Addie pulled out of the restaurant parking lot, wondering at the strange turn of events. Instead of a nice dinner—almost a date scenario—she was now taking Tucker to the hospital. But the hospital wasn’t very far away, and she knew the area well. When she neared the emergency entrance, she parked in the temporary parking lot. She got out and helped him inside. Several of the staff recognized her, and she was lucky enough that they checked out Tucker’s head and immediately moved him into a room.
She went back outside, checked on Bernie, parked the truck in the main parking area out of the way, and came back in again. As she entered his hospital room, the doctor stood over Tucker, studying his head wound.
“How bad is it?” she asked. When the doctor turned, she recognized him. “Hey, Jim. How you doing?”
“Hey, Addie. How are you?”
“Well, I wasn’t doing too bad,” she said, “until this guy got injured.” She walked over to stand beside the patient. Tucker reached up a hand; she immediately grabbed it and held it tight. “How bad is the head?”
“Well, the wound’s pretty deep,” Jim said. “We’ll get in quite a few stitches here, and he’s got a concussion. He’ll be sore for the next couple days.” He looked down at Tucker and said, “I’ll freeze this, so I can get the stitches in. You got a problem with that?”
Tucker just gave him a hard look. “Not at all.”
She stood at his side, while a nurse came in and cleaned the wound, and then the doctor returned to stitch it up. Jim looked Tucker over as he talked, all the while sewing. “Any other wounds?”
“Not that we saw,” she said quietly.
“Did you call the police?”
“Not yet, but it’s likely related to a case that they’re already working on,” Tucker said.
The doctor shook his head. “It’s a sad world these days,” he said, but he finished quickly and looked down at her and asked, “Will you look after him?”
“Absolutely,” she said.
“Well then, you know the routine,” he said. “I’ll write a prescription for some painkillers, but, other than that, get him to a doctor in a few days or so—or earlier if there are any problems.”
“Will do,” she said with a bright smile. She watched and waited, and it took another thirty minutes before Jim returned, and she had a prescription in her hand. Thanking him again, Jim left. She looked over at Tucker, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. “Why don’t you stay here overnight?” she asked impulsively.
His eyes flew open, and he stared out of these bright blue eyes, strong, determined, immediately rejecting her suggestion.
She smiled and said, “Okay. You can’t blame me for at least trying.”
“I don’t do well in hospitals,” he said.
And then she thought about all the injuries he’d been through and the number of times he must have been in hospitals. She realized that emotionally this was not where he needed to be. She nodded. “Then, if you’re ready,” she said, “let’s get you home.”
“I don’t even know where home is at the moment,” he said, “but I do have a hotel room.”
She hesitated and then said, “I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”
“It’s just a head injury,” he said dismissively.
She snorted. “Just a head injury?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure just a head injury means a whole lot more than what you’re thinking.”
“Maybe,” he said, as he slowly sat up, reaching for the bars alongside the upper half of the bed for balance.
She stepped in front of him and asked, “How about a wheelchair?”
He snorted at that.
She shrugged. “Had to try.”
“This is where I clearly see that you’re a nurse,” he said with a small grin.
“Yep,” she said, “and looking after patients is what I do. And I’m used to difficult patients.”
“If you can get me back to the hotel,” he said, “I promise I’ll be fine in the morning.”
She frowned at that, but he wasn’t giving her any choice. She helped him back out to the truck, and, once they were settled inside, with Bernie sitting in the front between them again, she asked, “Are you allowed to bring a dog in the hotel?”
He looked down, groaned, and said, “No. I thought I’d sneak her in.”
Addie turned on the engine and headed to the main road. When they pulled up and stopped, he opened his eyes and said, “This is not my hotel.”
“That’s because it’s my place,” she said. “Come on. I’ve got a spare room, and I don’t have a problem keeping Bernie as well.”
He looked at her for a long moment and then shrugged and said, “Thank you. It’s decent of you to offer.”
“I won’t leave an injured man alone with a dog that needs a whole lot more than an injured man for reassurance in a hotel,” she said. “The dog needs more than that, even if you think you don’t.”
“I’m used to being alone,” he said quietly.
“I get it. But maybe you need to get used to not being alone so much.”
She opened up the truck door, hopped out, and let Bernie out. Then she walked the dog to Tucker’s door in time to help him as he slid from the passenger side. She looked at him, shook her head, and said, “You’re not looking so good.”
She reached past him and picked up their dinners from the footwell. Then she walked with him carefully up the concrete path toward her front door. “I have a fenced backyard,” she said, calling Bernie to her. The dog came racing, sniffed the bags, and then stayed at her side the whole time. “And where’s the dog food?” she asked Tucker.
“It’s still in the back of the truck,” he said.
“I’ll get it later,” she said.
“It’s probably too heavy for you,” he said. “I didn’t think about you dealing with it. I just bought a big bag.”
“Not a problem,” she said. “I’ll figure it out.” She unlocked her place and pushed open the door and let him in. A big recliner was off to the side. She pointed it out and said, “Why don’t you just sit down and relax?”
He looked at it and gratefully eased himself into the seat.
“This is a big chair,” he said, settling in.
“Yes,” she said. “I like them that way.”
“Good choice,” he said, stretching out with his eyes closed again.
“Do you want any food?” she asked, closing the front door and walking through to the kitchen on the same pathway. She opened up the back door and let Bernie out. Addie propped open the door and said, “It’s also nice outside, if you want to sit out there.”
He made his way from the big recliner and out to the backyard. He sat on the deck at the tiny patio table and smiled. “It’s small, but it suits you.”
“It was a place to get away,” she said. “It came on the market pretty cheap, during one of the many economic depressions, and I bought it,” she said. “I haven’t regretted it.”