“I don’t know all the ins and outs of your financial situation, but probably not. You’re paying for your own schooling and live alone, so you must pay the rent by yourself.”
“I’m in school? How old am I?”
“You’ll turn thirty a week or so before Christmas.”
“I’m twenty-nine? Why the fuck am I still in school?” She clutched her head, instantly regretting the outburst.
“You wanted to pay for it yourself, and it’s taken you a while to be able to do that.”
“Oh.”
“It’s a lot to take in. You should take some time to think about it. I won’t leave until the police officer who will be sitting outside your door arrives.”
The medicine must have made it into her system. Her head felt better, but her eyelids suddenly weighed ten pounds. She fought to keep her eyes open, but it was a losing battle.
“I’m gonna let you get some rest,” said Jake, standing to go. He touched her hand gently. It was warm and reassuring. “We’ll figure it out, don’t worry.”
She didn’t have the energy to respond or even open her eyes to watch him go.
When she woke, she was alone. The headache was gone, which was a huge relief. There was a glass of water on a table next to her, but she couldn’t reach it. She pushed the button to call the nurse.
“Hi, hon. How you feeling?” the nurse greeted her.
“Better, thanks. I was hoping for some water but can’t reach it,” said Hannah.
“Let me get some fresh stuff for you,” said the nurse. She left for a second and returned with a chilled water bottle, which she opened and poured into a glass for Hannah. She pulled a bendy straw out of her pocket, put it in the cup, and held it to Hannah’s lips. Suddenly dying of thirst, she guzzled the whole glass.
“That’s good you’re thirsty.” Kate poured more water into the cup.
“What time is it?” Hannah asked, noticing it was close to dark outside.
“It’s almost five. You’ve been sleeping for a few hours. I’ll be heading out soon, but Mindy, from last night, will be your nurse again. A police officer arrived about an hour ago and will stay outside your door until morning.”
“That man, Jake, arranged that?”
“Yes. He seems very concerned about you.”
“He says I’m not married, and I believe him over ‘Bob’.”
“For what it’s worth, me too,” said the nurse with a smile.
“He says he’ll take me to his place to get better. You think I should go?” Hannah felt weird asking the nurse for advice, but apparently, she had no one else.
“It would be a lot easier than trying to go it alone. That’s up to you though, dear. I would just follow your instincts. You may not remember everything yet, but your feelings are still intact. If you feel like you can trust him, then do it. I’ll give you my number in case you decide to go with him but then change your mind.”
“He’s very handsome,” Hannah blurted.
“Indeed,” said the nurse. “He said he’d be back later to check on you. Unfortunately, I’ll be gone by then.” She gave a mock frown. “Are you hungry? I’ll go get you something to eat.”
Hannah nodded, and the nurse left. God, she had a lot of shit going on. No memories, no friends or family to take care of her, and some jackass claiming to be her husband. Oh, and someone trying to kill her! It was too overwhelming to tackle at the moment. Instead, she closed her eyes again, hoping she’d wake to some memories.
CHAPTER NINE
Jake spent the afternoon shopping. A task he hated, but if he was going to bring Hannah home, it couldn’t be avoided. His place was the quintessential bachelor pad—hardly any food and just the bare essentials in terms of comfort. Not wanting to stop more than once, he parked at one of the big box stores. The kind that had a little bit of everything, including groceries. He’d need to stock up on food and some things to make her comfortable.
Trudging through the aisles, pushing his wobbly-wheeled cart, he threw in anything that looked even remotely comfortable. Blankets, pillows, anything soft or fuzzy. He watched a woman smell a candle and smile after putting it in her cart. Did candles make women happy? After the woman continued on, Jake walked over to check it out. There had to be over a hundred to choose from. He sniffed at a couple, but having no idea what made one better than the other, just gathered an assortment.
Always practical, he threw in a variety of pain medicines, a heating pad, and a couple of ice packs. Panic welled as he walked past a shelf with a bedpan on it. What if she couldn’t use the bathroom by herself? God, what had he gotten himself into? He’d inadvertently signed on to play nurse and wasn’t sure he was qualified for or capable of the role. He was certain his bedside manner needed work.
