Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A groan left Audrey's mouth even before she cracked her eyes open. She felt like she’d been hit by a freight train.
There wasn’t a single inch of her that didn’t ache.
For several long minutes, she lay there, just staring at the ceiling and willing her muscles to relax.
Finally, she rolled her head toward the nightstand and swiped out a hand, grasping the bottle of ibuprofen that Carter had left there the night before.
Awkwardly, she struggled to sit up, using her one good arm, grateful that he’d left the cap loosened for her.
She popped two tablets into her mouth and swallowed them down with water.
The hot bath the night before had helped to ease some of her pain, but she had a feeling the next couple of days were going to be brutal.
She glanced at the nightstand, at the phone charging on the surface.
She should probably call her parents and tell them what happened.
Even though it was only after eight o’clock, she dialed her parents’ home phone number, the same one they’d had since she was a child. After only a couple of rings, her mother answered, her voice chipper.
“Audrey, honey, how are you?”
“Fine, Mom. How are you?”
“Oh, the usual,” she said.
Audrey fought the urge to roll her eyes.
It had been the same for the last thirty years.
While her father went to work in his accounting firm, her mother stayed home and took care of the house.
She came from the South, born of a generation who thought it was a woman’s job to look after the house and family.
Audrey's sister was the same way. She’d been married to her high school sweetheart for nearly ten years, and they had the requisite house in the suburbs, two kids, and a dog.
Audrey was proud of what she’d accomplished, but she’d be lying if part of her said she wasn’t at least a little envious of her sister.
Her parents weren’t happy about Audrey's divorce, but then they never really liked Scott to begin with. Her mother didn’t ask about it, and Audrey didn’t bother to offer any information. It was over, in the past, and that was all that mattered.
“I have something to tell you,” Audrey began slowly. “I wanted you to hear it from me before you found out from someone else.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
She heard the wary curiosity in her mother’s tone. “There was a shooting downtown near one of the coffee shops yesterday, and I was there.”
“That’s terrible!” Her mother clucked a sympathetic sound. “What’s this world coming to?”
“I don’t know,” Audrey said. “It’s pretty bad. Anyway, I was standing right outside, and I was kind of… hit.”
“Hit?” her mother asked. “By what?”
“Um… the bullet.”
On the other end of the line, her mother sucked in a breath, and Audrey could practically see her eyes widen in shock. “Oh my God! Are you okay?”
“Well…” Audrey laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly be calling if I wasn’t.”
“You know what I mean,” her mother scolded. “Do you want us to come down?”
Audrey picked at a thread on the blanket. “No, that’s okay. I appreciate the offer though.”
“Are you sure? Daddy can take some time off, and—”
“It’s fine.” Audrey cut her off. “Really. I’m staying with a friend, so I’m perfectly safe.”
“If you say so…” Her mother trailed off.
“I am. I just wanted to let you know.”
“All right,” her mother acquiesced, sounding not at all happy about it.
“So tell me what else is going on.” Audrey changed the subject and listened as her mother prattled on about her nephew’s football team for a few minutes.
“Anyway, they’re already starting practices to get ready for the fall.”
“Isn’t it a little early?” Don’t get her wrong. Audrey was born and raised in Florida, and she loved football as much as the next girl, but seriously. The kid was only six.
“You know how it is,” her mother said.
Unfortunately, Audrey did.
A few minutes later, after getting all caught up on the drama, she hung up with her mom, then made her way downstairs to the kitchen.
She smiled at John where he sat at the table, flipping through the morning paper.
Carter had told her to make herself at home, so she headed for the fridge and pulled out a jug of orange juice.
“Glasses are to the right of the stove. Need some help?”
“No, thanks. I think I’ve got it.” She shot John a smile, and he turned his attention back to his paper. With one hand, she managed to unscrew the cap and awkwardly sloshed it into the glass.
“Something happen between you and Carter?”
Oh, God. Had he noticed the tension between them the night before? She cleared her throat. “No. Why do you ask?”
He speared her with a look. “I was born at night, but not last night.”
Audrey blushed fiercely and turned her attention to the jug of juice, taking an extra-long time to screw the cap on using only one hand. Not knowing what Carter had said to his father, she couldn’t exactly lie to him. “We dated once.”
“Ah.”
He went back to his paper, and her brows drew together. That was it? She felt the overwhelming urge to explain what had happened between his son and her. “He’s a really great guy. I just… wasn’t in a good place at the time.”
The paper rustled, and John’s voice floated over the top. “You’re too good for him.”
Audrey opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. It was obvious that there was some kind of discord between father and son, but… “Why would you say that?”
John snorted. “He’s too stubborn, too high-handed.”
Well, she couldn’t argue with that. “It’s probably what makes him so good at his job,” she pointed out.
“More to life than work,” he remarked.
She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just nodded.
She couldn’t help but wonder what her family would think about Carter.
Knowing them, they’d probably think he was a total catch.
And, truly… he was. He was handsome and successful, the epitome of the perfect man.
He was just as incredible as he was infuriating, and part of her had to admit…
It was kind of endearing. Okay, maybe a lot endearing.
She loved that he was straightforward and didn’t beat around the bush.
He knew what he wanted and went after it with single-minded focus.
Despite her best efforts to push him away, he’d always made sure that she was taken care of.
From her divorce with Scott to the shooting yesterday, he put her first and tried to do what he thought was best. He could be overbearing and controlling, but also so sweet sometimes that she wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet.
She finished her juice in silence, then excused herself from the kitchen.
She took another long soak in the tub and spent a good portion of the day reading and relaxing, watching a couple of shows on TV.
By midafternoon, the throbbing in her arm was back, along with an ache at the base of her skull.
She popped a couple more ibuprofen, then curled up to take a nap, wishing not for the first time that Carter was there beside her.