I could see Lou’s confusion and her curiosity, but I wasn’t in the right state to give her some bullshit answer about why I cared so much about Brady Judd and the accident I’d witnessed. The only thing that wanted to come out of my mouth was the truth. One that was likely already written all over my face.
She tried to be kind and talk to me while we waited for the nurses to get Brady settled, but I couldn’t manage it. My thoughts were swallowed up by the sights and sounds of the ER around me. I was reliving the startling moment when Buck’s truck collided with Brady, the way he hadn’t been moving when I’d called his name.
True to her word, Louisa smuggled me back into the temporary room Brady occupied in the emergency department.
He was asleep when I got there. I didn’t know if that was safe or not. I thought I’d read something about keeping people awake who’d sustained a head injury. But if the doctors and nurses weren’t worried, then I guessed it was okay.
The cut above his eyebrow had already been taken care of, a barely there red line that had been closed with a butterfly bandage. The skin was slightly swollen and would likely be bruised by the morning.
My fingers hovered above the wound as I took in the rest of Brady. I didn’t see any splints or slings or anything to indicate he’d broken or dislocated something.
“Mac,” he breathed, startling me.
Brady wore a dopey grin, like he’d had one too many at a frat party.
I swallowed and clutched his hand without meaning to. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright. Just tired and a little dizzy. They want to do a scan just to make sure everything’s fine.” His eyes closed. “But said I should be able to go home after that.”
“A scan of what?” I asked quickly, worried he’d drift back to sleep without answering.
“My giant brain,” he said, lips quirking up at the corners.
A breath rushed out of me that might have been relief or amusement, but it was enough to have his eyes opening again.
“Hey,” he said, squeezing my hand. “MacKenzie, I’m fine. Don’t cry, honey.”
“I’m not crying,” I replied reflexively, but my nose was burning, and the room was going blurry.
Brady tried to rise up out of the bed but winced.
“Stop,” I said, urging him back and pulling myself together. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Just rest, Brady. I’ll be here. I’ll take you home when they let you go.”
He settled after that, closing his eyes once more.
A nurse or technician in pale gray scrubs came in a short while later to take Brady for a CT scan. The man was in his fifties and gave me a kind smile as he wheeled Brady down the hallway. He told me to wait there, that it wouldn’t take long.
They made it back twenty minutes later, just as it was nearing 11:00 p.m.
I’d tried calling Candace to let her know about her brother, but she hadn’t answered. I didn’t want to leave a message or text her and scare the hell out of her. I’d call again once I knew when they planned on releasing him.
Brady was sleeping when a Black man in slacks and a white coat entered the room just before midnight.
He smiled warmly. “I’m Dr. Owens. You must be the fiancée.”
I fought to keep a straight face at the doctor’s pronouncement, barely panicking over how much I didn’t hate the sound of that. Apparently, that was how Louisa had managed to get me into Brady’s room.
“That’s me,” I said evenly, noting that Brady’s eyes stayed closed and his breathing even. “Is he going to be okay?”
The thirtysomething physician smiled again. I could tell it was meant to put me at ease, but I was still all twisted up. “His scan looked good. No trouble there. We’ll send him home with you shortly. You’ll need to monitor him for the next twelve hours. He’ll want to sleep, but you’ll need to wake him every two hours and ask him a few questions. Easy ones. His name. His birthday. Things like that. Give him over-the-counter acetaminophen for any pain. No work for the next few days. Reduced screen time.”
I nodded, grateful to have something to do.
“He may be irritable or have headaches, but bring him back in if things worsen instead of improving.”
“Thank you,” I managed, my voice a little choked.
The doctor dipped his chin. “We’ll get you out of here soon. Sit tight.”
