Snowstorm Confessions Read online

  Bri didn’t even blink. By this time tomorrow the whole town would probably know that Luke and she were once married. This was not the place to live if you wanted to keep secrets.

  “It’s hard to see him this way,” she said quietly, admitting a truth she was reluctant to face.

  “I’m sure it is.” Karen patted her arm. “Time for more ice?”

  Bri looked at the clock over the door. “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll get it.”

  She retrieved several of the instant ice packs and returned to the room. She cracked one and placed it against his cheek, feeling an unwanted ache for him. Apart from his injuries and the pain he would endure, she knew he was going to hate being cooped up. Especially inside his own body. As he’d often joked, he was a man who said “go” and his body went. This was not going to be easy.

  As she leaned over him, adjusting the ice pack, his eyes snapped open. She found herself looking into those familiar gray pools.

  “Bri?”

  “It’s me.”

  “I see that. Where did you go? I lost you.” His voice sounded thick, his words slurred by the bruising of his cheek.

  She didn’t take him seriously. Concussion often caused this kind of thing. “I’m right here now.”

  “What happened? Where am I?”

  She’d probably answer that question a hundred times tonight. “In the hospital. You fell and got pretty banged up. You’re going to be fine.”

  His unbroken arm lifted; his hand seemed to reach for her. She hesitated, and finally slid her hand into his. She nearly winced as he squeezed. “Don’t go.”

  Before she could reply, he was out of it again, but he didn’t let go of her. She tried to ease her hand away so she could sit, maybe stretch out until the next time he woke, but each time she tried, he tightened his hold.

  A couple of minutes later he woke again. “Where am I? Bri?”

  “I’m right here.”

  “Did someone beat me up?”

  “You fell. You were out on the mountain, and you fell.”

  “Okay.”

  His eyes closed again, and this time his grip on her hand relaxed. Sagging onto the chair, she wondered if it would even be worth folding it back into a narrow bed. It would be nice to stretch out and doze, but he was coming out of the morphine now and would wake frequently. Unless the concussion was getting worse. The thought made her shudder.

  She scooted the chair closer to the bed, kept her eye on the clock for the ice pack and rested her hand on his shoulder. Maybe that contact would help him.

  Karen popped in and was glad to hear he’d been talking. She noted the times, checked his pupils and told Bri everything looked good.

  “Who was that?” Luke awoke again. “Who was here?”

  “A nurse.” She rose and bent so he could see her without moving too much.

  “You’re a nurse.”

  “Right. But I’m not your nurse. Karen is.” Although it was beginning to look as if she’d be his nurse soon enough, unless he chose an ambulance ride to somewhere else. Her heart sank again.

  “What happened? Where am I?”

  If she hadn’t been through this so many times, Bri would have been seriously worried. His confusion was normal, but she found a penlight in the drawer and checked his pupils again anyway. She needed to see for herself.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you’re okay.”

  “I don’t feel okay. Where did you go?”

  She ignored the last question. “You fell. You hit your head and broke your arm and leg. Just relax. Everything’s fine.”

  Everything except her.

  “I lost you,” he muttered. “I couldn’t find you.”

  Oh, boy, this was going to be fun. When she could, she sat again and waited for the next round. Hearing repeatedly that he’d lost her was not making this any easier to take. For three years or more, she had pretty much decided he had thrown her away. Now he was saying he’d lost her?

  Deliver me, she thought as she sagged on the chair. It didn’t help any to remind herself that he was concussed and making little sense. She didn’t want to peek into these thoughts, however addled, from a man who should have remained in her past. And she hoped like hell he didn’t remember saying any of this when he improved.

  They weren’t words that would make either of them happy.

  * * *

  By dawn, Luke no longer asked where he was and what had happened. He now remembered it from one moment to the next—an excellent sign. He was even aware enough to tell Bri to go home and get some sleep. She didn’t hesitate. He wouldn’t be released before noon, unless he made other arrangements, and frankly she didn’t want to be around for the pain he was going to experience the first time he sipped broth through a straw.

  “Get him a milk shake,” Sheila suggested. “He doesn’t look like someone who will make it for long on broth.”

  “Probably not. Call me if anything develops. Has anybody seen the guy who brought him in?” That was beginning to trouble her. Shouldn’t a coworker have been here to check on him?

  “Not yet. I’ll let you know. Girl, you look dead.”

  “I feel halfway there.”

  “At least you have the next four days off.”

  She’d forgotten that. She could catch up on her sleep. Maybe. Unless she needed to watch over Luke at her place, in which case she’d rather be working. It would be a great excuse to make him call someone else.

  Her eyes felt gritty and burned. The bright sunlight almost hurt, and for a moment she had a wild idea that maybe the night had turned her into a vampire. Nope, her skin didn’t smoke.

  The silliness indicated that she desperately needed sleep. Next thing, she’d be hallucinating. Aware that she wasn’t at her best, she drove with extra care and finally pulled into her driveway with a huge sense of relief. Home. Bed. Sleep.

  She might have left Luke at the hospital, but she realized as she climbed out of her car that he had come home with her anyway. She couldn’t erase the anguished tone of voice in which he’d said he lost her.

  Concussion craziness, she told herself sternly. Icy snow still covered the ground, and she walked carefully, wishing spring would just get on with it. She needed some warmth. She needed to be able to stride freely again without fear of slipping.

  Dissatisfaction followed her and she tried to blame it on a rough night. She was happy with her life, she loved living in a place with seasons, including winter, and so what if one of them lasted too long?

  Dang. Her own thoughts were getting as addled as Luke’s.

  “Bri?”

  She looked around, startled, and saw Jack standing a few feet away. A man of about thirty, he was thin enough to look like he was still a kid. His dark hair was shaggy, his dark eyes strangely penetrating. “Jack? Is something wrong?”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know. One of the cops was here a little while ago looking for you.”

  “Thanks.” Somebody at the hospital had probably reported that Luke had said he’d been pushed. And that she was his ex-wife. Lovely. What was she supposed to know about anything? “I’m sure they’ll come back if it’s important. Are you on your way to work?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded and started to shuffle away.

  She stared after him for a moment. Somewhere in the fog that wrapped her brain, it struck her as odd that he would have known the cops were here. Then she shrugged the thought away. Jack was a pretty lonely guy, she figured. Always nice and polite, but he’d probably been walking past here when the cops came and had just waited to tell her. Made him feel important.

  Inside, she barely paused. She pulled off her clothes, letting them lie where they fell as she stumbled down the hallway. Her bed was the only thing she wanted. She took just enough time to pull on a long flannel nightshirt, then crawl under the covers. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Luke and all the problems he might raise could wait.

&nbs
p; They only waited a few hours, however. The phone started ringing off the wall around noon. Like a well-trained nurse, she came instantly awake. A headache had settled in while she slept but she ignored it, reaching for the phone beside her bed.

  “Bri? It’s Jan. Dr. David asked me to call you. We’ve got a lion who wants out of the cage, but he can’t be released until we know he’ll have care. So...”

  “On my way. What about the guy who was working with him?”

  “He showed up, too. That’s part of what’s going on here. Plus a deputy. Sorry.”

  “What am I supposed to do about that?”

  Jan laughed quietly. “Soothe the raging beast? I don’t know. It’s kind of funny, actually.”

  Bri sat up and realized her head was pounding. A migraine. Lovely. Funny? What in the world was Jan talking about?

  Groaning once or twice, Bri struggled into her clothes, popped some ibuprofen for the migraine and grabbed a roll for breakfast. On the way to the hospital she stopped to get a large milk shake at the diner, wondering why she even bothered. Sometimes she was too nice for her own good, she thought irritably. This was not going to be a good day.

  It started getting interesting, though. As she walked down the corridor in the ward where Luke was being kept, she could hear him.

  “Don’t you tell me I can’t leave! I can leave anytime I want. You can’t keep me.”

  Apparently he was not fully over the concussion. Luke might not like being trapped in a hospital bed, but he’d always been sensible. This didn’t sound sensible.

  She entered his room to find Dr. David, Jan, Police Chief Jake Madison and a strange man clad in heavy work clothes. Firmly stuck in the bed by his elevated leg and broken arm, Luke was holding forth, his words slurred by the swelling in his face.

  She rounded the bed, took his good arm, put the milk shake in his hand and said, “Shut up and drink.”

  Luke paused midsentence, blinked and said, “Bri?”

  “Who else? Shut up and drink. Let me find out what’s going on.”

  “They’re keeping me prisoner.”

  “You don’t look ready to walk out of here. Now put the straw in your mouth and drink.”

  To her surprise, he obeyed. He took one pull on the straw and looked at her. “Do you know how much that hurts?”

  “Not as much as you’re going to hurt if you try to stand on that leg right now. Drink.”

  She turned to everyone else. “How about you all tell me what’s happening?”

  Dr. David—all the docs here preferred to be called by their first names—answered first. “He can’t leave here unless we’re certain he’s going to get proper care. The concussion can have effects for weeks, as you know. Then there’s his lack of mobility. Dr. Trent doesn’t want him walking on that leg for a week.”

  “A week?” It must have been a pretty bad break. She nodded. “Okay, I get that part, and from what I see he’s still not quite in his right mind.”

  Luke stopped drinking. “I’m perfectly sane!”

  “And perfectly concussed. Hush and drink. Let’s figure out things so we know what to do.”

  She was beginning to understand why Jan could see some humor in this. She was beginning to see it herself.

  “Bri...”

  “If you don’t behave, I’m going to tape you with my cell phone so I can show you later just how impossible you’re being.”

  He glared at her, but resumed trying to drink his milk shake.

  “Now what about everyone else here?” she asked.

  The stranger stepped forward, offering his hand. “I’m Mike Hanson. I work with Luke sometimes. We were out checking out the building site when Luke fell. I brought him in. The thing is, he was insisting he was pushed, so I reported it to the chief here.”

  Jake Madison nodded. “We were hoping Mr. Masters might remember, but he doesn’t seem to.”

  “That’s not unusual,” Dr. David said. “He might never remember what happened right before his fall.”

  Jake nodded again. “I’m asking Mr. Hanson here to take a deputy out to the site to see if there’s any evidence that someone else was out there, but he didn’t see anyone at the time.”

  “Not a soul,” Hanson agreed. “It was awfully slippery out there, but Luke isn’t a careless man. That’s the thing. If he says he was pushed, I believe him.”

  “We’ll check it out,” Jake said. A moment later he departed, reminding Mike that a deputy would be by to pick him up shortly.

  Bri followed him out. “Jake? Someone told me you or another officer were at my place early this morning.”

  “Me. When I heard you’d spent all night watching Luke, I thought he might have told you something.”

  She shook her head. “He couldn’t even remember for ten seconds that he was in the hospital.”

  “That’s what I was just told. Your ex, huh?”

  Bri simply sighed. Jake winked at her. “Fun times. Not. Good luck.”

  Back in the room, a glaring Luke was still drinking his milk shake. Bri’s first question was straight to the point and directed at Mike.

  “Is the company going to send transport for him? He obviously can’t work like this.”

  Mike shook his head. “They said they aren’t going to hire an ambulance just to move him somewhere else. When he’s ready for a car and plane ride, he can go home. They’re sending out another builder.”

  Luke released the straw. “Nobody else is going to do my job.”

  Mike shook his head. “Sorry, Luke, but you’re in no condition to do it yourself. You can advise, but you ain’t climbing no mountains.”

  “I’m sure not staying here.”

  Dr. David spoke. “Well, you sure as hell aren’t going to stay at the La-Z-Rest. You need to be under observation. You’re going to need help until we can get you up on crutches, which doesn’t look like anytime soon what with that broken arm. Regardless, you might be a wheelchair commando for a few weeks, and you can’t be by yourself.”

  The freight train was bearing down on her. Bri felt as if she were standing at the end of the tunnel and could see the light coming. At least until he could be transported, she was probably the only option. She gave up the fight, hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake.

  “He can stay with me, but I need to make arrangements for a chair and a hospital bed. I’m assuming you want to continue elevation on the leg?”

  David nodded. “Best to keep the swelling down.”

  “I don’t want to stay with you,” Luke said.

  “Sorry, buddy, but it’s your only choice. Don’t worry, I’ll ship you out as soon as I can.”

  “I’m sure,” he said bitterly, then fell silent.

  Bri tried pretending a brightness she didn’t feel. “I need to get things ready.”

  “I’ll help,” David said. “We’ve got plenty of rental stuff here at the hospital. We just need to arrange to move it. Are you sure you have room?”

  “I never use my living room anyway.” Resignation was beginning to set in. A week, maybe two. She looked at Mike. “Can you get all his things from the motel? Eventually I’m going to need his personal care products, and maybe some clothing.”

  “I’ll do that as soon as I’m done with the deputy.”

  Bri reached out and touched his arm. “Come by in a few days. Don’t leave him feeling cut out of the loop.”

  Mike nodded. “I will. As soon as I know how the company wants to handle all this.”

  “They really won’t transport him?”

  Mike shook his head. “We’re all just widgets, ma’am. Every one of us can be replaced.”

  She wondered if Mike knew how sour he sounded. She’d think about that later. She looked again at Luke. “I’m going to need some relief when I have to come back to work.”

  “I’ll help,” Jan said. “My break is coming up soon.”

  Bri would have been happier if someone else had offered, but she didn’t want to examine that too closely.
Luke was a closed chapter, right?

  Right.

  * * *

  By five that afternoon, Bri’s living room had been transformed. A hospital bed, complete with a frame-and-pulley system to keep Luke’s leg elevated, had been installed. She’d arranged it so he could see the television, and moved unnecessary items out of the way or into other rooms. Since he was going to have to get around in a wheelchair with his leg sticking straight out, at least for a while, she cleared pathways so he could get out of the living room and down the hall to the bathroom. Any way she looked at it, that part was not going to be easy.

  “Bonehead,” she said aloud. “You should have just stayed in the hospital. Or paid someone to fly you out of here to somewhere else.”

  Except she didn’t know where else he could go. The two of them had been orphans, their parents gone, no other family to speak of. It was either her living room or some rehab facility—and he was likely to need rehab eventually regardless. In the meantime, until the worst of the concussion passed, he couldn’t be trusted on his own or without continual observation. Nor was it as if there were some convalescent facility nearby he could transfer to. One of the downsides of truly being in the boonies.

  She felt ticked at DEL for treating him this way, too. He’d been injured on the job. They should have been all over themselves trying to help instead of saying he could just stay put until he could travel by conventional means. It was as if he had become useless to them.

  Then another thought struck her. Could he lose his job over this? She wouldn’t put it past them. A lot of these large companies looked at employees as interchangeable parts, as Mike had said. Lose one, find another.

  Pulling on her jacket, she went outside to salt her porch, steps and sidewalk yet again. Not much longer now. She put the salt away in the plastic bin she kept on one corner of her porch and stood waiting. The past, she thought, was about to descend with a vengeance.

  The ambulance appeared around the corner and pulled up in front of her house. She knew both the EMTs, of course. Tim and Ted. They joked that they were the “Tim and Ted Show,” and sometimes they lived up to that appellation with their zany humor and jokes. Today they were just looking busy and rushed.