“Then I’ll have you know, you’re onmyproperty now.”
The voice that spoke now had become as familiar as my own over the months I’d been in Love. Had been the source of so much of my healing. Had been strength and guidance, and above all else, love.
I didn’t even have time to fear for her safety before she lifted the old hunting rifle and hit her target. Bullseye. Nick crumpled to the ground in front of me.
“Heavens to Betsy, what has he done to you, my dear?” She softly touched my likely broken cheek before she bent down to untie my frozen hands from the railroad tracks.
“Trixie,” I breathed out.
“Not now, dear,” she hushed me as she untied my other hand, and I fell into her lap. Waves of comfort rushed over me as everything went black once again.
I woke up to the steady beeping of a hospital monitor and a heavy weight on my lap. As I tried to force my eyes open against the bright lights, the weight was lifted from me, but a gentle touch found my cheek.
“Hey, Wildflower. It’s okay, slowly now. Your eye is pretty swollen.”
I blinked open my eyes and though my vision was blurry, I could make out Calvin in his red lumberjack shirt in front of me.
“Why do you call me that?” I tried to ask, but my voice was more of a croak than anything.
He grabbed a cup from the table beside him, bringing the straw to my lips and allowing me a small drink before pulling it back away.
“Oh, love, wildflowers are the most beautiful of flowers. They are strong and resilient, they adapt to the elements, they come back again and again, year after year, often with more blooms than the last. Your growth is inspiring. Your strength is astounding. Your beauty is endless. You are my favourite wildflower.”
The sight of him in front of me only became blurry again. “I love you, Calvin.”
He gently hushed as he softly rubbed my less swollen cheek. “I love you, Stella.”
“What happened?”
“You’ve gotten a pretty good concussion and some frostbite. They also want to make sure some of the deep tissue bruises don’t lead to internal bleeding.”
It all came back to me, like the flood gates of memories had been opened. Valerie attacking me in the rail house, and then her getting killed by Nick in the boutique. It was like a movie reel playing in my head.
“Hey, breathe with me, okay? You’re safe now, love.” Calvin gently pressed his forehead against mine and forced me to steady my breathing with his consistent inhales and exhales that became my lifeline.
“Where is Trixie?”
A genuine smile lit his face. “She’s in the waiting room. And before you ask, she is just fine. She gave her statement to thepolice, and it was very easily written up as self-defence. She acted to save you, and she’s happy she did.”
Just then, a doctor walked into the room.
“Well, look who is awake. Your family out there is going to be happy to hear that. I’m Doctor Lloyd Hilty,” he said with a comforting smile on his face.
My family. Goodness, did I like the sound of that.
“When can I go home?” I didn’t know how long exactly I had been here, but it already felt like the longest day of my life, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into my own bed at the bed and breakfast.
“Well, the good news is there’re no broken bones or internal bleeding. You’ll be sore for a while and will need to take it easy, though.”
“And the bad news?” I asked him
“Unfortunately, the frostbite on your hands is going to be painful as it heals and you’ve got a nasty concussion, so unless you have someone who can wake you up every three hours, you’ll need to spend a night in the hospital.”
Before I even had the chance to feel defeated by the doctor’s words, Calvin stood from his chair.
“She’ll stay with me. What do I need to do and watch out for?”
He talked with the doctor and listened intently to his instructions.
