Two days later
“Eliza.” I felt a nudge and opened my eyes to see Preston squatting beside the row of chairs I had stretched out on to sleep. “Hudson’s awake.”
“He is?” I sat up quickly. “Can we see him?”
“Dad is talking to the doctor, but we should be able to see him soon.” Preston nodded the first smile I had seen in days formed on the edge of his lips. “I think he’s okay—he’s asking for you.”
“Oh thank god!” I hugged Preston and started gathering my things. “I’m such a fucking mess—I need to go clean up a little bit.”
“You’re as beautiful as ever. Trust me, Hudson’s not going to care about how you look.” Preston took my hand and helped me stand.
I had been able to walk back and see Hudson through the glass in ICU a few times, but that was going to be nothing compared to actually seeing his eyes open—hearing his voice. I had started to lose hope, but I refused to leave the hospital until he was out of ICU. Preston and Mr. Anderson had been right there with me the whole time. All three of us were anxious to see Hudson, but the doctor didn’t want to let all of us go to his room at the same time. Mr. Anderson suggested that I should go first, since I was the first name on Hudson’s lips when he woke up. The doctor didn’t think there was any permanent damage, although it would take him some time to fully recover. That was the best news any of us had heard since he was admitted to the hospital and we hugged before the doctor led me away.
My heart did somersaults as I signed in and got a name badge, so I could go to the main part of the hospital. I felt hope seeping into my veins as I took the elevator to his floor. I had been scared to have any real hope when I was in the waiting room—disappointment was such a common emotion for me—it was hard to truly believe the man I loved was going to open his eyes and make a full recovery. I had hope again though, and I was going to cling to it with everything I had. There was no way I was going to lose Hudson, not after everything we had been through to bring us back together again. I walked to his door and my heart sank when I saw his eyes closed—but then they opened, and he smiled—he freaking smiled.
“Hudson!” I ran to the bed and grabbed his hand.
“What’s your name, beautiful?” He blinked a couple of times. “The doctor said my memory might be a bit fuzzy.”
“Are you—serious?” I tilted my head and my mouth fell open.
“No.” He chuckled slightly. “A little brain damage isn’t going to make me forget you.”
“Now is not the time to joke around!” I squeezed his hand and pulled a chair close to the bed.
“Sorry—brain damage, remember?” He grinned and winked at me.
“You’re going to have brain damage if you keep fucking with me.” I narrowed my eyes. “Tell me what happened—who did this to you?”
23
Hudson
I was trapped in a fog for what felt like an eternity. I kept hearing the sound of metal crunching and glass shattering like I was reliving the accident on a repeated loop in my head. I wasn’t sure if I was still alive or trapped in some version of hell I couldn’t escape. The last thing I remembered was driving towards Indian Hills. I was still trying to figure out why Old Man Wrigley told me to talk to Henry Walford. The next thing I knew, my truck was in the air and I was about to crash. Part of that memory was missing. I remembered the crash, but I couldn’t remember how it happened exactly. I thought I was going to have to figure it out before I could open my eyes, but I still didn’t have answers when I saw the lights above my hospital bed. I was alive, and everything worked. The first thing I said was Eliza’s name—I remembered that. She was the only thing on my mind as the doctor told me why my head hurt, and how long I had been out. I never thought I would see her again when I was trapped in that fog, and I couldn’t focus on anything else once my eyes were open.
“So, you don’t think it was Mayor Stevenson?” Eliza squeezed my hand after I told her everything I could remember.
“I don’t know—I honestly don’t know.” I sighed and turned my head slightly, so I could see her better. “It doesn’t matter now. I won’t be able to run for mayor if I’m recovering from brain surgery. The doctor said it’ll be eight weeks before I can even think about driving—longer before he can completely clear me for anything other than sitting on my ass.”
“You shouldn’t make a decision like that right now.” Eliza squeezed my hand again. “Let’s just take it one day at a time.”
“What choice do I have?” I sighed and looked away.
Eliza stayed with me as long as she could, but Preston and my father were both waiting to come in and see me. Eliza promised to come back as soon as they were done with their visit. They both asked the same questions Eliza did, but I didn’t have any real answers. I was definitely surprised to hear that Sheriff Tate had ruled it a loss of control accident so quickly, but I didn’t have anything to dispute his findings. It could have been exactly what happened. I had driven that stretch of road a lot over the years and had even driven it when I was being the wheel of a fire truck before. There was nothing dangerous about it, no curves that I could have taken too quickly, and I wasn’t driving fast enough to flip my truck—at least from what I could remember. After they were gone, I continued to wrack my damaged brain, trying to come up with anything that could help me put the pieces together, but I just had a blank space where that memory should have been.
“I talked with the doctor while Preston was in here.” Eliza walked back up to my bed and took a seat. “He said that you should be able to go home in a few days.”
“Am I going to be in here long enough to skip the wedding?” I chuckled under my breath, even though it made my head hurt when the laugher echoed.
“You won’t be leaving the house for a while.” Eliza narrowed her eyes and her tone softened to a teasing one. “You didn’t wreck your truck because you didn’t want to go to that wedding, did you?”
“No, I was actually looking forward to seeing you in that dress you showed me.” I forced a slight smile. “I guess you’ll just have to come model it for me at my house.
”That might be a bit dangerous.” Eliza tilted her head slightly. “You won’t be able to do anything about it if you like what you see.”
“I’ll recover fast.” I tried to nod my head, but that definitely wasn’t happening. “You’ll be back in my bed in no time at all.”
“Only because I’ll be sleeping beside you.” She squeezed my hand. “You’re going to be under my full-time care once the doctor releases you from the hospital.”