Hidden Falls (63 page)

Quinn’s disappearance.

The vandalism in Sylvia’s store.

Dani’s boat wrecked.

Lauren in surgery.

Sylvia rubbed one eye. “Cooper, I’m confident you’ll do what you think is right. But if you get any matches on the prints, I hope you’ll keep me in the loop.”

“Yes, Mayor.”

Liam was quiet but peaceful. Dani, usually unflapped, was visibly irritated. Cooper would have to go to work in a couple of hours, but his mind was on Lauren. Nicole hadn’t left the confines of the hospital since she and Ethan followed the ambulance from the church the day before yesterday.

If Quinn would only come home. Or contact somebody.

“What happened to Lauren’s phone?” Sylvia asked. “Do we still have that voice mail recording?”

Cooper shook his head. “It took one whack too many—from a tree. I don’t think we’ll get anything off of it.”

“I know what I heard,” Nicole said. “It was Quinn’s tune, but I don’t know who was whistling.”

Nurse Wacker returned and stood in the doorway. The hall was quiet again.

Nicole leaned forward. “What’s the word?”

“Lauren should be going into recovery soon. Mayor, you’ll be welcome to see her then. The rest of you will have to wait until Dr. Jordan gives the okay.”

“How is Dr. Jordan?” Nicole asked. “I mean, operating here for the first time.”

“I think we can presume the surgeon is fine.” The nurse left.

Sylvia smiled, watching Nicole settle back into her chair. If Quinn didn’t come home soon, he was going to miss the unfolding reunion between two of his favorite people.

7:46 a.m.

Lauren recognized the sensation as what came just before she would wake. Light from somewhere saturated the backs of her eyelids with a thick orange haze, and she could tell she was lying flat.

The hospital.

Surgery.

Aunt Sylvia.

Sylvia had spoken to her, leaning over the bed and looking down at Lauren’s face. How long ago had all this happened?

Lauren felt the mattress beneath her, the blanket over her legs, and the itch at the side of her head.

No, not an itch. Something was there. She raised an arm—and felt the hindering grasp of fingers around her wrist. Her eyes fluttered open.

The word formed in Lauren’s mind.
Cooper.
Not Sylvia. Where was Sylvia?

More words formed in her mind. “My aunt?”

“I talked her into going to the cafeteria for breakfast.”

Lauren realized she’d spoken aloud. She swallowed and ran a dry tongue over chapped lips.

Cooper guided her hand back to the mattress. “I don’t think Ethan would be happy if you pulled out the drain he went to so much trouble to put in.”

“I didn’t know.” What else didn’t she know? Her eyes searched Cooper’s. “What did Ethan do?”

“The simplest procedure possible. Two very small holes and a drain that he wants to leave in place for a while.”

That didn’t sound so bad. Considering. Her headache was better, and she didn’t feel like she was going to empty her stomach involuntarily.

“Your aunt said you were awake earlier,” Cooper said.

Lauren was uncertain whether she was actually nodding, but she meant to. She had been awake. She remembered now. It was in another room. Recovery. Lauren stared at Cooper, trying to make out his features. Perhaps the fuzziness was due to lingering anesthesia, but it might just as well be because she was so nearsighted.

“My glasses,” she said.

Cooper winced. “Broken when you fell.”

Lauren remembered now. All day yesterday she’d instinctively looked around for her glasses. But both pair had been broken in the last few days. She wished she could see Cooper more clearly. When she thanked him properly for getting Christopher out of one tree and then throwing himself between her and another as it splintered, she would like to be able to look into his eyes. Instead, she turned her palm up to squeeze his hand. They had run together on Saturday afternoon, holding hands, but it had not been a time to notice the softness of his touch or the gentleness of his grasp. Now she did.

She hadn’t held hands with a man for a long time. Saturday didn’t count. Lauren wasn’t sure this counted, either. Only three days ago she had tried her best to avoid spending a moment longer than necessary with Cooper Elliott. Now she resisted the creeping disappointment that he would likely have to leave.

What day was this? Not Sunday. That was yesterday. Monday. Her impulse was to shake off the fog wrapped around her brain, but she remembered the fall, the concussion, the headache, the promise of surgery. Fading away when it became too hard to remain alert.

“I remember you prayed,” she said. “When was that?”

“A few hours ago. We thought you were …”

“Unconscious.”

“Yes.”

“I just know that I heard you. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lauren heard the waver in his voice. “And I keep hearing Quinn’s tune. Will it help you find him?” She tried to hum the notes, but no sound came out of her throat.

“I think,” Cooper said, “that you should be a lot more well before we talk about that.”

He was probably right. “Are you going to work today?”

Cooper squeezed her hand and said, “I don’t want to.”

“At least the storm was not another crime. And no one else was hurt, right?”

“Not that I’ve heard of.”

She knew he should go. And she knew he would be back.

The door creaked open and several shadowy forms entered. Lauren turned her head carefully toward them.

Cooper let go of her hand and stood up. “You guys are not supposed to be here.”

“Neither are you.”

The voice belonged to Nicole, who now stepped farther into the room, where Lauren could recognize her posture leaning on crutches.

“Ethan will have all our heads if he finds out four of us were in here at one time.”

“We’ll make a pact of silence,” Liam said.

Dani scoffed. “I could describe at least four people who saw us come in here together.”

“Ethan doesn’t scare me.” Nicole nudged her crutches closer to the bed. “I wanted to see for myself how you are.”

Lauren attempted a smile. “They tell me things went well.”

“I’m glad it was Ethan taking care of you,” Nicole said.

“Me, too.” Lauren wished she could catch Cooper’s eye. He had stepped away from the bed when the others came in.

Cooper slapped his brother on the back. “I guess I’d better go put on my superhero cape and fight some bad guys.”

“You’ll call me?” Liam said.

“If I hear anything.”

Lauren rooted around her brain for the meaning of the brief exchange between Cooper and Liam but came up with nothing. Why would Cooper promise to call Liam about any of the recent crimes? She had to let the thought go. Hanging on to it entailed too much effort. Lauren was fairly sure Cooper was looking at her now, but he was too far away for her myopic eyes to be certain where his gaze fell.

“Nicole can stay until Sylvia gets back,” Cooper said. “Liam and Dani, you need to leave.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Dani said.

Lauren looked down at her hand and pulled up the sensation of Cooper’s fingers wrapped around hers. This was a thought she wanted to hang on to.

“At least let Nicole sit down,” Cooper said.

Somewhere amid the shuffling that ensued, Cooper left. Lauren felt his absence the instant he crossed the threshold. Outside the door, the hallway was coming to life with the steps and voices of the day shift nurses and rolling carts of breakfast trays. Cooper had stepped out into a normal day. Lauren closed her eyes, trying to picture a normal day.

She prayed that this would be the day that Quinn came home. That would be the beginning of normal.

8:23 a.m.

Ethan heard laughter before he reached Lauren’s room. He stood in the door and waited for them to observe his scowl.

“Uh-oh.” Nicole giggled. “Busted.”

“Last I checked,” Ethan said, “none of you qualified as next of kin.” Liam and Dani didn’t even know Lauren all that well, other than growing up in the same town.

“You can’t pick us up and throw us out,” Liam said.

“Wanna see me try?” Ethan spread his feet in a solid stance and crossed his arms, Lauren’s chart enveloped in his stance and held flat against his green surgical scrubs. “I only got privileges a few hours ago. I don’t want to start out my relationship with the hospital by being a rebel.”

“Someone should be with Lauren,” Nicole said.

Ethan waved Lauren’s chart. “
I’m
here.” And the nurses’ station was only a few doors down the hall.

Liam, leaning against a wall, shifted his feet. He wasn’t as tough as he liked to sound. Dani rolled her eyes, a gesture Ethan had come to expect from her. They were waiting on Nicole, Ethan realized. She was the ringleader. He set the chart on the bed and picked up Nicole’s crutches to hand to her.

“I mean it, guys,” he said. “Lauren doesn’t need a bunch of people in her room.”

Lauren hadn’t said anything yet. Ethan glanced at her to make sure her eyes were open. They were, and he saw gratitude in them.

Nicole pulled herself upright. “When can we come back?”

“I’ll let you know,” Ethan said, “but one at a time, please. Right now I want Lauren to rest.”

The trio shuffled out of the room. Ethan closed the door behind them.

“How are you feeling?” Ethan flipped the blanket back from Lauren’s ankles and ran fingers up the soles of her feet. She flinched, just as she should.

“What’s this thing in my head?”

Ethan explained the drain. The tubing would come out soon enough if there was no further evidence of blood accumulating.

He picked up a hand. “Squeeze my fingers.” Lauren’s grip was satisfactory. Ethan moved quickly through a standard neurological assessment. Her responses were just what he expected they would be. Lauren’s eyes tracked well, her tongue stuck out straight, and she pushed her hand well against his resistance.

“When can I go home?” Lauren asked.

“I just drilled into your head,” Ethan said. “Give us a couple of days to be sure everything is all right. You can sleep if you’d like. The nurses will keep an eye on you, and I’ll be back.”

“Dr. Jordan, I presume.”

Ethan pivoted and smiled at Sylvia, who entered with a tall, disposable cup of coffee. “I went for breakfast.”

“Smart idea.”

Sylvia raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question.

“She’s doing fine,” Ethan said.

“Do I need to have somebody here?” Lauren asked.

He shook his head. “You’re in a hospital. Nobody is going to leave you alone for long.”

“Aunt Sylvia,” Lauren said, “I think you should go home.”

“You’re kicking me out?” Sylvia said.

“I still don’t remember what happened, exactly.” Lauren readjusted her blanket. “But I’m pretty sure you were here all night.”

“I was,” Sylvia said.

“And the night before.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“Then go home.” When Quinn got back, Lauren didn’t want to have to explain to him that Sylvia collapsed from exhaustion because she was looking after her.

“She’s right.” Ethan made notes in Lauren’s chart. Sylvia needed to take care of herself and rely on the nurses to follow the orders he would leave.

“I’m going to sleep.” Lauren closed her eyes.

Sylvia sat in the chair next to the bed. “I’ll just stay long enough to be sure that you do.”

“Of course you will,” Lauren said without opening her eyes.

Ethan allowed himself a smile at the two of them, wondering if he and his mother would have the same comfortable familiarity if one of them were a patient in a hospital. He supposed not, unless their relationship underwent its own surgery. Perhaps yesterday’s long afternoon visit was the beginning of a new season, a small hole to relieve the accumulating pressure of the last decade. After all, he and his mother shared a new understanding of their own family history.

“My work here is finished.” Ethan flipped the chart closed and tucked it under one arm.

In the corridor, he turned toward the nurses’ station. Lauren was his only patient. He could go back to the locker room where he’d left his clothes in the wee hours of the morning and figure out his next step after that.

“Ethan.”

He recognized the thumping behind him and turned to see Nicole. “Were you waiting outside the door all this time?”

“You didn’t really think you were going to chase me off that easily, did you?” Nicole halted and leaned against the wall.

He chuckled. “No. I was just going to find my own clothes before I came looking for you.”

She met his gaze. “I’ve never seen you in scrubs before. You look like a real doctor.”

“I’m practicing for when I play one on TV.”

“How was the surgery?”

“You saw for yourself how well she’s doing.”

“No.” Nicole’s emerald eyes held his. “I meant for you.”

“I do this procedure all the time.”

“Not in Hidden Falls. Not after everything you found out yesterday.”

Ethan had returned to the hospital last night because Nicole called him when Lauren’s deterioration began—or at least when someone noticed it. Through the crisis hours, they hadn’t had a chance for a private conversation. He’d left her in the waiting room while he prevailed on his fledgling acquaintance with Dr. Glass to discern the particulars of Lauren’s condition and express his opinion about appropriate treatment. Then he set aside the tangle of personal conundrums and focused on being the best doctor he knew how to be for someone he’d come to care about in the last seven days.

“I have so many questions,” Nicole said. “How it went with your parents. What’s happening in Columbus. What you meant when you said you were starting a relationship with the hospital here.”

“I know.” Ethan moved the hair off the side of her face. He didn’t have answers to all her questions. “We have a lot to catch up on since yesterday at this time.”

“How about breakfast?”

The flash of a white coat caught the corner of Ethan’s eye. He stood up straight. “Dr. Glass.”

“I’ve been looking for you.” Dr. Glass looked from Ethan to Nicole. “I hope I’m not interrupting something.”