Epilogue
JAKE BARRETT
Ipaced helplessly in the waiting room, like I had for nearly two days.
“You don’t have to stay, man. I really appreciate you being here, but it’s okay. We’ll be okay.”
I shook my head at Bryce’s comment, though I offered no counter argument.
I had to stay. I needed to see that she was okay.
And I couldn’t explain to anyone why I couldn’t leave. Bryce thought I was staying for him. He had no idea that waiting for his sister–the woman I loved more than life itself–to wake up meant I had no other option than to wait right here.
Bryce just looked back at Krystal. At least things had worked out there.
“You should go back, too, Krys. You’ve got to go back to Snow Hill.”
She shook her head. “I can’t leave. Not with Monica like this. They’ll just have to wait. Or find someone else.”
I admired her stubbornness. And her willingness to sacrifice for Bryce. Perhaps I’d been a little too quick to judge her.
“She’s awake!” I jerked my head to the hallway where Bryce’s mom was rushing toward the waiting area, her sweater flapping behind her.
Bryce and Krystal stood up, and the three of us met his mom in the middle of the room.
“She woke up. She asked for water,” Bryce’s mom nearly sobbed the news.
“Oh, thank the Lord,” I breathed. I’m not sure I had ever prayed as hard as I had in the last forty-eight hours.
“The doctor is on his way now, but she talked to the nurses, too. All kinds of words I didn’t understand. She’s a little confused, and she doesn’t remember the accident or the auction, but it doesn’t seem too bad.”
I smiled at the inference. If Monica was already talking medicalese, it had to be a good sign.
“When can we see her?”
My eagerness was undisguised, and Bryce gave me a funny look, which I ignored.
“You all can go in, but just two at a time.”
Krystal’s phone rang, and she checked it before turning to Bryce. “It’s Ronny. Why don’t you and Jake go in, and I’ll talk to him about my plans?”
I tipped my head back slightly in thanks to God for the timing of that phone call. I knew otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go in first.
Bryce and I walked down the hallway. “Got something to tell me?”
I shook my head and clenched my jaw. “Not yet,” I said simply. Soon. It had to be soon.
While Bryce and his parents had been in to sit with Monica while she was unconscious, I wasn’t family and hadn’t been allowed. So, her bruises and bandages and all the wires and monitors caught me off guard.
She saw Bryce first and her smile widened. “Brycie, you’re here!”
“I’m so glad you’re okay, sis.”
Her gaze slid to me and she smiled politely. “Oh, Jake. It was nice of you to come, too.”
My eyes widened. There was nothing there. None of the subtext we were used to sharing in conversations around other people.
I stepped closer. “Of course I came, Monica. Why wouldn’t I?”