After the flowers were set to dry, I cleaned up and changed my clothes, settling in for the night. The house was quiet and Rusty was sleeping in his kennel. Summer nights in the house were slow and calm. The breeze blew through the windows and the curtains billowed out in response.
Unable to sleep, I opened my laptop to check on orders. They’d been sluggish since moving to Whispering Pines, and because I’d been so busy just trying to bring the house and farm up to speed. Pleasantly surprised, I had some orders to fill. It was gratifying to finally feel like everything was falling into place.
Jesse and I hadn’t labeled where we were on the relationship spectrum yet, but it was clear he wanted to be around, and I wanted him around. Whenever had the chance to be together, it was like honey, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’tthink about his situation with his ex. I wondered if Jesse cared or was ever curious if Mikaila and Jakob were still together.
My eyelids felt heavy and I was finally tired enough to sleep, so I closed my laptop, went to the kitchen to get some water, and checked on Rusty one more time before bed. He had been sleeping in his kennel at night since we brought him home, but I was looking forward to giving him some freedom to sleep where he wanted to see how he did.
***
In my dream, my phone rang, but I soon realized it wasn’t just a dream. My eyes popped open before reaching over to the night stand to grab my phone. “Hello?”
“Laida?”
“This is her, who’s this?”
“It’s Brady Wilkinson, from the firehouse.”
I sat up, my heart beating like it was going to pop out of my chest. The time on my phone flashed two o’clock in the morning. “Brady? What’s wrong? Where’s Jesse?”
“Laida, can you come to the hospital? There was a fire tonight, an intense one, and Jesse took in some smoke. He’s in rough shape.”
“Oh my god. I’m on my way.”
***
When I reached the front desk at the hospital, I nervously asked for Jesse Harrington. The young woman working behind the counter asked me, “Are you family, ma’am? Only family is allowed back.”
Just then, Brady came around the corner and vouched for me. “Yeah, she’s family, I’ll take her back.” The woman noddedas I followed him down the hall. Brady said, “He’s pretty out of it still but he seems like he has a good chance at a full recovery.”
Trying not to panic, I replied, “Thank you for calling me.”
“Of course, I just knew he would want to see you, but Laida, I need to tell you something before you go in…”
We walked fast until we finally reached his room. “What?”
Brady stopped just before entering and said, “She’s in there…,” tipping his head toward the door.
“She?” I turned and took a small step into Jesse’s room and saw a woman sitting at his bedside, with her back toward me. When I turned back to Brady, he mouthedMikaila. I wasnotexpecting to seeher,of all people.
Jesse despised that woman. I gave myself a pep talk before clearing my throat to make my presence known. “Can I help you?” She had the nerve to ask me.
“I was actually going to see if I could help you with something?”
She gave me a dirty look. “Me? Who are you?”
Brady came in and said, “This is Jesse’s girlfriend, Laida.”
She looked offended. “Laida? Girlfriend? I’m…”
Brady cut her off again, “You’re not anyone, Mikaila. Don’t you have his ex-best friend to bone. How’d you even get in here?”
She stood up. “Fuck you, Brady. I’m here because I care about him.”
Brady barked back, “Well, he has enough people here that care about him. He doesn’t need you here. He doesn’t want you here, either.” Thank God for Brady because the woman was delusional. I couldn’t believe she would show up after everything she’d done.
Finally, I felt brave enough to speak up. “You can go now. Jesse needs positive people around him right now.”
Jesse’s weak voice made us all turn. “Mikaila…” he said, letting out a cough.
