Page 8 of Knox (Comeback Duet #2)

CREW

Mallory had been in a medically induced coma for three days. Each one felt slower than the last. Each one made me worry more about the future.

Knox, Grady, and I were in the living room—Grady on the floor playing with toy dinosaurs, and Knox next to me flipping through something on his tablet—when my phone lit up on the coffee table.

I sat up fast as I saw the name on the screen. “Hey, Mrs. Wade. Everything okay?”

“Crew! She’s responding to touch,” Debra rushed out. “They started the process last night, and she’s moving her fingers when the nurses speak to her or press on her hand. She hasn’t opened her eyes yet, but they say it may be soon.”

It felt as though the weight I’d been carrying around lifted. “That’s amazing. I’m on my way.”

I hung up before she could say anything else. I wanted to be there when Mallory woke up. Needed to be there.

Knox looked over and whispered, “Mallory?”

I nodded. “They started waking her up. She hasn’t opened her eyes yet, but she’s responding.”

He nudged my leg. “Go. I’ll stay with G Man.”

Grady looked up. “Where are you going, Daddy?”

I walked over and crouched in front of him. “To see Mommy at the hospital. Knox is going to stay with you, okay?”

My son frowned. “But I wanna go.”

“I know, buddy. But let me check on her first.” I didn’t know how long it would take for Mallory to be fully responsive, and I wanted to wait until she was before Grady saw her.

“Okay.” His shoulders drooped. “Tell Mommy I miss her.”

I hugged him tight and kissed the top of his head. “I will.”

When I got to the hospital, Debra sat at her daughter’s side, adjusting the blanket and smoothing her hand over Mallory’s uninjured arm. Hank was in the chair on the other side of the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

“She’s responding more,” Debra told me. “Not just reflexes either. She squeezed my fingers, and her eyes opened a few minutes ago, but just for a second.”

“She’s tracking sounds now too,” Hank added. “When Deb talks, her head turns toward her mother. The doctor said that’s what we want.”

I stepped closer to the bed. Mallory’s face was still bruised. The scratches on her forehead and temple looked worse now that the swelling had gone down, and her arm was still in a cast. The main difference was that she was breathing on her own.

I stood next to Debra and took Mallory’s other hand.

“Hey Mal, it’s Crew. I just left Grady with Knox.

He’s good and has been asking for you.” Her skin was soft, but her hand didn’t twitch.

I kept my voice steady. “He’s been carrying Bunzy everywhere.

Took him to the kitchen this morning and made him a spot on the couch.

Says Bunzy wants you to wake up.” She didn’t move.

“Your mom said you’ve been squeezing hands today. Can you do that for me?”

Nothing at first. Then I felt the smallest shift. A faint pressure curled through her fingers. Not strong. Just enough to know she was listening.

“She’s doing it.” I looked up. “She’s squeezing my hand.”

Debra stood and leaned in closer. “Mallory, sweetie, it’s okay. We’re here.”

Hank scooted closer too. “You’re doing good, baby girl. Just keep going.”

Mallory’s forehead twitched. Her lips parted a little, and her chest rose and fell again, deeper this time. Then her eyelids fluttered. Once. Then again.

Her eyes opened partway.

Debra reached for her shoulder. “That’s it, sweetie.”

Mallory blinked again. Her focus shifted toward Debra, then to me. She didn’t speak. Didn’t make a sound, but her eyes stayed open.

“She’s looking at us.” Hank placed a hand near his daughter’s head, being careful around the bandage. “You’re okay.”

“She’s really waking up,” Debra whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

Mallory tried to move her mouth, but nothing came out. Her lips worked again as she looked up at her mom.

“She’s trying to talk.” I watched her lips move again as she glanced my way.

Her hand shifted against mine again.

“Do you want to see Grady? I can have Knox bring him,” I asked.

She gave the faintest nod of her head.

I let go and pulled my phone from my pocket as I stepped toward the back wall.

“Hey!” he answered.

“She’s awake.” I beamed as I looked back at Mallory in the hospital bed.

“No fucking way.”

“She hasn’t said anything yet, but she’s looking around. She’s more responsive now, and she wants to see Grady.”

“I’m bringing him now.”

I told him the room number and then went to let Mallory know.

Twenty minutes later, the nurse let Grady slip in even though kids weren’t usually allowed in the ICU. He came through the doorway holding Bunzy tight, eyes locked on the bed.

“There she is,” Knox whispered behind him. “Just like I told you.”

Grady walked straight to the side of the bed, climbed into the chair, and reached for his mom’s hand.

Knox stepped up beside me, his arm brushing mine before resting across my shoulders. I let mine fall across his back without looking away from Grady.

“Hi, Mommy.”

Mallory’s eyes found him. She didn’t look away.

Grady leaned closer. “Knox told me you woke up, so I brought you Bunzy.” He placed the rabbit on the blanket next to her arm. “He’s been sleeping with me at Daddy’s, but he wanted to come see you too.”

She watched him with a hint of a smile on her lips.

“I missed you every day,” he whispered.

Debra’s shoulders shook, and Hank pulled her into his chest.

Grady didn’t look at them. His hand stayed over his mother’s. “I asked Daddy if we could come see you even when you were still sleeping, but he said the doctors were still helping you.”

A lump crawled up my throat as I watched my son with his mom. He didn’t ask about the bruises or the wires. He didn’t care that she hadn’t said a word. He just talked to her and gave her updates like she’d gone out of town and was finally back.

The last three days, I’d prepared for the worst. But I hadn’t expected this: his calm, his heart, the way he filled the silence without needing anything in return.

He leaned in a little more. “Do you know where you are? You’re at the hospital, but it’s okay. Knox said you’re getting better now.”

Her eyes stayed open. Her lips moved again, slow and careful.

“I told Bunzy we’d bring you home when you’re ready. He can stay here with you until then.” Grady lowered his voice. “Can I tell you something?”

Mallory didn’t answer, but her hand stayed wrapped around his.

“I kept waiting for you to pick me up at Daddy’s and take me to get hot cocoa.” He moved closer until his head rested gently against her uninjured arm. “When you’re ready. We can go get some. I love you, Mommy.”

As I stood there, I tried not to fall apart, but having Mallory alert and watching Grady talk to her was one of the best feelings in the world.

I closed Grady’s door gently behind me. It was his first night without Bunzy. He didn’t ask for him, but I could tell it felt different. He didn’t interrupt the story. Didn’t stall. Just curled into the blankets and held still until he was out.

Stepping into the bedroom, I found Knox already in bed, propped up against the headboard. The TV was on but muted. He held the remote in one hand but wasn’t touching any buttons. “She’s going to be okay,” he said as though he still knew what I was thinking.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Grady too.”

“I know.” I dropped my phone on my nightstand, then sat on the edge of the bed and ran my hand through my hair. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

“Yeah, but you know pitchers and catchers report in a month. I have no plan. She’s still in the hospital, and I can’t leave Grady.”

Before we left the hospital, a doctor came in to check on Mallory.

She was finally able to speak—barely above a whisper—but it was something.

Enough to answer a question or nod when the doc prompted her.

Still, it was clear she had a long way to go.

The doctor didn’t sugarcoat it; she said Mallory would be in the hospital at least three more weeks, maybe longer, depending on how her body handled rehab, how steady her memory stayed, and how long it took for her strength to come back.

She’d made it through the worst part, but none of this was over.

“You don’t have to have it figured out yet.”

“I keep thinking maybe I should stay. Just skip the season.” I stared down at my hands. “Maybe baseball isn’t the right call right now.”

Knox shifted behind me and rested both hands on my shoulders. His thumbs moved slowly, pressing into the tight muscles at the base of my neck. “You’re allowed to think that, but Parker didn’t say you had to quit. He said you had options.”

“I know.”

“You don’t have to give up the game. You just need help.”

I sat there, trying to let the tension go.

“What if we find someone to help?” He stayed behind me, still working his thumbs down along the sides of my neck. “Someone to live at Mallory’s full-time. Help with Grady until she’s healed and back to being his mom.”

“A nanny?”

“Yeah. A nanny.”

I nodded slowly, still facing forward. Knox’s hands didn’t stop. He moved lower, working the knots out of my shoulders.

I hadn’t given much thought to hiring a nanny, but I knew live-in ones existed, so maybe my man was onto something.

“We’ll look into it tomorrow.” I blew out a breath as he continued to massage me.

“Good, because you know I don’t want to see another catcher behind the plate.”

I huffed a little laugh. “You just like to see me in my baseball pants.”

“And out of them.” He leaned in and kissed the back of my neck, then slid my shirt off.