She could feel him holding her hand, could feel his breath on her cheek, his hand on her hair.
He wore khaki shorts, an unbuttoned blue Oxford shirt over a hideous, bright yellow T-shirt. The sleeves on the dress shirt were rolled up to the elbows. She had to remember this was California, and in March, people wore shorts.
Was it still March? Had she made it to Santa Cruz, after all? She could remember starting out the day in San Francisco, checking out of her motel, beginning her day heading down the Coast Highway. She remembered studying the map and being elated to discover that Santa Cruz was only a short eighty miles away. It was where she planned to stay for a couple of days, to see the infamous boardwalk that stretched out over the water. But she’d stopped…somewhere…to hike through a redwood forest. And a creek. She remembered a creek.
“But it wasn’t Santa Cruz,” she said quietly.
“You’ll get there,” the man assured her. “But you have to wake up. You need to fight your way back. You’ve been through too much to quit now. Are you listening to me, Marley? Do you hear me? You have to come back. Now.”
“I hear you,” she whispered. “But I want to sleep. I want to be with my family. I should be with my babies.”
“No. Not now, Marley, wake up. You don’t want this, Marley. This is for real. If you don’t wake up, this will be the end. You wanted a new life. Remember? You pledged to go find yourself a new life. Are you listening to me? Wake up, Marley.”
“I shouldn’t be here. I should already be dead.”
“That’s not true. You were meant to live.”
“Why? It’s all gone.”
“No. It’s just beginning. Don’t quit now. You shouldn’t quit. This is your new life, in a new place, in a new town. You’ll like it here, Marley. Trust me. Give it a chance. Wake up.”
Marley felt her body drift to the surface. She started swimming out of the black. Her eyes blinked awake for real. Her head rumbled like a freight train had just passed through her brain. She saw a dimly lit room. An IV needle was stuck in the top of her hand.
Hospital.
“I don’t want to be here,” she muttered in a raspy voice.
“It’s not that bad,” the man insisted with a grin. “The food’s not that bad either. And you’ll get that bump on your head looked after.”
She met the man’s warm, blue eyes and swallowed hard. “Are you a doctor?”
“Me? No. I’m here to make sure you understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That it’s not your time to go.”
Marley tried to sit up, but her body hurt all over. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You fell asleep at the wheel. Your car ran off the road.”
“My dad’s car?”
“Don’t worry about that. Cars can be fixed.” The man looked up to see Gilly come into the room to make her rounds before going off-shift. He faded into the wall.
“You’re awake,” Gilly said, taking out her temporal thermometer. “I thought I heard you mumbling to yourself.”
“Myself? No, I was talking to…” Marley glanced over to where the man had been standing next to her bed, only moments earlier. “A man. He was here…a minute ago.”
Gilly scanned her patient’s forehead with the thermometer, repeated the scan at the base of the ear to check the reading for accuracy. She picked up Marley’s wrist to take her pulse. “I’ll be going off-shift soon. Aubree Wright will take over. I’ll bring her in to meet you when she gets here. What you saw was probably the doctor standing here talking to me earlier. That was a few hours ago. But he’ll be back in around seven to look in on you. His name’s Gideon Nighthawk.”
Gilly changed out the ice water in the decanter before filling a plastic cup with fresh and held it up to Marley’s lips. “Drink. You must be dying of thirst. Your lips look like they’re chapped.”
Marley took small sips until she’d had enough and pushed it away. “Thanks.”
“So, how are you feeling otherwise? How’s the head?”
“A bit confused,” Marley replied. “Disoriented maybe?”
“It’s the concussion. You had slight bleeding. We’re keeping an eye on it, though. It’s good to see you awake.”
“Why does my body hurt?”
“You have a broken rib on the left side, number six, probably from the pressure of the seatbelt holding you tight in place. It’s not uncommon. You also have several contusions in the same area and more across the chest. Do you feel like talking, maybe telling me the names of family members to contact back in Wisconsin?”
“There’s no one,” Marley whispered. “My family’s gone.”
“Oh. Okay. Friends then?”
There was no one Marley wanted to bother. After three years of putting up with her drama, she was sure what friends remained were ready to move on. “There’s no one.”
Gilly scowled down at her patient. “So, you must’ve been on vacation here?”
“Sort of. I…started out a month ago, wanting to see as many places as I could. You know, places I’d always heard about and read about, but never got to see. I went to Yellowstone. It’s in Wyoming. Mostly. Nine states later, I think it was nine states, I ended up in San Francisco. And now, here I am in a hospital bed. That’s my crappy luck for ya.”
Gilly squeezed her hand. “Had you been drinking when you hit that boulder?”
“What? No. I might’ve fallen asleep. I remember being tired after spending all day hiking in the Redwood Preserve. I’d been in the Bay Area, you see, and wanted to make Santa Cruz before nightfall. But I saw this sign about the redwood trees and pulled off to go exploring. It was so pretty there, and so peaceful that I started walking around and taking pictures. I stayed too long, a lot longer than I intended. I got caught up in the beauty of the place. I was there all afternoon. And I guess I was tired when I got back to the car. I started driving. It got dark soon after that. That’s the last thing I remember. I didn’t hurt anyone else, did I? In the car crash?”
“No, no. It was a one-car accident. You really saw nine states in four weeks? That’s a lot of traveling. Were you trying for a record or something?”
For the first time, Marley gave the nurse a weak smile. “Maybe. I made Minnesota that first night. Then later I wandered around South and North Dakota, before heading across Montana. Then I remembered Yellowstone and headed into Wyoming. After leaving there, it was back across Montana and into Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California.”
“Yep, by my count, that’s nine,” Gilly concluded. “With all that driving around, you must’ve been exhausted.”
“I suppose. Truth is, a week ago I’d grown tired of sitting behind the wheel all day and driving. I was tired of hotels and strange beds. And lately, I was tired of blowing my money on stupid souvenirs I’d picked up along the way like in Yellowstone and Mount Rainier. Don’t get me wrong, the National Parks were great, but I’ve collected too much stupid stuff, useless really. Look at me. Now I’m wondering why I bothered.”
“You’re gonna be fine. You’ll put those souvenirs somewhere you can see them and remember your trip.”
Aubree Wright knocked on the door. “I’m here. Sorry, I’m a little late, but my car wouldn’t start.”
Gilly made the introductions. “This is Marley Lennox from Wisconsin.”
“No kidding. I had a boyfriend once from Milwaukee, huge Green Bay Packer fan, the guy wouldn’t shut up about the Brewers, either. That’s why we broke up. He always parked himself in front of the tube most Saturdays and Sundays and wouldn’t do anything but watch sports on TV.”
Gilly chuckled. “Lucky for me, Simon’s not quite that into baseball or football. But get him out on the water, and he sometimes doesn’t want to come back onto land.”
Aubree pointed to Marley and whispered, “She’s drifted off again. I’ll note that she woke up at…” The nurse looked at her watch. “3:45 and stayed awake for…”
“Fifteen minutes,” Gilly finish
ed. “That’s a start. Something tells me this one has a sad story.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You didn’t see the sadness in her eyes. And when I asked about family…she wanted to cry.”
“I’ll take good care of her,” Aubree promised. “I can see you and your big heart have already attached yourself.”
“Well, Marley Lennox is going to need help, Aubree. I hear her car was totaled. She doesn’t know a soul around here. And to top it off, she has medical issues. She’ll need somewhere to stay to recover.”
“I’ll put the word out to the staff.”
Two
The next time Marley opened her eyes, streaks of daylight filled her room. Someone had adjusted the vertical blinds so that she could get a look at the spectacular ocean view. It was better than any motel she’d stayed in since leaving Astoria.
She tried to sit up and managed to scoot upright a few inches before a nurse came in. “Let me help you do that. Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“Not yet.”
“The breakfast trays are sitting in the hallway. Do you think you could eat something?”
Before she could respond, Aubree raised the bed and puffed up the pillows. The raven-haired woman didn’t wait for an answer from Marley. Instead, the nurse barreled on, “Tell you what, try a piece of dry toast and see how that stays down first. Do you drink coffee?”
The woman’s words were coming faster than a rapid-fire cannon. Marley had a hard time keeping up, let alone sorting them all out. It took her a few long minutes to reply. “Coffee. Yes. Please. And cream.”
“Do you remember me from this morning? I’m Aubree Wright.”
Marley didn’t, but she refused to let on how fuzzy her brain was. “Oh. Yeah. Hi. I’m…”
“Marley Lennox. I know.”
“Look, there was another nurse in here earlier…when I first woke up.”
“That was Gilly Bremmer.”
“No, this was a man.”
“A man? Sorry, honey, but we don’t have any male nurses on staff. At least not yet. Give us time, though. For being a small hospital, we’re a progressive bunch. It’s only a matter of time before we lure a male nurse away from one of the larger facilities in the area. Speaking of which, there’s this one guy over at San Sebastian General…” Aubree fanned her face. “I went to nursing school with him. His name’s Barry. I can tell he works out. And let me tell you he is easy on the eyes. He could take care of me any time.”
Marley smiled at Aubree’s banter. “Maybe the guy that was here was a doctor then. Light brown hair, blue eyes, about six feet tall, dressed in khaki shorts.”
Aubree frowned. “Doesn’t ring any bells. Might’ve been Dr. Nighthawk, though. The notes say he left around midnight.”
Marley felt confused. “Maybe I was dreaming.”
“Could be,” Aubree said, sliding a tray filled with breakfast items in front of her. “I try conjuring up Mr. Right all the time. And since you were in a mini coma, you could’ve hallucinated Mr. Dreamy. You might’ve reached out to a hot-looking hunk in your time of stress. Patients do stuff like that all the time.”
Marley didn’t think she’d done any such thing, but then concussions were tricky. He’d seemed so real. He’d sounded real.
“I’ll let you try and eat,” Aubree said before pointing to the metal stand beside the bed. “Your purse and phone are in that drawer. Your other personal items are still in your car. In case you were wondering.”
“Thanks. I would’ve been looking for my stuff, eventually.”
“I figured that,” Aubree said as she took off out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Marley decided the nurse was a bundle of energy. Leaning her head back, she sunk into the stack of pillows, wishing she had half that get-up-and-go. Right now, getting comfortable meant she had to work through the pain, focus enough on doing the basics to get out of here and back on the road.
With a shaky hand, she poured coffee from the little silver metal carafe into a white stone cup, filling it only about half full so she could add the cream. With both hands gripping the mug, she lifted it to her lips. Inhaling the aroma, it wasn’t the best French roast she’d tasted, but it did hit the spot.
She lifted the lid on the plate and made a face at what was underneath. The scrambled eggs were too dry. The bacon too undercooked. She opted for the dry toast and picked up the stone-cold bread, nibbling around the edges.
“You need to eat more than that,” the man coaxed. “Hold your nose and eat the eggs for protein. Leave the raw-looking bacon.”
“Who are you?” Marley asked.
“The name is Scott.”
“Aubree thinks I conjured you up.”
“It’s tricky.”
“Oh, my God. Are you trying to get me committed? You’re not real. I am hallucinating. After everything I’ve been through, I’m now crazy.”
“As long as I’m real to you, what does it matter? I’m here to help.”
“Why?”
“Because you could use a friend. You’ve been through the worst time of your life. And you went on this journey because you were looking for something that was missing. You were looking for a new place to start over. Pelican Pointe is where you belong. That’s a town, by the way.”
“I don’t remember seeing it on the map. Are you sure I’m…you know…alive?”
“You’re alive. And that’s the most important thing of all.”
“I can’t go back to Wisconsin.”
“No, you can’t. It’s not fair to you to revisit that pain. The thing to do is stay here instead.” Scott pointed toward the door. “Your doctor’s about to come in. Show him you’re not crazy, that you’re in control. And then perk up. The people here are great.”
Marley watched Scott fade away again right before the door flew open. Her eyes adjusted across the room. A man wearing a white doctor’s coat with a stethoscope looped around his neck stepped closer to her bed. He was tall with broad shoulders that matched his toned body. She had to look up to see into his soulful, silvery, light blue eyes. When she did, she noticed the chiseled jawline and prominent nose that gave off an aloofness bordering on edgy, like he didn’t care what people thought of him. His mop of dark hair hung down to his collar in a messy, disheveled style that screamed nonconformity.
He held out a hand. “I’m Gideon Nighthawk.”
“Marley Lennox,” she returned, taking his hand in hers. It seemed an intimate gesture, more so because his touch felt warm and real, and it made her want to hold on longer than she should.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Lennox. You’re looking a bit better than when you first came in.” He took her chin, held it in place while shining a light in her greenish eyes to check her pupils. Those narrowed slits flickered with silver flecks that set off the emerald color even more. But he could tell she showed sensitivity to the light. “Your head still hurts, doesn’t it? The light hurts your eyes.”
“Some. Yes. If I hadn’t wrecked my car, I’d be in Santa Cruz about now, maybe eating breakfast on the pier.”
“We have a pier. It’s not as famous as the boardwalk there with the Giant Dipper, but we like it just fine,” Gideon said, pulling up a chair. “There are a few questions I need to ask before Aubree comes in to take you for your MRI.”
Scott’s warning flashed. She had to show she was in control of her emotions and her mental state. “I know how these things work, Dr. Nighthawk. Not so long ago back in Wisconsin, I was a licensed therapist. I’ll make this simple for you. I don’t need an evaluation. I fell asleep after hiking all day yesterday. I made the mistake of trying to push on and make Santa Cruz without pulling over when I got sleepy. I’m not a mental case.” At least, not anymore. “I’m grateful no one else was hurt. But I’m not a candidate for a psychiatric ward.”
“I didn’t say you were. I’m just trying to find out if there’s a problem and catch it before it’s too late.”
“As a form
er therapist, I appreciate that. But I’m fine.”
“Former?”
“Yeah. It’s been three years since I’ve actually practiced.”
“I see. Do those three years away from the profession have anything to do with the gunshot wounds on your upper chest and arm?”
“That’s my business. And, it has nothing to do with what happened out on the road.”
“Crashing into a boulder could be a sign of mental stress. You see why I’m concerned, right?”
“Thanks, I do. But I’ve had my anxiety issues and moved on. I’m here in California to experience new things, which I intend to do as soon as I’m up and around again. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Okay. Fair enough. But I’d like to take the MRI and make sure the bleeding’s stopped, then maybe keep you around one more night. You do have a broken rib. And it will be painful to do most any regular activity that requires moving around. Because of that, and your concussion, you’ll need a place to stay until you’ve fully recovered.”
“A place to stay? Here? Why is that?”
“I’m not releasing you to drive.”
“I see.” Marley gritted her teeth and let out a sigh. “I don’t have wheels anyway, so it’s not a big deal. I’ll start making arrangements to stay put.”
“That won’t be as much of a problem as you think. The nurses have already put the word out. By this afternoon, you’ll probably be inundated with a list of places to stay.”
“I…I didn’t ask for that.”
Gideon squeezed her hand. “If you stick around here long enough, I think you’ll find Pelican Pointe is a very small town with a big heart.” He got to his feet. “Now, finish your breakfast, and we’ll take that MRI. Later, we’ll discuss the results.”
“You don’t need to treat me like a child.”
“Then try to show a little more grownup tendencies, and I won’t have to,” he snapped.
“Doctors,” she mumbled as her body sunk back into the pillows, trying to relax.
She finished the pot of coffee and swung her legs to the side of the bed. Easing off the mattress, she gripped the IV pole to steady herself, hoping to make it to the bathroom without having to ask for help. A little dizzy, she paid no mind to the blasted hospital gown, exposing her backside. The goal was to keep from falling. The coffee had kicked in, causing a rush to reach the toilet.
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