else would think. He needed her. When he finally released her, she took a small step back, her hands lingering on his shoulders.

“Thank you, Anne,” he said in a low rasp. “I was… When I called… Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.” I’ll always come.

Frederick held her eyes for a long moment before looking away, and she wondered if he heard her unspoken words.

Suddenly nervous, she wrapped her arms around her midriff and scanned the waiting room.

To her relief, no one was paying attention to her and Frederick.

Coraline sat next to Joe with Tessa tucked into her other side.

Pete, Katie, and Aiden huddled in nearby seats, speaking quietly.

“I should get everyone something warm to drink,” Anne said, her protective instinct kicking in. She wanted to take care of her family and the people she’d come to care so much about. But most of all, she wanted to take care of Frederick.

“I’ll come with you,” he offered automatically.

She looked down at his shaking hands. “I can ask Aiden to come with me.”

Frederick shoved his hands inside his pockets, scuffing his feet on the carpet, but he nodded after a moment.

“What would you like to drink?” She laid a gentle hand on his arm.

“Coffee.” His eyes darted to her hand, then back to her face. “No cream—”

“But lots of sugar,” she finished for him. “I know how you drink your coffee.”

His lips quirked into a ghost of a smile. “And I’m guessing hot chocolate for you since it’s past ten.”

“God, I was already an old lady at twenty-one.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Not everyone can drink coffee like water,” he said with a shrug.

She playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s a very diplomatic way of agreeing with me.”

He gave her another barely there smile and tipped his chin toward Tessa, Coraline, and Joe. “I’ll go ask them what they want.”

Anne watched Frederick walk away with helpless frustration. The stubborn man was torturing himself with guilt. It was an accident. No one was to blame. But she had no way of convincing him of something he wasn’t ready to accept.

“How are you guys holding up?” Anne asked Pete, Katie, and Aiden. “I’m going to the cafeteria to grab something to drink. Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay,” Pete said. “But Katie wouldn’t mind some cocoa. Right, honey?”

“Right.” She covered a yawn with her hand.

Anne cocked her head at Aiden. “Do you mind giving me a hand with the drinks?”

“No, not at all.” Aiden promptly hopped to his feet, showing no signs of fatigue. As a medical student, he must have been used to worse hours than these.

“Anne.” Frederick joined them, lightly placing his hand at her lower back. She resisted the urge to lean into his touch. “Another hot chocolate and a black coffee.”

“Got it.” As soon as she answered, he promptly dropped his hand and lumbered over to the far end of the waiting room. She sighed, missing the warmth of his touch. “Aiden? Bethany will be okay, right?”

“With proper care and rest, she’ll be as good as new,” he said without hesitation. “The doctor wasn’t sugarcoating things. I promise.”

Anne nodded with a grateful smile at the soon-to-be doctor, but her gaze drifted toward Frederick’s hunched form again.

She hoped he believed Bethany would be okay and stopped beating himself up over the accident.

A sudden thought pulled her brows low. Could his distress be over something more than guilt?

Did seeing Bethany hurt make him realize the depth of his feelings for her?

“Shall we?” Aiden said from beside her.

“Of course.” Anne had promised hot drinks to some tired folks. She could go on a jealous spiral another time.

Around midnight, Coraline and Joe were finally allowed to see Bethany. They returned with news that Bethany seemed drained but otherwise herself. Anne sagged in her chair as relief washed through her. For some reason, Coraline’s report on Bethany reassured her more than the doctor’s.

“Did they put her on the good stuff?” Katie asked, smothering a huge yawn behind her hand.

“Pete,” Anne said quietly. It was time to wrangle everyone home. “Don’t you think you need to get your wife to bed? She looks exhausted.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to leave… that guy.” His eyes shot to Frederick, who sat alone in the corner, staring down at the paper cup in his hands. He hadn’t moved from his lonely spot since Anne had brought him his coffee.

“Don’t worry.” She patted Pete’s arm even as her heart ached for Frederick. She’d wanted to stay by his side and pull him out of his dark thoughts, but Tessa needed looking after when Coraline and Joe left to see Bethany. “I’ll go talk to him.”

Anne walked over and sat down next to Frederick. “How are you doing?”

“How am I doing?” He straightened in his seat and wiped a weary hand across his eyes. “Better than Bethany.”

“Bethany will be fine,” she reminded him. “You heard Coraline.”

“She shouldn’t have been hurt in the first place.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I should never have agreed to take a walk with her when it was getting dark.”

“So she’s the one who suggested the evening stroll?” Anne arched an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Frederick huffed a wry laugh, immediately catching her drift. “But that’s not the point. I shouldn’t have agreed to it. And I should’ve… Never mind.”

“We’ll agree to disagree for now. Either way, sitting here brooding isn’t going to change anything.” She stood up and tugged on his arm. “Let’s get you back to the villa. Coraline won’t leave Bethany here alone, which means Joe will also stay the night…”

“And I’m staying as well in case they need anything.” Aiden joined them at the corner of the waiting room. “Joe wouldn’t want to leave Coraline’s side, even for a minute.”

“That’s so thoughtful of you, Aiden,” Anne said warmly.

“I know my older brother.” He shrugged with a boyish grin.

Anne returned his smile, then turned back to Frederick, planting a fist on her hip. “And that means you won’t be any use here. The best thing you can do is get some rest, then pick them up in the morning. We don’t want any of them driving on so little sleep.”

“Listen to Anne.” Pete went to stand beside Frederick, who’d reluctantly gotten to his feet. “She’s a smart one.”

“Yes.” Frederick nodded earnestly. “Anne is nothing if not smart and competent.”

Anne blushed at his unguarded compliment. Then she blushed harder when Katie yelled from halfway across the room, “Don’t forget hot as hell.”

“Well, we all know that,” Aiden said matter-of-factly.

“I’m going to let Coraline and Joe know we’re leaving,” Anne mumbled before making her way to her cousin and her fiancé. She knelt in front of Coraline, dropping a hand on her knee. “I’m not even going to try to convince you to come back to the villa. Will you be okay? Do you need anything?”

“I’ll be fine,” Coraline said with a faint smile, some color back in her cheeks. “But we need to tell Mom and Dad…”

“I’ll call them in the morning.” Anne squeezed her cousin’s knee. “Bethany’s going to be fine, so there’s no reason to wake them up in the middle of the night.”

“Okay.” Coraline gave her a wobbly smile. “Thank you, Unni.”