Mr. Wagner walked into her room. He pulled Mindy Sue up from her chair and hugged her so close and so tight it choked Brooke up just seeing it. “I love you so much, honey. The thought that it could have been you in that bed… I’ll never forget the fear I felt when you called last night and told me what happened to Brooke. Did she say anything?”
“They won’t let her see her baby, Daddy.” Tears fell down Mindy Sue’s cheeks.
Her father gently wiped them away.
Brooke closed her eyes on the tender scene, too emotional to watch anymore. She didn’t have a father anymore.
Her mother would be devastated when she heard what happened.
Cody used to be her friend. Now they only spoke through text. Well, except for her birthday. He’d hate her for not saving his child.
He’d lost two now.
She ached for him as much as she hurt for herself.
The doctor came in and updated Mr. Wagner and Mindy Sue on her condition. Most of the cuts on her arms were stitched up; the two stab wounds to her shoulder required surgery to repair and close; she had a broken arm requiring a removable cast thanks to the pins they put in and the deep, stitched cuts that needed to be tended, and a severely sprained ankle. Her leg was in a walking brace. Her abdomen had suffered the worst injury—besides her shattered heart.
The surgeon had performed an emergency C-section to stop the massive bleeding, and repair the damage done by the six-inch blade. The doctor assured them she’d heal.
Right. Everything but her heart would mend itself back together.
Mr. Wagner asked about her daughter. “Can she see the baby?”
She could barely hear the doctor’s reply. “The baby was injured quite badly. The psychiatrist believes seeing the trauma the baby suffered would only traumatize Brooke more than she’s already been.”
Brooke didn’t want to hear that. She wanted to hold her child and see her grow up into a beautiful woman. She wanted to put the baby in Cody’s arms and watch him light up with joy. But she couldn’t hold her baby. She couldn’t give him that happiness.
And Adam needed to pay for all of it.
Brooke turned and opened her eyes. “Mr. Wagner, please.” The tears came again. It seemed they were never far from spilling over.
“Yes, honey. What can I do?”
She beckoned him to come closer so only he’d hear her request and whispered in his ear. “Get to Adam Harris before the governor does.”
His eyes went wide. “It’s too late. It’s all over the news. He tried to commit suicide. His mom and dad found him just in time.”
Too late. They’d cover it up. She turned away from him and lost any hope she’d ever get justice for her little girl.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cody had crashed in Brooke’s bed. Again. Another long workday. Another night thinking about Brooke and a future without her that had him dreaming about her. Only this time, things turned dark.
Kristi was holding his hand as he tried to reach for Brooke, who stood just out of reach of him, facing a bright, sun-filled horizon, while Kristi stood behind him, a turbulent storm approaching.
Even in the dream he understood the imagery. If he was with Brooke, he’d be happy. If he stayed with Kristi, he’d forever be fighting to get to Brooke and living in a storm of emotions and a life fraught with conflicting feelings about Kristi.
They were good together, but their relationship wasn’t easy. He was forever trying to be what she needed him to be and falling short in her eyes. With Brooke, he could simply be himself.
Both of them loved him for who he was.
But Brooke loved him as is.
Kristi wanted him to be more and do more. He tried. But in doing so, he failed because it was never enough.
The cold hard truth was that Kristi fit him and his life in many ways, but she wasn’t the woman he loved and wanted to be with forever.
Over the last many months it had become clear he and Kristi could have a good marriage. One built on mutual appreciation and support of the other. But that would only take them so far and make the things lacking between them more obvious and necessary. The marriage would fall apart, leaving them both bitter, more than likely.
