His mom nodded and winked. “Go do your thing. We’re fine here.”
He continued walking around and noticed how much fun the elders were having doing videos and silly faces on different social media sites. His hope grew. The interaction was unique, but it was getting them all talking.
Chapter Sixteen
“Well,” Parker sat in her car with a sigh. “That was a long day.”
“Are you too tired to do something else?”
“Depends,” she perked up in her seat.
He chuckled at her sudden interest. “I wanted to thank you for what you did today. So I was hoping you’d want to go out for dinner and do something fun.”
She blinked her lashes flirtatiously at him. “What did you have in mind, Mr. Wade?”
He leaned on her open window and brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly. “A nice dinner,” he whispered and kiss her cheek. “And maybe some…”
She groaned. “What?”
“Rollercoasters?”
She reared back and stared at him. “What?”
“Rollercoasters, down by the pier. I kept thinking of things you might enjoy, but then I stopped and thought about things I enjoy and figured I could suggest it and hope you might be interested.”
She grinned wide. “Heck, yeah, I’m interested. Let me go home and shower and change into something more comfortable.”
He glanced at his watch. “That works. I’ll pick you up at six.”
She kissed him and nodded. “See you soon, hot stuff.”
She drove away and watched him turn back to the inn in her rearview mirror. Movement at the side of inn caught her eye. An older kid with a streak of purple hair hurried from the parking area into the forest.
She didn’t remember seeing him inside with the other kids. She’d have to make sure he hadn’t somehow snuck out of participating. One of Nigel’s friends no doubt.
For the first community event, she felt pretty good about the results. There were some hardheaded kids that would continue to pose problems, but she knew they’d come around. She’d seen it before.
She was on the highway when she heard a pop so loud it made her jump in her seat. Then her car started swerving hard. She was going too fast. The car fishtailed and hit a metal rail. The airbags deployed and the car flipped into a ditch, her head slamming on the driver side window.
Struggling to stay awake, she pressed the OnStar button.
“Ms. Nolan, I see you’ve been in an accident. Rescue is on the way,” said the soft voice in her speaker.
She groaned, her head pounding and her face aching. It was hard to make things out. Her vision was hazy, and her seatbelt wouldn’t release. The scent of gasoline made her frantic. She had to get out of there.
“Ms. Nolan, don’t worry. Emergency vehicles are on their way and will be with you shortly.”
She tugged at the seatbelt but couldn’t get it off. Her head pounded so hard. She leaned back and tried to focus. The windshield was shattered, and a large piece of wood stabbed her passenger side seat.
Reaching into the compartment between the seats, she pulled out the specialty scissors she kept in all her cars. Grandpa had always told her to be ready for any emergency. Once she was able to cut the seatbelt off, she shoved at the door but couldn’t get it open. The passenger side window was broken. Something wet dripped down the side of her face. She wiped at her temple and saw blood but knew it wasn’t the time to panic.
She grabbed her cell phone and a sweater from her passenger seat and used it to slide her hand out and pull the door handle from outside. Able to get the door opened, she staggered out of the car and fell on the grass.
Struggling to walk, she crawled away from the car. The scent of gasoline was much too close. She pressed a button on her phone and dialed Ryan.
“Hey, beautiful, long time no see,” he joked.
“Help…me,” she groaned. That was all she was able to say before the pain in her head expanded and darkness took hold.
Chapter Seventeen
Parker groaned in pain before opening her eyes. Everything hurt. She blinked her eyes open and frowned. She was in a hospital.
“Hey,” Ryan said from next to her, “don’t try to move. You’re lucky to be alive.”
She closed her eyes and opened them again, turning her head slightly to look at him. “What happened?”
“You blew out a tire,” he said, holding her hand up to his lips.
She shook her head. “That was so scary,” she told him. “The car, I couldn’t control it.”
He squeezed her hand and gazed deep into her eyes. “I’m sorry, love. I hate that I wasn’t there to help you,” he growled. “By the time I got to you, the EMTs were already loading you up into the ambulance and wouldn’t let me see you. I had to wait until you were here and stable before I was allowed to sit with you.”
“I’m okay,” she cleared her throat. “My body hurts like I was hit by a car.”
He grinned. “Close. You’re the one who hit it.”
She rolled her eyes. Fuck. Even that hurt. “Semantics.” She glanced around the hospital room. “You promised me dinner,” she pouted. “I’m still hungry.”
“I’m going to make it happen. Let’s just let the doctor sign your papers so I can take you home.”
“He’s gonna let me go?” She frowned. “It must not be bad.”
“You’ve been here overnight already, young lady,” the doctor told her from the door.
“Really?” She frowned. “Feels like this just happened.”
“You have a concussion but no swelling or internal bleeding,” the doctor said, walking into the room. “I’d love to keep you another night, but your husband says he’ll watch you and make sure he brings you back if you vomit or get dizzy.” He flipped through her chart and signed. “So I’m holding him responsible to ensure you rest and get better.” He met her gaze. “The swelling will go down and the bruises will heal. You’re very lucky. The way that car hit that ditch, you could’ve easily broken your neck.” He glanced at Ryan. “I’ll have the nurse come in with some prescriptions for the pain and then you can take her home.”
She turned to Ryan with a grin. “My husband?”
He gave her a serious look. “It was the only way I was able to be here with you. Family only.”
She nodded. “Here I was thinking you had married me while I was unconscious.”
He cupped her cheek carefully. “No, love. When we get married, you’ll be very aware that it’s happening.”
He said when. She hadn’t dreamt that or hallucinated it. Maybe.
“Is that a candy bouquet?” she asked. “When did you have time to get me a candy bouquet?”
He shrugged. “I saw a shop downstairs and while they made me wait to come see you last night, I bought it.”
“I see they’re all M&Ms, though,” she laughed.
“Yeah. I couldn’t get the sales lady to remove the other colors, but when you open it, I’ll be happy to eat them and leave the blue for you.”