“I’d like that.”
As she carries my baby out of the forest, I’m not sure if she’s coming to dinner because she wants to spend more time with Bailey or if she’s coming for me.
8
APRIL
My heart thumps louder every time Grant sets down a dish before me.
We spent an amazing day together. I got to know my silly niece and also the mischievous man who’s her father.
I helped bathe Bailey and put her to bed, and now we’re sitting at the dining table while Grant serves up spaghetti bolognaise.
“You want a glass of wine?”
My mouth goes dry at the thought of wine. But I don’t trust myself to drink. Not yet. It’s too soon.
“I’d prefer soda if you have one?”
He brings me a can of soda and thankfully doesn’t ask any questions about why I don’t drink. My back’s acting up after the walk today, and I rub it absentmindedly.
“What happened to your back?” Grant asks.
I pull my hand away from my lower back.
“It’s an injury that acts up sometimes.”
He sips his beer. “Oh yeah? What happened?”
I’ve been rolling a coil of spaghetti around my fork and I stuff it into my mouth now, giving me time to think while I chew.
I hate talking about the accident. It brings up so many bad memories, not of the actual accident but of what happened after. It’s the exact moment I can pinpoint when my life got turned upside down, and everything spiraled out of control from there.
“I was ice skating.”
Grant raises an eyebrow. “You like to skate?” He seems excited, and I guess living in the mountains means he’s an outdoorsy person.
Like the person I used to be.
“I haven’t skated since the accident.”
He frowns at me. “I’m sorry. There’s awesome skating here in the winter.”
A pang of regret pierces my chest. I used to ice skate and hike and do fun stuff until the darkness took over and changed everything.
“So what happened? It must have been a bad fall.”
I swallow my mouthful. “It was. I was with Karen and some friends. She’d been drinking, which isn’t a great idea when ice skating. She pulled me out onto the ice and was all wobbly. There was a frozen island in the middle of the lake, and she had her back to it. She spun me around too fast and let go. I crashed into the barrier and landed on my back against a tree.”
“Ouch.” He winces.
“Yeah, it was an unfortunate angle. I had a spinal fracture.”
“You broke your back?” He looks shocked, and I’m used to this reaction.
I couldn’t believe it myself when the doctor told me. The pain made me pass out, and I came to in an ambulance with Karen clasping my hand. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was whispering,“I’m so sorry,”over and over.
“I needed surgery, then a back brace.”
