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“Heard you got up to some fun on the cliffs,” Lorne said, leaning forward to clasp her hand between his. “What have I told you about cliff jumping?”
Ally smiled at him. “You know me, I never did listen to my elders.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Frank said. He was staring intently at the machine that was liberally dripping painkillers through the tube into Ally’s hand. “Remember how much trouble she was as a kid? Her dad was always pulling his hair out.”
“Well, this time it was another kid in trouble, not me. I’m blameless, ” Ally told him. Her mock petulance made him raise his eyebrows.
“That’s what you always used to say. ‘It’s not my fault, Uncle Lorne. The other kids dared me.’” He said it in a falsetto tone which made Ember and Brooke crack up.
“Remember that time you camped out alone at the Silver Cove Resort?” Brooke said.
“You’re starting in on me, too? I thought you were meant to be on my side.” Ally considered pushing the button to let out an extra shot of painkiller. The doctor had told her she had up to one boost an hour.
“I am. I was in awe of you. That place always scared the hell out of me.”
“Well, I can confirm there are no ghosts at the Silver Cove Resort,” Ally told her. “Just crumbling old buildings and a whole lot of dust.”
“Well, you’re not gonna be camping anywhere for the next few weeks,” Frank said, finally pulling his attention away from all the equipment. “Not going to be doing very much at all until your ankle heals.”
Ally took a deep breath. The thought of sitting around for that long made her want to get up and run away.
Except she couldn’t. And she wouldn’t be able to for a long time.
“The doctor said it’s a clean break. Hopefully it will heal up quickly.”
“Bones always do when you’re young.” Sandra, Frank’s wife, smiled at Ally. “It’s when you get old like us that you have to look out.”
“Hey, less of the old,” Lorne said, frowning. “I still surf every day.”
“Yeah, and I go pole dancing on the weekend,” Sandra retorted.
Ally had to bite down on her lip not to giggle. When she looked over at Brooke and Ember, she could tell her friends were having exactly the same problem.
“I got coffee for everybody,” Lucas said, walking in. He stopped dead when he saw all the visitors crowding around Ally’s bed. “Except apparently I didn’t. Looks like I’m taking another trip to the café.”
As if to add to the chaos, the nurse opened the door again. Her eyes were wide. “Um, you have some more visitors,” she said. “Though, I have no idea where they’re going to fit.” She shook her head and frowned. “I’m sure the doctor said something about you having to stay here because you had no family.”
The nurse backed out slowly as Riley and Nate walked in. Riley was carrying a huge bunch of flowers – pretty roses and lilies that almost obscured her face. She looked with wide eyes at everybody crowding around Ally’s bed, her face turning white.
“You know what?” Ember said loudly, using the same tone Ally imagined she always used with her elementary class. “Why don’t we all go to the café? Brooke, Lucas?” she said, smiling at them. “And if you come with us we’ll buy you coffee too, Mr. Daniels. And Mr. and Mrs. Megassey.”
“But we just got here,” Frank complained.
“That’s okay. We’ll have a drink and then we can pop back in on our way out,” Brooke said, catching on to Ember’s plan. From the way she was staring at Frank and Lorne, she wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Ally looked over at Riley who seemed to be cowering into her dad. Then she looked up, her eyes connecting with his, and he gave her a smile. One that she couldn’t help but return.
She’d noticed that his smiles always had that effect on her.
As soon as the others left, Riley ran toward Ally, flinging the flowers on the chair beside the bed. “How are you?” she said, still sounding scared. “Does it hurt?” She paused for a moment, mashing her lips together before she added in a quavering voice, “I’m sorry you broke your ankle. It’s all my fault.”
Ally reached out for her hand. “It’s not your fault,” she told her. “The rain needs to take some of the blame, and the rock. And a stupid woman who wasn’t looking where she w
as running.”
“But you wouldn’t have been there if I wasn’t.”
“True. But I’m glad I was.”
