“You must’ve been pedal to the metal most of the way,” he said, glancing at her.
“I got lucky, not much traffic this time of night,” she said.
“Help yourself to the other bed.” Will gestured at the other queen-size bed with its ugly flower-print coverlet. “It’s not much. And I snore, just so you know.”
“As tired as I am now, I don’t think it’ll matter,” Elly replied. She dropped her overnight bag on the bed and went into the bathroom, washing her hands and splashing her face with water.
She glanced up into the mirror and saw her reddened, sleep-deprived eyes. If it were earlier, she’d go see Alex before going to bed, but she could hardly think straight. She ducked back out to grab her bag, brushed her teeth, and changed into her pajamas. She’d brought her most modest ones: long cotton trousers in a light blue gingham, with a matching long-sleeved shirt. When she came out of the bathroom, Will gave her a once over.
“Nice pj’s.”
“Thanks,” she said, bemused, not sure if he was joking or being serious. She pulled back the coverlet and crawled between the sheets. The pillow was lumpy, and she fluffed it a few times until it became somewhat comfortable.
“I know it’s a shithole,” Will remarked, “but I wasn’t exactly planning on staying in Nelson tonight. Alex and I usually ride up to New Denver. There’s a nicer hotel there.”
“Do you ride out here often?” Elly asked, stifling a yawn. She turned over in bed to face Will.
“A few times every summer,” Will replied. “As many times as we can manage between coordinating days off and having the money. Some of the best biking roads in Canada are around here. Not that you’d have really seen them in the dark.”
“What I could see was really beautiful,” Elly said. She yawned again.
Will lifted the remote and flicked off the TV. “What time do you want to get up? I’ll set the alarm.” He eyed the battered clock radio on the nightstand between the beds. “If I can.”
“What time will they discharge Alex?” Elly asked.
“Nine?”
“Set it for eight, then. That should give us enough time.”
“We’ll have to pick up Alex’s bike at Crawford Bay. The guy at the ferry was kind enough to store it overnight. But I think we should pick up Alex first. She’ll want to see her bike.”
“It’s her baby, isn’t it?” Elly said it jokingly, but Will nodded, serious.
“It is. Fortunately it fared pretty well, though she’ll have to take it to the mechanic when we get back. Hard to know if the hit from that truck threw anything out of alignment. And there are a few scratches to get out of the engine case.”
“Was the guy going fast?” Elly asked. “You didn’t say much on the phone.”
“Nah, not very fast, but he was changing lanes and didn’t look, the idiot. Any faster and he’d have run her right over. As it was, the momentum was enough to knock the bike over, and Alex too.”
“Did the cops say anything?”
“He’ll get a ticket, I think, maybe a summons. I don’t know. I was too busy making sure Alex got to a hospital, and that her bike was safe. That was probably the longest ferry ride ever.” Will shook his head and rose. He scrubbed a hand through his already mussed hair. “I’m beat. Good night, Elly.” He went into the bathroom and closed the door. Elly turned onto her back and stared at the stippled ceiling with its stained, watermarked circles. She thought she’d take a long time to fall asleep, but it only took seconds.
*
The alarm buzzed shrilly and Elly turned over with a groan. Her back twinged from sleeping on the sagging mattress, and her eyes felt scratchy. In the next bed, she heard Will grumbling, and the creak of the old springs as he moved about.
“Fuck,” Will muttered.
Elly sat up, bracing herself on her elbows, blinking into the early morning light. The motel room looked worse in daylight: the carpet was dingy and gray, the flowered coverlet more garish, the stains on the ceiling more apparent. Will got out of bed and darted into the bathroom before she could say anything. She sat up fully and pushed over the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She had to pee. She watched the bathroom door, but several minutes passed and Will hadn’t come out.
Damn.
“You about done in there?” she called.
She heard Will mutter, then his voice grew louder. “Give me a minute. Christ.”
“Sorry, I’m desperate.”
It felt like an age before Will emerged wearing only his boxers, his hair and face damp, rather than the few minutes it surely was. Elly darted up and into the bathroom, closing the door. She sighed in relief.
“You okay if I shower?” she called out, feeling self-conscious.
“Go ahead,” she heard Will say. “I’m going to get coffee.”
She heard the door slam, and she poked her head out of the bathroom. Will was gone. She grabbed her overnight bag and went back into the bathroom, locking the door.
The water was lukewarm, but it refreshed her anyway, washing off the stale feeling she always got from driving long distances. When she emerged, fully dressed and ready, and combing her hair, Will had returned, and he drank from a extra-large Tim Hortons cup. A second smaller cup sat on the nightstand.
“Got you some,” he said, the words sounding like more of a grunt than anything.
“Thanks.” Elly packed away yesterday’s clothes and perched on the side of the bed, taking up the coffee. It was hot and had caffeine, and that was all that mattered.
They sat quietly watching the news on TV until Will had finished.
“Ready to go?” he asked, tossing his cup into the small waste bin and rising.
“Definitely.” Elly rose, grabbed her bag, and followed him from the room. She trailed him to the motel office, where he turned in his key.
“What do I owe you for the room?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” Will said. “You can buy me a few drinks at Parry’s next weekend. Let’s go see this trailer of yours.”
Elly tossed her bag into the backseat as Will eyeballed the trailer hitched to her car.
“It’ll do,” he said, “though it’ll be tight. Glad you brought rope and stuff.”
“I did what I could.”
“If you’d been in Calgary, I’d have gotten you to go get the bike trailer I have at my place,” Will said, “but that would’ve been asking a lot to do that much driving.” He sighed.
“I’ll follow you to the hospital?” Elly suggested.
“It’s hard to miss.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never been here before.”
He gave her a surprised look. “Really? Man.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Be ready in a couple.”
He strolled over to his bike and Elly watched him put on all his gear, his movements methodical and spare. When he looked about ready to start the bike, she got into her car and started the engine, letting it warm up a bit. He rode over to her on his bike, idling by the driver’s side window. Behind the smoky visor, she couldn’t even see his eyes, but he nodded at her and she nodded back. He went ahead and she followed him through town to the hospital.
In the hospital’s small waiting room, he paced back and forth. Elly sat calmly in a chair. Will seemed out of place here, in his leathers and smartly cut racing jacket, his helmet hanging from one hand. His lean form seemed to fill the space with his agitation. Her heart beat to match his pacing, but she tried to stay still, letting her tension out by clutching her hands tightly together. Alex would be fine. Only her ankle was broken. Elly shivered. Still, it had been so close.
The nurse had told them Alex was just being discharged and it would be a short wait, but Will couldn’t stay still. Finally, Elly saw a nurse pushing a wheelchair down the hallway. Alex sat in it, wearing one of her T-shirts, but with a pair of old scrubs instead of jeans. A brace protruded from under the loose cotton pants. Elly rose.
“Hey, there.” She smiled at Alex, who smi
led back.
“What are you doing here?”
“Remember, I told you yesterday she was coming out,” Will said, stepping up beside Elly.
Alex frowned. “I don’t remember much of yesterday,” she said.
“Those must have been some great pain meds,” Will quipped.
“Are you feeling okay?” Elly asked. She clasped Alex’s hand and smiled when Alex gave it a gentle squeeze. Now that she was here, she could take care of Alex.
“I’ve been better. Fucking asshole, he better not have wrecked my bike.”
“You’ll need to stay off your ankle as much as possible in the next little while,” the nurse said, interrupting. Another nurse came up with a set of crutches.
“We’ll be driving back to Calgary,” Elly said.
“Not on a bike, I hope.” The nurse gave Will a disapproving glance.
“In my car,” Elly clarified.
“Make sure to take your pain meds on schedule,” the nurse told Alex. “And get in to see the doctor in Calgary we referred you to. He’ll take over your care.”
Alex nodded, and the nurse handed Elly the crutches. She and Will walked in front of Alex and the nurse, taking it slow.
“I’ll go pull the car around,” Elly said. She handed off the crutches to Will.
When Elly pulled up to the entrance, Will and the nurse helped Alex into the passenger seat. Will tucked the crutches into the back.
“We’ll head to the ferry,” he told her. “It’s a bit of a drive, but not too bad.”
Alex sagged back against the seat and closed her eyes.
“You doing okay?” Elly asked as she pulled out of the parking lot, following Will on his bike.
“No.” Alex’s voice sounded sharper than it had before. “My whole damn riding season’s about done for, thanks to this.” She shifted her foot and winced.
“I was so worried,” Elly said, her voice shaky. “When Will called, I thought you were dead, or in a coma or something.” She shivered, though the morning sun warmed the car.
Alex snorted. “I’m tougher than that.”
“It flashed through me that I could have never seen you again,” Elly admitted, biting her lip.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Alex said, though she sounded a bit spaced out.
Elly’s hands clenched on the steering wheel, her knuckles white. She glanced over at Alex, who had laid her head back against the headrest, her eyes closed. What if Alex had been badly hurt? Just the thought was enough to make her stomach flop unpleasantly. It could have been so much worse. She forced herself to focus on the road, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how awful it could have been.
The drive to the ferry didn’t take too long, though the traffic grew the closer they got to the terminal. Elly found a parking spot off to the side as Will circled round, pulling his bike in behind her.
“I’ll wait here,” Alex said. “Just make sure my bike’s okay.”
“I will.” Elly killed the engine and got out of the car just as Will walked up.
“We’ll go see the manager,” Will said. She followed him to the ferry terminal, and after a short wait, the manager led them to a nearby shed.
“Appreciate you holding it,” Will said to the man, holding out his hand. They shook.
“No problem at all. Absolutely criminal what happened. Your friend all right?”
“She’ll be okay, but she has a broken ankle.”
The man winced in sympathy. Will took the handlebars of the bike and pushed up the kickstand. He brought it out of the shed and they slowly walked back toward the car.
“I hope you’re strong,” Will said as they walked. “It’s going to be tough getting the bike up into the trailer without a ramp.”
“We’ll manage,” Elly replied, though she wasn’t sure if they could.
At the trailer, they eyed the distance between the bike and the wooden base. Will cursed under his breath.
“It’s not going to work, is it?” Elly couldn’t see how they’d manage to lift the bike up. She was strong from the farmwork she’d done, and carrying heavy trays at Parry’s, but not that strong.
Will put down the kickstand and let the bike rest while he paced in front of the trailer. “I can’t believe you don’t have anything lower,” he said, and though the words were under his breath, she heard them easily, as he’d intended her to.
“This was the best I could come up with. If you don’t think we can do it, then we’ll have to leave the bike.”
“Alex would kill us if we did that,” Will retorted.
“She’d just have to deal,” Elly snapped back. “Not like she’ll be riding it for a while, anyway.” She took a deep breath. Calm down. Alex was fine.
Will gave a derisive snort. “We can’t leave it. She sold her Harley for this, and saved up. It’s not just any bike, Elly. Only someone who had no appreciation for motorcycles would say something like that.”
“I have appreciation for them,” Elly protested. “But I wouldn’t be pining if my bike had to wait somewhere due to an accident or something. It’s just a bike, not a person.”
Will shook his head. “You have no clue. And I have no idea what Alex sees in you.”
Elly stared, her mouth open in shock. Will paced to the edge of the trailer, estimating the height from the ground.
“Fuck you,” she said finally, when she was able to speak.
“Honey, you’re not my type,” Will shot back. “And I didn’t think you were Alex’s either, you know.”
He straightened the bike and put up the kickstand.
“Come get up into the trailer bed,” he said. “I’ll lift the bike up and you can drag it in.”
Elly crossed her arms and gave him a stony glare.
“Please?” he asked, softening the tone of his voice.
“Not without an apology,” she retorted. “That was a really shitty thing to say.”
“Look, Elly, I’m sorry.”
He didn’t sound particularly apologetic, but Elly considered Alex, waiting in the car, in pain. They had a six-hour drive back, and it was going to be a long day.
“Fine.” She hoisted herself up onto the trailer bed and turned to face Will. He crouched, adjusted his grip, and hefted the bike, letting out a grunt. Elly caught the front wheel, then stepped forward and grabbed the handlebars.
“Fuck.” Will gasped, his cheeks flushed. “You got it?” The bike wobbled, and Elly widened her stance.
“Yeah.”
Will stepped back, bending nearly in half, his hands on his knees. “Gimme a sec.” He breathed deep and, after a minute or two, straightened. “Right. I’m going to hoist up the back, and you drag it into the trailer as I go. And neither of us needs to drop it, all right?”
“Got it.”
Will counted under his breath, then crouched again and lifted. Elly backed into the trailer, pulling the bike with her, her hair flopping into her eyes. Will pushed, she pulled, and finally the bike was in.
“Ropes are on the backseat,” Elly said. She held the bike upright, unable to reach the kickstand from where she stood, nearly pinned to the edge of the trailer.
“Right.” Will went around and opened the back door, coming out with the ropes and the tie-down. Between them, they managed to get the bike standing upright, the rope laced through the bars on the side of the trailer.
“Go slow,” Will said as Elly hopped down to the asphalt. “I’m hoping that’ll hold, but I’m no seaman with fancy knot skills.”
“I’ll do my best.” It looked sturdy enough. Elly closed the tailgate on the trailer. “You’re going to stick with us, though, aren’t you?”
Will grimaced. “Through the mountains, but once we get to Crowsnest Pass, you’re on your own. I’ve got work tomorrow, early.”
“Does Alex have work?” Elly asked.
Will shrugged. “I think so. She didn’t say.”
“I’ll have to call Derek.”
“He’ll be pissed, b
ut there’s not much he can do. And Alex will be pissed too. She hates missing shifts. Especially since it’s a weekend. Lots of money in it.”
“Without the doctor’s say-so, she probably shouldn’t be on her foot at all,” Elly reasoned. Will snorted.
“Good luck getting her to obey a command like that,” he said. “She’s always on the go.”
They stood awkwardly as their conversation petered out, and finally Will broke the silence. “There’s a good restaurant in Cranbrook on our way. We should stop for breakfast.”
“All right.” Her stomach growled. “We’ll see you there.”
“Look, El, I’m sorry.” This time he did sound like he meant it. “Things have changed between Alex and me, and it sucks.” He shrugged, looking away, moving a few steps.
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“Anyway, I’ll check the ropes when I get there,” he added over his shoulder as he strode toward his bike. He took the helmet from the handlebar and pulled it on.
Elly returned to the driver’s seat and started up the car. Alex opened her eyes, looking groggy.
“We on our way?” she asked sleepily.
“We are,” Elly confirmed. “And your bike’s in the trailer, safe and sound.” She wanted to say something about Will, but Alex closed her eyes again. Elly put the car into gear and began the drive home.
Chapter Eighteen
Alex shifted in the passenger seat of Elly’s car, bumping her ankle. Pain shot through her leg and she winced.
“You okay?” Elly asked, glancing over before looking back at the road.
Alex seemed to recall Elly asking her that several times over the past while, though it all blurred together for her. “Are there any more pain meds?” Alex asked. She didn’t have any pockets and she couldn’t remember what had happened to the plastic vial from the nurse.
“I put them in the glove compartment so we wouldn’t lose them,” Elly said. Alex leaned forward and opened the compartment, fishing around and finding the blue vial with the white lid. She grabbed the bottle of water propped between the seats and gulped down a pill.
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