One Sweet Day I Found You: A Sweet Romance Book 1

by Jillian Walsh

  Nick squeezed her hand. He thought he heard her swallow a sob. “You okay?” he asked kindly.

  “Yeah,” she said, wiping away tears. “Thank you.” She smiled cautiously. “So does that mean…?”

  He squeezed her hand again. “Yeah.”

  She smiled.

  “We can talk about it all later, okay?” He sat back and focused on the road. They’d be at the hospital soon.

  Minutes turned into hours as Nick and Courtney sat in the waiting room watching countless healthcare professionals shuffle expertly about the unit as Victoria was treated and tested. The nurses had provided them with updates and answered their questions, so neither of them had any complaints.

  Nick bought coffees and Courtney bought snacks from the vending machines in the hall and they shared a makeshift dinner. The nondescript chairs in the waiting room filled with visitors then emptied, then filled again. Three hours later, Nick was still holding Courtney’s hand when it wasn’t inconvenient. Courtney was sorry that it had taken such an unfortunate accident to bring them back together, but there was no way she was going to lose him again. He seemed to feel the same way.

  Courtney still couldn’t quite believe he had taken her back—and so soon. Although she’d wanted more than anything for him to forgive her, she never expected such a turnaround after he’d stormed away last night.

  And although they hadn’t addressed his decision to leave Wisconsin in a just few short months, Courtney wasn’t about to put a damper on the progress they’d made and bring it up just yet. Despite the seriousness of the situation with Victoria, her heart was full, and she was more than satisfied with the way things were for now.

  Throughout the evening, Nick had called his boss to explain what had happened, even though the shop was already closed for the night. His boss told him he’d switch Nick to the afternoon shift tomorrow if he’d be out late and would prefer it. Nick told him he probably would be and thanked him. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon,” Courtney heard him say.

  Nick texted Tom, just so his roommate wouldn’t wonder why Nick hadn’t come home after work as usual. Tom sent his regards.

  Finally, he stepped outside to call his brother and Mrs. Bingham just to let them know what happened.

  Josie called back, scared out of her wits, and said she would come to the hospital first thing in the morning. They agreed to take shifts and see that Victoria had a constant flow of visitors during the appropriate hours until she was released.

  Courtney called her mother, too, just to check on her parents and explain what had happened. It was good to hear her mother’s voice. She’d been impressed by Courtney’s actions in the matter, even though that wasn’t what Courtney had gone looking for by telling her. They chatted and caught up on work, family, and how her parents’ summer trip to Florida had gone. Courtney hung up with a sense of relief that all was well at home.

  Just past nine thirty, an ER physician approached them. “We just got her CT results back from Radiology,” Dr. Struthers, a tall blond woman in blue scrubs explained. “There was no bleeding. No brain damage. Seems safe to say it was just a mini-stroke that caused the fall.”

  Courtney sighed with relief and Nick ran a hand over his temple.

  “She did suffer a fracture in her left arm, however, and she’ll have severe bruising on the left side of her face and body, especially the hip. Looks like she hit pretty hard. Fractures and bruises like this don’t heal as quickly as they do with someone younger, so expect a good eight to ten weeks for that. But consider it a blessing she didn’t break the hip.”

  Nick nodded vigorously.

  “And we’re taking a look at her blood pressure medication to be sure she’s getting the right dose. A TIA is usually the first sign that a major stroke event is coming, if interventions aren’t made.”

  “Right,” said Nick.

  Dr. Struthers went on. “We’ve been in touch with her primary so she’ll be on the same page as we are, in terms of the necessary steps to prevent a future episode.”

  “Got it.”

  “Oh, and we’ve scheduled her for an MRI tomorrow to get a better look at things, also because there are symptoms of concussion. Are there any questions?” She looked at Courtney and then at Nick.

  “No, I think that covers it, but, is she awake?” Nick asked. “Can we see her now?”

  “She’s resting, but yes, you can go and see her now. We’ve got her on some mild pain meds for the broken arm, mind you, so keep it quick. She needs her rest.”

  “Will do. Thank you so much, Doctor,” said Nick, shaking her hand. Courtney did the same.

  “Of course.”

  They checked with the nurses’ station and were given the green light to head to Victoria’s room.

  Inside the room, the lights were low. Courtney went in first and walked over to the right side of the hospital bed. Victoria had fallen on her left side and her forearm was plastered in a cast and pulled up in a sling. The left side of her face appeared to be coloring badly already with a nasty bruise. The poor woman—Courtney felt terrible for her.

  Victoria’s eyes were closed but she looked as comfortable as could be expected.

  Nick came and stood close behind Courtney. He reached out and carefully placed his hand over hers on Victoria’s good side. “We’re here, Victoria. We’re here for you.”

  A few moments passed, and Victoria’s eyelids fluttered. She blinked several times and opened them.

  Victoria gazed up at Nick. She spoke very quietly. “Oh, Nicholas, you found me.”

  “Of course I did. I’m here,” Nick said. “Courtney’s here, too.” Courtney offered her sympathy and rested a hand on the steel bar of the hospital bed.

  Victoria managed a weak smile. “Oh, sweetheart,” she mumbled. The meds were making her sleepy.

  Nick moved in closer. “We’ll make sure they take good care of you here, okay?”

  Victoria blinked as if to agree.

  “And don’t worry about Ash, okay?” Courtney offered. “I’m going to take good care of him while you’re away. And we brought you some of your things. I’ll just leave this on the chair. I’ll let the nurse know, too.”

  Victoria was no longer able to keep her eyes open. “Thank you,” she said softly, and nodded off.

  Nick put his arm around Courtney and they stood looking at Victoria a little longer. Then Nick checked around the room to be sure she had everything she needed. The comfortable little room was spotless. He looked at her chart that hung from the edge of the bed. When he seemed satisfied, he gestured toward the door.

  A few minutes later, after they had retreated to the waiting room, Nick decided to call his family with an update. “Hi, Mom.” He held the phone to his ear. “Don’t worry. She’s okay.”

  Around eleven o’clock that night, Nick pulled the Jeep into Victoria’s driveway and stopped outside the cottage. He placed the gear in park and left the engine running. Outside, the rain had finally stopped and both the big house and the guesthouse were completely dark.

  Courtney unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face him. “Thanks for taking me with you, Nick. I’m so glad I was able to be there for her.”

  His expression was soft. “I think she was glad to see us both. And thanks for coming. I’m really glad I didn’t have to do this alone.”

  “Of course.” She leaned into him and smoothed his hair, then ran her hand down his unshaven face.

  His heart began to pound. The emotional strain of the past day and the past week had taken its toll. Her touch made it all go away.

  “It’s been a really rough day,” she said.

  “It’s been a rough week.” He ran a hand softly through her hair and thought back to the night before, which now almost seemed like the distant past. He wanted to be close to her now, just chill out, hold her, and most importantly, make sure they were on the same page. “Listen, I know it’s late and we’re both exhausted, but can we talk for a little while before I head out?”
/>   “Yeah, I’d like that,” she replied. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

  “Yeah.”

  He turned off the engine and they headed for the cottage.

  Inside, Nick helped Courtney put away the nonperishable groceries she’d left out on the counter. They made sandwiches and sucked down a few ice waters. Finally, Courtney turned off the bright lights in the room and flipped on a soft lamp. Nick kicked back on the couch, and Courtney wiggled in next to him, arms around her knees, and leaned into his chest. It felt so good just to relax there with her.

  He sighed heavily. “So I still need to ask you something, Courtney.”

  “Sure, what is it?”

  Courtney sat up and turned to face him. He ran a hand across her shoulder gently, as he rested against the back of the couch.

  “Look, Courtney, I really, really like you, and I want to move forward with you. I’m glad we talked about this a little, but I want to figure out how to communicate in the future so we don’t misunderstand each other again.”

  Courtney nodded and looked down for a moment then back into his eyes.

  He held her gaze. “I mean—I don’t want to go through this again.”

  “Neither do I. And I really, really like you too, Nick. I promise I’ll be more transparent about things. And I’ll be better about chilling out when you haven’t called me back right away.”

  He put a hand over her arm. “Okay. And I promise I’ll do better about letting you know when I get called out—or whatever might come up.”

  “You can call me or text me any time of the day or night. Don’t ever worry about waking me up. I’d rather know what’s going on.”

  “Okay. Thanks. I’m really sorry about that.”

  She reached out for a quick kiss then sat back.

  Nick gazed at the floor. “There’s one more thing.” He sighed again. Would she understand? “I have to apologize about the Chicago thing. I only said it because I was angry. You had hurt me, and after everything else that went down—well, it was just a terrible knee-jerk reaction.”

  Courtney sat up, staring at him.

  Nick pushed forward, difficult as it was. “I’m so sorry. I never should’ve lashed out at you like that.” He ran a hand nervously over the back of the couch. “I mean—it wasn’t a total lie. My parents have been on my case about moving back for months, and I started seriously thinking about it this week when things between us got so bad.”

  It felt good to get that off his chest. “But I’ve thought about it a lot since last night, and I’m not going anywhere. I can’t leave.”

  “You can’t? Why not?” Courtney was listening intently but she now looked confused.

  Nick looked her in the eye and took her hand. “Because you’ve stolen my heart.”

  Courtney began to smile. “I’ve stolen your heart?” she said softly.

  He nodded.

  “And you’re not leaving?” Her eyes were getting moist but her voice was eager. “Really?”

  He shook his head. “Not if you don’t want me to.”

  She wiped away a tear and threw her arms around him. “Want you to? Are you kidding me? I never want you to leave!”

  Nick pulled her in tight and they held each other. Finally Courtney pulled back.

  “Don’t worry—these are happy tears.” She sniffled. “And it’s okay, Nick. I understand. I just want to put this all behind us now.” She wiped her eyes. “So you’re staying for sure, then? We don’t have to put an expiration date on this?” She wiggled a finger from herself and back to him. “I mean, not any time soon, at least?”

  The chance that her contract wouldn’t be renewed after the winter holidays still threatened their relationship, but it was far enough away not to worry about it yet.

  “No, we don’t.”

  “That makes me the happiest girl in the world!” She threw her arms around him again.

  He squeezed her tightly then leaned back and brushed his lips across hers. No, he definitely wasn’t going anywhere. He was all in again. No expiration date.

  Twenty-Six

  “Here you are, Victoria. No added salt.” Courtney watched as Josie Schlagel set a tray with a small bowl of homemade tomato soup, a stack of unsalted crackers, and an icy glass of lemonade with a straw in front of Victoria.

  The forty-four-year-old housekeeper and caretaker, a hardworking, easygoing woman, flipped back her neatly bobbed hair and returned to the kitchen. She soon returned to the living room with two more glasses of lemonade and set them on coasters on the wide coffee table.

  “Thank you, Josie.” Courtney took a long sip from hers.

  “Yes, thank you, dear,” said Victoria.

  Josie was pleasant. “You bet.” She started back about her business, disinfecting surfaces and dusting furniture, chatting and laughing with Courtney and Victoria as she went.

  Victoria sat propped up in a reclining chair in her spacious—yet comfortable—living space. The long white drapes over the windows were pulled wide, and the four o’clock sun was shining generously into the room. She had a view of the television, which was switched off at the moment, her books on a table at her side. The air conditioning was running so a light blanket had been placed over her legs.

  Courtney had just finished folding a load of Victoria’s laundry and had changed the sheets on the old woman’s bed. She settled into a chair and sat back for a little rest. Ahead of schedule this morning, she’d finished her latest story and had the afternoon free. She’d stopped over for a visit with Victoria and to offer whatever help she could, which Josie very much appreciated.

  Nick was coming over after work today. He had an earlier shift, so he offered to order a pizza for dinner at Courtney’s place. But first, they planned to walk down to Victoria’s beach and watch the sunset from a picnic blanket on the sand. Courtney smiled. Things were stronger than ever between them. They hadn’t missed a beat since the night of Victoria’s accident.

  Courtney checked the time on her phone. She wasn’t expecting him for about another hour. She’d head home in a little while.

  Victoria had been napping in the living room much of the afternoon, but she was awake now, and she enjoyed having Courtney come over.

  Victoria had been released from the hospital after just two days and had been recovering at home for the better part of the week. One side of her face was presenting with incredible bruising, as were her knee, hip, and elbow. She assured Courtney that she’d started bruising more easily with age and that it was nothing to concern herself over, despite the incredible discoloration.

  The MRI results had also come back, confirming the stroke and determining that she’d only suffered a mild concussion from the fall. But she wasn’t walking around much, and she couldn’t do much for herself. Her primary care doctor was also still adjusting the dose of her new blood pressure medications, and in the meantime, Victoria was sleepier than usual. The doctor had also ordered a lower-sodium diet.

  Victoria still wore the sling and cast on her broken left arm. She needed help getting around, and Courtney and Josie were both happy to assist. But the woman had no problem maintaining a positive outlook on life. She was still her old self, with an extra hint of gratefulness and an even larger measure of tolerance.

  “You don’t get to be this old and not appreciate a lucky break, I’ll tell you that,” she said, referring to the mini-stroke. “Someone up there’s got my back!” She raised her eyes to the heavens.

  Courtney agreed, smiling.

  “You can say that again,” Josie chimed in.

  Ash trotted over, and Courtney saw one of his plush toys lying under a chair near her feet. She picked it up and threw it for him. Ash ran and grabbed it then brought it back. “He fetched, Victoria! Just like you said he would!”

  Victoria laughed. “See, I told you! What a good boy you are, Ash.”

  Ash dropped the toy at Courtney’s feet and retreated to the windowsill while the women went on chatting. Victoria shared anot
her funny story about something one of the nurses at the hospital had done, and Josie laughed and relayed some funny moments from her own week.

  Courtney was enjoying helping out and spending a bit of time there almost every day. She counted herself lucky to be a part of Victoria’s life.

  A home care nurse would start coming daily, soon, to take the load off of Josie. She would continue on even after Victoria recovered completely, so that the woman would have someone to check on her and assist her everyday.

  With two other clients, Josie could still only manage to come to Victoria’s two days per week to clean and cook. It was for the best; Victoria had agreed. She didn’t want to be a burden or go through that sort of thing again, and her health insurance plan covered home care in a case like this, anyway.

  A few more minutes went by and the doorbell rang. “Are you expecting anyone?” Courtney asked.

  Victoria arched a brow. “I don’t think so.” She looked at Josie, whose hands were full of cleaning products.

  “Not that I know of?” She set down the rag and spray bottles to answer the door.

  Courtney hopped out of her chair. “Oh, no, I’ll get it, Josie.”

  Josie gave her a grateful look and hurried off to the kitchen.

  Courtney shuffled out to the entryway and pulled open the heavy door.

  Four strangers stood in front of her: a well-dressed older woman, probably in her early sixties, with honey-brown hair stylishly swept off of her face; an older gentleman, who appeared to be her husband, also well dressed, tall, and handsome, probably in his early sixties. Behind them stood a young and neatly attired couple in the latest summer fashions. Courtney had no idea who they could be. “Well, hello.” She offered a courteous grin. “May I help you?”

  The older woman answered warmly. “Why, hello. Yes. We’re hoping to see Victoria. Is she awake? We’re old friends. I’m hoping she’s taking visitors.”

  Courtney hesitated. What was the protocol here? They were complete strangers to Courtney, yet it would be rude to make them wait while she asked Victoria if it was okay to let them in, right? This wasn’t Courtney’s home, she wasn’t a butler, and they sure didn’t look like axe murderers. She opened the door wider.