Chapter 17
Lucy sat at Rusty’s bedside. She held his hand and smoothed her thumb over his papery skin. There was a large white bandage on his forehead and an IV was stuck in his arm. A tube ran down his throat. He was hooked up to several machines that beeped and whirred.
Five hours earlier, she’d been at Aiden’s apartment. What would have happened if she’d left earlier? Lucy couldn’t have stopped a heart attack. But she would have been able to call for help.
A black chasm opened in her soul. It was a place where light and life and love didn’t exist. It was the same place she went after Derek had died.
She looked at her grandfather. He was still here. But could she reach him?
“It’s me.” Her voice was swallowed by the other noises that filled the room.
Clearing her throat, she tried again. “It’s me, Lucy.
You were in an accident but you’re at the hospital.
” What else was she supposed to say? Besides, she didn’t even know if he could hear her.
Still, she continued, “You’re a strong man. You’re a fighter. You can handle this.”
Then, another thought came to Lucy, and it chilled her to her soul.
What if her grandfather didn’t want to live?
He was an old man. He’d worked hard all his life.
Maybe he didn’t want to fight any longer.
His wife was dead. His children were scattered across the country. He only had the ranch, and her.
His words from Friday night came back.
I’m not going to be here forever, Lucy.
Was he leaving her now?
Her eyes burned with tears that she refused to cry.
“Grandpa.” Her voice was hoarse, clogged with emotion. “Don’t you dare leave me. I don’t care if Grandma and Derek are waiting for you. Let them wait. I need you. Here. With me.” She paused. “I’m so sorry for everything.”
Her final words weren’t meant for her grandfather.
It had been easy to blame Aiden in the moment, but he wasn’t at fault. She’d known that then and she knew it now. The problem was, she wasn’t sure how to take back what she’d said.
“I hate to interrupt.” A male voice came from the doorway.
She turned in her seat. Dr. Palmer stood on the threshold. He held a tablet computer.
“Come in,” she said. “Do you have any more news?”
“I know this can be overwhelming,” he said, stepping into the room. “Is there someone who can sit with you?”
Lucy shook her head. “It’s just me and Rusty.”
“I want you to take care of yourself as well. It’s tempting to stay here all the time, but you won’t help your grandfather if you end up sick or exhausted.”
Hell, she’d been fatigued for years. “I just want to be here when he wakes up.”
“He’s in a medically induced coma for now. He won’t be coming around until we take him off the meds. That’ll be Tuesday at the earliest. Maybe Wednesday.”
He had told her that already. “You said that. I guess I forgot.”
“Like I said, this is overwhelming.” He paused. “When was the last time you ate?”
Funny, he sounded like Aiden. “Dinner,” she said. “Last night.”
“Remember to take care of you.”
Now it was official. He definitely sounded like Aiden.
The doctor continued, “The cafeteria won’t open until noon for lunch.” He looked at a watch on his wrist. “You have about forty minutes.”
At the mention of food, her stomach contracted painfully and started to grumble. The hunger pang seemed like a penance for being gone when Rusty had his heart attack. “I’ll get something to eat later.”
“Make sure you get plenty of rest. There’s not much you can do for your grandfather now. But he’ll need extra help during his recovery.”
Extra help. That sounded expensive and time-consuming. Money and time were two things that Lucy didn’t have. “I’ll make sure I do that, too.”
“Okay, then. I just wanted to stop by and say that I consulted with our chief of surgery, Dr. Colton. He’s going to be stopping in and checking on your grandfather over the weekend. He’ll be the one to decide when to take Rusty out of the coma. Until then, take care of yourself.”
“Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
The doctor gave her a nod. Then, he left.
Lucy still held her grandfather’s hand. She looked around the room. The medical equipment. The IV. Everything that was keeping her grandfather alive was an expense. And at the same time, she’d spend every last penny to keep him with her.
Her head started to throb.
The doctor was right. She needed to take care of herself. Eat and rest.
She also needed to take care of the livestock.
But how was she supposed to get back to the ranch?
Lucy pulled her phone from her pocket and brought up her contacts. She found Aiden’s number and opened the phone app. Her finger hovered above the call icon. After everything she said, could she actually ask him for a favor?
No. She couldn’t.
Instead, she contacted a rideshare. Sure, it cost money she didn’t have. But once she got back to the ranch, she could drive her grandfather’s car.
“I’m going to go now,” she said, squeezing Grandpa Rusty’s hand. “You keep hanging in there. I’ll be back this evening to check on you.”
Rising from her seat, Lucy glanced at her grandfather once more. She turned from his bed and hoped that this wasn’t the last time she saw him alive.
Rain pelted the windshield as Aiden drove toward the Five Steers Ranch.
The wipers swished back and forth, creating clean arcs on the glass.
A pair of headlights cut through the gloom.
A car was coming from the other direction.
It was the first vehicle he’d seen in miles.
A white sedan approached and passed in a blur.
Shifting in his seat, he turned his gaze back to the road.
The entrance to the Five Steers Ranch loomed above the dirt lane.
Aiden let his foot off the gas, slowing enough to make the turn.
The road leading up to the house was slick with mud and loose stone.
The engine whined as the car climbed the incline.
The house came into view. Letting his foot off the gas, he slowed as he drove. The mint green car was parked by the door, but there were no other vehicles. All the doors were closed. The lights were off.
It didn’t look like anyone was home.
No doubt that Lucy was still at the hospital. Pressing the accelerator, he followed the road back to the scene of the accident. After parking his car at the top of the rise, he turned off the engine.
Without the wipers, rain peppered his windshield. He got out of the car. Within seconds, his hair was wet and rain snaked down the back of his shirt. Shoving his hands into the pocket of his jeans, he studied the ground.
This morning, there had been tracks in the dirt that showed how Rusty’s truck had skidded and spun.
Not anymore. The rain had washed away any evidence.
Wiping his hand across his face, he walked to where the truck had gone over the embankment.
Above, raindrops pattered as they fell on the canopy of trees.
The ground beneath was damp but not soaked.
Branches were broken. Small trees had been snapped in two.
There was a single set of tire tracks. They matched the truck’s wheels perfectly.
From what he could tell, Rusty truly had lost control and careened over the edge.
If not for being stopped by the boulder, the vehicle would have ended up at the bottom of a steep hill.
Sidestepping, he walked around the vehicle.
The grill on the truck was crushed by the impact with the large rock.
There were scrapes on the side where branches gouged the paint.
All four tires were intact. The collision had broken the hood latch, and Aiden lifted the dented metal covering.
He propped it open with the kickstand and examined the engine.
He wasn’t sure what he hoped to find. There was a crack in the coolant reservoir, but nothing else looked out of the ordinary. After tucking the kickstand back in place and closing the hood, he circled the vehicle once more.
He’d suspected foul play.
Had he been wrong?
Aiden knelt on the damp soil and bent so he could see under the truck. The chassis. Drivetrain. Exhaust. Suspension. It all looked normal to him.
Maybe Ryan had been right. The older man had a heart attack. Lost consciousness. Veered off the road. Wrecked.
Tire marks were cut through the undergrowth and ran up the hillside.
Walking in the ruts, he stopped and looked over his shoulder.
The truck rested against the boulder. That’s when he noticed the truck’s path wasn’t random.
It was aimed directly at the boulder. As if the rock was the only thing that could stop the vehicle.
That meant that the old man had control of the steering, but not the brakes.
He jogged toward the truck. The ground gave way, and he slid the last few feet. Holding on to the tailgate, Aiden knelt on the ground. He lay flat on his back and pushed himself under the chassis. It took him only a minute to find what he’d been looking for.
There was a slit in one of the brake lines.
First, the fire, and now, this.
Without question, someone was trying to kill Lucy and her grandfather. What’s more, Aiden knew they wouldn’t stop until someone was dead.
The driver of the rideshare stopped next to the front door, and Lucy got out of the car. A steady rain fell, and she jogged to the porch. Wiping wet hair from her face, she opened the door.
The words, “Grandpa, I’m home,” clung to her lips.