Chapter Seventeen
Attempting to shake off Mitch’s odd departure, I lay in bed, watching a little television while I tried to eat the lunch one of the nurses brought in. Man, I’ll be glad when I’m home, I think to myself as I bite down on a bit of turkey. As I chew it, I nearly choke. Even with gravy, it’s far too dry and hard to eat.
I miss home. I miss sleeping in my bed. I miss my boys. I even miss cooking us all breakfast every morning before we go out to feed the animals, lunch at midday, and dinner when it’s all done. It’s weird. I never thought I’d miss cooking of all things, but here we are.
As I take a sip of my orange juice, Doctor Trachner comes in, all smiles with his clipboard in his hand.
“Hey there, Doc,” I say as I abandon the English muffin and try to tackle the eggs.
“Good morning, Eli!” he says as he takes one of the chairs and sits down. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good,” I say as I take a bite of the mashed potatoes and stuffing, and try my best not to make a face, not wanting to be rude. “Got some headaches going on, but I suppose that’s to be expected, considering.”
“And I read you’ve been up and walking?” Doctor Trachner asks.
“Yep! I go walking any chance I can get with some help from the nurses,” I say. “I’ve got to get used to moving around again, I’ve got lots of animals at home to help care for.”
“That’s kind of what I came in to talk to you about,” Doctor Trachner says. “I believe you’ve been making great strides, and by next week, as long as we keep on this path, you may be able to return home.”
“Really?” I reply, sitting up in bed, nearly toppling over my orange juice as I knock into the tray.
“Yes sir,” Doctor Trachner says with a big ol’ smile on his face. “I mean, it won’t be without restrictions, but nothing too limiting.”
“Restrictions?” I ask.
“You won’t be able to do any heavy work for a few months, and you’ll have to do some outpatient physical therapy and do regular check-ins with a neurologist due to your memory loss. We want to do our best to prevent the worsening of brain function and be proactive about any potential future issues from the damage to your brain. But you’ll be able to go home.”
“I suppose I can handle that,” I say with a grin. “Not that you all haven’t been amazing, but I really need to get back.”
“Understandable,” Doctor Trachner replies. “Well then, I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, and hopefully everything will go according to plan.”
“That would be amazing,” I say.
“I’ll leave you to your lunch,” Doctor Trachner says as he gets up from his chair and leans over, holding his hand out to me. I shake it, and when he turns and leaves, I nearly whoop loudly in celebration.
I can’t believe I’m going home soon! I think to myself. It’s been too long with me sitting around here like a bump on a log. I want to go home, be with my family, and see where life takes me.
And I want to see Darla again, not just inside these hospital walls either, but properly. I remember our night at Moonshine and Music now, thanks to Mitch’s tantrum about her. But I don’t just recall the night, but the feelings I felt and still feel about her. I might not ever remember everything, but I’m hopeful in time that I will. But, even if I don’t, I still feel those butterflies when I see her, and I want to explore that.
It’s been so long since I’ve felt like this about another person, and after everything that’s happened, I want to keep that feeling for myself. Life can be cut short in an instant, and with this second chance I’ve been given, I want to live mine to the fullest.
“Hey there.” I hear someone call to me from the door, interrupting my train of thought. When I look up, Mitch is standing there, oddly sweaty from his forehead to his pits.
“Hey, thought you had stuff to do?” I ask and Mitch takes a few more steps in.
“Oh, I did,” Mitch says, his cowboy boots clicking with each step, and I notice he seems upset. Glaring at me like he’s angry with me. I guess I did go at him a little hard earlier about Darla. . .
“You okay?” I ask. “You’re acting strange.”
Without skipping a beat, Mitch looks up to the privacy curtain rail and pulls the curtain around us. “I was at the ranch and Darla showed up.”
“Oh! She was probably just checking up on the boys,” I reply. “She’s been worried about them.”
“She followed me home, Eli,” Mitch says, shaking his head. “She’s accusing me of being Joseph.”
“Her ex?” I ask, instantly confused. “Why would she do that?”
“I know!” Mitch replies, stepping closer. “I told you she’s lost her mind. She’s a complete psycho!”
“That doesn’t seem right. . .” I whisper to myself as he moves closer.
“I don’t understand why you won’t just listen to me, Eli,” Mitch says. “If you had, things wouldn’t be the way they are.”
“I beg your pardon?” I say as he’s closing in, and I see the evil in his eyes when I hear the door behind him slam open. Darla rips the curtain to the side so hard she pulls half of it off of the track.
“Get away from him, Joseph!” Darla yells loudly.
“Darla! Shut your mouth!” Mitch screams back at her, his voice cracking with desperation. “You see? Insane!”
“I’m not crazy!” Darla insists. “Step away from Eli, Joseph. You’re not thinking straight. You need to calm down and back away.”
“Shut up, woman!” Mitch roars as he turns to her for a second, taking his cowboy hat off and tossing it angrily to the ground. “You need to mind your business!”
“Mitch is Joseph, my ex-husband,” Darla says quietly, her voice shaking despite her best attempts to stay cool and even. “And somehow, he changed the records to make you seem like you’d died. I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but I swear on my life, it’s true.”
“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“See? She’s cracked!” Mitch insists, but then Darla pushes past him and pushes her phone into my face.
“Look,” she says, and I study the photo. It’s a wedding photo that I’ve never seen before, at least not that I can remember, but two things are true. That’s Darla in that wedding dress, and next to her in a tuxedo with a big grin on his face is Mitch.
No.
Underneath it says. . . Joseph. Doctor Joseph Middleton.
“What the—”
“You just couldn’t die, could you?” Joseph growls, and I feel pain streak through my head as I remember Joseph on the day of the stampede. . . the words he’d said to me as he pushed me off my horse.
It’s really too bad you couldn’t take the hint, cowboy. . . now I’ve got to take you out of the equation.”
Oh my gosh. . . this man is Joseph. . . and he really did try to kill me!I think to myself. I hear a click, and when I look up, I realize I’m looking down the cold barrel of a gun that Joseph has thrusted into my face.
“Put the gun down, Joseph,” I say calmly as I go to stand up.
“Don’t move another muscle,” Joseph says, his face crimson with anger, and his finger wobbling over the trigger.
“I don’t think you really want to do this,” I insist, still slowly moving to a standing position as I feel the EKG nodules pop one by one off my chest, and the machine begins to beep wildly.
“I don’t know about that,” Joseph says. “Seems pretty cut and dry to me, Eli. You’re in my way. You wouldn’t stop seeing my wife, now here we are.”
“Joe, put the gun down,” I repeat again quietly, treating him like a wounded, wound up, unpredictable horse that could kick at any second. It’s obvious he’s lost it, and I need to try to diffuse the situation as best I can to make sure that no one gets hurt. But what I am most worried about is that he’s so far gone he’ll go after Darla.
“And what are you going to do if I don’t, captain brain damage?” Joseph asks with a chuckle.
Suddenly, Darla pulls on his arm, and when he turns to look, I take my opportunity to pounce, side stepping to avoid a bullet if the gun went off. I lock up his wrist, and slam my elbow down into his, causing Joe to lose his grip.
The gun clatters to the ground, and we both dive for it, struggling against one another on the floor. Gaining control, I kick him in the ribs, and I’m able to grab the gun as I shakily sit up, my blood pumping as I level the gun and train it between his eyes.
***
“Don’t move,” Eli says as he stands up slowly and motions for me to come closer. I slip past Joseph, scared out of my mind as Joseph pushes me behind him. Protecting me from Joe.
“We both know you aren’t going to shoot me,” Joseph says with a chuckle. “You don’t have the guts, Eli.”
“Apparently you don’t know me as well as you think you do,” Eli says. “But I guess that’s something we have in common, isn’t it?”
“You’re too much of a softie, Eli,” Joseph replies, his voice dripping with venom. “Pathetic, really. Pining over your dead wife while stealing someone else’s.”
“You’ve truly lost it,” Eli replies, shaking his head. “You’re the one who cheated and took off, and the last time I checked, Darla divorced you. Unlike you, I’d never be such a low life. I take care of my family, and I’d do anything for them. . . and the woman I love.”
My heart skips a beat, and I peer at Joseph who looks like he’s truly lost his mind. His eyes are wild, and he looks utterly disheveled.
“You think you’re better than me?” Joseph yells, and I’m waiting for him to lunge at us at any moment, but it never comes, the cops bursting through the door with guns drawn.
“TPD! Put the gun down!” one of the officers yell.
“Yeah, Eli, put the gun down,” Joseph replies smugly. Eli clicks the safety back on, holds it to his side, and drops it to the floor.
“He was only defending himself,” I say. “He’s the one you want. That’s Joseph Rutherford Middleton! He’s wanted by the police for several crimes, and he’s tried to murder this man in cold blood.”
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Joseph insists. “She’s lost it!”I then hold up my phone, and I hit play.
“You’re going to regret this, Darla,” my phone chimes, and Joseph whips around and glares at me.
“You little—”
“I’m Darla,” I say. “I’m the one who called. Mr. Middleton came here to try and kill him. The gun is his.”
The room is tense for a few moments, and I hold my breath as the officer trains his gun on us, looking around the room.
“I need confirmation on warrants for a Joseph Middleton,” he says as he leans his head toward his shoulder, speaking into his walkie talkie.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Joseph mutters.
“Confirmed,” someone says over the radio, and the cop switches gears and points his gun at Joseph.
“Joseph Middleton, you are under arrest for suspected attempted murder, medical tampering, and several other crimes,” the cop says as he steps forward, and a part of me expects Joseph to fight. Instead, he hangs his head in defeat as the cop reads him his Miranda rights, clamps the handcuffs on Joseph’s wrists, and leads him out of the room.
“Thank God,” I say as Eli turns around, and I can’t help but hop into his arms. He holds me tight. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
“Well, I survived this, being dead, and a stampede. . . I’d say the odds are in my favor,” Eli jokes with a chuckle as he kisses my forehead. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“Do you remember me now?” I ask as I let go a little and look up at him.
“I remember enough,” he says with a smile as he stares lovingly into my eyes, his gorgeous smile back on his face. The one that crinkles the corners of his brilliant blue eyes.
“Did you mean what you said?” I ask.
“About what?”
“Loving me,” I say, and he beams a bit brighter.
“Darla, you make my heart sing in a way I haven’t felt in a very long time,” Eli says as he puts his hand to my cheek, and gently rubs it with his thumb. “I do love you, and I want to see where the future takes us.”
“Even after all this?” I ask, as tears fall down my cheeks.
“Even after all this,” he replies as he leans down, pressing his lips to mine as nurses and a doctor pile into the room, along with a cop, all to check on Eli. But he doesn’t let go. He just keeps kissing me like no one is watching, and I hold onto him tighter.
I never want to let go again.