Someone to Kiss (Paradise Springs #3)

Chapter 1

HONEY, THREE WEEKS AGO

I wake to a soft, cool hand on my cheek.

A nurse in bright purple scrubs and matching purple hair swept up in a ponytail leans over, tucking a blanket snugly around me.

“We’ve been waiting for you to open those lovely eyes.

Do you need something for the pain?” My eyes search the room, panic ripping through me as the memory of why I’m here grabs at me.

Trey.

I was in the car with Trey.

“You’re looking for your boyfriend, aren’t you? He stepped out for a cup of coffee. He’ll be right back. He’s been by your side for the last couple hours.”

I try to sit up but pain rips through me.

“I can’t… I can’t ….” The words are jammed, and it’s too late anyway because Trey is at the door, beaming.

“Of course you’d wake up the second I left your side.

You told her I was here, right?” He winks at the nurse.

“I gotta get those brownie points in.” He bends over me and kisses me on the cheek.

The smell of his cologne envelops me, making my stomach clench.

The nurse busies herself, hanging a bag of solution and then tidying up my bedside table.

“Be a good girl and keep your mouth shut,” he whispers in my ear. The rest is unspoken: or you’ll regret it.

“I thought you were filming a movie,” the nurse says to Trey.

His hand slides over mine. “I told them they’d have to wait. They can cancel my contract if they can’t because I’m not going anywhere until Honey’s fine.”

“That’s so sweet,” the nurse says. She’s already melting under Trey’s warm, amber, seemingly sincere gaze.

I close my eyes and pretend I’m asleep, Trey’s soft breaths and the occasional shifting in his seat proof that he’s still next to me.

Not going anywhere. The cold, dark thought of it swallows me up like a black wave: He’ll never leave me.

The only way I could have shaken him is if I had let him run us off the road, like he was trying to do. We’d both be dead now.

“There’s my little wren,” Aunt Birdie’s voice booms from the doorway, and I open my eyes and try to smile, but my lips are too swollen.

“Well, I’ve seen you look better. But I’ve also seen you look worse.

” She turns to the nurse. “She fell off the roof when she was eight. Determined to climb up and be closer to the stars.” She shakes her head and bustles over to me.

Squeezing past Trey, she bends down and kisses me on the forehead.

“Hi, love,” she whispers in my ear. She turns and smiles sweetly at Trey.

“Why don’t you go and get yourself some supper while I sit with Honey?

” Her voice is dripping with Southern sweetness. “You must be exhausted.”

“I’ll stay.” Trey’s words are clipped.

“You can’t run on coffee alone,” the nurse says. “The sandwiches and salads are good in the cafeteria. But you might want to steer clear of anything that looks like a casserole.”

Aunt Birdie stares pointedly at the only chair in the room—the one Trey’s still sitting on.

“Looks like we’re short on chairs,” the nurse says, turning to Trey and smiling.

“Would you mind seeing if you can snag one from room 13? They grabbed up all the extra chairs on the floor, but I think Sara is sleeping now and all her company’s gone.

” Before Trey can answer, she sweeps out of the room.

Trey stands and nods toward the chair, but it’s obviously grudging. “Go ahead. I’ll stand. I need to stretch my legs.”

“Thank you, dear.” Aunt Birdie gingerly seats herself and pulls the chair closer before sticking her hand in her big, embroidered shoulder bag she’s been toting around for at least three decades.

She pulls out a hardcover copy of Jane Eyre and leans in.

“I’m going to read to you, and you can just lie right there and rest without saying a word. ”

I nod, and Trey fidgets while she begins to read. After a few pages, the medication and Aunt Birdie’s gentle voice make me drowsy. I wake with a start to Aunt Birdie resting her knobby-fingered hand on my shoulder. “Wake up, Honey. We’ve got to talk.”

I blink at her before my eyes make the rounds of the room. Trey is gone.

She holds up the book and grimaces. “You know darn well if I were really reading to you, I’d choose a sunshiny, upbeat beach read.

Jane is a smart, determined young lady who sticks up for herself, but let me tell you, this book can put me in a funk.

I’ve already had enough darkness in my life.

I don’t need it in fiction.” She sets the book on her ample lap and pushes the sleeve of her blouse all the way up to her shoulder.

She always wears long sleeves. She’s never purposefully let me see her arm before, although I remember once, years ago, Cat and I caught a glimpse, but all Aunt Birdie told us when we asked was that her scars were from the past, and the past is the past.

My eyes follow the thick, jagged scar that runs like a vein from her wrist up her arm, disappearing into her pushed-up sleeve.

“I was hoping we’d never have to talk about this.

But now, you need to look real close.” She points to the scar.

“This runs all the way up, around my shoulder, and down my back to my butt. Broken glass from a beer bottle. I broke the bottle accidentally, and I got my punishment. And these—” She meets my eyes before pushing the other sleeve up and pointing to circular scars dotting her upper arm.

“There are thirty-five of these on this arm. Thirty-five separate occasions before I realized that I couldn’t take the thirty-sixth.

” She pulls both sleeves down. “Once a man has made the choice to physically harm you, it never gets better.” She leans in closer. “Never.”

There’s a knock at the door, then the aide steps in.

“Brought you some water.” She sets down the pitcher, and when she leaves, Aunt Birdie continues.

“There’s more scars in here.” She taps at her head.

“And here.” She lays a hand on her heart.

“But I don’t pay them no mind anymore.” She rests a soft hand on my cheek.

“I love you more than anyone else in this world.”

I nod, trying to say it back, but my swollen lips won’t move, and the words are jammed deep inside, achingly tight against my throat.

“There’s a very good reason you don’t know your great uncle Grady.

That’s because he never existed. The man—my first husband—who did this to me was rotten to the core.

But that’s a story that doesn’t need to be told because I left him and made my own life.

A new one. And it’s a pretty damn good one, if I do say so myself.

” She shifts in her seat and watches as a scrubbed attendant pushes a cart past the room.

Aunt Birdie’s gaze slides back to me. “Trey reminds me of my first husband. Oh so handsome and a charmer unless you scratch his surface and see what’s underneath.” She studies my face. “Am I wrong?”

I look away from her searching, sad eyes.

“Honey.” She takes my hand in hers. “I loved Cain like a son, and I miss him. You know that. We all miss him. He was a kind soul. Unpretentious. Selfless. God took him too quickly. But you had him enough to see what real, deep, true love is.” She waits for me to meet her eyes with mine.

“There’s someone else—another kind someone—out there who will be good and fair to you.

Someone you’ll be happy with and get to enjoy the rest of your life with. But you have to find yourself again.”

Tears pool in my eyes.

“All of us who love you—genuinely love you—Cat and Louisa and I, we want you to be happy and safe. And it’s obvious that you aren’t right now.” Her eyes burn into mine. “Will you accept my help?”

I bite my lip so hard that it stings. I blink back tears, nodding even though I don’t know how it’s possible.

“You know all that money Cain sent me, year after year? I put it all towards sheltering women in need. But I never had any idea that I’d be doing this for you, my sweet wren.” She takes my hand and presses it against her cheek.

The nurse strides in, Trey close behind, chair in tow. “Vital check,” the nurse says breezily, tucking a blood pressure cuff around my arm. She meets Aunt Birdie’s eyes, and Aunt Birdie’s nod is almost imperceptible. “After this,” the nurse says, “I need to roll you down for one more scan, Honey.”

Aunt Birdie stands and tucks the book under my arm. “You can continue reading this, my dear.” She bends down, kisses me on the forehead and whispers, “You’re tougher than you think,” before the nurse transfers me to a wheelchair and whisks me away from Trey.