CHAPTER TWO
Nick Walker cracked open an eye, which took a lot more effort than it should have. Disoriented and groggy, he searched for the source of the incessant beeping. His thoughts felt mired in mud and came slowly. Where was he? What was sitting on his chest? Why did his leg hurt so bad? And who were the people huddled around him?
“Hey,” a vaguely familiar voice said. “He’s waking up.”
The huddlers leaned in closer, blocking the bright overhead light. “Sweetheart?”
“Mom?” Nick strained to get out, his voice gravelly. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Nicky,” his mom said on a sigh. “We came as soon as we heard.”
“Heard what?” Nick got the other eye open and, in a haze, realized his whole family—his parents and two sisters—had gathered around him.
“Son,” his dad said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You were shot. You just came out of surgery. They removed the bullets, but you’ll be down for a while.”
Slowly, little details inched their way through the fog that had engulfed his mind. The assignment to work with the DEA. His doubts about their plan of action. He and his partner getting sucked into an ambush and shot.
“Andy?” he asked.
His parents shared a look before anyone answered. The hesitation told him all he needed to know, and a new pain stabbed at his heart.
“He didn’t make it,” his dad confirmed. “I’m sorry, Son. The doctors did everything they could.”
Nick nodded and let the drowsiness take him under, sinking back into oblivion.
The next time he woke, he remembered quickly where he was and why. His younger sister Tess sat in a nearby chair.
“Tessy?”
She hurried to his side. “Nick. Do you need something?”
“Water?” he croaked.
From a plastic pink pitcher, she poured a small amount of water into a tiny paper cup. “Doc says only a little at first,” she said, tipping the cup to his lips. He gulped down the few teaspoons and sighed.
“Details.” Talking hurt his chest, so he said as little as possible. Tess was the youngest but least dramatic and most matter-of-fact one of the family. She’d know what he meant, and she’d give it to him straight.
“I don’t have any specifics about what led up to it, but whatever mission you were on went sideways. Andy was killed. You and five other agents were wounded. You’re the worst. The rest were pretty minor,” she said.
He looked down at his body, attempting to assess the damage.
“Two bullets. One came in from the side, bypassing your vest, and lodged near your heart. Surgeons took that one out through your side. They didn’t have to crack you open, so that’s good. The other plowed straight through your leg, taking a good chunk of muscle. It’ll be tough to walk for a while.”
He locked eyes with her and raised his eyebrows.
“A few months at least,” she said, answering his unspoken question of when he’d be better. “You have to stay here for like a week, and then you’ll need someone to take care of you for a few more weeks after that.”
“Jackie?”
Tess looked around. “Um, I don’t know about that.” She shrugged. “I thought Mom said you guys broke up.”
“Oh, right.” Nick grunted. Jackie had left him. In quite a huff, if he remembered correctly. Something about him only caring about his job and not making time for her. Even if she was willing, he couldn’t ask her to nurse him back to health. The reasons she’d dumped him would still be there after he healed.
“Unless you have a better plan, Mom and Dad are set to take you home to recuperate,” Tess said.
“Has my boss come by?”
“He was here right after you and the others came in. Said he’d stop by later,” she said. “You think he’ll be able to help?”
He wanted to shrug but couldn’t make his shoulders work. His whole body felt heavy, like he was in quicksand. “Tell them to ease off the pain meds. I can barely feel my extremities.”
She nodded. “Okay. You need anything else?”
“Sleep.” It must be the drugs making him so tired. He wanted information. Wanted to figure out how and when he could return to work, but later. The last thing he remembered before drifting off was Tess gripping his hand.
When he woke again, the throbbing in his chest told him Tess had talked to the doctor about the pain medicine. Perhaps he’d been too hasty on that request.
This time, his older sister Kendra was on watch. “What time is it?” And after a second. “Hell, what day is it?”
Kendra chuckled. “It’s three o’clock, the fifth of August. You’ve been here for two and a half days, sleeping through most of it.”
“Mom and Dad go home?”
“No. They got a hotel in town. They stayed with you all night and are catching some z’s now. Tess went to your place to check on things—collect the mail and water the plants. She’s probably still there if you want something.”
“Ask her to bring my book, will ya? It’s on the nightstand.”
“Okay.” Kendra took out her phone and shot off a text. “You and your books. I’ve never met anyone who reads so much.”
“You need to meet more people then,” he said. A tall, tan man in a white coat entered, and his sister perked up, smoothing her hair and smiling.
“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.
“Okay, I guess,” Nick grumbled. “When can I leave?”
“We’ll see. Maybe a week.” He barely looked up from the chart he was scanning. “Call the nurse if you need anything. I’ll check in again soon.”
“He seems useless,” Nick said once the doctor had cleared the room.
“Useless, but hot,” Kendra said, still staring at the door. “Let me know if you want me to relay any messages.”
Even rolling his eyes hurt, so he closed them. “Actually, could you ask him for a little more pain medication?”
“On it.” She jumped up, slapped on some lipstick, and was gone.
Nick nodded off and woke again when Tess came in, setting a big bag on a chair.
“Kendra says I’ve been here for two days. Have you been here this whole time?” Nick asked.
“Of course. We drove straight here right after they called. I was at Mrs. Sullivan’s funeral.”
“The high school teacher? I had her for English Lit.”
“We all did. She was sick most of the year and finally passed last week.”
“That’s too bad. Wasn’t her daughter on your championship basketball team?”
“Yes. Our point guard. Her name’s Faith.”
“That the ditsy one from your wedding?”
“We do not speak of that day,” Tess ground out, brows narrowing.
“Sorry. I forgot.” He never had learned the whole story of why Tess’s marriage broke up after barely a year. But apparently, it was still a sore subject.
“But, yeah. She’s pretty much a dingbat.” Then after a pause, “She’s also my best friend, so, you know, I have to stick up for her.”
Nick only had a couple of memories of Faith Sullivan. One was an episode in high school where he witnessed her bullying another girl. He hadn’t said anything—Faith hadn’t actually touched her—but for some reason, the image of her towering over and getting in the face of a smaller student stuck in his mind.
The second was catching her skinny dipping at the lake one summer night. That glorious mental picture had lived rent-free in his head for the last ten years. At the time, she was sixteen. He’d been about to leave for his sophomore year of college and was walking home from a friend’s house after one too many beers. There’d been a full moon, and he’d detoured to the lake, thinking he could get a cool picture.
Coming through the trees, he spotted something in the water and paused. In his tipsy stupor, he thought it might be a lake monster and had laughed at himself. The laughter stopped abruptly when Faith emerged, naked as the day she was born.
He’d fled, scared she might see him and think he was some kind of creeper. But the memory had stuck with him. Even after all these years.
Tess was saying something about his partner, and he refocused on the conversation. “I talked to your boss in the lobby on my way in,” she said. “Andy’s funeral is tomorrow.”
“Can I go?”
“We can double-check, but the doctor was pretty clear your chest wound requires immobility for another couple of days. I’m sorry.”
“I need to call Crystal. Let her know. Is my cell around?”
“Here.” She dug into the bag and handed him his phone. “I charged it while I was taking out the trash and grabbing some clothes for you. I brought your book too.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think that through. Since I can’t move one arm, it’ll be impossible to hold it and turn the pages.”
“One step ahead of you, Bro.” Tess pulled out a contraption that worked like a mini-easel and propped a tablet onto it. Then placed it on the bedside table and swung it around to face him.
“This is mine, but you can use it as long as you need to. I already downloaded the book you had on your nightstand. You should consider catching up to the twenty-first century and getting an e-reader. I can pick one up if you want.”
“I like real books. But this is great for now. Thanks, Tess.” He struggled to lift the arm not tied to his chest to test it out. Even that hurt.
“I was worried your lack of movement might be an issue,” Tess said, going back to the bag. “So I stopped by the electronics store and got this.” She unpackaged a little black box, messed with it for a second, and put it in his hand. “Now you can turn the pages just by pushing the button.”
“A remote-control page turner? How lazy has society become that this is a thing?”
“Maybe they make them specifically for injured readers.”
He chuckled. “I love that you’re so pragmatic. It’s perfect.”
His parents entered.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” his mom said. “We need to talk about what to do with you.”
“Doc says I’m stuck here for at least a week,” Nick said. He’d also predicted walking would be difficult for months and that Nick might need a cane for the rest of his life. He’d be damned if he let that happen but put it aside for now. “I can figure something out by then. Hire a nurse or something.”
“Nonsense.” His mom walked to his side. “We’ll go home and prep a room for you at the house. When you get released, we’ll take care of you there.”
Home. It had been a decade since he’d considered Green Valley Falls home. Except for the holidays and a few short weekends, he’d spent very little time there. And that was by design. The stifling, caged-in feeling of such a small town had driven him away as a young adult, and going back wasn’t something he looked forward to.
“Anything changed in the ten years I’ve been gone?”
“If you came home for more than forty-eight hours at a time, you’d know,” Tess said.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“All right,” his dad said. “It’s settled then.”
Nick sighed, knowing he didn’t have much choice. He couldn’t drive or even walk. And he couldn’t ask his family to move to Boston. Convalescing in Green Valley Falls seemed to be his only good option. So, like it or not, he was going home.