“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.”

  “They’ll be hearing about this.” Sharon stormed out of the room.

  Edward gave Bridget a pointed look but said nothing as he followed his wife. Bridget could readily hear them loudly voicing their opinion, and the nurses having to deal with the situation, but at least they were out of her room. Bridget wasn’t sure what she was going to do when they moved her out of ICU and into a more accessible room. It would be far more difficult to keep Sharon and Edward away from her then, although perhaps by then they would have lost interest in her.

  June leaned over the railing and lowered her voice. “You weren’t kidding.”

  “I wasn’t.” Bridget wasn’t sure she could look into those eyes again, eyes that seemed to read everything she didn’t want to say. She hated it. “Can you shut the door?”

  “Absolutely.” June slid the door to the room closed and took up her chosen spot next to Bridget’s bed again. “Are you sure there isn’t someone I can call who can come sit with you?”

  Bridget mulled through that question again. It really did seem as though no one wanted her to be alone, even if she was surrounded by hospital workers and not at her house. She wasn’t breakable, but then again, she didn’t exactly want to be alone either.

  “How bad are my injuries?” Bridget asked.

  June blew out a breath as her gaze roved over Bridget. “Well, you’re in the ICU after a run-in with a combine.”

  Bridget tried to hold back the snort at June’s phrasing, but she couldn’t quite prevent it. Her lips were curled upward, and it felt so good to have that light-hearted moment. “I’m going to need someone to explain how that happened.”

  “I wish I could. All I know is from the reports and gossip that was given to me.”

  “Right.”

  “You’re going to need surgery before you can leave, but still, I’m not sure how you’re going to get out of here. You can’t use crutches.”

  “Wheelchair I suppose,” Bridget mumbled.

  “Most likely.”

  “Then there is one person you can call for me.”

  “I’ll do anything you need.”

  “Elijah Wilson.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Her parents left, thankfully, and June stepped out of the room to make that phone call, Bridget remembering Eli’s cell number like it was just yesterday they were dating. She’d never forget it. The quiet in the room seeped into her bones, and it unnerved her. When had she become so scared of being alone?

  She lived by herself, so it wasn’t that big a deal for her to be on her own, and yet she also wasn’t used to lying useless in a hospital room with nothing but time to think. She hated every second of it.

  June came back in, a smile on her lips. “Elijah said she’d be here as soon as she could.”

  “That could mean she left already or it’ll be hours until she’s done playing with her cattle.”

  “Playing with her cattle?” June furrowed her brow.

  “She’s a rancher, and those cattle are her life.”

  “Ah. I’ve met several ranchers like that over my time here.”

  Bridget nodded and attempted to relax in the bed. At least it was a comfortable bed, although with tubes protruding every which way from her body and with broken bones, it was a struggle to find any position that was comfortable. June must have noticed because she patted Bridget’s hand lightly.

  “How do you know Elijah?”

  Eyeing June up and down, Bridget wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question. The first words that came to mind were she’s my ex-girlfriend but any religious leader Bridget had met prior to then would have likely scorned her for that one. Instead, she answered, “We grew up together and went to school together.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.” June gave a wan smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “I don’t want you to think you’re stuck here all day with me.”

  “I don’t think that at all, Bridget. I’m here because you need someone to be with you, and that is, honestly enough, my job description. So I’m here as long as you need me.”

  “Just until Eli gets here.”

  “Good. I’m glad you have someone who can come and sit with you.”

  Neither of them commented on her parents, and their lack of continued presence in her hospital room, whether it was because Bridget didn’t want them there or because they didn’t want to be there remained unspoken. Bridget knew it was a mix of both. They didn’t like her as much as she didn’t like them.

  Doctors came in, one after the other, specialists and more specialists. Bridget’s head spun from the injuries and explanation of expected recovery time. She struggled to keep track of it all, especially with the pain medicine running through her brain, but she at least understood it would likely be months before she was back to work, though perhaps she could do some desk duty prior to that. Good thing they’d installed the elevator at the courthouse, because she’d likely need it.

  One of her ribs had punctured her spleen, which had been what the bleeding was about, but it was controlled now. Thankfully. They lifted the blankets, checked her injuries, made faces at the wounds before stepping back and giving a prognosis. As they left, Bridget wasn’t sure if she had answers or just more questions. But because she was doing so well by whatever standards they had set, they were going to look into scheduling surgery to pin up her ankle—not something Bridget was looking forward to.

  She’d never had surgery before. Well—not that she remembered, she supposed, since they did do surgery on her internal bleeding. They told her she would be up and moving around soon enough because they didn’t want her catching pneumonia from not moving. Cursing the thought, Bridget pouted as the last one left the room.

  “Did you catch half of that?” June asked.

  Bridget shook her head. “Other than I’m beat up, broken, and this sucks, not really.”

  June chuckled lightly. “I’ll make sure they share with Elijah when she gets here if you want, so she can help remember it for you.”

  “That’d be good, but let me ask her first. I don’t want to just dump this on her.”

  “She seemed quite concerned on the phone.”

  “She would be. She’s got a heart of gold.” A pang of sadness entered Bridget’s chest. She loved that Eli had found happiness with Sarah, but it still hurt that she hadn’t been good enough or right enough for Eli herself. She wanted to be that person for someone, but her own problems would always get in the way of a deeper relationship.

  “Good. I’m glad she’s coming then.” June shifted her stance.

  “Speaking of,” Bridget lifted her hand and pointed to the door. “Eli.”

  “What the hell did you do this time, Bridge?” Eli’s tone was deep, filled with concern that was echoed in the look she cast in Bridget’s direction, but her rounded face, two braids, and bright brown eyes were such a welcome sight.

  “Didn’t you hear? I got run over by a combine apparently.”

  Eli snorted. “I did hear that, actually. Gossip, you know. I just didn’t think it was real.”

  “Well, it is.”

  As Eli stepped into the room, Bridget could have cried. She wanted Eli to wrap her in a hug and hold on tight, comforting her like she had so many times when they were together, except she knew she couldn’t ask for that. She couldn’t cross that boundary that Eli had set. Her eyes watered and her nose stopped up, and Eli’s look softened again with pity.

  June leaned in. “Bridget, like I said before, it’s okay to cry. This is not something you’ve ever experienced before, and you’re bound to be feeling some shock.”

  “I’m fine,” Bridget muttered.

  “Like hell you are,” Eli answered, reaching down and gripping Bridget’s IV clad hand tightly and squeezing. “But we’ve got you, Bridge. Did your parents come already?”

  Bridget snorted, thankful that Eli added in the dose of reality to draw her back to her strength and anger. “Yeah. And I kicked them out and asked June here to call you.”

  “Good choice.”

  “They are a piece of work,” Bridget mumbled on a sigh. “I suppose I’ll have to deal with them again.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m in the hospital.” Bridget gave Eli a hard stare.

  “Right.” While Eli agreed, she didn’t look convinced. Instead, she turned to June. “Are you a chaplain here?”

  “I am. One of the nurses called me to come talk with Bridget.”

  “Well, thank you. Bridget is not a fan of doctors or hospitals, so I’m sure it took some work to calm her down and get her to stay put.”

  “Not like I could move if I wanted to,” Bridget answered. “I’m pretty broken. Which reminds me, I can’t remember a lick of what the doctors said when they came in here. Can you…”

  “I can figure it out if you want, keep track of it all. That way your parents don’t have to come back.”

  “Thanks.” Bridget’s eyes watered again, and anger grew in the pit of her belly at the fact she couldn’t seem to go an hour without trying to cry. It was so nice to have someone who understood all the dynamics she didn’t want to be stuck with.

  Eli dragged the chair over and sat in it, crossing one leg over her knee. “I suppose we’re going to be here a while.”

  Bridget could have laughed, except she worried how much it would hurt. God love Eli, commanding and sturdy as always. She’d be there even if Bridget had ruined what little friendship they had left after their breakup. It hadn’t been a pleasant one by any means, but the lingering effects of it had been far worse than she’d anticipated. She missed her best friend, more than she missed her ex-girlfriend.

  June made her exit after a few more minutes sitting with them, and then Bridget and Eli were left alone. It was the first time since Bridget had tried to win Eli over again at a bingo tournament—which had been a bad choice on her part. She’d apologized for it later, and they had tentatively worked toward friendship again, although Bridget mostly maintained her distance. She didn’t want to disrupt Eli’s budding relationship with Sarah. They had enough issues to contend with, being long distance.

  Bridget glanced at the clock and finally to Eli. “Can you tell me what happened? I don’t remember anything and my parents were vague.”

  “Oh.” Eli pressed her lips together hard. “I can tell you what I heard from the rumor mill if you want, but I wasn’t there and didn’t see anything.”

  “That’ll be fine until I can get an actual accounting.”

  “Okay.” Eli folded her hands together over her belly. “From what I heard, Sonny was driving his combine down the middle of ninety-six, and when I say middle, I mean middle. He was drunk.”

  “He’s always drunk,” Bridget countered because they both knew it was true. Everyone in town did, but usually he wasn’t driving the combine on the highway when intoxicated. He saved that for his fields where he couldn’t do much damage.

  “Yeah, I guess this time it was bad, though. You were trying to pull him over, and he turned, and well….you landed yourself here.”

  “He turned into me?”

  “From what I heard. I think Old Man Darwin was there, but I’m not sure.”

  “You’re not sure?” Bridget gave her a hard look.

  Eli shook her head. “Like I said, I wasn’t there. I didn’t drive to town to see the damage and be an onlooker. I figured they had enough issues getting life flight in there with all the rubberneckers.”

  “Life flight?” Bridget’s eyes widened. That was new information to her. “They didn’t bring me by ambulance.”

  “No. Helicopter.”

  “But…was it really that bad?”

  “Bridget, you’ve been in ICU for two days. You tell me.”

  Sighing, Bridget stared down at her toes, wishing they weren’t on the edges of blurry because of her poor eyesight. It was the logical conclusion. She wasn’t in just any hospital room, she was in intensive care, where they had limited beds and only kept those near death. She didn’t want to think about it because if she did those tears would start up again.

  “What did your parents say?”

  “Dad said I’d ruined my career.”

  Eli sighed heavily. “He’s such a fucking asshole.”

  Bridget didn’t disagree, but she wouldn’t tell Eli she was right either. That was her father they were talking about, and while Eli had never been very fond of him, she’d never understood the struggle Bridget had to stand up to him. Eli was so much stronger than she was.

  “What about your mom?”

  “She only wanted to talk about medical stuff. She’s mad I asked them to limit how long she’s here and how often, but I’m glad I did.”

  “Hey, that’s something.” Eli nodded in her direction. “I’m proud of you for that.”

  The implied at least was left off the statement, but it hung in the room like rotten chicken in the trash overnight. Bridget closed her eyes. “She said I’ll have to go stay with them when I get out.”

  Eli didn’t answer right away, and Bridget wondered what was going through that brain of hers. Eli was smart, in ways Bridget was not. And she knew without a doubt that Eli was already working through all the implications of her statement and probably three or four alternatives.

  “Do you want to stay with them?”

  A simple look in Eli’s direction was enough of an answer for the both of them. They were interrupted when Ann came back in, walking toward Bridget and the monitors all hooked up to her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better since the extra pain medicine.”

  “I’ll make sure we keep up with that one, then. I can remove some of the IVs if you want. This one will have to stay.” She pointed to the one in Bridget’s right arm. “But I can take the one in your neck out.”

  “The one in my neck?” Bridget’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know I had one in my neck.”

  Ann pursed her lips. “You have three IVs.”

  “I can’t exactly see my neck,” Bridget countered.

  “I’ll give you that one.”

  “Don’t be so hard on Ann. She’s only trying to help.” Eli gave Bridget a hard stare.

  Ann looked surprised. “I didn’t think you remembered me.”

  “I rarely forget visitors, but especially not ones who are so…interesting.” Eli and Ann shared a look over Bridget, which made Bridget very uncomfortable.

  “I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Please do.” Eli relaxed in her seat, giving Bridget another hard look. “Don’t be mean to Ann. She’s doing her job. Be a good patient for once and don’t have them call me to snitch that you’re making their lives miserable.”

  “I have not—” Bridget started.

  Eli interrupted. “Don’t try to convince me otherwise.”

  “Fine.” Bridget lay still while Ann pulled the unused IVs out of her and covered the wounds with cotton balls and tape. She checked the catheter and emptied it, embarrassment flinging at Bridget full force. She was a complete invalid, and it hadn’t fully occurred to her until then. She’d never been so in need of care before. She’d never allowed herself to get like that.

  A second nurse came in, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail but with wildly curly strands running free. Her eyes were not a dark brown like Bridget would expect, but a hazel with lighter hues swirling in them, but the freckles that littered her nose and cheeks were the topper on the cake. This dark-skinned woman was stunning. Bridget absolutely did not want her to touch anything on her. It would be absolutely embarrassing.