Page 47 of Cold and Bitter Snow

“He was lucid when he woke up in the morning but he’s been asleep most of the day since.”

Luc held her hand. “It’s going to be okay, Siena. He’s tough.”

“The doctors and nurses won’t tell me anything beyond platitudes. I’m so scared, Luc.”

“About that … They’ll have to speak to his mother,” he said, pointing behind him.

Siena looked up to see a woman and a man walking towards them. The woman was in her sixties—tall and slim, perfectly made up, with a short gray bob. The man walking beside her looked about forty. Even if she hadn’t been expecting them she would have known immediately that he and Conor were brothers. Though he was shorter and slimmer than Conor, they shared eyes the same shade of gray.

The woman took off her sunglasses as she reached them and Siena saw the dark circles under the woman’s eyes. There was unimaginable pain there. She jumped up and grasped the woman’s hands.

“He’s sleeping,” Siena said, answering the unspoken question in the older woman’s eyes. “He’s alive.”

The whole flight here she’s been worrying he’d be dead.

The older woman sagged with relief. Her son put his arms around her.

“Can I see him?” she asked. Her voice was soft.

A doctor came up behind him. “Hello?” he said in that frostily polite tone that Siena had come to know and hate.

Siena wasn’t above using Conor’s mother as a tool if that’s what it took to get an update about him. She hadn’t wanted to kick up a fuss until now, worried they’d throw her out of the hospital, but now she was going to get some answers.

Before Siena had a chance to say anything Conor’s mother spoke.

“Hi. I’m Rachel Hudson—Conor Hudson’s mother. I’m here to see my son. How is he?”

The doctor’s demeanor changed completely now that he knew he was speaking to a family member. “Mrs. Hudson. Your son is a lucky man. The bullet hit his ribs upon entry—it broke two ribs but we think that’s what saved his life, as it didn’t hit any major organs before going out of his back. It was touch and go for a while as he’d lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to be okay. The cold probably helped save his life.”

Siena glared at the doctor.

Was that really so difficult?

The doctor was still speaking—she forced herself to tune into his words again.

“… shoulder was in bad shape. We operated on it but he may need another operation in the future. We’ll have to wait to see what kind of recovery …”

Siena stopped listening again. Conor was going to live. She suddenly felt lightheaded. Maybe it was the relief of knowing Conor was going to be okay, or the events of the last thirty-six hours catching up with her.

“Siena?” Luc said. He pulled himself closer in his wheelchair and grabbed her hand, directing her back to the seat she’d just vacated. “I won’t be able to catch you if you faint. Sit for a bit. Put your head down between your legs. Now breathe.”

Siena’s mother sat beside her. She seemed in no rush now.

“You must be Siena,” she said gently, taking one of her hands in both of hers. “Thank you for calling me.”

The woman’s hands felt warm. Siena focused on that as she struggled to breathe. Stars were floating in front of her eyes and she didn’t want to pass out, not with Conor’s mother there.

“You haven’t been taking care of yourself at all, dear, have you? John, get this girl a glass of water, please.”

It seemed it was only moments later that Conor’s brother came back with a plastic cup filled with water. He held it gently in front of her, waiting until he was sure she’d grasped it before letting go.

“I’m … okay,” she said, sipping the cool water. “I’m sorry. Please go in and see him.”

“Let’s all go in together,” Conor’s brother said, giving her a hand up.

#

Conor