Page 128 of Love at First Ride
I didn’t want to meet her under these circumstances. I wanted to meet her, but for AJ to introduce me as his girlfriend. I’d already imagined that day, because I felt like it could be imminent, and I was ready. But, tonight as two women with the same deep-seated worry about the same man, I don’t say another word as we fall into an embrace, the pair of us holding onto the other tightly. Behind me, Nicole rubs my back.
We break apart. AJ has her eyes. ‘I don’t know if he’s talking yet,’ Mercy says. ‘They won’t let me near him.’
‘You haven’t had any update?’ I question.
‘They told me they had to run tests first. That I should wait. Will you come wait with me?’
I nod frantically. ‘Please. You don’t mind?’
‘Oh, my darlin’, the way he talked about you? You’re the only person he’d want by his side right now.’
The last of my resolve breaks. I can’t stop another surge of tears.
Mercy holds out her hand. ‘Come on, honey.’
‘We’ll be right here,’ Echo says from behind us.
Mercy wraps her arm around my shoulders, and together we make our way toward a second set of sliding doors. I look back at Nicole, Chase and Balthazar. Nicole crosses her fingers, holding them close to her chest.
It’s another half hour before we hear anything. I wait with Mercy. Pacing. Climbing the walls. It feels like we should be trying to get to know one another, but we don’t say anything.
Finally, a doctor approaches. ‘Mrs Callahan?’
We both shoot to our feet.
‘How is he?’ Mercy asks.
‘Well… his left ankle and tibia are broken. His right femur sustained a fracture in the fall. We had concerns that there could be damage to his lower back and spinal cord, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.’
‘So…’
‘We can’t say for sure yet, but given time, and enough physical therapy, he should make a full recovery.’
Relief floods my veins.
‘He’ll need surgery to reset his thigh bone,’ the doctor continues. ‘That should happen later today. His leg will require a cast. Most patients can return to activities within three to six months. Full strength and mobility can take up to one to two years.’
‘Is he awake?’ Mercy asks. ‘Can we see him?’
‘Oh, he’s talking all right. Keeps asking when he can see somebody called Hollie.’
Chapter Thirty-Two
Hollie
The doctor smiles at me. ‘I take it that’s you?’
My mouth forms a shaky grin. ‘That’s me,’ I say.
‘He’s on a high dose of pain meds. He’s lucid, but a little drowsy. Come with me.’
Mercy holds my hand as we follow the doctor through to a room. AJ lies flat, still strapped to a board and unable to move. His head and neck are penned in by orange foam buffers, tubes attached to cannulas in the backs of his hands running to an IV drip.
Mercy squeezes my hand. With a soft smile she nudges me forward with her free hand. ‘You go,’ she whispers. ‘You’re the one he wants.’
‘You don’t mind?’ I question.
‘I remember my first love. I remember how that feels.’ She tips her head toward AJ. ‘Go.’
