CHAPTER TWO
Even though she always got home well before Zane, Kelsey didn’t tend to linger at the restaurant where she worked. That night, however, she took her time since he was probably going to be at least an hour later than he usually was.
“Did you and your hubby have a fight?” Tanya asked.
“What?” Kelsey looked up from the menus she was straightening at the hostess stand.
Tanya was the manager of the restaurant, and she’d been the one who had hired Kelsey three weeks earlier.
“Most days, you’re out of here as soon as your shift is over,” Tanya said, her brown eyes holding concern. “Is the honeymoon over already?”
Kelsey gave a short laugh. “No. Zane’s working later than usual, so there’s no rush for me to get home.”
“Ah… for the days of young love. Feels like forever since I’ve had that with my hubby.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Twenty-five years.”
That surprised Kelsey. She’d thought Tanya was somewhere in her early thirties. The woman was striking, with high cheekbones and flawless brown skin. Her curly black hair was pulled smoothly back from her face, accentuating her beautiful features.
“That’s wonderful.” Kelsey hoped that she and Zane could do whatever it took to make it that far in their marriage. Or even further.
“It hasn’t all been sunshine and roses,” Tanya said. “But the good times we’ve had together are an incentive to fight through the rough times to get back to the good.”
Kelsey hoped that she could keep that mindset if she and Zane ever ran into struggles in their relationship. Given that they hadn’t been married all that long, they hadn’t had many disagreements. Even things that might have caused conflict for other couples—wanting to elope and making a major move—hadn’t in their situation because she hadn’t had an issue with either.
“Just keep the lines of communication open,” Tanya advised. “If you both keep talking, it’s less likely that small issues will become big ones.”
Kelsey appreciated the advice because she had no one in her family that had set a good example in a relationship, let alone a marriage. Even her best friend had had trouble keeping a boyfriend.
She had also been adamantly opposed to Kelsey marrying Zane and moving away. They hadn’t spoken since Cheryl had called her a desperate idiot for agreeing to elope and move away with Zane. Cheryl had never liked Zane, though she’d never voiced why.
Kelsey suspected it was because he treated her so well, and Cheryl had never experienced that kindness with any of her boyfriends.
Still, it was sad, but perhaps not surprising, that her friend hadn’t wanted her to have something good in her life. No one had ever wanted that for her.
No one except Zane.
The man had proven himself to be a cheerleader as she’d shared about her dreams, and Kelsey knew that when she finally took and passed the nursing exam, he’d be thrilled for her. And even though she was working hard for her own sake, his belief in her made her want to work even harder for him.
Finally, she said goodbye to Tanya and headed home. She had two days off, which she was really looking forward to. Especially since she would be spending them with Zane.
They had plans to run a few errands because there were some things they hadn’t sorted out from their move to Tampa yet. The nitty-gritty things that were necessary when moving to a new place. They’d been putting them off, and they needed to stop doing that.
The dark apartment was quiet as she walked in, but that was the norm these days.
After turning on some lights, she went to the bedroom and changed out of her work clothes. She either wore a black pencil skirt or black slacks with a white blouse and heels. It was a simple but elegant outfit which was appropriate for the restaurant since it was a popular date night destination.
Once dressed in a pair of loose cotton shorts and a T-shirt, Kelsey carried the hamper of dirty clothes from their room into the short hallway leading to the main living area and opened the doors of the closet that contained their washer and dryer. She quickly moved the clothes from the hamper to the washer and started it up, grateful that they could do laundry in their apartment whenever it was convenient for them.
After she was done with that, Kelsey grabbed a glass of water, then went to the comfiest chair they had in the apartment and picked up her tablet to do some studying. It had taken her years to complete nursing school, and she was hoping to finally be able to sit for the nursing exam soon.
The move to Tampa had postponed her initial plan to take the test in Chicago, but she didn’t mind. It was a small price to pay in order to be with Zane.
When he’d first told her that he’d been accepted for the sous chef position at a one Michelin star restaurant in Tampa, Kelsey had been sure that he’d leave her behind. Her heart had broken at the thought, and she’d readied herself for the inevitable.
When he’d told her they needed to talk, she’d been braced for the breakup. Instead, she’d gotten a proposal. She hadn’t hesitated even a second before saying yes, and when, soon after, he’d posed the idea of eloping, she’d jumped on board.
Her dream for her wedding had never been for a fancy one. No, it had been for her groom to be a good man who loved and cherished her. Which Zane certainly seemed to be and do.
There had been no way she’d let him go, even if it meant moving across the country and postponing taking the nursing exam. It had already taken her longer than usual to make it to this point in her quest to become a nurse, so what was a few more months?
Most days, she used the hours between when she got home from work until Zane got home to study and prepare for the exam. Though school had never come super easy to her, she’d always worked hard to get good grades, realizing she was going to need them if she wanted to achieve her goals. So she was studying hard in order to not just pass, but to excel as a nurse.
It felt like all parts of her life were finally falling into place. And while Kelsey had always figured that with hard work, she could attain her goal of becoming a nurse, she hadn’t been so sure she’d end up with the type of man she wanted.
But for whatever reason, Zane had walked into her life, and after first becoming friends, they’d become something so much more. She was determined to do whatever she had to in order to make sure that their life together lasted forever.
As time clicked by, Kelsey kept an eye on her phone, watching for when Zane left the restaurant. When she finally saw his indicator move, she smiled. It would probably take him about half an hour to get home, since the late-night traffic would be light.
Occasionally, he’d call her once he was in the car, but he told her that more often, he liked to use the drive to the apartment to think back over his shift so he could let it go when he got home to her.
While Kelsey waited for him, she got up and switched the laundry over to the dryer, then went to the kitchen. She got a couple of plates from the cupboard, along with a couple of glasses.
Since he was getting home later than usual, they’d probably have sandwiches for dinner again. Which wasn’t a problem. She’d eaten at the restaurant, so she wasn’t too hungry.
When a half hour had passed with no notification that he was at the building, Kelsey picked her phone up to check where he was. She frowned when she saw that his location was still twenty minutes away, but then she noticed that it hadn’t been updated since then, either.
It seemed like maybe his battery had died on him again. That had happened a couple of times, but he’d gotten better about checking and plugging his phone in if it was too low.
Trying to distract herself, she sat back down and picked up her tablet. However, minutes ticked by, and soon, Kelsey had to set aside her tablet, unable to focus on the material as her worries mounted. She tried calling Zane, but it went straight to his voicemail.
Getting up from her chair, she went to the balcony of their apartment. When she slid open the door, warm, humid air greeted her. She stepped out onto the empty balcony. They hadn’t bought any furniture for it yet. Neither of them were quite able to find it appealing to relax while sweating to death.
Though it was night, she could see cars approaching with their headlights. A couple of cars went by, but neither turned in.
She stood there for several minutes, watching for any more cars on the road, hoping just one would turn into the parking lot of the building. But none did. Just a smattering of vehicles driving past.
Worry and anxiety crept up her spine, and Kelsey couldn’t stay still. After pacing a bit on the balcony, she went inside, but then she turned right back around and returned to the balcony.
What was she supposed to do?
How was she supposed to know what was going on?
It was now almost an hour past when he should have been home, and her thoughts and worries were in overdrive.
Kelsey’s heart raced, and she struggled to take a breath. Her shallow breaths left her feeling a little lightheaded and like she was going to suffocate if she couldn’t take a deep inhale.
She tried to count in her head, but her focus was shot.
Finally, she had enough presence of mind to pull up the voice note on her phone that she’d made years ago to help her when she had a panic attack. It had been a long time since she’d last needed it, but as her own voice counted for her, Kelsey was grateful she still had it.
Inhale, two, three, four.
Hold, two, three, four.
Exhale, two, three, four.
Hold, two, three, four.
Kelsey sank down on the rough cement of the balcony floor and struggled to bring her breathing under control. It felt like it took forever. It had been so long since she’d last had a panic attack that she was out of practice in dealing with them.
And what was she panicking over, anyway? She didn’t even know if the situation warranted her reaction.
But that was the problem. It was the not knowing that was ramping up her anxiety.
Right then, everything was out of her control.
She didn’t know what was going on, and she had no idea how to find out, especially since her calls to Zane were still going directly to his voicemail.
Though her anxiety wasn’t gone, her breathing eventually settled. Unfortunately, that allowed her thoughts to once again start to stress as she thought back over what she knew.
Which, quite simply, wasn’t enough.
All she knew for sure was that Zane had left the restaurant in his car.
Then… nothing.
Kelsey leaned against the wrought-iron railing, peering down once again at the parking lot. She thumped her head on the rail, trying to figure out what to do.
Should she get in her car and try to trace the route that Zane was likely to take to get home? Unfortunately, she wasn’t that familiar with Tampa yet to know for sure which way he might take to get home. If she was still in Chicago, she wouldn’t be as hesitant.
Still, it was tempting because it meant she’d be doing something and not just sitting around worrying. But what if Zane came home while she was out? Would he think she’d severely overreacted?
Maybe she should call the cops? But would that make him mad?
Or should she call someone in his family? Would that make him mad?
Besides, what could they do since they were all the way across the country?
And then they’d think she was overreacting, too. It wasn’t the impression she wanted to give them, especially since they apparently already didn’t think too highly of her.
Please, God, help me out.
Appealing to God for help wasn’t something she’d done in a very long time. Mainly because the last time she had, nothing had happened.
Her anxiety faded into the background, and a numbness settled in. She stayed slumped against the balcony railing, immobile because she just didn’t know what to do. Periodically, she checked the tracking program to see if Zane’s phone had come back online.
But there was nothing beyond the last location that had registered, which was coming up on two hours ago. Only two hours? It felt like a lifetime.
What if he’d been in an accident? What if he was…?
“No!” Kelsey spoke the word loudly. She wasn’t going to contemplate that. There was no way she could even let herself consider that the man she loved was anything but alive.
“I need to do something,” she muttered, her gaze back on the parking lot. “I need to do something.”
But still she just sat there, tears blurring her gaze.
She had no one to call to ask what she should do. Being in Tampa meant her support system—small though it had been before they moved—wasn’t there for her. If she and Cheryl had been talking following their fight over Kelsey’s elopement and move to Tampa, she would have called her, regardless of how late it was.
But she was alone, the one person she could count on, nowhere to be found.
The sudden ping of her phone jerked Kelsey out of her stupor, and she blinked rapidly to clear her gaze before looking at her phone. It was a Messenger notification, but she couldn’t see who it was from.
Hoping it was Zane—though that didn’t make much sense—she quickly swiped with a shaking finger to activate the screen. Confusion filled her as she took in the message from Lee, Zane’s brother.
Hi Kelsey ~ Can you call me? I need to talk to you for a minute.
The second message from him contained his phone number. It was all very weird, but it seemed fortuitous that he’d called her when she’d thought about calling one of them. Maybe he’d been trying to contact Zane as well.
She copied the number into a contact and then placed the call, clearing her throat as it rang to make sure she could talk past the tightness of her throat.
“Kelsey?”
“Yes. Yes, it’s me.”
There was a moment of silence before Lee said, “Listen, I have no other way to tell you this but to just say it. Zane’s been in a car accident and is in the hospital.”
“What?” Shock coursed through her, though there wasn’t any surprise, really. She’d known this was a possibility. She just hadn’t thought she’d hear the news from one of her brothers-in-law.
“I got a phone call just a bit ago from the police there in Tampa to let me know what had happened.”
“I don’t understand,” she said, still frozen in place at the railing, her hand tightly gripping the iron railing
“The police found my name as his emergency contact in his wallet, so they called me. I didn’t have your number or address to give them.”
Kelsey dragged herself to her feet. She had to get to Zane.
“How bad is he hurt?”
“It seemed like he’s in pretty bad shape,” Lee said. “He had to be extracted from his car with the jaws of life.”
“No…” The word came out on a sob. “No…”
“Listen, you need to get to the hospital. Can you do that?”
“Yes. Of course.” Anxiety was threatening to overtake her again, but now she had something to focus on. She had a purpose. She had to get to Zane.
“We’re going to be there as soon as possible,” Lee said. “Hudson’s been in New York, and he’s heading back here as soon as he can with his dad’s private jet, and then we’ll be on it to fly to Tampa.”
“Okay.” Though she knew they didn’t think much of her, Kelsey was grateful that she wouldn’t have to deal with everything on her own. She just hoped they’d let her have some say in any decisions that might have to be made. Especially since she might not be listed as his next of kin on anything. Just another one of those things they hadn’t gotten around to changing yet.
“We’ll be praying for you both,” Lee said after he gave her the name of the hospital. “Please let me know as soon as you get any information. I won’t be going to sleep.”
After promising she would, Kelsey said goodbye and stood for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Then she was on the move, going back into the apartment. She closed and locked the balcony door before heading to their bedroom.
It felt like she was moving on autopilot. But now that she had a direction in which to proceed, her anxiety had moved to the back of her mind. The news that Zane had been in an accident wasn’t good, but at least he was alive, and she knew where he was.
Though she wasn’t sure about calling for a rideshare, she also wasn’t sure about driving in a still-unfamiliar city. In the end, she decided on the rideshare. While she waited for the car to arrive, she changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt, since the clothes she’d been wearing were only for around home.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, but she had the presence of mind to grab their wedding certificate, just in case they questioned her about being his wife. Given she wasn’t listed as his next of kin, it was a possibility.
The driver ended up being an older man, with a kind face and sympathetic words when he learned where she was going and why.
“I’ll get you there as quickly as possible,” he assured her as they pulled away from the curb in front of the building. Kelsey had a feeling that no matter how quickly they arrived, the trip would still feel like forever.
Indeed, by the time the driver came to a stop at the entrance to the ER, it felt like hours had passed.
“Thank you,” she said as she opened the door.
“I’ll be praying for you and your husband,” he told her as she climbed out.
Pausing, she leaned back inside the car and said, “We appreciate that.”
After closing the door, Kelsey hurried through the doors and looked around for someone to help her. Approaching a woman seated behind a desk, Kelsey gave her name as well as Zane’s, along with the details Lee had given her.
“Please have a seat,” the woman said. “I’ll have someone come and get you.”
“Is he okay?” Kelsey couldn’t help but ask, even though she knew it wasn’t likely that she’d give her any information.
“I’m sorry. You’ll have to wait to speak to the doctor.”
Kelsey nodded, then went to sit down in a chair not far from the desk. She couldn’t relax as she waited for someone to come and tell her what was going on. There were plenty of people in the waiting room, but she tuned all their noise out, not wanting to interact with anyone there.
Finally, she opened her phone and sent Lee a message. Even though she had no news yet, she had to do something. She needed to keep a connection with someone.
Arrived at the hospital a couple of minutes ago. Waiting for someone to tell me what’s going on.
Lee’s reply came right away.
Lee: Hope they don’t make you wait too long. Praying it’s good news.
Kelsey hoped it was too, but she was preparing herself for the worst. Her anxiety was rising again, and she began to count her breaths right away, before it got too out of hand.
“Mrs. Halverson?”
It took Kelsey a moment to register the woman was talking to her. Looking up, she got to her feet.
“I’m Kelsey Halverson,” she said as she approached her.
“Please come with me.” The woman turned and led her away from the waiting room.
Kelsey hurried to catch up to her. “Can I see him?”
“I’m afraid not yet,” the woman said. “He’s currently in surgery. After that, he’ll be in the ICU. I’m going to take you to the waiting room on the floor where he’ll go when he’s out of surgery. Is there anyone with you?”
Kelsey didn’t want to think about why they might not want her to be alone. “Not at the moment. My husband’s family is flying in from Idaho. They’ll be here later today. Do you have any news about him I can pass on to them?”
“When we get to the waiting room, I’ll see if there’s an update for you.”
The waiting room the woman led Kelsey to was empty and fairly non-descript but not sterile, with warmly painted walls and generic framed art. The chairs looked like they would be comfortable, but Kelsey really hoped she didn’t have to wait too long in them.
Five minutes after she chose one of the chairs to sit in, she started to fidget.
Was she just supposed to sit there? There was no way her anxiety wasn’t going to eat her alive as she waited for someone to come tell her that Zane was okay. Remembering that her earbuds were in her purse, she dug them out and put just one in. She didn’t want to completely block the room noise out since she needed to hear when the doctor came to speak with her.
Kelsey pulled up her voice note again, breathing in rhythm with the counting. Closing her eyes, she tried to just concentrate on that, but images flashed through her mind. Images of Zane injured in his car. Of him on an operating table.
She felt alone and so weak, incapable of being the strong person she had to be. Her anxiety was making her question her ability to deal with what was to come.
But her love was stronger than her anxiety. It had to be. Zane needed her in a way he never had before.
He had always been the strong one. The organized one. The one who took care of everything. But for the next little while, that was going to have to be her.
“Mrs. Halverson?”