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It could have been merely a coincidence that the car traveled the same route as he did, but in Blake’s gut, he knew that wasn’t the case. As if the driver read his thoughts, they slammed into the back of his SUV, causing the wheels to catch a patch of black ice and swerve to the thick line of trees to his right.
“Fuck.” Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Blake breathed out and focused on keeping the truck steady. He reached for his phone, ready to call the cops, when the car slammed into him again. The vehicle jerked to the side, and the phone slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.
He couldn’t control the vehicle as it spun and skidded right for the bank of trees. The tires slid on the snow-covered ground as he barreled to the side. The force and momentum in which he lost control had the trees rushing at him fast. The last thing that came to his mind was Poppy and how she was going to lose someone else she loved.
Chapter 18
Another look out the living room window showed the same thing: a steady dump of snow that only seemed to increase in activity with each passing second. Poppy continued to pace the length of the living room. It had been over an hour since she had spoken to Blake.
The roads were bad, but even so, it shouldn’t have taken him this long to get home, even if he was at one of the cafés on the outskirts of town. She had called the Blithe police, because her worst fears came crashing through her. All she could see in her mind was twisted metal, snow falling, and blood covering the ground.
Her nails were stumps on the tips of her fingers as she continued to chew on them. The police had been kind enough, but she hadn’t heard back from them. That could be good or bad. Again, she tried to call Blake’s phone, and again, it rang until it went to voicemail. Fear and panic seized her chest as the worst-case scenarios played through her mind. No, she couldn’t think like that.
He’s fine. The roads are just bad and he’s taking his time. Maybe he got held up and is talking with Maggie.
When he called her and said he had a lot to talk to her about, that he was with Maggie, she hadn’t known how to respond, what to think. She trusted Blake implicitly and knew he would never hurt her, but the way Maggie responded when she asked what her feelings for Blake were had Poppy not trusting the other woman. Right now, none of that mattered.
Please, I don’t care what he did with her or why he was at the cafe. Just make sure he’s okay. Please, just make sure he’s okay.
Pacing, pacing, pacing. That was all Poppy could do, but then she grabbed her phone, intent on calling the police department again and demanding they tell her something, anything. Just as she went to dial the number, her phone lit up with an incoming call. She knew that number, because she was just about to call them.
Her hands shook as she slid her finger over the screen to answer and pressed the phone to her ear. “Hello?” Sweat coated her palms, and her heart thundered frantically.
“Poppy Ellis?”
“Yes?” Tears already swam in her eyes, because she knew, she justknewthis call wasn’t going to be good.
“This is Officer Stevens from the Blithe Police Department. We’ve found Blake Ellis.”
Chapter 19
“Ma’am, Blake has suffered extensive head trauma. The CT and MRI showed brain activity, which is extremely positive when it comes to the outlook of his condition, but right now, we are keeping him sedated to give his body time to heal and decrease the swelling around his brain.”
Twenty-four hours had passed since Poppy received the phone call about Blake being found, and she hadn’t been able to rest since. She thanked the group of doctors and watched as a sea of white lab coats left the room.
They had to life-flight him into Anchorage due to the fact that the small hospital in Blithe wasn’t equipped to deal with such severe injuries. So now it was just a waiting game.
She sat in the chair beside his bed and took his hand. He felt warm in her grasp, and she turned his hand over so she could look at his palm. Poppy ran her finger along the lines that covered the smooth flesh. Placing her hand on top of his, she marveled at how small hers was compared to his.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I want you to know I won’t leave your side until you open your eyes and smile at me. It’s kind of crazy that two years ago you were the one by my bedside, and now here I am, doing the same.” She kept her eyes on his hand and ran her finger around the edges of his. “When I lost Jon, I thought my life no longer held any meaning. I was scared to live, Blake, but then we started talking, and I saw that my fear was irrational.”
She lifted her eyes to his face and felt tears well in her eyes. He looked so peaceful, even with the tubes and lines coming out of him. The lines that normally graced his face were smooth and flawless, and she reached up and brushed the short dark hair from his forehead.
“I’m not going anywhere, Blake, so please be okay so we can start our life.” Poppy dropped her head onto the bed and rested her cheek on their clasped hands. Nothing could pry her away from him. Nothing.
* * *
Four days later
“We wantyou to be prepared that Blake won’t be the same when he wakes up. The incision we made on his scalp and the area of skull we removed has helped significantly in the reduction of the inflammation, but we still need to keep a close eye on him.”
Poppy rubbed her eyes, feeling the lack of sleep taking its toll. Since they had brought Blake to the hospital four days ago, there hadn’t been a whole lot of change with him. They slowly brought him out of the medically induced coma, which was great news, but it still frightened the hell out of Poppy.
She had contacted both their families, and they were filtering in from Ohio. Both their sets of parents were a wreck, no doubt their thoughts on Jon’s accident like hers were.
“He may have permanent brain damage, have difficulty remembering people and simple tasks, and will require a lot of patience as he works through this.” The physician held a look of empathy, and Poppy hated him for it. He left, and she was once again alone with Blake. The tubes that helped him breathe were now gone, yet he was still unconscious.
Poppy had made sure to keep his face shaved, knowing he wouldn’t have wanted to look like some caveman while people came in and out of his room. A smile formed on her lips at the thought.
