Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“The nurse is coming, honey,” Momma assured me. “You did real well in your surgeries. You’re gonna be right as rain again before we know it. The church is getting meals lined up for us, and Mary Margaret and Sue Ellen are already at the house, getting your bedroom fixed up. The prayer chain has been hard at work. Everyone is praying. You’re gonna be just peachy keen.” She patted my arm.
She had just described hell to me. Funny how all the church folks’ good work was a level of hell I did not wish to visit. But then, did I have another choice? I didn’t know all my injuries, but from the way I felt, it wasn’t good. She had said my leg was messed up, and it didn’t feel like I was going to be getting up to walk anytime soon.
“Pep,” I choked out.
I needed Pepper. She’d save me from going back to Momma’s. I didn’t want to burden her, but she could help me come up with a better option.
“Oh, she’s in the waiting room. Has been since even before I got here. They said only one at a time could be back here for now. You want me to send her back?”
I nodded.
“And the nurse is here. She can get you comfortable. Pepper will be here in just a sec,” she assured me, then thankfully left the room.
A lady with short auburn hair and bright green glasses stepped up to the bed. “I’m going to sit you up enough to drink some water, but I need you to sip it slow through the straw. I got you a cup of ice, too, that I’m going to leave beside your bed. You can let that melt in your mouth, and it’ll ease the raw throat from where the breathing tube was. How is your pain level on a scale of one to ten—one being barely nothing to ten being excruciating?”
“Six,” I replied barely above a whisper.
“I’ll add some morphine to the IV and see if we can get it down to a four at least. Sip slow,” she said as she placed the straw between my lips.
“Dolly,” Pepper said, and I finished taking my sip to look over the cup at her.
I smiled at her, thankful that she was here. If I’d only had my momma here for this, I might have forced myself to slip into a coma just to escape. Pepper would help buffer Momma and all her good intentions.
The nurse moved back, and Pepper rushed to my side and grabbed my hand in both of hers.
“You scared the shit out of me. I’ve never been so terrified in my life,” she said, reaching up and brushing some hair off my forehead. “You’re not allowed to cross a street alone again. Do you understand me?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling guilty for what I must have put her through. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if the situation had been reversed.
“Don’t apologize. You can make it up to me later. I can’t stay in here long. Micah is about to rip the entire hospital apart with his bare hands if he doesn’t get in here to you. He’s already threatened the lives of two nurses and a doctor.”
My eyes widened. “Micah?” I asked.
“Yeah, you know, the asshole brother of mine who can’t stay away from you? Remember him?”
The memory of Calista and what all she had said before I was hit replayed in my head.
“I don’t want to see him,” I said. “I can’t, Pep.”
She sighed heavily and tilted her head to the side. Understanding in her eyes was clear, but I knew her well enough to know that she was about to try and talk me into seeing him.
“Dolly, he needs to explain some things. He’s been real messed up about this. I’ve never seen him this pitiful. Not even when our dad died. Just listen to him, okay? Trust me?”
“I just can’t,” I croaked. “He feels guilty, and I can’t listen to him. See him. I need time.”
Pepper leaned down closer to me. “Yes. He is blaming himself, but that is not what he wants to say. I swear, you need to just listen to him.”
“No.” I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. Healing from one thing at a time was all I could handle.
“Dolly—”
“No!” I said firmly. “No!”
Pepper finally nodded. “Okay. Calm down. I’ll talk to him. Maybe he won’t destroy the waiting room and kill any employees who stand in his way.”
I already knew he wasn’t going to fight that hard to get back here to me. He would probably be thankful for the reprieve. It would give him more time before he told me he was still in love with Calista. That he cared about me, but we were over.