I’m so glad you’re here,” Rachel said.
“Me, too,” Olive said and grabbed Stacey’s hand.
Mr. Foster took a deep breath and looked at his son.
The three of them stood in the recovery area for several moments. “Even though Colton is unconscious, he can hear your voices, so talking is good for him.”
Rachel immediately went to Colton’s side and started chatting. Her voice suddenly broke. “I love you, big brother. Wake up soon,” she said, and kissed him gently on his forehead.
His mother took a turn next. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your questions tonight,” she said and sniffed. “I love you. Everybody loves you.”
His father stepped closer. “You’re a good man. A good, strong man. Get better, son. We’re here for you.”
Stacey’s throat tightened in a knot of emotion. She hated how much all of them were hurting. She didn’t want to think about her own feelings. The three of them looked at her expectantly, as if they wanted her to speak to Colton, too.
Stacey slowly walked to Colton’s side and gently touched his shoulder. “Hey, you. What are you doing playing chicken with semis?” She bit her lip. “We want you to get better, but don’t work too hard at it. Let the medicine help you,” she said.
Colton’s eyelids fluttered. He opened his mouth and coughed. “Stacey? Stacey?”
Stunned that he would call her name, she leaned closer. “I’m here. I’m here. What do you need?”
“Joe?” he said.
She frowned. “Joe?”
“Did he come see you?”
Stacey figured Colton must be talking out of his head. “No. I haven’t seen Joe,” she said, but Colton had fallen asleep.
Chapter Twelve
Stacey sat by Colton’s side for the next several hours. She urged Mr. and Mrs. Foster to return home, but Rachel insisted on staying. Colton awakened for short periods. Sometimes he blinked his eyes. He often asked questions as to why he was in the hospital. He asked again about Joe but fell back asleep.
“Why do you think he keeps asking about Joe?” Rachel asked.
“I have no idea,” Stacey said. “Joe hasn’t been in town for ages.”
“Maybe he has amnesia. Maybe this is part of his concussion,” Rachel suggested.
“I don’t know,” Stacey said. “If it keeps happening, maybe we should ask the doctor about it.”
Colton’s parents returned and shooed both Rachel and Stacey away to take a break. Gritty-eyed and tired, but mostly confident that Colton was on the road to recovery, Stacey returned home and fell into bed. When she awakened, it was early evening, and she checked on Colton via his parents. He’d been moved to a room and was doing much better.
Stacey sighed with relief and spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of Piper. Her daughter seemed thrilled to see her, which eased some of the upset and trauma she’d experienced during the past week. Rocking Piper to sleep was the purest form of therapy for Stacey. She kissed her sweet baby’s head and put her to bed. Afterward Stacey updated her mother about Colton and his injuries. Thank goodness, her mother didn’t ask any probing questions about Stacey’s feelings about Colton. She went to bed, planning to visit Colton the next morning.
The next morning, Stacey dressed Piper in a cute pink outfit and made the hour-long trip to Lubbock. Piper snoozed on and off, and was so quiet Stacey had to check every now and then to make sure the baby was breathing. When they arrived at the hospital, Stacey changed Piper’s diaper in the backseat of the car in the parking lot. The cold winter wind whipped around her. Piper’s eyes widened like saucers from the chill.
“Wheee, that’s breezy, isn’t it?” she said, quickly refastening Piper’s pink outfit and pulling her baby up against her.
Stacey tucked Piper under her coat as she made her way to Colton’s room, where his parents sat next to him.
“Hi,” she said. “I thought you might enjoy some visitors.”
Colton looked up, and, seeing Piper, he gave a groggy smile. “Hey, how’s the little one doing?”
“Great. She barely made a peep on the way. An hour’s drive. There’s hope that she will be a good traveler.”
“Joe didn’t come to see you, did he?” Colton asked.
Stacey slid a questioning glance toward Colton’s parents, but his mother just shook her head and rose. “Come on, Frank. Let’s get some coffee.”
“I just had coffee,” Frank said.
“Well, I want some more,” Olive said firmly.
Frank sighed and rose to his feet. “Thanks for coming,” he said to Stacey and gave a little wave to Piper.
“You’ve mentioned Joe several times,” Stacey said. “I thought it was a result of your concussion. Why do you keep talking about him? Did you have a hallucination?”
Colton gave a short laugh, then grabbed his bruised ribs. “No hallucination. He showed up at the bar the other day.”
Shocked and confused, Stacey stared at Colton. “Joe? In Horseback Hollow? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I punched him in the face,” Colton said.
Stacey covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh, my goodness. How did that happen?”
“Easy,” Colton said. “He opened his mouth and started talking. I gave him twenty-four hours to go see you. Then, I told him I was taking my turn.”
Stacey sank onto a chair, pulling Piper onto her lap. She shook her head but felt no sadness. “He never showed.”
Colton took a deep breath and winced. “The night of the wreck, I was counting down the minutes to come see you.”
Stacey’s heart squeezed tight. “Oh, Colton, no.” She rubbed her forehead. “That means you would have never had that accident if you had decided to stay home and wait until morning.”
“I couldn’t wait,” Colton said. He closed his eyes. “I have a confession to make. Back before Joe proposed to you, I told him he needed to put a ring on your finger. You’re a special girl, and someone was going to steal you away. He proposed to you the next day.” Colton sighed, opening his eyes, his gaze full of regret. “I always felt guilty—that maybe you wouldn’t have gotten pregnant if I hadn’t given Joe that push.”
Stacey blinked at the revelation. She felt a rush of emotions. All those months ago, Colton had been protective of her. What Colton told her just confirmed what she already knew. Joe had never truly loved her. He might not have wanted to lose her, but he hadn’t loved her. “I hate that he had to be pushed along, and that I believed in him. I hate that he abandoned
