“Well, I’ll bring them tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Bridget said, though she didn’t really mean it. She did not want her parents rummaging through her house for anything. Except, she didn’t really have a choice in that matter, did she?
“Have they talked to you at all?” Sharon asked. “Sonny is so sorry it happened like this.”
“Sonny?” Bridget’s brow furrowed.
Sharon cocked her head in Bridget’s direction before glancing at Edward. “Didn’t they tell you?”
“They told me I was in a car accident.”
“Sonny ran you over with the combine.”
Bridget’s chest tightened, and the stupid monitor on her heart rapidly beeped and proclaimed what she was feeling. She didn’t remember any of it. She composed her face, putting on the mask that she wore when she went into dangerous situations, and stared her mother down. “Oh.”
“He’s in the jail.”
“He would be,” Bridget commented. “Running over the sheriff is one thing that will surely land you there.”
June glanced down at her, and Bridget knew she was being judged. She couldn’t hold it back, however. Her mother would no doubt ask that Sonny be let go, given a lesser sentence or charge, because“We’re all family in the town. We need each other to survive.”She could hear the argument now.
“They said you’ll need surgery on your ankle.”
Bridget nodded.
“We’ll have you come stay with us when you get out.”
Uncontrollably, Bridget tightened her grasp on June’s hand. She couldn’t go stay with them, but her mother had managed to prove the point that she couldn’t stay on her own, not with the stairs in her house and the injuries she had. She was barely going to be able to function with a broken arm, leg, and ribs. She needed to find a way out of that one.
Sidestepping that conversation, Bridget said, “The doctors should be in soon.”
“Good. I have a lot of questions to ask.”
Grimacing, Bridget hoped the hour was up before the doctors came in. She didn’t want her mother knowing any more about her health than she already did. She really needed to change who her emergency contact was so they didn’t get called anytime something like this happened—not that it happened often. But who the hell was she going to put in place of them? She had no one, not a close enough friendship, not a work buddy—since she was the boss—no one.
“I hope you haven’t ruined your career,” Edward muttered, raising an eyebrow in Bridget’s direction.
That one stung. Bridget had only begun to grapple with her injuries, and while the thought had crossed her mind that she might not be able to go back to work, she hadn’t wanted to explore that possibility fully yet. Not until she talked to the doctors at least.
“I don’t know if I have, Daddy. The doctors will have to tell me that.”
“You shouldn’t have taken this job.”
“I was elected to it.” Bridget clenched her jaw. This age-old argument was going to get old very quickly.
June interjected. “It’s probably too early to tell what the lasting effects are going to be from the accident. Until then, let’s not speculate what Bridget’s future might be. All right? Right now, let’s focus on her healing.”
“Yes, let’s focus on you getting better.” Sharon leaned forward and patted Bridget’s leg—Bridget’s very broken and shattered leg.
Cringing as pain soared through her, Bridget gripped June’s hand far too tight, no doubt hurting her. Bridget hissed and clenched her eyes tightly, trying to hold in any outward sign of emotion or pain. She had to be strong in front of them. If they saw her as weak, it would only confirm their belief that she should not have been the sheriff, or an officer of the law to begin with, and that she couldn’t be on her own when she returned home. And even though the last bit might be true, she was going to work her hardest never to go home with them again.
Sharon didn’t even seem to notice the pain she had caused, crossing her arms as she stood straight again. “I’ll stay here with you until you’re moved to another room.”
June stepped in again, thankfully. “Actually, ma’am, Bridget is only allowed visitors for a little bit today as the doctors want her to rest. You can check with the nurses’ station when you’re allowed to come back and visit.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“Right, she is.” June kept her hand firmly on Bridget’s, never moving and never backing down. “And her healing needs to be first and foremost in everyone’s minds. She needs time and calm space to heal properly, and if the doctors limit visitors to allow that, it is out of your control.”