“What about if you killed me by sending me into cardiac arrest?”
Chuckling, he handed me my crutches. “Yeah, I don’t think she would’ve been happy about that either.”
I let him help me up from the bed and into the bathroom, drawing the line at his offer of assisting me to the toilet. There was little dignity in being injured, I had to hold tight on all I had left.
My leg injury turned out to be more serious than I’d initially thought. I now had pins and plates holding my bones together and a long recovery ahead of me. Still, it could’ve been a hell of a lot worse, so I was trying my damnedest to keep from getting down about it.
Jesse was waiting for me when I was finished, and he walked beside me along the path from the guesthouse to my parents’ place to have dinner with them.
The thing that had come out of all of this was moving in with Zara. It’d been out of necessity—climbing the stairs at my grandparents’ house was out of the question—but even without the injury, it would have happened. Neither of us had wanted to spend another night apart. Not for a long time.
I’d only convinced her to go back to work a couple days ago.
Me being lost had been harder for her than me. Sure, I’d gone out there looking for her, but at some point during the long hours, I’d come to realize she hadn’t been on that trail. I’d known she was safe. Had felt it in my bones.
Those same hours, she’d spent helpless, unable to do anything to find me. Not knowing what had happened or if we’d ever see each other again.
I might’ve been the one with the broken leg, but part of Zara broke that night too. We were both working on healing.
“What’s Grandma cooking?” I asked Jesse.
“Roast chicken and potatoes.” He glanced at me. “Grandpa’s cutting up a watermelon, and Phoebe sent over chocolate chip cookies.”
“She’s not coming to dinner?”
“Nope. Grandma said it’s time for everyone to give you a break. You need a quiet night, and everyone needs to get back to their lives.”
I raised a brow at him. “But you’re here.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you saying you didn’t miss me while I was at camp?”
I chuckled. Jesse had been gone for almost a month, so he’d been absent during my drama. I was kind of glad about that. Teenage years were hard enough without having to carry that memory.
“I’m not saying that at all. And I’m not surprised your grandma let you be an exception to her rule.”
He grinned as he opened the back door for me. “Don’t tell the others I’m her favorite.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
The second my crutch hit the floor, my dad was on me, helping me into the house.
“I’ve got it,” I protested.
He grumbled, sending me a sharp look. “Let me, Cormac. I need to see you safe.”
Iwassafe. I’d been safe the entire time. I never doubted Zara would know where to look for me. It was why I’d used all my energy to drag myself to the river. It was where she’d look—the one place I was sure of.
My parents hadn’t been sure. Like Zara, they’d been helpless and terrified. I didn’t know what it was like to have a kid, but imagining one of my nieces or nephews out there had my gut roiling in protest.
“Okay.” I leaned into my dad, giving him some of my weight. “Help me into my chair, all right?”
“That’s all I’m trying to do,” he gruffed, his gentle touch belying his angry snap.
More than anyone, my dad had been furious at Melanie for what she’d done. That wasn’t to say we all weren’t angry. I was leading the pack. But it was taking my dad some time to let it go.
He’d wanted me to press charges, get her locked up and throw away the key.
I’d thought about it, but really, when it came down to it, I just wanted it to all be over. Firing her had been enough for me, knowing she wouldn’t find another job in Sugar Brush—not when everyone knew exactly what she’d done.
