Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Blaise woke up warmer than usual, momentarily wondered if the air was working, then felt the weight of Beau pressed against the back of her thighs.
He usually slept at the foot of the bed, but he’d apparently inched his way up closer sometime during the night. He’d curled himself into a warm, solid lump. His slow, even breathing told her he was still asleep and deeply so.
She smiled. He’d missed her. Such a sweet boy. She’d missed him, too. She turned carefully so she wouldn’t disturb him, then lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, letting herself wake up a little more.
It was good to be home.
Much better than in a bland, too-bright hospital waiting room with terrible coffee.
And not on the stiff bench that she could never quite get comfortable on.
The quiet of her house was wonderful, as was the familiar smell of the bergamot candle by her bed.
A real upgrade from the hospital antiseptics.
She sat up slowly, trying not to wake Beau. He let out a soft snore. She nodded in understanding.
She felt wrung out. Drained in that particular way that came from too little sleep and too much worry. It was the kind of tired that didn’t go away just because your body finally stopped moving. Even sleep, which she’d had, couldn’t completely erase it.
Beau shifted, his paw twitching once.
She smiled faintly and rested her hand on his side, feeling the steady rise and fall of his small body beneath her palm. For half a second, the idea of staying right there, of pulling the covers up and letting the morning pass while she went back to sleep, was tempting.
She deserved to sleep in. No one would argue that. But even as the thought crossed her mind, another followed close behind it.
Brick.
Had he slept? Or had the weight of his son’s injuries been too heavy on his mind? She really hoped Brick had finally let himself close his eyes, even for a short while.
Blaise turned her head and glanced at the clock. Just after seven. Technically, she already had slept in.
Beau chose that moment to stretch, his hind legs extending until they nudged her calf. His eyes opened, dark and hopeful as he looked up at her
“Good morning, sweet boy,” she murmured. “I missed you, too, baby. I’m not going anywhere today, I promise.”
He gave a small whine, not urgent, but a sure sign that he was ready to eat and go outside.
She sighed and stretched her arms over her head. Her body protested, stiff and sore, but she ignored it. Sitting all night and day on that hospital bench had not been kind to her. “All right. We’re getting up. Breakfast for you, coffee for me, then outside for both of us.”
Beau sat up, tail thumping lazily against the mattress, then he hopped down and padded toward the bedroom door, pausing there as if to make sure she was following.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat for a moment longer, gathering herself. The day felt oddly fragile. Like she needed to tread carefully. Why that was, she couldn’t say.
Outside, the light was bright and inching toward sunny. Monday morning. Ordinary. And yet…not.
Blaise reached for her phone on the nightstand, brought it to life, and checked her messages.
Nothing new, but her fingers hovered over Brick’s name.
She didn’t want to intrude. And she didn’t want to bother him, especially if he was still sleeping.
But she did want to know how he was doing and if he’d heard anything else from the hospital.
She started to plan a simple message just to check in and see if there was anything new, but then Beau let out another gentle woof. A reminder that he was still waiting.
“Okay, I’m coming,” she told him. She got up.
First, she’d take Beau for his walk. Then she would check on Brick. And after that…she’d figure out the rest. Blaise moved into the kitchen on autopilot, grateful for the simple routine of her morning that didn’t require much thinking.
She added coffee grounds into the machine, the pleasing aroma filling the space and already helping to wake her up, then hit the Brew button. While she waited for the machine to do its thing, she got to work on Beau’s breakfast.
He sat nearby, watching every movement with hopeful eyes.
“Almost, baby,” she told him, smiling as she said it.
She filled his kibble bowl, added fresh water, and waited while he ate, leaning against the counter and rolling the stiffness out of her shoulders.
Crazy how her body felt tight and sluggish, like it had forgotten how to do anything but sit and wait.
Someone ought to do something about hospital seating.
Coffee mug in hand, she stepped out onto the porch for a moment, breathing in the morning air.
Beau was still eating so she had a small window of time.
The neighborhood was already awake, the sounds of lawn equipment starting up drifting closer.
She waved to a couple walking, matching travel mugs in their hands. They waved back.
She finished her coffee, rinsed the mug and set it by the machine for her second cup when she got back, then changed into leggings and a soft T-shirt. Beau danced in happy circles when she clipped on his leash.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s get moving. I think I need this more than you do today.”
They took the longer loop instead of their usual one. Blaise kept a steady pace, her legs slowly loosening with each step.
The stiffness eased in increments, hips first, then her lower back, then the knot between her shoulders.
The salt-tinged air filled her lungs, and she imagined breathing out the stale, recycled hospital air.
Beau trotted beside her, content, occasionally stopping to sniff something before catching up again.
The next time he stopped for a bigger sniff and a more important pee, she pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the Queen Bees group chat.
Morning, she typed. I’m home. Exhausted but okay. No new updates from Brick yet. Holland was stable when we left. I’ll keep you all posted.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket without waiting for replies. She already knew how her friends would chime in. Supportive, concerned, ready to help at a moment’s notice.
By the time she and Beau turned back toward the house, the sun was higher and the tightness in her body was nearly gone. Beau’s pace had slowed slightly, a sure sign that he’d gotten the exercise he needed.
As they came to the door, Blaise felt more alive than when she’d woken up. Still a little tired. Still definitely worried. But much more capable of dealing with it all.
Blaise unclipped Beau’s leash and wiped his paws at the sink, then watched as he made a lazy circuit of the living room before settling onto his bed with a satisfied grunt.
“Really? Right back to sleep?” She shook her head in amusement. “You have the life, you know that?”
He sighed as if agreeing with her.
She left her phone on the counter, made her second cup of coffee, then went back to her phone. There was no reason to wait to text Brick any longer.
Except for reading all of the responses she’d gotten from the Queen Bees. She sent a heart and a smiling face back to them.
Then she texted Brick. How are you this morning? she typed. I just got back from a walk. Wanted to check in before you head back to the hospital.
She set the phone down and started to make herself a bowl of yogurt with granola and a little drizzle of raw honey, not expecting an immediate reply. When it buzzed a minute later, she glanced over, surprised.
She picked it up and read.
I’m all right, Brick wrote. Coffee helps. I’ll head back when visiting hours start.
She frowned. He didn’t say anything about being rested. Probably because he was feeling worn out but knew he couldn’t do much about it.
Another message followed.
You don’t need to come today. You did more than enough. I really appreciate you being there.
Blaise leaned against the counter, phone warm in her hand. The words were very Brick. Actually, that was a lot of words for Brick, but he was getting better about communicating.
She typed back after a moment. Don’t wear yourself out. Please let me know if anything changes or if you need anything.
The reply came quickly. I will. Thank you again. Truly.
She set the phone down and stood there for a few seconds longer, hoping that today would be a good day for Holland.
For Brick, too. She’d seen how hard it was on him to see his son in that hospital bed, tubed up, covered in bruises, head bandaged.
She knew the recovery would take time, and that was fine, he just didn’t need any setbacks.
Still, he’d survived the accident and that was big.
She sipped her coffee. Beau snored softly from his bed. Smiling, she took her yogurt, her coffee, and her phone to the small kitchen table and sat.
Brick was tough. He’d be fine. And Holland was through the worst of it.
Blaise ate a spoonful of her yogurt, crunching the granola. Wasn’t much more she could hope for than that.
What she needed to do was get to work on her book. To put words on paper. Well, on a screen. But it needed to happen. She had to keep making progress, even if she continuously felt like she didn’t know what she was doing.
It was daunting to think about organizing her thoughts and sharing her story, but she’d already written the hardest part. The part about how, while grieving her late husband, she’d lost almost everything to a scammer.
If she could do that, she could manage the rest of it.
Cece had told her that was her origin story. Her reason for moving to the Colony and her reason for writing the book in the first place.
That had made writing it all down a little easier. So the rest should be a piece of cake.
Except it didn’t feel like it was going to be that simple at all.