Page 26 of Searching for Bristol
“Thanks,” she whispered.
Rocky stared at her for a long moment, as if trying to read her mind. Eventually, he nodded, smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear, then stood and turned for the door. Almost before he reached it, Bristol’s eyes were closed once more.
CHAPTERSIX
The doctor decided that it was smart to keep her for an extra night, so Rocky didn’t get to spring her from the hospital until Thursday. The last few days had been…relaxing. He didn’t have to worry about the phone ringing and going out into the forest on a search. He didn’t have to think about what materials he needed to order for a job or much of anything else, other than entertaining Bristol.
And after the first day, when she’d slept a lot of the time, she was remarkably easy to amuse. He was afraid time spent in the hospital would drag, but getting to know Bristol was fascinating and made time fly, instead.
Her leg was healing well, and she’d weened herself off the hard-core painkillers. She was just using the over-the-counter stuff now. She wasn’t allowed to put any weight on her leg for two weeks, and then she could use crutches or a knee walker, which the doctor recommended as being more comfortable for most people, even though it could take some getting used to.
Rocky had called Doc Snow, and he’d been happy to agree to come to the apartment to check on her and take out her stitches when it was time to do so. He would also put on the plaster cast she’d need to help make sure the bone healed properly after the stitches were removed.
Ethan had driven up the first day Bristol was in the hospital. Lilly had been asked to photograph a surprise engagement at the last minute, so she hadn’t been able to come, much to her disappointment. He’d brought clothes that Lilly and Elsie had shopped for the evening before, and Lilly had told him to apologize for them not being too fancy.
But Bristol had beamed at the soft sweatshirt and loose flannel pants. Rocky helped her cut off the right leg so she could wear them comfortably and they’d fit over the cast.
The three of them had talked for a short while, until a nurse had come in to help her shower and wash her hair. When she’d returned to bed, Bristol couldn’t keep her eyes open. Rocky sat next to her and watched her sleep for way longer than he was willing to admit. He had no idea what it was about her that had him so…hooked.
Now she’d been cleared to leave the hospital. She couldn’t walk on her leg yet, so someone was tasked with wheeling her out to his SUV, which he’d already pulled up to the entrance to the hospital.
Rocky easily lifted her into his truck and helped the nurse’s assistant load her things into the car. When they were finally on their way back to Fallport, he looked over and saw Bristol sitting next to him with a small smile on her face.
“What’s that grin for?” he asked.
Bristol turned to face him and shrugged. “Life can really take it out of you sometimes. Be so hard that it’s all you can do to breathe. But then something changes, and you realize whatever had you so upset or depressed somehow doesn’t seem so awful anymore. When I was crawling through the forest, I had doubts that I’d make it to the trail or that anyone would find me. My leg hurt worse than any injury I’d had before. I started having a hard time imagining I’d make it out of the woods, let alone ever feeling happy again.”
She shrugged. “And now, here I am…my leg’s been fixed, you’re going out of your way to help me, and even though I’ve only talked to them through texts, I feel as if I’ve known Lilly and Elsie for years. Not to mention all the other people from Fallport who’ve sent their well-wishes. To top it off…the sun’s shining today and my leg feels pretty darn good, all things considered. I’m a very lucky woman, and I know it.”
“You’re an optimist,” Rocky said after a moment.
“Yup,” Bristol said happily. “There are definitely times I get depressed, but generally, I try to look on the bright side of things. Life could always be worse, and I try to concentrate on all the good going on around me, rather than dwell on the bad.”
Rocky was usually annoyed by overly chipper people like Bristol, but she didn’t try to shove her optimism down anyone else’s throat. She just oozed positivity, which made her glow. “It’s a good way to live,” he said after a moment.
“I’m not an idiot. I know so many bad things happen in the world,” she said solemnly. “But I truly feel as if having a good attitude when things go wrong helps make them more bearable. And when truly awful things happen, like me falling off a cliff in the middle of nowhere with no one knowing where I was…trying to be positive keeps me from drowning in a pit of despair so deep, it’ll suck me down and never let me go. If I’d stayed where I’d fallen, you might not have found me,” Bristol said. “I believe that everything in our lives happens for a reason…even the bad things.”
Rocky thought about that for a long moment. He wasn’t sure he agreed. He’d been in situations as a SEAL that he couldn’t justify, unable to come up with a single reason for why they’d happened. Had seen children killed for absolutely nothing. Had struggled to help his military friends deal with career-ending injuries. He still couldn’t come up with one good reason why his dad had to die.
But…he couldn’t deny that being around Bristol was a breath of fresh air, and he truly liked being with her partlybecause ofher sunny disposition.
“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same,” she said quietly. “I’ll believe enough for both of us.”
“Okay,” he said. There was so much more he could’ve said on the topic, but he didn’t want to talk her out of her positive attitude.
“Okay,” she echoed with a smile.
They chitchatted about nothing in particular as they drove toward Fallport, and with each mile that passed, Rocky had a feeling eventually letting her go was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done. And if he felt that waynow, saying goodbye after having her in his space for however long it took her to get back on her feet…It was going to destroy him.
He was beginning to think having her stay with him wasn’t a good idea after all, but he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, take it back now. He forced himself to push the uneasy feelings to the back of his mind.
“I thought we’d make a quick stop before heading to my apartment, if you’re feeling up to it,” he said.
“Sure,” Bristol answered with a shrug.
“How’s the leg?”
“Pretty good.”
