“I need to go to the hospital this morning,” he said after a while.
“I know. I want to come with you if that’s alright.”
He looked at her over the rim of his mug. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the kind that didn’t need filling. Blair thought that this, just this, was what she’d been wanting. Not the grand gestures or the words, though those had mattered too. Just a quiet morning and a man who stayed.
Later, Hud drove them to the hospital. She could feel his anxiety in the set of his jaw and the quiet thathad come over him on the drive. She hoped with everything she had that Creed was going to pull through. She knew it would devastate him if he lost Creed.
After parking, he stepped from the truck, and she met him at the front. He took her hand and they went inside, found out Creed’s room number and rode the elevator up. They were passing the nurse’s station when a nurse stepped out to meet them.
“I’m sorry, visiting hours aren’t until later.”
“Yes, ma’am. But I need to see that Creed McBride is alright. We work together. He was with me when he was shot.”
The nurse hesitated, then gave a short nod. “One visitor.” She returned to her seat.
They walked down the corridor and stopped at Creed’s door. Blair looked through the window. Abbie was asleep in the chair beside the bed.
“Abbie’s sleeping,” she said quietly.
“I’ll be quiet. Won’t take long.”
Blair nodded. “I’ll be right here.”
Hud kissed her forehead and slipped inside.
****
Hud wrapped his hand around the doorknob, turned it slowly and stepped inside.
The room was dim and quiet, the monitors casting a soft glow. He made his way to the bed and stopped. Creed was pale, paler than Hud had ever seen him, but the monitors beeped in a steady rhythm and Hud held onto that. Creed’s eyes were open, fixed on Abbie where she’d fallen asleep in the chair beside him, her hand wrapped around his.
“Creed,” Hud said quietly.
Creed turned his head. “Hey.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like someone shot me.” His voice was low and rough, careful not to wake Abbie. “Sore as hell. But I’ll make it.”
“Yeah you will.” Hud pulled a chair up on the other side of the bed and sat down. He looked at his friend for a moment, at the bandaging visible above the hospital gown, and felt the full weight of how close it had been. “You scared the hell out of me out there.”
Creed’s mouth curved slightly. “Wasn’t exactly my plan.”
“No, I don’t suppose it was.” Hud leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “White and most of his crew are in custody. I’m waiting to hear if Whittingham was among them.”
Creed looked at him. “Good.” A pause. “Blair here?”
“In the hallway.”
Something crossed Creed’s face that might have been satisfaction. “Good,” he said again.
“I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“I’m tough.” He said it without bravado, just as a simple fact.
“Nobody’s going to argue with that.” Hud glanced at Abbie still sleeping in the chair. “She’ll get you through this.”
