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Chapter Six
The next bit of time was a blur of ambulances, screams, panic, whipping wind, pouring rain, and a stretcher. Amidst it all, I was aware of the steady British voice by my side the whole way out of Tino’s and into the ambulance. I floated in and out, everything like a fuzzy, warped dream.
When my eyes bolted open and awareness fully settled in, I sat up, heart racing.
“You’re okay,” a voice soothed. I turned to see a stranger beside what I understood was a hospital bed. Beeping sounds, a dusty blue curtain, and an antiseptic smell wafted about me. I blinked at the man beside me and thought about screaming.
But taking in the sight of the tall stranger, a ball cap on his head and sunglasses tucked on his faded gray shirt, I softened a bit. Maybe it was his accent, or maybe it was the way his stunning blue eyes took me in. Even though a scruffy beard hid his jawline, I could tell it was angular and perfect. My heartbeat kept racing, but not from panic.
“Excuse me?” I said, turning and glancing around the room. But it was just the two of us.
“You’re okay. Lie back,” he ordered.
I did, only because I felt super groggy and like I couldn’t stay propped up for a second longer. I glanced down the bed to see my leg elevated, a boot covering it.
“Oh no,” I said.
“Yes, it was a wickedly bad fall. Bloody thought I killed you on those steps,” he murmured. And then slowly, bits started coming back.
The basement at Tino’s. The boxes. The tall figure bursting through the door. The fall to end all falls.
“Am I going to be okay?” I asked, but before the stranger explained, a nurse rushed through.
“How are we feeling?” she asked.
“Confused,” I said.
“That’s to be expected. We did run all the tests, and it looks like other than a bump on your head and the leg situation, you’re in the clear. We’ll be keeping an eye out for signs of concussion, though. Considering the fall, you’re really lucky, Mrs. Ashby,” she said. I was about to ask a question, but then I caught onto the Mrs. part. I squinted at her but decided an incorrect marital status could wait.
“How about my foot?” I asked, panicked as again glanced at the status of my foot. I couldn’t afford to be off work, not with everything going on.
“Broken ankle. You’re looking at least six to eight weeks for recovery,” she said, studying my chart. “The doctor will go over details with you. He wants to keep you tonight just to observe you. Just a precaution. This could have been so much worse, Mrs. Ashby. You’re lucky. Seriously.”
I knew it could be worse, but at that moment, nothing felt quite lucky about it.
“I’ll leave you and your husband alone. The doctor will be in. Push the button if you need anything,” she said after taking my vitals and writing down some notes. My mouth fell open. Maybe I’d heard her wrong. She rushed out of the room, though, before I could clarify.
I turned to the stranger.
“My husband?” I asked. “Did I hit my head that badly?” I thought about all those sappy romance movies where the woman wakes up and forgets her husband. That wasn’t me, right? I was wary of the man beside me. Where was everyone I knew? Had they really let me go with this strange man?
“Sorry,” he said, hands up. “They wouldn’t let me ride in the ambulance with you unless I was family, so I had to lie a bit. And then they just rolled with it, and I felt bad because it’s my fault, so I didn’t want you to be alone.”
“What’s with the hat and sunglasses?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow. Even with the beard and the hat, something about him felt familiar somehow. Maybe I really did have a major head injury because I’d never seen him before. He wasn’t one of the regulars at Tino’s.
“I just have them in case I need them.”
“Why would you need them?” I asked. “Are you a spy? Undercover cop?”
He laughed at that, his laugh sounding uppity but in a charming way. “Something like that, I guess, in a way.”
He scooched his chair closer. I didn’t feel the urge to move back. Which was good because I couldn’t if I wanted to. Nonetheless, my heart fluttered a bit.
“I’m really sorry about all this. I’m sorry you’re waking up in this horrendous situation with a stranger nonetheless.” At that, a new thought hit me.
