Chapter 2
WALKER COLLEY
It takes me a few seconds to realize I’m holding Naudi, the underwear lady, in my arms. It isn’t an unpleasant feeling. She’s warm and small, and the bump on her head is turning dark colors.
The ambulance siren blares in the distance. “Hang on, help is coming.”
I pull my hand away and notice I’m covered in… “Honey,” I mutter.
My jars must have shifted when I slammed on the brakes.
“Honey?” a woman similar in shape and size to Naudi asks. “Who are you?”
I know she’s not from around here. I would know her. Tourist, maybe. Or a relative, since she looks so much like the woman still in my arms.
The ambulance arrives before I come up with an answer and two paramedics get out.
I don’t know them. That’s the bad thing about the revitalization of Faire Island; it’s no longer just locals.
At one time, I knew every single person that lives on the island.
Now people are moving here to work instead of moving away to find work.
I guess progress has its price.
The paramedics ask what happened, and I tell them. Then they put a neck brace on Naudi after taking her vitals and lay her on the ground. I don’t like them taking her. I could have held her while they did their thing. I wouldn’t have minded.
They transfer her to a bed on wheels and move her to the back of the ambulance, and I follow along. Why isn’t she conscious? Shouldn’t she be? Unless something is majorly wrong. I watch as they strap her in and start an IV.
“We’re taking her to the clinic. You can follow us there. Sorry, we can’t let you ride with us. Policy.” One of the paramedics shuts the back doors, preventing me from seeing any more.
As they drive off, I head for my truck, planning to follow. I’m not sure why. There’s no need for me to go, but I feel compelled to.
“Can I go with you?”
I look down at the lady beside me. The one that looks like Naudi and ask, “Who are you?”
“I’m Naudi’s sister. I’m visiting from India.”
Her sister. That seems right. She looks younger, but they share the same darker skin tone, chocolate brown eyes, and ebony black hair. “Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute.”
I toss the broken bottles of honey into the back of my truck and wipe the seat and my hands clean with a towel I keep handy in case of spills. I’ll have to get another shipment ready to go because this one didn’t make it.
But first I need to find out how Naudi is. After helping the woman into my truck, I run around to get in the driver’s side. The clinic is only two blocks away so it won’t take five minutes to get there.
I can still hear the squeal of my tires and feel the jolt of hitting her body. I didn’t see her. No. That’s not true. I saw her on the sidewalk, the woman always draws my attention, and then she flew in front of my truck. I had no time to react.
She was so still, lying there in my arms. Helpless.
Nothing like the bigger-than-life woman I usually encounter.
She walks into a room and owns it without trying.
She’s confident and she gets this look on her face when someone says something stupid, which I often do in her presence. Maybe that’s why she hates me.
That’s something I’ve never understood. She is a nice person—to everyone but me. I walk in the room and if looks could kill, I’d be six feet under.
Now she really has a reason to hate me. I hit her. I could have killed her. I have to know how she is. She’d looked so pale… the knot in my stomach tightens.
When we rush into the clinic, we’re shown to a waiting room. Before we even get seated, a nurse comes in. “Are you with Naudi Sharma?”
“Yes, I am her sister, Arya.”
The nurse turns to me and asks, “And you are?”
My mind goes blank. Like it usually does when I’m put on the spot.
“You have to be family to go back or her fiancé,” the nurse says, pointing to the door leading to the exam rooms.
It’s for sure I don’t resemble her family. Unless I was adopted. The words tumble out before I have time to reconsider them. “The second one.”
The woman beside me, Arya, gasps. “You are her fiancé?”
The nurse stares at me. Waiting. I shrug. “Yep.”
Arya’s eyes widen. Well… that’s done. I rub the back of my neck and look at the floor. Fiancé. Stupid.
“Come this way. The doctor would like to talk to you.”
We follow the nurse to a room filled with things that beep and things that flash.
All I have eyes for is the woman lying silently in the bed.
She’s almost the same color as the sheets surrounding her.
Guilt hits me hard. I did this to her. Not intentionally, but it was my foot on the gas and my truck that hit her.
The doctor walks in. I recognize him as being new on the island, but I don’t know the man. “This young lady is very lucky. She has a mild concussion, bruised ribs, and most likely a sprained wrist. We won’t know for sure until we run more tests.”
Lucky? She doesn’t look very lucky to me. I stare at the floor.
“Will she wake up soon?” Arya asks.
“She’s already trying,” he says as he checks her vitals on the monitor.
As if on cue, Naudi makes a small sound and shifts against the pillow. Her fingers twitch and her eyes flutter open. They move around the room slowly before settling on me. Of course, they do. She frowns and I can only imagine what is going to come out of her mouth.
“You’re awake,” Arya cries and hurries to the side of the bed to take her sister’s hand.
“I’ll order a few more tests and then we’ll know more,” the doctor says as he walks out the door.
Naudi’s eyes land on me. “What’s he doing here?”
Yep. She’s definitely awake. Same sweet disposition where I’m concerned. Her gaze sharpens slightly as she focuses on me. “You hit me.”
“It was horrible, Didi. A bike whizzed by and knocked you into the road right in front of your fiancé’s truck. It all happened so fast.”
“That explains the headache.”
Pieces of memories flicker across her face. Her eyes narrow and her head tips. “Wait. What did you call him?”
Before I can even think about answering, Arya squeals, making Naudi wince. “You didn’t tell me!” she blurts, her words tumbling over each other. “Didi, why would you not tell me when I asked? Were you pulling one of your pranks? I bet you were going to surprise me at the ferry before I left.”
Naudi blinks at her like her brain can’t keep up. It probably can’t. Her sister seems like a force of nature herself.
“Arya…” she tries to speak, but Arya jumps back in at full speed.
“I remember this about you. You used to pull such pranks on us all the time.” Her voice is bright and excited. “Oh, this is just like you. You haven’t changed at all, and I am very pleased about that.”
Naudi’s mouth opens. Then closes. Opens again. “I…”
Arya digs through her purse. “I have to make a call. This is important. Very important. I will be right back, and then I must rush to the ferry. Maybe I can make the next one and not have to change my flight. I know your fiancé will take very good care of you.”
And just like that, she’s gone with Naudi’s mouth still open. The curtain to the exam area swings shut behind her, and silence drops into the room. Naudi turns her head slowly to pierce me with her furious eyes, and I know without a doubt that I’m in big trouble. Like I said, the woman hates me.
“You have no idea what you’ve done.”
I shrug one shoulder. “It’s no big deal. We’ll just tell her the truth.”
“I guess it’s not a big deal for someone like you,” she says with a look on her face similar to that of someone eating sour pickles.
I let that sink in and try to figure out what she’s saying about me. Before I can, her sister bursts back into the room.
“Naudi, I am sorry. I must rush off to catch the next ferry and I can still make my flight back to New York. Mother and Father are excited to meet your handsome man. I will call you tonight to check up on you. We have many plans to make. I am happy I made this trip. All of my prayers have been answered.”
The whole time the sister’s talking, Naudi is trying to get a word in with no success. Arya gently gives her a kiss on the cheek, then tells me to look after her sister, and breezes out as quickly as she breezed in.
The curtain flutters back into place as she leaves. For a second, I don’t move. My gaze stays focused on the fabric, waiting for it to part again as Arya comes back in with another request or proclamation that doesn’t make any sense.
She doesn’t.
When I turn around, I know what I’m going to find. And I’m right. Naudi’s fixed glare. I’ve become used to seeing it. Every time I have the misfortune of going into her shop.
No, I don’t buy women’s underwear. I mean, yes, I do, but not for myself. I rub my forehead and sigh. Why am I arguing with myself? I have enough to worry about with the inevitable argument I’m facing with the woman whose eyes are still shooting daggers at me.
Those big brown eyes and that upturned nose are kinda cute when she’s mad. Which isn’t something I should be noticing.
“Don’t worry. I’ll call her and explain everything. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal…” she repeats, one eyebrow lifted, slow and deliberate, and then she chuckles. Evilly. Not like she finds it genuinely funny. “You think this is something you can explain away? Now? After she already called our parents and announced my upcoming marriage?”
“Wait. What?”
“Oh yeah, you don’t throw news like that at Indian parents lightly. They dig in and hold on. At this very moment, they are probably trying to figure out how to get an elephant on the island.”
Naudi and her sister are confusing. “An elephant? Maybe you hit your head harder than we thought.”
A nurse steps through the curtain pushing a wheelchair. “I’m going to take you down to X-ray for imaging,” she announces and proceeds to help Naudi from the bed and into the chair. I don’t like the way she winces when she moves.
“You can go back to the waiting room, and we’ll let you know when we’re done.”