For Everly (25 page)

Cole looked out of his window and didn’t respond. Wyatt’s words wrenched his gut.

After a moment, he mentally shook himself. Everly needed him to keep it together. He didn’t need to scare her grandpa by showing up on his doorstep looking panicked and wrecked. He took several deep breaths to center himself as he saw the familiar porch come into view.

He imagined the Ford in the driveway belonged to Everly’s father. That was actually a relief. He didn’t want Jake to struggle to get to the door on top of everything else.

“Are you okay with talking to Everly’s grandfather while I try to reach Rowan for an update?” Wyatt asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

Cole opened the passenger door and got out of the car. Running his hands over his face again, he bounded up the porch stairs to the front door. While he wasn’t relishing the thought of having this conversation, he wanted to get to Everly as quick as he could. He opened the screen door and knocked.

The man who he assumed was Mason Wallace opened the door. He stood only an inch or two shorter than Cole and was in good physical shape. Unlike Everly, he had blond hair and glacial blue eyes.

“Mr. Wallace?” he said.

“Cole Parker.” Mason’s demeanor changed from irritated to delighted. “Sure, I’m Mason Wallace. Come on in. Dad and I were just watching
SportsCenter
.”

Cole stepped inside. He caught Jake’s eye and watched as understanding sank in.

“Oh, no.” Jake shook his head, his eyes wide. “Not my girl.”

“I’m sorry. Everly’s in the hospital,” Cole said, not sure how else to convey something like this. “She was attacked in the restaurant’s parking lot after her shift.”

“What the hell is this?” Mason demanded. “Everly? Attacked?”

“Yes. Someone hit her—” Cole stopped and cleared his throat again. “With a baseball bat.”

Jake pushed himself to his feet. He pressed a couple of buttons on his oxygen device and began removing the plastic tubing from around his head.

“Is she okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know all of the details yet,” Cole replied.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Mason asked. “You can’t be running around in the dead of night. We can—”

“We’re going to the hospital, Mason,” Jake interrupted. “Everly needs us.”

Whatever Mason saw on his father’s face had him nodding. “All right. I’ll get changed.”

“Before you do, I need an outfit for Everly,” Cole said. “I’ll bring it to the hospital.”

“What? She doesn’t have anything at your house, Cole?” Mason asked, reaching out and giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

Cole guessed it was meant to be a gesture of camaraderie. All it told Cole was that Mason Wallace didn’t know his daughter at all.

“No sir,” he said. “Do you want to get something for her, or should I?”

“Why don’t you look for something? You probably know what she’d prefer to wear more than I would.”

“All right.” Cole stopped by Jake. “Are you okay to get ready on your own?”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you, Cole.”

Cole nodded and headed down the hallway. He hadn’t been in this part of the house before, but it wasn’t hard to figure out which room was Everly’s. He stepped inside of it and took a deep breath.

It smelled like her.

Forcing himself to focus, he headed for the closet. He pulled the folding doors open and shifted some things around to figure out where her winter garments were hung. His eye caught a reflection of the room’s light off a piece of glass behind the hanging clothes.

What the hell? Parting the clothes, he stared down at the large framed poster of himself. He still remembered giving Wyatt a hard time as he signed it. His brother said it was going to be a gift for someone he worked with. The girl was a huge fan of his, Wyatt had said. Cole had joked that maybe they should be introduced.

Jesus.

Turning, Cole glanced around Everly’s bedroom. He realized that it was decorated in Atlanta sports memorabilia. The only uncovered surface was a large rectangle over the bed.

He looked again at the print. No wonder she hadn’t asked for his autograph. But why was it in her closet?

His gaze fell on her father’s suitcase. He remembered some of the things she’d said, as well as Mason’s reaction when he opened the door and saw him. Frowning, Cole returned his attention to the task at hand.

It took him two more minutes to choose a sweater, jeans, and undergarments for Everly. Spotting an empty backpack on the shelf in the closet, he used it to hold the clothing. Then he headed back out to the family room.

Mason stood next to the couch, his phone in his hand. He looked up from the screen when he heard Cole.

“Sure is thoughtful of you to stop by and tell us about Everly’s incident, Cole.”

“No problem.” Cole glanced at Jake’s closed bedroom door. “I guess I’ll see you at the hospital. Northside.”

“Oh, right. Thanks.” Mason smiled and nodded. “We’ll definitely see you there.”

Cole waited for him to ask if he had more information about Everly’s condition. He waited for him to offer Cole his cell number so he could get updates. He waited for him to show some amount of concern over his daughter.

Any at all.

And receiving none of the above, part of him bled for Everly.

Chapter 34

While Cole was in the house, Wyatt found out from Rowan that the doctors were conducting a number of tests on Everly, including an MRI and X-rays, to determine whether or not surgery was needed. Rowan still hadn’t gotten back to them by the time they walked into the hospital.

“Hey, my man,” Javier called out.

He rose from the low couch along a wall to the left of the doors. The other guys were nearby and also turned to greet him.

“Hey.” Cole accepted Javier’s quick and hard embrace, then another one from Marshall. “Thanks again for coming.”

“No problem, man. We don’t have a clue what’s goin’ on, though.”

When everyone gathered around, he spoke in a low voice about what had happened. Several of his friends let out loud curses as he spoke. The registration nurse, who was conversing with Wyatt and Rowan, gave them all a warning look.

“This is so messed up,” Anton said with a scowl. “Did they catch who did it?”

“No.” Here, Cole caught Marshall’s gaze. His friend’s eyes widened slightly as he realized what Cole was implying. “Rowan didn’t want to leave Everly, so he didn’t chase after her attacker.”

Nick frowned. “Damn. Why would someone just jump a waitress? Was she robbed?”

“No,” Cole replied. “The police are investigating.”

“Cole,” Wyatt said.

Glancing up, Cole caught his brother’s hand motion. He hurried across the lobby to the registration desk. He realized a woman in surgical scrubs had emerged from a pair of double doors. When Wyatt and Rowan approached the woman, Cole went with them. His heart thundered in his chest. He found it impossible to ignore the smears of blood on the woman’s top.

“Wyatt,” she said, reaching out and shaking his hand. “Good to see you.”

“Thanks, Janice. What can you tell us?”

“Dr. Remer’s still reviewing the results of the MRI to be certain, but we see no evidence of a cranial bleed. There’s a minute fissure on the frontal lobe in the area she was struck, but it appears to be remodeling from an older injury. We want to be certain before considering discharge.”

“Of course.”

“X-rays show no evidence of a fracture in the forearm. There is, however, hairline fracturing in two ribs from the strike to her back. Took us a while to review those images due to more remodeling.”

Cole struggled to keep up as Wyatt nodded and made noises of understanding. From what he gathered, Everly’s injuries weren’t life-threatening. It also seemed that she’d been injured before. Maybe a car accident? He supposed it wasn’t relevant just then.

“Can I see her?” he asked.

Janice turned her gaze to him. “She should be admitted to a room soon. We’ll want to keep her overnight for observation. Visiting hours—”

“Janice,” Wyatt interrupted. “This is my brother, Cole. Everly is his…”

“Girlfriend,” Cole supplied. “Please, I just want a few minutes with her.”

Sighing, Janice said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Then she turned and disappeared through the double doors. Cole walked back over to his friends to give them an update. He left out the part about the remodeled injuries.

“Look, guys,” he said. “There’s no reason for you to hang out here. Visiting hours don’t start until the morning, and we’re causing a bit of a scene here.”

They looked around and found everyone gaping at them. Considering the time, there was a large number of people in the waiting room.

“You sure?” Marshall asked. “We don’t mind. Hell, all I’ve got waiting for me back home is my pain-in-the-ass brother-in-law.”

“It’s cool, man. It sounds like they’ll release her tomorrow. Thanks so much for coming out.”

“Keep us posted, hear?” Javier said.

“Will do.”

Once his friends departed, Cole went to sit with Wyatt and Rowan on the other side of the waiting room. Rowan started to apologize, but Cole stopped him. Whatever had happened in that parking lot, it wasn’t Rowan’s fault.

Twenty minutes later, Janice came back out. Cole got to his feet. She met him, Wyatt, and Rowan in the middle of the waiting room.

“She’s under the influence of heavy-duty pain killers, Mr. Parker, but you can see her for a few minutes,” she said. “Come with me.”

Receiving nods from Wyatt and Rowan, Cole followed Janice through the double doors. He felt like he should be draped in surgical scrubs himself. Moans and cries of pain emerged from one of the areas they passed. When they turned another corner, Janice drew back a curtain.

Everly lay on a hospital bed in a slightly inclined position. Her eyes were closed. Her arms rested beside her on top of the blanket. White gauze and some kind of cooling pack covered her right forearm. Swelling and dark bruising was visible on either side of the bandages. Similar dressings covered her forehead and part of the left side of her face.

“God,” he breathed. She looked so pale and fragile. “Everly.”

She didn’t stir. He took her hand in his. It felt like ice. He couldn’t help but fear that the ER team had been wrong. What if there was a bleed in her brain?

“Everly,” he said again, squeezing her hand. “I just want you to know that I’m here, okay? You be strong for me. Your grandpa’s on his way, too.”

Her eyelids parted. His heart slammed against his breastbone.

“Hi,” he said when she looked at him.

“Cole. Glad to see you.”

Her speech was slow. He prayed it was a result of the medication.

“Glad to see you, too. Wish it was in a more glamorous setting, though.”

“Mmm,” she managed. She moistened her lips and tried again. Her voice was raspy. “Thanks for coming. Didn’t know if you would.”

He frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Why would you?” she whispered.

Her eyes closed. A tear leaked out and trailed down her cheek. Panic struck him.

“She’s gone back under,” Janice said in a quiet voice from behind him. “Why don’t you let her rest? She won’t be fully coherent until the morning.”

Although he didn’t want to leave her, he made himself follow Janice back out into the waiting area. Everly’s words followed him like a specter.

Why would you?

*     *     *

Everly woke in the middle of a dream. She’d fallen from a tall tree. Her arm was broken, the bone jutting through her skin. Her mouth opened on a scream.

Surfacing to reality, she blinked awake to see her father staring down at her. She read nothing in his cold blue eyes. Vaguely, she realized she was lying in a hospital bed. Her right forearm was bandaged. Her father was leaning on it, applying enough pressure to bring tears to her eyes and bile to the back of her throat.

Seeing she was awake, his grip eased. “I thought that might do the trick,” he said without inflection. “I had to wake you before Cole returns.”

The machines monitoring her vital signs escalated in the frequency of the beeps filling the room. Her gaze moved around her, hoping to see a nurse or anyone else nearby. She briefly registered the astonishing number of floral arrangements and balloons lining the window sill and counters before she once again looked at her father.

They were alone.

The fingers of her left hand gripped the blanket and squeezed. Whatever drugs were coursing through her system had her feeling sluggish. Unable to protect herself.

“What did you tell them?” her father demanded.

Her mouth and tongue felt like they were caked in sand. She shook her head. She hadn’t told anyone anything.

Had she?

As she struggled to remember what had happened to get her into the hospital, she watched her father bend down. Once again, he applied pressure to her arm. Pain seared through her. A strangled sound left her throat. Tears filled her eyes.

“What. Did. You.
Tell
. Them?”

She fought to gather enough moisture in her mouth to respond. When she did, she croaked, “N-nothing.”

He released her arm. A sob escaped her. She wanted to scream at him. How dare he hurt her? How dare he make her feel this vulnerable again?

Instead, she clutched the blanket and cried.

“You’d better hope that’s true,” he said. “You remember that if anyone asks what happened eight years ago, you fell. It was an accident.”

His words sent her spiraling back.

The quick, angry shove. Falling into empty space. Her body connecting like a ragdoll with the hard, wooden stairs. Bones snapping. Blackness followed by intense questioning.

Nurses. Doctors. Social Workers. Police.

The curtain separating her bed from the door was suddenly shoved aside. She turned and spotted Cole standing there with her grandpa holding onto his shoulder. Both of them looked from her to her father, who stepped away from the bed.

“Is everything okay in here?” Cole asked.

She thought he looked angry. How much had he heard? Lifting her left hand, she wiped at her face. She didn’t want her grandpa seeing her like this, never mind Cole.