“But she’s conscious,” Jessica said. “That’s got to be a good sign.”
He nodded at her, then leaned in to get a closer look at her beat-up face. Glancing at his son, he pointed at her. “She doesn’t look fine.”
“But she will be. I may have glossed it over a bit,” he admitted.
His dad gave him a wry look. “So I wouldn’t worry?”
“It’s different. Jess is young. And a stroke is a hell of a lot more serious than the collision she was in.”
“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Jess said, not sure if she was downplaying what had happened or trying to tell her husband it was exactly as bad as it was. After all, the pain she was in didn’t exactly feel like nothing. It felt like something that was going to linger with her for some time to come. “I got lucky. Some of the other people in the pile up looked a lot worse off than me.”
Michael gave her a questioning look. “You were in that mess on the I-14?”
She nodded, but only once before she remembered what a bad idea that was.
Michael reached out his hand and touched her upper arm. “That must have been terrifying.”
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away. “I may not want to go into the city anytime soon.”
“You should get her home,” Michael said. “She looks exhausted.”
“Normally, I’d be offended, but in this case, I’ll allow it,” Jessica told him with a small grin.
“You’re a champ,” her father-in-law told her.
Mike chewed on his bottom lip for a second, then said, “Okay, I’m going to get Jess home, then I’ll come back to see Mom.”
“Oh no, don’t come all the way back here,” Michael told him. “They’re keeping her overnight. Besides, your wife needs you now.”
“I’ve got meetings all day tomorrow. I’ll just stop by for a few minutes. The kids can help Jess if she needs anything.”
Looking down at Jess, Michael said, “Well, that’s that then. No changing his mind, is there?”
“Not really,” Jessica told him.
Michael leaned down and gave her a tiny peck on the temple, then said, “Take care. And no more driving like Mario Andretti. You’re too important.”
Mike took her hand and they started for the car. This time his steps were hurried, as if his own impatience trumped her injuries. She let go and slowed down.
“Sorry, was I going too fast?”
“Yes,” she snapped.
“Okay, you set the pace,” he said, taking her hand again. “I’m just anxious to get back here.”
“I know.”
The car ride was quiet, other than the sound of the Mariners game being broadcast over the radio. Jess could have used silence, but she let it go. If she hadn’t been in the accident, he’d be parked in front of the television watching it, and if it helped keep his mind off his mother while he was driving, all the better. She knew that until he saw her with his own eyes, he’d be wound up like one of the springs on the trampoline in their backyard. She closed her eyes, wishing they had given her something much stronger to keep the throbbing ache at bay.
When she walked through the door leading from the garage to the mudroom, Baxter was the first to greet her, his entire back-end wiggling with excitement. He whined out all of his complaints about how long she’d been gone and how no one had bothered to feed him supper and could she please not leave, ever again. He jumped up and pawed at her knees, but Mike brushed him off. “Down! You can’t jump on her. She’s hurt.”
“It’s fine. He weighs all of ten pounds,” Jessica muttered.
Ignoring her comment, Mike hollered into the house, “Kids! Get down here. Your mom is back!”
Noah was the first to appear around the corner, his eyes scrunched up as if he was half scared and half disgusted. He gave her an upward nod of his head. “Whoa, you look like shit.”
“Really, Noah? Was that necessary to say?” Mike barked.
