Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-five
Caleb
“Jesse!”
I tried to knife upright, but my body betrayed me. Muscles seized, fire streaked through my chest, and I collapsed back onto something too soft to make sense.
Where the hell—?
A hand pressed down on my shoulder, gentle but firm. Cool fingers skimmed my temple, comforting in my confusion.
What was happening?
I fought to push up again, but something sharp and tight tugged at my chest, and the hand on my shoulder pushed me back down. I struggled against it, but only for a moment.
“Jesse’s safe.”
Her voice in my ear.
My sweet Alice.
She was here beside me.
My boy was safe.
The fight bled out of me. I let go, sinking into the dark warmth of her nearness.
For now, I could rest.
Jesse.
My eyes snapped open as my heart thundered in my ears. Darkness pressed in on all sides. A lone green light blinked somewhere above me. A thin bar of yellow glowed near the floor.
“Where…” My throat was made of sandpaper, so raw, pushing out words was an exercise in pain. “Where am I?”
Shadows moved beside me, delicate taps on the floor. Then light, too bright for my tired eyes. I flinched, blinking against the glare, until a shape leaned over me, blocking it out.
“Caleb?” Her face came into focus, piece by piece. Her worried eyes. Her flushed cheeks. Her bitten lips. “Are you awake, honey?”
“Alice.” I reached up, my arm traveling through thick mud to get to her. “You’re here.”
“Of course I am.” She caught my hand, bringing it down to my side. “Let’s get you something to drink.”
She put a straw to my lips, and I drank like it’d been years since I’d had a drop of water. Hell, maybe it had. I couldn’t say I knew the day or where I was. Just that Alice was here with me and my boy was safe, which meant all was right in my world.
“There you go,” she murmured. “Do you want more?”
I let go of the straw and shook my head. “I feel like shit.”
“Yeah.” She put down the cup and brushed my hair off my forehead. “You had an accident. Do you remember?”
“I don’t know.” There was something on the edge of my memory, but I couldn’t quite grab it. “Everything’s fuzzy.”
“That’s the pain medication.” She dragged her fingers through my hair, slow and drugging, lulling me into a state between awake and asleep. “It’ll wear off once you get some sleep.”
“You’re going to stay.”
It wasn’t a question. I didn’t want to give her a choice. I needed Alice here. If she left, I’d surely be lost.
“I’m staying, Cay. Always. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Come lie with me.” I patted the bed next to me. There wasn’t a lot of room, but she could lie on me. I’d prefer it.
“Are you sure?”
I gave her hand a tug. “Come’re, darlin’. Give me a cuddle.”
Soon, her familiar weight settled beside me. Feeling so right against me, I couldn’t fight the pull of sleep.
I woke to my father’s lined face hovering over mine. “What the hell?”
“You’re awake,” he gruffed, his frown deepening.
“Seems like it.” I blinked a few times, clearing the sleep out of my eyes. “I’m in the hospital.”
“You sure are. Banged yourself up good. Your meds have probably worn off. Are you hurting?”
It took me all of a second to assess my condition. “My chest…my ribs. Christ, did I break one?”
“Try three. Scraped the hell out of your chest too.” He gave my shoulder a gentle pat. “You’re gonna have to take it easy for a while, bud.”
I couldn’t argue that. Getting up out of this bed sounded like the last thing I wanted to do. As my head cleared and I fully woke up, memories of how I’d gotten here came flooding back.
I jerked, my eyes going wide with panic. “Jesse? Where is he?”
“He’s fine. Shelby’s with him at your house. That was where he wanted to be.” He shook his head, the line between his brows a bolt of lightning. “He got scared, but he’s not hurt. Can’t say the same for Kent.”
The door swung open before he could elaborate, and in walked one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. My mother and Alice, arm in arm, their heads together. Alice was smiling, my mother laughing. And like she knew I was watching her, Alice’s eyes found mine.
Without a beat of hesitation, she broke off and ran to my bed. Her hands flew to my face, holding it as she looked me over. I let her examine me for as long as she needed to. When her eyes finally met mine again, they were filled with tears,
“You only look a little worse for wear,” she rasped.
I curled my fingers around her wrist. “What are you doing here, darlin’? You hate hospitals.”
Bending over me, she brushed her lips across my cheek. “I still hate them, but I couldn’t let you wake up alone, honey.”
It hurt, the way my heart swelled inside my chest. This woman—my woman—who’d woken up screaming in terror in this very building a few months ago, had set it all aside to be with me.
Because she couldn’t stand the thought of me being by myself like she’d been too many times. I’d never been loved so damn well.
I’d already been a goner for her, but this? Oh, I was never letting her go. She was stuck with me for life.
My mother wrapped her arm around Alice’s waist. “She’s been with you all night, Cay. I’d only just convinced her to take a walk with me to get a bite to eat. It makes sense your stubborn self would decide to wake up when she was out of the room.”
I closed my eyes as I bit back a laugh. “Jesus, don’t make me laugh when I have three broken ribs.”
My dad rumbled from my other side. “Maybe that’ll teach you not to drive like a maniac. You scared the hell out of us.”
I turned my head to look at him. “Then you know why I was driving that way.”
We exchanged a long, loaded look. I had a feeling he’d probably driven much the same way to get to me when he’d been alerted to my accident.
There wasn’t anything that would keep me from trying to get to my boy, and he understood that all too well.
After all, he’d been the one to shape me into the kind of father I was.
Finally, he nodded with understanding. “I get it. Doesn’t mean I approve.”
“Well, like you said, I’ll be taking it easy for a while.”
Alice’s cool fingers stroked my jaw. “And I’ll make sure you do.”
I turned my head to kiss her hand. “Darlin’...I’m so damn sorry I didn’t answer your call.”
“I know you would have if you could’ve.”
My mother gave Alice’s waist a shake. “She and Shelby took care of business. Not that I condone them chasing Kent down, but…well, the result was glorious.”
I blinked at her then Alice. “You…chased him down?”
Alice’s cheeks went rosy. “Shelby did. I was just the passenger. And when we caught up with them, she sort of…beat the living daylights out of Kent with a tire iron.”
I blinked even harder. “A tire iron?”
My dad took over. “I suspect he’s in even more pain than you. Shel managed to fracture several ribs, his arm and hand.”
“Mmmhmm,” my mother agreed. “I’m certain he’s in a world of regret right now. He should have just handed himself over to his loan sharks.”
“Shelby was really mad,” Alice added. “Really mad.”
I stared at Alice, at the blush creeping up her cheeks, then at my mom, who looked downright smug. For a man laid up in a hospital bed with three busted ribs, I’d never felt more like laughing.
A tire iron. Damn. Leave it to Shelby.
“Never get between a boy and his mom,” I rasped, the corner of my mouth tugging upward despite the ache.
“You’re not wrong,” Dad said, his lips twitching.
Alice smoothed my hair back from my forehead and eyed my expression. “Don’t you dare laugh, Cay. You’ll tear something.”
I caught her fingers in mine, holding tight. “I’m trying not to, darlin’. I’m just…I guess I’m feeling grateful. My boy’s safe. Shelby handled Kent. And you—” My voice went rough as I pulled her hand to my lips. “You’re here.”
She dipped down, her hair brushing my face, her lips grazing my temple. “Where else would I be?”
I shut my eyes, sinking into her touch. “Nowhere but here with me.”