Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“I’ve got her,” Harrison said.
“We all do,” Nikki said, and Asher nodded.
“Meanwhile, we’ll keep checking her hormone levels for the baby and monitor them both.”
“Thank you, Dr. Kline. When can we see her?” he asked.
“You can go in one at a time until she’s settled in a room. Then it’s two people max during visiting hours.”
Harrison closed his eyes and when he opened them, he did the most difficult thing he could imagine. “Why don’t you go in,” he said to Nikki.
Her eyes opened wide. “But—”
“Go,” he said gruffly. “I’ll go arrange for a private room. Maybe then we can get more of us in at once. I’ll switch with you as soon as I’m done.”
Asher sent him a grateful look.
“Why don’t you both come with me,” the doctor said. “I’ll send each of you in the right direction.”
Harrison and Nikki followed her through the doors, and she gave him directions before continuing on with Nikki.
He waited until he had turned a corner and knew he was alone before he leaned against the wall and let himself break down. Alone.
* * *
Winter came to in the tunnel of a machine and immediately panicked. Moving hurt her eyes and her head pounded with excruciating ferocity. The technician shut down what turned out to be a CT scan to talk and calm her down. A doctor came in to reassure her that both she and the baby were okay. But Winter’s anxiety increased when she couldn’t remember having been in an accident. The last thing she recalled was getting into the SUV at Harrison’s house to go into town.
Thanks to the doctor, who had a good bedside manner, and the patient technician, Winter managed to finish the test with tears leaking from her eyes from the combination of pain, dizziness, and nausea.
Once she’d been returned to her cubicle on a stretcher, the nurse dimmed the overhead lights, let her take acetaminophen, and told her to rest while the doctor waited for test results.
She must have fallen asleep because the next time she woke up, she felt a warm, large hand in hers. Forcing her eyelids open wasn’t easy, and when the room stopped spinning, she saw Harrison’s worried gaze on hers.
He looked exhausted, as if he’d aged years in the last few hours.
“Thank God you’re awake.” He brought her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips over her skin. “How bad do you feel?” he asked without sugar-coating things.
“Like I’ve been hit by a bus, but I heard it was a combination of metal and tempered glass. Not that I remember.” She spoke softly to minimize the impact on her head pain, something she’d learned when interacting with the doctor and nurses.
She didn’t want to talk at all because of how much any little thing hurt her head, but she had something to say. “I’m sorry, Harrison.”
He blinked in confusion. “For what? I’m the one who’s sorry anything in my life could hurt you this way.” He reached a hand out to touch her head, then thought better of his actions and put his hand back on the bed.
His agonized expression broke her heart. “This isn’t your fault. Every day people can end up with stalkers. Do the police think it was deliberate? Not a simple car jumping the curb and crashing into the restaurant?”
He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the top of her hand. “Morgan says—”
“Oh my God, Morgan! How is he?” She bolted upright in bed and regretted it instantly. “Oh God.” She moaned and leaned back against the pillows.
“Be careful, please? Try not to move.” His voice cracked as he lightly touched her cheek.
She swallowed back tears. “Tell me Morgan is okay.”
Harrison nodded. “He’s in surgery to set his broken leg but he should be fine once he heals.”
She ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I feel awful he was injured because of me.”
“Hey. He’d be the first to say he was doing his job.”
“Okay. What were you going to say about him? Before I interrupted?” she asked.
He frowned. “Morgan thinks the same car drove past the café a handful of times and…” He hesitated.
“It’s okay, just tell me.”
“He believes the car deliberately turned your way and accelerated until the café stopped its trajectory.”
She closed her eyes for a brief second. “God. This is crazy. Who wants to hurt me?”
He squeezed her hand. “We’re going to find out,” he promised. “Do you know or remember everything the doctors said about your injuries?”
“The baby is fine.” He squeezed her hand tighter, and she managed a full smile.
“Yes,” she murmured. “I remember that.” And the relief that had swelled inside her. The peanut inside her may not have been planned, but she wanted the baby with everything in her heart.
From the relieved look on Harrison’s face, he now felt the same way.