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“Hey, Charli. I just wanted to let you know we’ve got everything covered as long as you need. Turns out that temp help Bently, Andre, and Mikel offered? It’s not so temporary at all. It’s here for as long as you need it. Jasmine even said she’d wait tables. I guess what I mean to say is, you guys focus on everything going on with Finn and take care of yourselves. We got your back here at The Shipwreck,” Mason said, his voice full of sympathy.
“Thank you, Mason.” Tears welled in her eyes again. Stupid pregnancy hormones turned her into a water fountain. “I can’t tell you how much that means to us.”
“How is he?”
She swallowed. “Still waiting for him to wake up. But the swelling on his brain has gone down and the surgery was successful. The doctors are hopeful.”
Mason was silent a moment, as if struggling for the right words to make her feel just a little better. But there was no such magic. “You guys are in our thoughts. The whole town is putting together a fundraiser so that the Reeds will have a cushion when you get home.”
“Mason—” Her phone beeped with an incoming call. She pulled her cell away from her ear. Claire’s name flashed on the screen. Oh god! “I have to go.”
She didn’t bother waiting for his response. She switched the call over and got to her feet, stumbling out of the cafeteria and towards her husband’s room.
“Is he . . .” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Hope and dread sparred for dominance in her chest, halting her voice.
“He’s awake!” Claire said.
Awake. A surge of emotion flit in her belly. Charli ran like her life depended on it. Nerves swirled and knotted, twisting her up. Her pulse raced, ringing in her ears. For the first time since receiving the fateful news that her husband had been in an accident, hope bloomed within her.
Tears blurred her eyes once again as she burst into the room. A doctor and a nurse blocked her view. Zeke held Claire off to her right, love and gratitude pouring out of them as they stared towards the hospital bed.
“How did I get here?” Finn’s deep voice rumbled through her, making her knees wobble. She covered her mouth and moved closer, needing to see his face.
Finn’s dark eyes searched the room, unfocused.
“Baby?” She stepped forward, unable to wait any longer to touch him. She reached out her hand, her fingers grazing his warm cheek. “You’re okay.” Her voice cracked.
She leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his head away.
“What the hell?” Finn asked. His eyes roamed over her, his confusion edging on panicked.
“Major Reed, do you know who this is?” the doctor asked.
“Of course, he knows me,” Charli snapped. The notion that her husband of thirteen years could forget her was absurd.
His beard had grown in over the past several days of being unconscious, hiding his sharp jaw. Stitches marred his warm, brown skin. She searched Finn’s dark eyes, her usual source of peace, and the floor fell out from under her. “Finn?”
His brows knit together in concentration before relaxing. “Oh, yeah. You’re Bently’s friend, Charlotte, right?”
“What?” The room started to spin. Blood rushed to her ears. No. No. No. This isn’t real. Finn’s still in a coma, and I’ve drifted off into this nightmare. Wake up!
“How old are you, Finn?” the doctor asked.
Finn turned to him. “I’m seventeen, obviously.”
Claire gasped. Finn focused on his parents. “Mom, Dad, what happened? Why am I here?”
“You don’t remember Charli? Your wife?” Zeke asked.
Finn’s gaze snapped to hers. “Is this a joke?”
The doctor stepped forward. “Major Reed, you’ve been in an accident. The truck you were riding in was hit and you’ve sustained a few injuries which include—”
Finn shook his head. “What? Why do you keep calling me Major? You’ve got the wrong guy. I’m a senior at Shattered Cove High School. I haven’t enlisted yet. I’m still in the JROTC.”
A senior in high school? Panic clawed her chest as her body trembled in shock. Charli sucked in air through her chattering teeth.
Claire stepped forward and placed her hand on his. “Sweetheart, we’re in Washington State.”
