Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
W hen Nate rushed into Dr. Stevens’ clinic, he barely registered the calming scent of eucalyptus or the soothing background music playing in the waiting room. None of it mattered. Not when he’d heard Lena sob that Faye had collapsed and that she’d been rushed to the clinic by Jacob Jordan.
Nate spotted Dr. Stevens behind the reception desk, flipping through a clipboard, and made a beeline toward him.
“How is she?” Nate asked, his voice tight, skipping any form of greeting. “Faye Wilson?”
Dr. Stevens looked up, slightly surprised for a brief moment. “She’s okay. She’s in an exam room but should be out soon. The episode passed quickly once we got her settled. She’s alert and talking.”
Nate let out a long, shaky breath and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Thank God.”
“I checked her vitals and ran a few basic tests,” the doctor continued.
“From what I can tell, it was a stress-induced overload from her cochlear implant. Loud environment, emotional stress—something triggered it.” He shook his head.
“Her hearing dropped off completely for a while, which understandably caused her to panic. But she’s recovering and stable now.
I’m having her set an appointment with her specialist in Portland. ”
Nate nodded, the coil of fear still tight in his chest but starting to loosen. “Can I see her?”
Dr. Stevens motioned down the hall. “Room three. She’s been asking for you. She feared you’d overreact when you found out.”
Nate didn’t wait. He practically jogged down the corridor and knocked softly on the half-closed door. He stepped inside when she called out for him to come in.
Faye was sitting upright on the exam table, her legs dangling off from it. Her cheeks were still pale, and her eyes looked a little glassy, but when they met his, she managed a small smile. She had been looking down at her phone but glanced up and set the phone aside when he stepped inside.
“Hey,” she said softly as he crossed the small room and took her hand gently in his.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
“I was afraid too,” she admitted. “I’m sorry. I let that woman get to me.”
“Don’t be sorry.” His voice cracked, so he cleared it and tried again. “I shouldn’t have pushed your like that over the past few days.”
“It wasn’t that, it was…” She looked down at their joined hands.
“It was a rude customer that wouldn’t stop yelling and videotaping me.
Her son was playing this stupid loud game that kept causing my implant to ring.
I suppose I was upset and stressed and then”—she shrugged—“there was nothing. It was as if I was underwater. I panicked and just… dropped.” Her voice hitched as he pulled her into his arms and held onto her.
“It was like before. All those years I went without. I’ve feared the day would come again.
” She sobbed. “Losing it all for good this time. Not a single sound made it through.”
He brushed a hand over her hair and just held her. “That must have been real scary.”
She looked up at him again. “I just called my specialist in Portland. They can get me in next week.”
“Good.” Relief hit him hard.
Dr. Stevens poked his head in just then.
“I’m releasing her,” he told Nate. “Vitals are strong. She just needs rest and quiet. Lots of both. And to follow up with her specialist. I don’t want you driving for the next couple of days,” he said to Faye.
Then to Nate, he added, “Make sure to look after her for the next twenty-four hours” before walking away.
Faye hopped off the table. “Dr. Stevens told me that I can’t lift a paint sprayer for at least forty-eight hours.”
Nate snorted. “Make it seventy-two.” He took her hand in his. “Since my place is pretty messy right now, how about we stop over there and I pack a bag and crash at your place for the night? That way I can watch you like the doc wants.”
She nodded slowly. “I don’t really want to be alone right now.” Her lip trembled just slightly. “Thanks.”
“For what?” he asked with a slight frown.
“For showing up.”
He kissed her hand. “Get used to it.”
She leaned forward, resting her forehead briefly against his. He wanted to carry her home, tuck her under blankets, and stay glued to her side for the rest of the weekend.
“Come on,” he whispered. “Let’s get you out of here.”
When they stepped out of the exam room, Dr. Stevens held out a small folder. “For your specialist. Call me if anything changes.”
“Thanks,” Faye said as Nate took the folder and tucked it under his arm.
As they pulled into his driveway, he cut the engine of his truck and gave Faye’s hand one last squeeze before hopping out. The sun was already beginning its descent behind the trees.
“I’ll be quick,” he said.
“I’d love to come see what you’ve done.”
His eyebrows rose slowly. “If you feel up to it.”
Faye gave him a small smile and nodded, so he rounded the front of the truck to open her door and help her out.
He watched her for a beat, just to make sure she was steady, then helped her inside.
“I’ll toss some things into a bag.” He left her standing in the kitchen, looking out at his finished back deck.
His boots thudded against the sanded floors, the faint smell of paint still lingering in the air. But now there was something else too—the scent of sawdust and fresh pine from the cabinets he’d started assembling that morning. The space was beginning to feel more like a home with each passing day.
He tossed in a few essentials—jeans, T-shirts, his razor—and zipped the duffel shut.
“You finished the deck,” came Faye’s voice, full of wonder, from the other room.
Nate stepped into the hallway to find her standing in the dining room.
“Yeah, I put on the last board early this morning,” he said.
“It looks amazing.”
He moved to the doors and opened them, then motioned for her to step outside. Her shoulders relaxed instantly. The fresh air, the quiet rustle of trees, the subtle crash of waves in the distance—it did something to both of them.
“I love it out here,” she said softly. “It’s like everything slows down.”
He moved beside her, resting his arms on the new railing he’d finished only a few hours before. “That’s the goal.”
She leaned against his shoulder, and he shifted just enough to be closer. Her weight, the warmth of her body against his—he hadn’t realized how tightly wound he’d been until now.
“And you still had time to start on the cabinets,” she said when they stepped back inside.
He nodded. “I haven’t built one yet. I was still unpackaging. They arrived shortly after I finished the deck.”
She glanced up at him, pride in her eyes. “You’ve done all this in just a few hours since I was here? I feel like I’ve missed so much.”
He chuckled, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “Well, sleeping on an air mattress and showering in a busted-up bathroom is great motivation to get things done. Besides, I really want a kitchen to cook in.”
Her smile dimmed slightly at that. “I hadn’t thought of that. You should stay somewhere else.”
“I want to save on rent. I moved all my things into the barn from my rental unit. Besides, every restaurant in town delivers.” He laughed. “I’ve been thinking a lot,” he said gently. “About how fast things can change. How easily we take normal for granted.”
Faye nodded slowly. “Yeah?”
“I’m excited to get back to some form of normal.” He took her hand in his.
Their eyes held for a long moment, quiet stretching between them like a thread neither wanted to cut.
“Ready?” he finally asked, walking over and lifting his bag.
Faye didn’t answer right away. She was still standing on his new deck, her gaze lingering on the sunset, her arms lightly crossed over her stomach.
He watched her chest rise and fall with a slow breath before she finally turned to face him.
“Nate…” Her voice was quiet, hesitant. She bit her bottom lip for a second.
“When my hearing disappeared earlier, when it all just went quiet…” She paused and looked away, blinking fast. “It wasn’t like the ringing in my head that I’m used to.
It wasn’t even the static that my implant causes.
It was just… nothing. Before my implant, I had muffled sounds.
I could hear loud noises, even if I couldn’t make out voices or words.
” She shook her head slightly. “This time, it was as if someone had cut the cord tethering me to any sounds.”
His throat tightened as he imagined losing the ability to hear. How afraid she must have been.
“I’ve always known this could happen someday.
My entire life, doctors have been warning me,” she went on, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, “that I would lose every bit of my hearing. My whole life, I’ve been holding on to this thread—this fragile little thread of sound—and today, I thought it had finally snapped.
” Her voice wavered as her eyes teared up.
“And the worst part was knowing that it might never come back this time. Nothing anyone could do would ever bring it back. This implant is my last hope.” She touched the side of her head.
Nate moved to her side slowly, letting her speak, letting the silence stretch.
“I don’t know who I am without that thread of hope.
” A tear slipped down her cheek, and he reached up and gently brushed it aside.
“I don’t know what I will be if I lose everything that I’ve fought for my entire life.
” Her shoulders sagged slightly against his chest, vulnerable in a way that gutted him.
“I’m scared of what my future looks like if this is the beginning of that. ”
Nate didn’t hesitate, he gently framed her face with his hands.