Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 79(@200wpm)___ 63(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 79(@200wpm)___ 63(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Freaking heck. My heart seizes in my chest when I see an evergreen tree approaching at the speed of light and realize I’m about to nail it. Head on.
I blink up at the bright light shining in my eyes and groan, “Please let me sleep.” The headache pounding away behind my temples intensifies as the light switches from eye to eye.
“Ms. Matheson, I’m Dr. Fox.” I don’t really care right now. I’m hoping the comforting blackness pulls me away from all this pain. “Can you tell me what day it is?”
Take your pick. I force my groggy mind to function, hoping to shut him up. “Friday,” I croak out. At least, I think it’s still Friday.
“Good,” he comments, and I breathe a sigh of relief until he questions me again. “Do you know where you are?”
This pain in my rear isn’t going to give up. “I’d assume a hospital.” I hope he hears the grumpiness in my voice.
“That’s right.” Then leave me alone and let me sleep. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
Urgh. This guy just won’t give up. “A tree attacked my car.”
“Close enough.” He pats my arm. “The nurse is going to give you a little medicine for pain.”
Thank God for small miracles.
Fading in and out, I get little snippets of what’s happening around me. A poke in my arm causes me to gasp as my eyes blink open momentarily. The blinding pain that reverberates through my skull is much worse than the little sting, so I squeeze my eyes closed and ignore the poking and prodding.
In my dreams, I hear a steady beeping and a flurry of activity and realize something is missing, but it hurts too much to force my brain to function, so I shut everything down and let blackness swallow me again.
“Jazzy?” Letty’s voice cuts through the darkness surrounding me. “Oh my God.”
A soft hand wraps around mine as lips flutter across my forehead. Since I already know how much the bright light hurts my throbbing head, I don’t attempt to open my eyes. Instead, I mumble, “I’m okay.”
“No, you aren’t,” Skye sobs from the other side of me.
“I will be if you let me sleep.” I can’t help that I’m a grouch from the pain.
“Sleep.” Letty rubs the back of my hand. “We’ll stay with you.”
Sounds like a plan to me. As I drift off to sleep, I realize something is missing, but I hurt too much to spend the brain power to try to figure out what.
Chapter 11
Will
A steady icy drizzle starts to fall about twenty miles from Silver Spoon Falls.
“Fuck. The roads are getting bad,” I grumble as the SUV slides a little. “I’m going to call Jazzy and tell her not to come out in this.”
“That sounds good to me,” Dare mumbles from the backseat. “I’m not crazy about us being out in this.”
I dial Jazzy’s number through the Bluetooth connection and wait as her phone rings and rings. “Fuck.” She must be on the road already. Her older tin can on wheels doesn’t have Bluetooth, and she promised me she doesn’t answer while driving. “She must be on her way. We’ll stop by the steakhouse and pick her up.” We can go back for her car when the weather clears.
“Good idea.” Saint leans back in his seat and stares at the ice building up at the edge of the windshield. “Now, slow down so we arrive in one piece.”
“Shut up and let me drive.”
My cellphone rings, interrupting us, and I hit the button on my steering wheel to answer. “Hello.”
“Will.” My heart drops as Skye’s shriek echoes through the vehicle. “Jazzy’s been in an accident.”
Everything goes dark for a second as I forget to breathe. “Is she okay?” Saint asks for me.
“I don’t know. Sheriff Armstrong came by the store to tell us about the accident. He didn’t want us to drive so he offered to bring us. We’re on the way to the hospital now.”
“Put Dillon on,” I growl.
“Will, it’s Dillon.”
“Is she alive?” I have to know she’s alive. We can deal with anything else.
“She’s injured, but the EMTs thought she’d be okay.” His words don’t soothe me at all.
“How badly injured?” Fucking tell me something here. I want to reach through the phone line and shake the sheriff until he confirms my baby doll is okay.
“Pull over and let me drive.” Dare reaches up and pats my shoulder. “We don’t need another accident trying to get to the hospital.”
“Where are you?” Dillon asks.
“We just passed the welcome to Silver Spoon Falls sign,” I tell him as I pull over in the welcome center parking lot. “My brother is going to drive from here.
Dare jumps out, and Saint hops in the back seat so I can sit up front. “Are you in your black SUV?”
“Yes.” At least, I think we are. My mind shut down the instant I heard my baby doll was hurt, and I won’t be able to function until I see for myself she’s okay.