“No, Gabe. What you said was right, not wrong.”
That look of intense concentration crossed his face again. He could’ve been struggling to remember what he’d just said or straining to fart; it was a tossup. “I called you ‘babe.’ You’re not freaking out,” he told me.
“Nope.”
“It’s because youlikeme.” His eyes were starting to get heavy again as sleep beckoned him.
“I sure do.” My words earned a sweet smile.
“Ilikeyou a lot,” he replied. “I can’t wait to get out of here so I can show you.” He let out a growl that was about intimidating as a kitten’s meow.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Okay, tiger, but how about you get some rest first.”
“Mmkay.”
Once he had drifted back to sleep, I pulled my phone out and dialed Meredith. Of course, the story had already started to circulate throughout the town and she’d called me twelve times since I had arrived at the hospital. I had my phone on silent and didn’t realize I missed her calls. I felt terrible for causing her distress, which I told her as soon as she answered the phone.
“You’re not forgiven,” she said huffily.
“Can I please ask a favor? I need a few things from home…”
“Already have them,” she said from behind me as she entered the hospital room. I spun around and saw that Chaz had come with her.
“I’m so happy to see you,” I said in relief.
“Jazz, I’m right here. You don’t have to talk to me through the phone.” She disconnected the call and slipped the phone in her pocket.
“Oh,” I said, feeling like a complete idiot. I put my phone back in the pocket of my jeans.
“We brought you some clothes, a warm blanket, and a pillow,” Chaz said. “Are you okay?”
“I am now that I’ve seen him with my own eyes,” I answered.
“Is he going to be okay?” Mere asked. “Hell, I’d heard about twelve renditions of the story - from him only needing stitches to him needing an undertaker.”
“Don’t say that.” I clutched my stomach.
“We’ll hang out with you for a bit to keep you company,” Chaz said.
“Thank you,” I told them. If they stayed and kept me occupied, then maybe I wouldn’t fixate on how close I could’ve come to losing Gabe.
Adrian and Sally Ann showed up a little while later and brought some dinner. The nurse hadn’t been back in to wake Gabe yet and he was sleeping soundly, with only a few occasional moans. Each time he made a noise, I reached for him and he would calm down, as if my presence comforted him.
A different nurse came in not long after we’d eaten and she performed the same tasks as the first nurse I met. She was just as friendly, took the time to introduce herself to all of us, and asked if there was anything she could bring Gabe. “Some broth maybe?” she asked him.
“That would be nice,” he replied. Once she left to get him broth, he looked at Adrian with a fierce expression. “Please tell me that you’ve found her.”
“Fucking-A,” he replied, “but she’s not talking.”
“Yet,” Gabe replied. “I won’t be in this hospital bed forever.” The fierce determination in his voice had me wiggling in my chair. I knew damned well he wasn’t going to rough up Wanda Honeycutt, but I believed in his ability to get her to confess. “Are they searching her house for evidence to the crimes? I reckon she could’ve stabbed Georgia easily enough if she snuck up on her. It would explain why there were no strange prints and no forced entry. I somehow don’t see her climbing beneath Rocky’s car and cutting the brake lines though.”
“I’m with you, partner. We’ve been operating on the notion that the two events are related, but what if they’re not? It sounds like the pair had their share of people who might want to harm them. We’ll dig deep and won’t leave any stone unturned,” Adrian said. “Right now, you need to worry about getting better.”
“I’ll be back on the job in no time,” he said confidently, but the way he started to wilt said otherwise. He didn’t stay awake long enough to sip the broth the nurse brought in for him.
Everyone left me alone with Gabe with promises to be back the next day. I was grateful for the quiet so I could just sit and watch him sleep. I eventually lay on my cot beside him, content to hear his soft snores while he rested peacefully.
MY RETURN TO ACTIVEduty wasn’t as fast as I had boasted about in my hospital room. The captain forced me to take an additional week off after I was released from the hospital so I missed out on the Wanda Honeycutt investigation, but Adrian kept me apprised every step of the way.
