by Leanne Banks
After placing his order, Colton carried his burger and fries from the grill to the bar and ordered a beer, hoping he didn’t run into Mary or whatever her name was. He stared up at the basketball game playing on the television while he ate his meal.
“Long time, Colton,” a voice from his past said.
Colton glanced over his shoulder to see Joe Hitchens. He blinked. “Hey, Joe, what you doing here?”
“I decided to pay a visit from Dallas,” Joe said. Colton noticed Joe was a little chubbier than when he’d left Horseback Hollow all those months ago.
“You left town kinda fast,” Colton said.
Joe shrugged. “It was a rough time for me.”
“For you,” Colton said, beginning to seethe. “What about Stacey?”
“She was early enough along that she could have taken care of the pregnancy,” Joe said.
“Taken care of the pregnancy?” Colton echoed. “That’s what she did. She delivered that baby and has taken care of her with no help from you.”
“I meant,” Joe said, lowering his voice, “she could have gotten rid of the pregnancy.”
Colton gaped at the man in disbelief. “You mean get rid of Piper?”
“Is that what she named the baby? I heard it was a girl,” Joe said.
“But you never bothered to call her or offer any kind of support,” Colton said. He pushed aside his food. He had lost his appetite.
“She knew I didn’t want a kid. She shouldn’t have gotten pregnant,” Joe said.
“As if you had nothing to do with it,” Colton said, growing angrier with each passing second. “You bastard,” he said, standing and punching Joe in the face.
Colton’s knuckles throbbed, and Joe covered his face.
“What the—” Joe said. “You know what kind of father I had. I didn’t ever want to be a father after the kind of example my dad set. He was gone more than he was with my mom and me.”
“That’s no excuse. You’re the lowest of the low,” Colton said in disgust. “I don’t know how you can call yourself a man. We’ve been friends since high school, but I don’t recognize you anymore. When did you turn yourself into the kind of person you’ve become?”
“You must have gotten pretty close to Stacey to be so defensive,” Joe said. “Did you go to bed with her?”
It was all Colton could do to keep from hitting Joe again. “Go back to Dallas,” he said. “You don’t belong here.”
“Who do you think you are? Dating my ex? Bros don’t cheat on bros. You know the guy code,” Joe said.
“What guy code? You haven’t been here for over a year. What rights do you have?” Colton asked.
“That baby is mine. That woman was mine,” Joe said.
“Was is the operative term. What do you know about Piper?” Colton demanded.
Joe narrowed his eyes, then shifted from one foot to the other. “Not much.”
“Why are you even here now?” Colton asked. “You haven’t been here for months, not even when your baby was born.”
Silence stretched between them. “Someone told me you and Stacey had gotten involved,” Joe confessed.
“You would come back into town for that, to stake your claim on a woman you ran out on, but not when the baby was born?” Colton asked, shaking his head. “Are you crazy?”
“I should have known you wouldn’t understand.” Joe rubbed at his cheek where Colton had punched him. “So, is the baby okay?” Joe asked reluctantly.
“She’s as close to perfect as a baby can get. She’s gorgeous. Big green eyes and blond hair just like Stacey. She’s got a kick to her personality. If she doesn’t like what you’re doing, she’ll let you know. But she’s the sweetest thing in the world when she falls asleep on your shoulder. Makes you feel as if everything in the world is the way it should be.”
Joe stared at Colton. “You love her. You love my daughter,” he accused.
Colton met Joe’s astonished gaze and nodded. “Yeah. I guess I do. I really do.”
Joe raked his hand through his hair and shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I do,” Colton said. “You need to man up or shut up. If you want Stacey and your daughter back, then you need to go tell her. I think Stacey deserves better than you, but there’s more involved in this situation. There’s Piper,” Colton said. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours.”
Joe stared at him, clearly affronted. “Who are you to tell me I’ve got twenty-four hours?”
“I’m the man who has changed your baby’s diaper, rocked her to sleep and had her poop down my back,” Colton said. “Have you done any of that?”
Joe looked at him in hostile silence.
“That’s right. You haven’t. You’ve got twenty-four hours. Don’t mess with me, Joe. I’m disgusted with you,” Colton said, and tossed some cash on the counter and walked away.
* * *
The next twenty-four hours passed by in minute-by-minute increments. Colton thought about Stacey and Piper when he drove home, when he took his evening shower, when he brushed his teeth and when he tried to go to sleep. His attempt to sleep was completely futile.
When he got up in the morning, he didn’t know how he was going to get through the day, so he did it the only way he knew how. Working. He worked clear through until six that evening. As he walked toward the house, he told himself that he only had an hour and a half to go.
“Hey, sweetheart,” his mom said as he walked through the door. “You want some dinner?”
“I’m not that hungry,” he muttered.
“Well, you should take in a little nourishment after spending all day outside,” she said. “I fixed a pot roast. I think you’ll like it.”
Colton didn’t protest as his mother fussed over him and urged him to take a seat at the kitchen table. In this situation, it was easier to acquiesce than fight her. His mother was clearly in supernurture mode. Colton took a few bites of pot roast and potatoes.
“You must be sick,” his mother said. “You’re not eating.”
“The pot roast is great, but I have some things on my mind, Mom,” he told her.
“What?” his mother said. “What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said and rose from his chair.
“Is it Stacey Fortune Jones?” she asked.
The question stopped him in his tracks. “And what if it is?”
His mother sighed. “Give her the benefit of the doubt. Her mother says she has fallen for you. But don’t tell her that I told you,” his mother said.
His heart swelled at the possibility that Stacey could have fallen for him. He wondered when that had happened. He wondered if it had happened. “How do you know?”
“I met up with Jeanne the other day at the post office and we got to talking.” His mother broke off and pressed her lips together. “But I’m not going to say anything else. I shouldn’t interfere. This is between you and Stacey.”
Colton stared at his mother in disbelief. “You give advice and opinions about everything, but now you’re clamming up?”
His mother lifted her finger. “Colton, don’t you bait me. I’m determined to do the right thing. You and Stacey need to figure out what’s best for you,” she said and turned away.
Colton, watching the clock every other minute, sighed and put his plate in the fridge to eat later. “Sorry, Mom. I’m just not hungry right now. I’ll eat it for lunch tomorrow.” Colton grabbed his coat and headed for his truck. Eighteen minutes to go.
He drove around for ten minutes.
Colton spotted a deer crossing the road in front of him and slowed down. The driver of a semi must have panicked, though. Colton tried to swerve out of the incoming path of the truck. But he was too late. The impact jolted him. He hear
d the sound of glass shattering. Pain seared through him, and everything went black.
* * *
Stacey put Piper down with ease and tossed a load of laundry into the washer for lack of anything else to do. She still couldn’t get over seeing that other woman pawing Colton. He had appeared surprised, but perhaps that was because he hadn’t expected the woman to follow him out of the grill. Stacey suspected Malia was everything Stacey wasn’t. Employed, with no baby and no stretch marks. Malia had looked like a girl ready to have a good time, and now that Stacey was a mom, she had to think twice about throwing caution to the wind for the sake of a good time. She had to think about her little Piper.
Still, the image of Colton with Malia made her so edgy she felt as if her nerve endings were being rubbed raw with a wire brush. There wasn’t anything she could do about it, she told herself. The fact that Colton hadn’t tried to call her in nearly two days spoke volumes.
Stacey turned the television in her bedroom on low volume in hopes of distracting herself, but the reality show just irritated her even more. She brushed her teeth and dressed for bed, praying that she would get some relief with sleep. Just as she pulled back her covers and reached to turn out her lamp, her cell phone vibrated with an incoming call.
Spotting Rachel’s number on the ID, Stacey debated letting it go to voice mail. She didn’t want to discuss her feelings about Colton right now, especially with his sister. Sighing, she picked up, ready to say she didn’t want to talk about Colton.
“Hey, Rachel,” Stacey said. “What’s up?”
“Oh, Stacey, it’s terrible,” Rachel said, nearly sobbing. “Colton has been in a bad accident. His truck was hit by a semi. The ambulance is taking him to the Lubbock General E.R.”
Stacey’s heart turned cold. She tried to make sense of what Rachel had told her. The only thing she knew for certain was that Colton had been hurt. “Do you know anything about his condition? Did they tell you anything?”
“All we know is that he’s unconscious, and there may be internal injuries. Mom and Dad are driving to Lubbock in their car, and I’m going in mine. Stacey, I’m scared. I’m afraid I’m going to lose my brother.”
For a moment, Stacey couldn’t breathe. She was afraid of losing Colton, too. Even if they went back to being friends, Stacey didn’t want to lose Colton. Just knowing he was alive on the earth gave her a good feeling inside her. He was a wonderful man, and the thought of not being able just to see him again made her feel like crying. Anxiety coursed through her. But some part of her professional training as a nurse kicked in.
“Don’t give up yet,” she said. “I’m sure he’s getting good care.”
“Oh, Stacey, I wish you could be here,” Rachel said.
“I’m on my way,” Stacey promised, even if she had to drag Piper out of bed. She wanted to be there for Colton. She wanted to be there for his family.
Stacey changed into jeans and a sweater, then awakened her mother and told her the horrible news.
“Oh, no,” Jeanne said. “That’s terrible. Do you have any idea if they think he’ll recover? Poor Olive and Frank must be beside themselves.”
“I’d like to go to Lubbock to be with them. I’ll take Piper with me, but—”
Her mother shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I’ll watch over her. You go ahead, but please be careful. And call us with any news.”
Stacey gave her mother a hug and grabbed a bottle of water before she pulled on her coat and left the house. Driving through the night, she thought about all the times she’d spent with Colton. An image of him playing ball as a child flashed through her head. She remembered playing tag with Rachel, him and her brothers. Later on, when they’d become teenagers and she’d passed him in the hall, he’d never been too cool to wave to her as a younger student.
Now that she knew him as a man, her feelings were even stronger. Yes, he’d become the most sexy man in existence to her, but it was partly due to his tenderness and encouragement. It was partly due to the way that he tried so hard with Piper. How could she possibly resist Colton after all that?
She made the drive in record time and pulled into the parking lot at the hospital. She rushed inside to the E.R. but didn’t see any Fosters. Her stomach dipped. She prayed that the worst hadn’t happened. Stacey asked the registration desk about Colton, and a few moments later, she was ushered back to a waiting room.
Rachel rose and soared into Stacey’s arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Stacey couldn’t help seeing Mr. and Mrs. Foster standing beside a row of chairs. Mrs. Foster’s eyes were bloodshot from tears, and Mr. Foster looked dazed and shocked. Stacey’s heart went out to them.
“Any news?” she asked.
“He’s being examined. They said he’s still unconscious,” Rachel said, sniffing.
“They’re looking after him,” Stacey said, but she was so scared. She just couldn’t show it. She turned toward Colton’s parents and embraced Mrs. Foster.
“Oh, Stacey, I just want him to be okay,” Mrs. Foster said.
Stacey squeezed Colton’s mother tight. She wanted Colton to be all right, too. More than anything. She took a deep breath, knowing that waiting could be the worst. “Can I get coffee for any of you?”
Rachel and her parents shook their heads, all murmuring no.
The vigil began.
The minutes crept by slowly, feeling like days instead of hours. Stacey tried to make small talk but gave up after a half hour had passed. All of them were worried sick. Why hadn’t a doctor or nurse entered the waiting room to speak to them?
Stacey was just about to prod someone at the emergency-room desk for details when a doctor walked in, still wearing his surgical scrubs. “Mr. and Mrs. Foster?” he said. “I’m Dr. McMillan. Your son took a hard hit. He has a concussion and some bad bruises. I have to say it’s a miracle that your son didn’t sustain more serious injuries. We’ll keep him under observation until we’re sure he’s out of the woods from that concussion.”
“Oh, stars,” Mrs. Foster said, sinking onto a chair.
Stacey’s heart was hammering in her head. “How much blood has he lost? Has he been conscious at all? Is there any lung damage? What about—”
“Whoa,” the doctor said. “One at a time.”
Stacey forced herself to pace her questions, and the doctor answered each one.
“When can the family see him?” she asked.
He glanced at his watch. “Let’s give it another few moments,” he warned.
The doctor left the room, and Rachel, wiping away the tears in her eyes, grabbed Stacey. “It sounds as if he’s going to be okay,” she said.
Stacey wanted to see Colton and touch him, check his stats to be sure, but she nodded. “It sounds very good.”
Moments later, the Fosters were led back to see Colton in recovery. Stacey paced the waiting room, praying and wishing for Colton. Ten minutes later, a nurse appeared in the doorway. “Stacey, I understand you’re Colton Foster’s girlfriend. The rest of the family requested your presence.”
Stacey nodded and followed the nurse to the recovery room. Colton was receiving fluids and oxygen. Her heart squeezed tight in fear. At the same time, she knew these measures were medically necessary.
“Why does he have all these tubes?” Mr. Foster asked, his face filled with fear.
Rachel reached for Stacey’s hand.
“All these things are helping support Colton to recover from his injuries and the accident,” Stacey said. “Soon enough, he won’t be needing the line for fluids. Later, they’ll only give him oxygen as needed. This is the worst, except for any bruising and swelling he may have. It looks like they’re taking good care of him. That’s what’s important.”
“Stacey, I’m so glad you’re here,” Rachel said.
“Me, too,�
� Olive said and grabbed Stacey’s hand.
Mr. Foster took a deep breath and looked at his son.
The three of them stood in the recovery area for several moments. “Even though Colton is unconscious, he can hear your voices, so talking is good for him.”
Rachel immediately went to Colton’s side and started chatting. Her voice suddenly broke. “I love you, big brother. Wake up soon,” she said, and kissed him gently on his forehead.
His mother took a turn next. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your questions tonight,” she said and sniffed. “I love you. Everybody loves you.”
His father stepped closer. “You’re a good man. A good, strong man. Get better, son. We’re here for you.”
Stacey’s throat tightened in a knot of emotion. She hated how much all of them were hurting. She didn’t want to think about her own feelings. The three of them looked at her expectantly, as if they wanted her to speak to Colton, too.
Stacey slowly walked to Colton’s side and gently touched his shoulder. “Hey, you. What are you doing playing chicken with semis?” She bit her lip. “We want you to get better, but don’t work too hard at it. Let the medicine help you,” she said.
Colton’s eyelids fluttered. He opened his mouth and coughed. “Stacey? Stacey?”
Stunned that he would call her name, she leaned closer. “I’m here. I’m here. What do you need?”
“Joe?” he said.
She frowned. “Joe?”
“Did he come see you?”
Stacey figured Colton must be talking out of his head. “No. I haven’t seen Joe,” she said, but Colton had fallen asleep.
Chapter Twelve
Stacey sat by Colton’s side for the next several hours. She urged Mr. and Mrs. Foster to return home, but Rachel insisted on staying. Colton awakened for short periods. Sometimes he blinked his eyes. He often asked questions as to why he was in the hospital. He asked again about Joe but fell back asleep.
“Why do you think he keeps asking about Joe?” Rachel asked.