Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
We took Wesley to the hospital.
“I don’t want to go to the hospital.” He sat in the backseat of Galen’s truck, arms crossed, and glared at the neon lights that lit the way to Moonstone Bay’s only hospital.
Galen had left us outside the cemetery long enough to retrieve his truck. Despite his bluster, it was obvious Wesley couldn’t walk the few blocks to the hospital.
I refrained from asking the obvious questions until he’d been admitted to the hospital. He had an IV bag attached — something about electrolytes — and the nurse had drawn blood to run tests. Wesley had fought the whole process.
While we were waiting, I decided to distract him.
“Did you miss me?”
Wesley’s eyes moved from the door, where he was waiting for the doctor to appear, to me. “Should I have?”
I tried to keep my face impassive. “I think I’m miss-able.”
“Well, if you think so … .” Wesley rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
Perhaps reading my expression, or just knowing me better than anybody, Galen gave Wesley a warning look. “Your granddaughter has been through hell for two days thinking something bad happened to you. Try not being a jerk, huh?”
Wesley, the king of grumps, shot back, “You’re not the boss of me!”
“Don’t do it for me. Do it for your granddaughter, who I know you love.”
“I told you I didn’t want to come here!”
“You’ve been missing for two days and you’re weak.”
“I’m not weak! I don’t get weak!”
Galen slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair in which he sat. “Don’t make me hurt you!”
Wesley scoffed. “Like you could hurt me.”
“I’m fond of you, but you’re being mean to my favorite person in the world. If you had your wits about you and weren’t weak, you’d be kicking your own ass for acting this way. So, I’m going to do what you would want me to and protect your granddaughter.”
“I don’t need protection,” I volunteered in a soft voice. “I’m okay.”
Slowly, Wesley tracked his gaze to me. He looked pained. I braced myself for another verbal onslaught. Instead, his eyes turned glassy. “I’m sorry.”
Galen visibly relaxed. “You’ve been through it,” he acknowledged. “I need you to understand that Hadley has too.”
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“We thought you were on a different plane,” Galen said. “It never occurred to us that you were in the cemetery. Being there tonight was a fluke. Were you in there the whole time?”
“I don’t know.” Wesley’s hands plucked at the blanket. “I’m not sure what happened. I didn’t mean to snap at you, honey. I just … it’s been a trying few hours.”
“Few days,” I corrected.
Confusion knit Wesley’s eyebrows. “Are you saying … what are you saying?”
“You’ve been gone two days,” Galen replied. “Your men called me yesterday morning and said they hadn’t seen you since the night before — about forty-eight hours ago — and they were worried because they couldn’t find you anywhere on the ranch.”
Wesley cocked his head. “I’ve been missing for two full days?”
I bobbed my head.
“That can’t be right.” Wesley concentrated so hard, as if willing himself to remember, I worried that he might pass out. “That’s just not right.”
“Tell us what you remember,” Galen prodded.
“I don’t know what I remember.” Wesley leaned back against the pillows, his eyes looking at the ceiling. “Things are kind of fuzzy.”
“You had a barbecue that night,” I offered, hoping to jog his memory.
“Your men said you were in a good mood. They lost track of you after that. Nobody saw you go back to the house. When they went looking for you in the morning, they couldn’t find any trace of you.
You weren’t in any of the barns. You hadn’t passed out anywhere. ”
“Young lady,” Wesley’s expression was back to severe, “I don’t pass out.”
I laughed because I couldn’t help myself, but he was deadly serious. “We had to be sure.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I’m guessing you came to the ranch to look for me.”
“We did,” Galen confirmed. “Hadley and Booker took one of your four-wheelers out. They cast a locator spell. It led them to one of your fields. There was a symbol burned into it.” He stared hard at Wesley. “Is any of this familiar?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even remember the barbecue. I remember working and … that’s it.”
Galen smiled but it didn’t touch his eyes. “Hadley felt as if the symbol in the field was whispering to her.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Wesley made a face.
“It’s not,” Galen confirmed. “Hadley crossed the symbol—”
“You don’t cross strange symbols,” Wesley barked at me.
I was so happy to have him back, despite the circumstances, all I could do was smile.
“It was a plane door, Wesley,” Galen said, drawing my grandfather’s attention back to him. “Hadley went to another plane … where things got weird.”
“Weird?” Wesley wrinkled his nose. “This whole story is weird.”
“Brace yourself,” I said. “It’s about to get weirder.”
I took over, filling him in on everything he’d missed. When I mentioned seeing my mother, he shifted, obviously upset. Then I got to the part about going to Declan’s house and seeing my mother in the mural and he looked downright ornery.
“I remember Declan Wilkes,” he said. “He was a monster.”
“We believe he was,” Galen confirmed. “We also believe he’s on that other plane. The question is, were you there or were you always in the cemetery?”
“How did I get to the cemetery?”
“We don’t know.” Galen held out his hands. “It was a fluke that we were even there, Wesley. Hadley has been struggling since seeing her mother, and I thought she might need a reality check, so I brought her to the cemetery.”
I frowned. “That’s not how you phrased it to me,” I complained.
“I was worried.” Galen sent me a defiant look. “You were spending too much time thinking about your mother when I was convinced you didn’t really cross paths with her.”
“I hate to agree with Galen here,” Wesley started.
“Then don’t,” I fired back.
He ignored me. “Your mother died on the mainland, sweetheart. How would she end up on another plane that magically has a door in my field? That doesn’t make sense.”
He was right, but I didn’t want to admit it. “Let’s move on,” I said crisply.
Galen sighed. “We came here because I was hoping to help her settle. We were going through Declan’s file when we noticed that your daughter kept trying to get inside the building where you were. Then I heard you.”
“I woke up there,” Wesley explained. “I’m not sure how long ago. It was still light out. I was wobbling on my feet and kept passing out. When I finally came to long enough to survey my surroundings, it was dark and I couldn’t leave.”
“You hadn’t been in there the whole time?” I asked.
“I don’t think so, but things are fuzzy.”
“That’s because you suffered a blow to the head,” a male voice said from the door.
I almost jumped out of my skin. When I swiveled, I found one of the doctors — Eric Anderson — studying us.
Wesley reached to touch his head, wincing when he found something tender. “I guess I did.”
“He doesn’t have a brain bleed or anything, does he?” I asked.
“We’ll make sure he’s okay,” Anderson promised me. “We’re lining up a battery of tests.”
“Pass.” Wesley waved his hand. “I’m fine.”
Anderson, thankfully, couldn’t be bullied. “You’re not fine. You’re weak. You need food. We need to be certain your brain isn’t bleeding.”
He’s right,” Galen insisted. “You’re getting every test there is.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re not the boss of me?” Wesley challenged.
“This isn’t about me being the boss.” Galen solemnly shook his head. “This is to give your granddaughter peace of mind.”
“She seems fine.” Wesley was blasé.
“She saw her mother,” Galen said. “She was making plans to cross over and face a magical serial killer to find you.”
What little color Wesley had drained from his face, but Galen continued. “You’ve been through an ordeal. I don’t like bullying you, but this needs to happen for things to be okay for your granddaughter.”
Wesley grumbled, but finally conceded. “Fine.”
Anderson smiled. He didn’t seem worried in the least that Wesley was going to shut him down. “We’re lining up the tests. We’re going to get you a good dinner. You’re going to stay overnight,” Anderson said.
“You seem pretty certain of yourself,” Wesley argued.
“You love your granddaughter and don’t want her to worry,” Anderson replied.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Wesley shifted his eyes to me. “You’re lucky I love you.”
“I love you too,” I assured him. “I’ll stay for your tests. All night.”
Wesley balked. “No, you will not. You need rest. Apparently I do too.”
“If you get a good night’s sleep, you might remember more,” Galen noted.
“That would be nice,” Wesley agreed. “Here’s hoping everything becomes clear in the morning.”
WE WAITED UNTIL WESLEY HAD BEEN WHEELED out for his tests to question Anderson further.
“Should I be worried?” I asked.
“He seems okay, if a little confused,” Anderson replied. “I’m hopeful he’ll make a full recovery.”
“That does nothing to placate my worry,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I think I should stay here,” I told Galen.
“That would be a mistake,” Anderson countered. “Wesley won’t rest if he’s worried about you, and you won’t have the energy to bully Wesley into taking it easy tomorrow if you don’t get some sleep.”
“He’s my grandfather,” I argued.
“He’s going to get a lot of tests tonight, then he’s going to sleep. There’s nothing you can do for him right now. If you’re home sleeping, perhaps he won’t feel self-conscious.”
“That’s what he’s worried about,” Galen said. “He doesn’t want you seeing him as weak.”
“He’s been through an ordeal.”
“The best thing for him is sleep,” Anderson said. “I’ll text you after his tests are complete. I believe he’ll be fine.”
He was earnest enough that I sighed, giving in. “Fine.” I wasn’t done. “Someone should watch his room,” I insisted to Galen. “He’s probably safe, but I want to be certain.”
Galen was matter-of-fact. “I’ll put a detail on his room. We’ll stay until they get here. Will that help you rest?”
I wasn’t certain anything would help me rest, but I nodded.
Galen glanced at Anderson. “You’re not going to fight me on that?”
“Nope.” Anderson smiled. “I want everybody to be comfortable. The best thing for everybody involved is a good night’s sleep.”
Galen whipped out his phone. “I’ll have everything set within twenty minutes.”