Chapter 31
Hadley was grateful that Max stayed at the hospital with her as they waited to hear an update.
So far, there was nothing. And since Susie wasn’t family, she wasn’t sure how much staff could even share. But Hadley prayed her assistant—and friend—would be okay.
She’d already called Susie’s family in West Virginia to let them know what happened. They were on their way.
Hadley sat beside Max in the waiting room, her hands folded in her lap and her gaze fixed on the floor.
“She’s going to be okay,” Max tried to assure her.
Hadley nodded, but she didn’t look up. “I hope so.”
“What can I do for you?”
She thought about it a moment before asking, “Could you get me some more coffee?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
After Max disappeared around the corner, the quiet seemed to press in a little more.
Hadley shifted in her seat, trying to ignore the tightness in her chest. The past few days had blurred together, one thing stacking on top of another until she barely had time to process any of it.
How had her life turned into this nightmare . . . again? Not that her nightmare back in Atlanta had been the same as this. But she distinctly remembered feeling as if everything was falling apart.
She felt those same feelings now.
Footsteps approached, and she glanced up.
Hadley blinked in surprise at who she saw standing there. “Kendra?”
“I heard what happened and came as soon as I could.” She stepped closer. “How is she?”
“They’re not sure yet. She hasn’t woken up.”
Kendra’s expression softened. “I’m so sorry.”
Hadley nodded, still trying to piece together how Kendra had ended up here. “How did you—?”
“Max stopped by my place earlier. He was there when you called. He told me what was going on.”
Hadley’s thoughts snagged on her statement. “Max stopped by?”
Kendra smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Max always likes to check on me. We’re still good friends.”
“Oh?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Kendra tilted her head.
A flicker of something Hadley didn’t want to name hit her.
Ethan.
She remembered his late nights. His explanations that hadn’t made sense. She remembered the moment she’d come into the clinic in Atlanta to pick up her cell phone that she’d forgotten.
She’d walked in and seen Ethan and her colleague in a romantic embrace.
That was when she’d realized he’d been cheating on her. Half the staff at the clinic had known and hadn’t bothered to tell her.
Max wouldn’t do something like that . . . would he?
Hadley pushed the thought back before it could take root.
Kendra held out a small paper bag. “I brought you something. You probably haven’t eaten, and I thought this might cheer you up.”
Hadley hesitated before taking it. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” Kendra’s smile stayed in place, warm and easy. “You’ve had a rough couple of days. It’s the least I can do.”
Hadley managed a small nod. “Thank you then. That’s very sweet of you.”
“They’re my famous homemade cookies. Everyone always loves them. Just ask Max. He can’t get enough of them.” Kendra glanced toward the hallway. “Anyway, I should get going. I didn’t want to stay long—just enough to check on you and bring you something to eat.”
“I appreciate it.” She held up the bag and tried not to grimace at the thought of Max enjoying these cookies.
Kendra offered one last sympathetic look before walking away.
As her footsteps faded down the hall, Hadley sat there a moment.
Max had stopped by Kendra’s place.
Max always likes to check on me. He didn’t tell you?
The thoughts circled, unwelcome but persistent.
They’re my famous homemade cookies. Everyone always loves them. Just ask Max. He can’t get enough of them.
Hadley opened the bag and glanced inside. Chocolate chip cookies stared back at her, their sweet scent tantalizing yet sour at the same time.
It didn’t matter. Her appetite was gone, and her mind was still trying to settle around everything that had just happened.
Max carried two cups of coffee down the hallway, his thoughts still turning over everything that had happened.
Nothing about this morning’s events sat right with him. The clinic. Susie. The timing of it all.
When he stepped into the waiting room, his gaze went to Hadley.
She sat in the same chair, but something about her expression had shifted. It wasn’t fear necessarily. It was something quieter and more unsettled.
Then he saw the brown paper bag in her hands and the smell of vanilla and chocolate drifted to him.
Max slowed as he approached. “You got some food? I could have gotten that for you.”
“It’s not really food. Not nourishing food, at least. They’re cookies.”
“Cookies? I thought you said you weren’t hungry.”
“I’m not hungry.” She hesitated before continuing. “Kendra stopped by and gave them to me. I’m surprised you didn’t pass her in the hallway on her way out.”
His chest tightened, and he set the coffee cups on the small table beside Hadley. “She was here?”
“She said she heard what happened, that you were at her place when I called.”
His breath caught when he realized how that sounded. His thoughts flashed to Hadley’s ex-husband, to what she’d shared about him cheating on her.
Women who’d been cheated on carried those scars long after. They remained on edge, not wanting to miss the signs again.
He’d seen that in his own mother. It had led her to making a string of bad decisions.
It had ultimately led to her death.
The last thing he wanted was for Hadley to feel insecure about his loyalty.
“It’s not like you think,” he assured her. “I went over to Kendra’s after I dropped you off so I could talk to her. I didn’t want her hearing anything about the two of us from a secondhand source. I wanted to tell her myself . . . about us.”
Hadley’s brow lifted. “About us?”
Max shifted, suddenly more aware of how that sounded. “I was going to tell her we’re dating.”
Hadley remained quiet a moment as if processing his words. Then her expression softened, a hint of amusement breaking through her earlier confusion. “We’re dating?”
Max rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn’t meant to say that. Not really. He and Hadley hadn’t really talked about the official status of their relationship or anything . . .
What was Hadley thinking right now? That he’d made too many assumptions?
He wished he could take the words back.
“I mean—if that’s . . . I just figured—”
She laughed softly, cutting him off. “I’m just teasing you, Max.”
Max blinked, then let out a small breath, part relief, part embarrassment.
“I like the idea that we’re dating,” she added.
He gave a small shrug, glancing down before meeting her eyes again. “I guess we never really made it official.”
“It’s official enough.”
Warmth filled his chest at her words.
Before he could respond, a door opened down the hall.
Both of them turned, the brief moment of lightheartedness disappearing.
The doctor, a middle-aged man who was prematurely balding, stepped into the waiting area, his expression professional but not overly urgent. “Dr. Chase?”
Hadley stood. “Yes?”
Max rose beside her as the doctor closed the space.
“Are you Susie’s family?” the doctor asked.
“No, she works for me, and she doesn’t have family in the area. But they’re on their way.”
“Then I can only tell you the basics,” the doctor said. “She’s stable. She’s still unconscious, but we’re monitoring her closely.”
“I don’t suppose you can tell us what went wrong?” Hadley asked.
The doctor hesitated. “Not legally. However, since you’re a vet and you own the clinic . . . there is something I need to ask you.”
She straightened. “Of course. Whatever I can do to help.”
“We found a small pinprick near her neck.”
Hadley squinted. “A pinprick?”
He nodded. “We think she may have been injected with something.”
She drew in a sharp breath. “What? You think maybe it was something from the clinic?”
“We’re running blood tests to know for sure. But I’m guessing that maybe it was some kind of tranquilizer . . .”
Hadley pressed her eyes shut. “We do have those medications at the clinic, but they’re locked up—of course.”
“Could you check to see if anything is missing? I’ve already informed the sheriff of this.”
“Yes, I’ll do whatever I can. I . . . I can’t believe this.” But it did explain why there were no cuts or bruises.
What if an intruder had been waiting for Susie to get there? If the intruder had then attacked?
Had this been meant for Hadley?
She felt her face go paler at the thought.
The doctor gave a brief nod before heading back down the hall.
Hadley let out a slow breath. “I’m glad she’ll be okay, but . . .”
“This isn’t your fault, you know.”
“What if I was the intended target? If someone—Kenny—thought I came in first, and he was there waiting?” A soft cry escaped at the thought.
Max’s arm slipped around her. “You can’t think like that. The only one responsible for what happened is the person who did this. Not you.”
She tried to let his words make her feel better, but they didn’t.