Chapter 2 #2
“Don’t push too hard,” the nurse said. “Head injuries can be tricky.” She laid the brush and toothbrush on the rolling table near the bed. “I’ll be back with your discharge instructions in a few minutes. You’ll have enough time for that shower.”
After the nurse left the room, Avery gathered her clothes and faced Grant. “I know you didn’t ask for this, and I wasn’t quite in my right mind when I gave your name to the nurse but thank you for coming.” She hesitated. “You don’t have to stay, you know.”
“I’m here. You’ve been injured. I’m not going to leave you until I know you’re one hundred percent. Right now, I’m not convinced.”
She nodded. “I need to go on to Shadow Valley. I’m sure they’re worried that I didn’t show up.”
“You could call and let them know what happened,” Grant said.
She raised her hands. “I don’t have my phone, my purse or my credentials. I feel a little lost, like I don’t know who I am.”
Grant crossed to her and pulled her into his arms. “I know you won’t take the doctor’s advice to rest for a few days, so at least let me go with you and keep an eye on you to make sure you’re recovering, not regressing.
” He leaned back and tipped her chin up.
“I can’t in good conscience let you go alone, especially if you’re working a potential serial killer case.
I know you better than anyone who’ll be there. I’ll know if you’re acting funny.”
She stared up into his eyes. “You knew me. It’s been a while.”
He nodded. “It has. But you’re still you.” His lips twitched. “A little confused but getting better every minute. So, how about it? I have a rental car.” He raised his eyebrows in challenge.
She rested his hands on his chest. “I don’t even know what happened to mine. I think it was in a creek or something.”
Grant’s arms tightened around her; the thought of her struggling to get out of a crashed vehicle submerged in a creek almost more than he could imagine. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Some. Just like clips from a horror movie.”
He hugged her briefly. “Get your shower. You can fill me in on our way to Shadow Valley.”
Avery ducked into the bathroom. Moments later, Grant could hear the sound of water splashing against the tile floor. He waited by the door in case she fell and needed help up.
As she had always done, she was done in a few efficient minutes. The shower shut off. After another couple of minutes, the door opened, and she stepped out wearing trousers, a dark blouse and dark sneakers. She’d wrapped her hair in a towel like a turban on her head.
She walked to the bed, sat on the side and pulled the towel off her head. “Has the nurse come by?” she asked, dragging the brush through the mass of tangles, her movements impatient and jerky.
“Not yet.” Grant reached out. “Let me.” He’d always had more patience combing the tangles out of her long black hair.
She laid the brush in his palm and turned her back to him.
He carefully worked the knots out of her hair, one strand at a time. When he was done, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her damp crown like he always had, without thinking, counting it off as muscle memory. Then he handed her the brush.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better, having divested myself of a couple of pounds of mud and...” she grimaced, “twigs.”
He sat on the bed behind her, gripped her shoulders and pulled her back against him. “Oh, baby, what happened?”
She leaned her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m not sure what was real and what was a dream I might have been having while I was sleeping.”
“Tell me,” he said, smoothing her damp hair back from her forehead. She’d always liked it when he’d stroked her hair.
He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this. He wished he’d been there for her, that she wouldn’t have had to extricate herself from her car all alone.
“It was raining,” she said softly. “I was tired, having left San Antonio later than I’d wanted to.
Something big and brown leaped out in front of me.
I hit the brakes, but they didn’t work, or maybe the road was too slick.
” She shook her head. “Anyway, the big brown thing, I think it was a deer, crashed into my car, rolled up over the hood, and smashed into my windshield.” She shivered.
“What happened next is a blur. I couldn’t see anything in front of me.
I went off the road while I was still going pretty fast. When the car came to a sudden stop, it was standing on its front grill in rising water. ” She shivered.
Grant’s arms slid around her middle and held her close.
“I don’t know how I got out. I blacked out, came to and eventually made it out and up the bank.” She sighed. “Then I woke up in the hospital.”
“That’s so like you. Even with a head injury, you managed to save yourself.”
“Not sure I did all the saving. I don’t remember how I got to the hospital.” She laid a hand over his, resting on her belly. “Thank you for coming.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
“I’m sorry I lost my G-ride. I need to call the field office and let them know. I need another vehicle to get me around.”
“You have time. For now, I’ll get you where you need to go. It’s probably not a good idea to drive after being in a coma for three days.”
“I feel fine,” she said.
“I’m here,” he said. “Humor me. I need to be needed.”
She snorted softly. “Right.”
The nurse pushed through the door, carrying a stack of papers, stapled together. “If you’re ready, I have your marching orders.”
“I’m ready.” As if to prove it, Avery pushed to stand.
Grant followed, standing close enough to catch her if she fainted.
“Just watch for any of the symptoms listed.” The nurse handed the papers to Avery.
“If you have any of them, come back to the hospital and let us check it out.” Once she’d finished explaining what Avery should be doing and not doing for the next forty-eight hours, she smiled.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Though you’ve been an ideal patient, try to stay out of the hospital in the future.
Be healthy, happy and incredibly safe.” She patted Avery’s arm. “You’re free to go.”
Avery hooked her hand through Grant’s elbow and left the room. “How did they let me go without all the paperwork and proof of insurance?”
Grant covered her hand on his arm. “I vouched for you and gave them my information for now. We can follow up with yours once we get you well and squared away.”
Avery nodded, still too fuzzy-headed to care much.
He led her to the elevator, punched the down button and waited. “Last chance,” he said. “Are you sure you’re up for a murder investigation? We’re still at the hospital. You can stay.”
Her lips pressed into a firm line. “I’m so new in the San Antonio office that if I don’t show up, they might forget I exist. Not much of a great first impression.”
“But understandable, given the circumstances,” Grant said. “I’m sure they would cut you some slack.”
“I hope so.” Avery stepped out of the elevator and headed for the exit. “I need to get another phone and do something about credit cards, driver’s license and my FBI badge. “But first, I need to check in with the people I was supposed to work with.”
Grant stopped beside the passenger door of the rental car and pulled the door open. “Do you want me to call ahead to the sheriff’s department and let them know you’re on the way?”
Avery paused, her brow wrinkling. “No. I’ll show up and let them know what happened.”
“What if they have a manhunt going on, looking for you?” he asked.
“After this long, surely they’ve called off the hunt. How far is it from here to Shadow Valley?” she asked.
Grant checked the map application on his cell phone. “About an hour and a half.”
“I just want to show up. If I call, they might tell me to go home to recover.”
“Which was what the doctor wanted you to do,” he reminded her.
“I need to work,” she said.
Grant studied her face for a second and then nodded. “Okay. Let’s get you there and surprise them with your sudden reappearance.”
Avery’s lips twisted. “You make it sound weird.”
Grant chuckled. “A woman sent to help with a murder investigation disappears for four days and suddenly reappears is normal?” He tipped his head toward the seat. “Hop in. I want to see their reaction when you waltz in like it’s nothing to ghost them and come back as if nothing happened.”
“I’ll fill them in.”
“They might tell you to go home, even after you show up in person versus making a call.”
She slid into the passenger seat, pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder and clicked it in place. “I’ll deal with that then.”