Page 75 of Wait a HO HO HO Second!

“Joy!” he exclaimed, grabbing his phone. “Joy!” he repeated.

Dialing 9-1-1, he jumped into the ditch, snow up to his knees, and pushed through to the driver’s side window. There, the woman he loved lay against the steering wheel, her hair spread across it as though she were sleeping. But she wasn’t. A gash across her forehead bled down her face like tears, driving him to yank on the door. When it flew open, he fell back into the snow, the cold jolting him into answering the operator’s questions.

Emergency services were on their way, but when he hung up and crawled to the car, calling Joy’s name, he couldn’t help wondering whether it would be in time or whether he would lose his chance to make Joy his forever.

38

#Itsallabigmisunderstanding,Ipromise

A heavy breath left Joy’s lips before she inhaled, the pounding in her head growing louder. She lifted her hand to her head and noticed a tube. Then her fingers encountered the bandage on her head.

A moan slipped from her lips. “The snow. The deer.”

“Joy?” a voice asked, and she stiffened. “You’re awake,” Kian said, rising from the chair beside her bed and stepping into the thin hallway light.

“Where am I?” she croaked, her throat parched and sore.

“Glen Ridge Memorial Hospital.”

Glen Ridge was Snowcap Ridge’s neighbor, and they shared resources, including EMS and the hospital. Wait, why was she in Glen Ridge?

When Kian held out a cup with a straw for her to sip from, she wanted to turn away, but she couldn’t. She needed the water if she was going to read him the riot act he deserved. She curled her lips around the straw and greedily drank the cool liquid, letting it soothe her throat.

“Not too much at once,” he said, practically ripping the straw from her mouth. “They said you might feel nauseated when you woke up. How do you feel now?”

“My head hurts,” she admitted, touching the bandage on her forehead again until he took her hand and lowered it. “What happened? Why am I in the hospital?”

“We were hoping you could tell us,” he said, sitting again without letting go of her hand. “We couldn’t find you.”

“Forgot my phone,” she murmured. “Remembered too late. Swerved for a deer.”

“I followed your tire tracks out of the mall parking lot, expecting to find you at my mother’s gravestone. Is that where you were headed?”

When she nodded, her head hurt, so she put her hand back up to steady it. “Lorelei always listens.”

“She does, but getting to her grave was going to be tough on a night like tonight.”

“Wasn’t thinking clearly,” she said, checking her other appendages for injuries. “Wanted to get away.” Someone had taken off her AFOs and propped her legs on a pillow. Nothing hurt except her head, which was good news. She didn’t remember how she’d gotten to the hospital. “Sabrina.” The name left her tongue feeling spikey and hot, as though Sabrina’s identity had transferred to the name. “Lorelei makes me feel safe.”

“I know, baby,” he whispered, taking her hand.

Joy shook it off. “Don’t call me that! I’m the furthest thing from your baby. Why are you here instead of with her?”

“Despite what she said, Sabrina and I aren’t together. We broke up more than a year ago, Joy.”

Thinking was hard with her head pounding, but she forced herself to concentrate as she swallowed around her cotton mouth. “She said you were engaged,” she whispered. “And that you were replacing me with her.”

“Sabrina is lying. August is trying to find her before I do, which is smart. This little stunt of hers could have ended much worse for you. Joy, I’m not in love with Sabrina. I’m in love with you.”

Blinking, Joy stared at the man before her. Did he just say that he loves her? “You love me?”

“Sorry for the blunt, unexpected delivery, but I don’t want you to think for even one more second that I want anything to do with Sabrina. Sabrina is my past. I want you to be my future.”

“My head hurts, and I’m so confused,” she whispered. “You can’t take my mall from me, Kian.” She’d wanted the words to sound fierce and strong, but they came out weak and weepy.

“Darling, I’m not. This is all a big misunderstanding, I promise. Tomorrow, I can explain why, and everything will make sense.”

“Tell me now,” she said, trying to sit up, but the pounding in her head kept her from moving. Instead, she moaned, grateful when he steadied her head on the pillow and held it still.