“There you are.” Melanie burst in—I recognized her voice—carrying what looked like a pink box. “Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Harper made me pick up cookies to bring over.” She set the box on the foot of the bed. “But I did find a pair of glasses. I hope they’re yours. Although I don’t think Theo wears glasses, so they must be.”
It took her a moment of digging through her purse before she produced my glasses with a triumphant, “Ta-da!” and handed them to Theo.
He slipped the glasses on for me and, not for the first time, his dimples were the first thing I saw.
“That’s so much better,” I said. “Thank you.”
“How are you?” Melanie asked. “Luke said you were missing, and then we heard Theo found you, but you were on your way to the hospital.”
“Yeah, it’s been a weird day. I’m all right now.”
“Good.” Her eyes moved between Theo and me. “You know what? I’ll hear the story later. You’ve had enough excitement for now. I’ll just leave the cookies.”
“Thanks for grabbing her glasses, Mel,” Theo said.
“Happy to,” she said with a smile, looking back and forth between us again. “Call me when you’re home. And let me know if you need anything. I mean it.”
“I will,” I said. “Thank you.”
She seemed like she was about to leave when she moved around Theo and gave me a big hug. Gratefully, I hugged her back. After another round of goodbyes and promises to call, she left.
A nurse came in to check on me and said I was doing well. My blood sugar was stable, and the drug Gina had put in my tea was wearing off. They didn’t expect me to have any complications, but wanted me to stay a bit longer, just to make sure.
Theo sat down beside me again after she left. He took my hand and held it in both of his, and his forehead creased with concern.
“You aren’t getting a migraine, are you?” I asked.
“No.” His voice was soft. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not the one who almost got killed today.”
“Yeah, but stress can trigger them, right?”
He smiled. “I’m fine. Promise.”
“If you need to go home and rest, it’s okay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know, but—”
“Pen, listen—”
“Hey.” Garrett poked his head around the curtain. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Dressed in his deputy uniform, Garrett stepped in and gestured to the pink box. “Was my wife here?”
“No, Melanie brought them,” Theo said. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to see how things are going.” His eyes moved to mine. “How are you doing?”
“Getting better. My head still feels a little fuzzy, but it’s wearing off. And the nurse said my blood sugar is stable.”
“Good. So glad to hear it.”
“Thank you for everything.”
He smiled. “Just doing my job.”
“Gina Morris is locked up, right?” Theo asked. “Permanently?”
