Learning to Love Again (2 page)

NICOLE GRIMACED AS SHE TRIED TO GET COMFORTABLE in the unyielding hospital bed.  She’d been moved to a private room on the orthopedic rehabilitation unit the day after she’d woken up.  Now, they were allowing her to get out of bed for brief periods of physical therapy.  Too brief.  She was bored out of her mind, lying there in the stupid thing for the past few days.  There was only so much mindless TV a person could take.

Especially when that person had a headache the size of Montana and Texas combined
, she grumped to herself as she turned off the TV.

She felt the tears threatening again.  One of the doctors had warned her that was to be expected with head injuries, and that her emotions could be all over the place for a while.  “That’s just great.  Between hormones and now this, I’m going to gain two-hundred pounds from eating chocolate all the time,” she had griped.

“I wouldn’t recommend that.  The excess weight will make the recovery on your pelvis even harder.”  The doctor had advised, taking her comment at face value.  He didn’t seem to understand the concepts of sarcasm or humor.

She sighed, glancing up at the clock.  Jack was late.  He was usually here helping to alleviate the boredom.  She knew he had some calls to make to his clients that morning; he’d told her that much the night before.

He would have called her if he’d had to return to Waketon, wouldn’t he?

She let her head drop back onto the pillow and closed her eyes, trying to relax, and praying the headache would go away, if even just a little.  Hearing the door open, she opened her eyes and looked over, expecting to see Jack or her nurse.  Instead, she was surprised to see her friend Carly standing there.

“Carly!  When did you get in?  You shouldn’t have cancelled your trip for this!”  She accepted her friend’s warm hug, managing to get one arm up and around her shoulders.

“Don’t be silly.  We saw what we wanted to see in Alaska, and you need us here.  As soon as the captain could get us back to the port, so we could get the flight to Anchorage, well, that was that hard part.  Anyway, Jack’s been keeping me and Mitch updated over the phone, but I needed to see for myself that you’re okay.  How are you really doing?”  Carly stepped back and put her hands on her hips, studying her friend.  “Because, let me tell you, you look like crap.”

“Gee, thanks, but I
am
doing much better now.” Nicole brushed her fingers over the bruises on her cheek and forehead.  Not brave enough to look in a mirror yet, she could tell by touch alone how big most of the bruises were.  And they were all tender.

She shifted, trying yet again to find a more comfortable position.  “How bad do I look?” she asked, catching her friend’s eyes as Carly studied her face.

“I guess compared to what you
could
look like, you’re not that bad.”  Carly pursed her lips.  “With the right hair and make-up, we could say you’re just trying to bring the punk-rock look back into style.”

“Knew I could count on you to give it to me straight,” she muttered, adjusting her position again.  “I can’t
wait
to get out of this joint.  I’m so tired of being here.”

Carly sat down on the edge of the bed.  “Jack said they’re talking about discharging you in about a week or so, as long as we get someone who can do the rehab.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.  I live in Austin.  There are rehab places all over town,” she pointed out.

“Uh, you’re not staying in Austin, hon.”

“Why wouldn’t I stay in Austin?  I live here, my apartment is here, and my life is here.” 
Who had the head injury here, anyway?
  Nicole watched a guilty look cross Carly’s face and her stomach felt as if it were tied in knots.

“All of your doctors agreed you can’t live alone right now.  So, you’re coming back to Waketon with us.  I thought they already told you all of this?”  Carly wouldn’t meet her gaze.

She shook her head, wincing at the pain that shot through her temples. “No. No way.  I don’t think so.  No way in hell am I going back to Waketon.  I can't go back there, Carly.  I’ll hire a live-in.  Where is Jack, and Mitch for that matter?”

“They were talking to one of the doctors in the hall.  I’ll go see if they’re done.”  Carly jumped up and bolted out of the room, glancing down the hall to the nurses’ station where she’d left her husband and his cousin talking to one of the doctors and Jason.

Carly hurried to the group of men, turning to slug Jack on the arm.

“Ow, Carly!  What the hell!” Jack moved away from her, rubbing his bicep.

“You told me Nicole knew she’d be coming to Waketon, which is something she has no desire to do!” Carly told him between clenched teeth.  “She says she’ll just hire a live-in and stay here.”

“Over my dead body!” Jason interjected.

“Keep your voice down, Jason, before she hears you. Then we’ll never get her to Waketon,” Jack advised his friend, glancing down the hallway to make sure the door to Nicole’s room was closed.  “And Carly, calm down.  The woman has a head injury, broken ribs, damn near broke her pelvis and back.  I don’t think she’s in a position to fight us on this.”  He glanced at Mitch, “I told you this would be fun.  You ready to go do battle with your favorite cousin?”

“Why is she only my favorite cousin when she’s irritated with you and I have to fix things?” Mitch questioned with a wry grin as the two set off down the hall.

Carly glanced up at Jason and gave him a reassuring smile.  “Sorry.  I shouldn’t have dragged you into the family drama.  Thanks again for agreeing to be her doctor.  I know things didn’t end on a good note between the two of you and you didn’t have to do this…” her voice trailed off.

“You all are still my friends, Carly.  I’d do anything for my friends,” he told her, giving her a quick hug.  “Listen, this will probably go a lot smoother as long as she doesn’t know I’m around.  Have the guys call me if anything comes up.  I need to get back to Waketon.”  He turned and headed down the hall.  Carly watched him for a second before turning and heading towards her friend’s room, entering it to hear Nicole telling Mitch in no uncertain terms she had no desire to move back to Waketon.

“Nicole, your car was totaled!  You can’t drive yet anyway, so you have no way of getting to appointments.  You live on the second floor, your apartment complex doesn’t have an elevator,
and
you live alone!  God forbid if you should fall or something, there’s no one around to help you!”  Mitch argued.

Nicole’s gaze moved between the three people standing around her bed, her eyes filling with tears.  Again.  She was getting so sick of these emotions.

“I don’t have a choice here, do I?” her voice was a whisper.

Jack sat down beside Nicole on the bed, slipping an arm around her shoulders.  “Sorry, kiddo.  I’m afraid not.  We just don’t want anything else to happen to you.”

Nicole shook her head as the tears slid down her cheeks.  Mitch handed his cousin a box of tissues as Carly sat down on the other side of her friend.  Nicole closed her eyes, trying to get her thoughts in order.

“What about a live-in?” she asked.  She watched as Jack and Mitch exchanged a look.  Something was up; they weren’t telling her everything.  She narrowed her eyes.  “What aren’t they telling me?” she turned to Carly.

“What…what do you mean?”  Carly’s eyes went wide and she looked to her husband for help.

“There is something you three aren’t telling me, and I want to know right now what it is!”  Nicole wanted to push away from everyone.  God, being bedridden sucked!  “I’m serious, Carly, tell me right now!”

“Nicole, you need to calm down.”  Mitch said.

“You calm down, Mitch Williams!  You’re not the one who is having your entire life rearranged without your consent!”  Nicole was losing what little control she had left and her voice was steadily climbing.

“Look, Nicole, they expect rehab to take a minimum of six months, maybe even longer.  There’s no way you can struggle with stairs and an apartment and living on your own for that long,” Jack stepped between the cousins.  “And you live in a one-bed room apartment, so quit with the talk about a live-in.  Your complex was willing to let you out of your lease given the circumstances, so Mitch and I arranged to have your stuff packed up and shipped to Waketon.  If you want to find a place there once you can live on your own, we’ll help you get set up.  But until then, we think you should stay at the ranch.”

“You packed up my stuff?  Without asking?”  Nicole attempted to stand up but groaned as her body protested.  “Please, guys…just…go.”

“Nicole…”  Carly objected.

“I mean it, Carly.  My whole body is one big pile of pain right now and I’m liable to say something we will all regret.  I came back to Texas.  I wasn’t ready to face Waketon yet, and all the people there that still remember.  And now I’m being told I don’t have a choice!”  Nicole closed her eyes as her voice broke.  “Please, I need to be alone.”  She pushed herself back onto the bed and turned her head away from them.

Jack motioned to the others and led the way out of the room.  “Did Jason leave?” he asked as they walked outside.

“Yes.  He thought it would go smoother if he wasn’t around.  He said he needed to head back home.”

“Not sure it could have gone much worse,” Mitch muttered, glancing over his shoulder.  “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?”

“No,” Jack admitted, with a shrug, “But what are we supposed to do?  We didn’t lie to her back there. She can’t live alone right now and she can’t have a live-in where she’s at.  This is her best option.”

“And Jason’s?” Carly offered with a smile.

Mitch grinned at his wife as Jack nodded.  “And Jason’s…if he doesn’t screw it up again.”

“God help us all if he does,” Mitch offered up as a prayer as he led the way to the parking garage, earning an elbow to his ribs from his wife and a chuckle from Jack.

Back in her room, Nicole dried her tears and stared at the blank television screen.  How could they think she would be able to just move back to Waketon?  She hadn’t set foot in that town since graduating from law school.  Her childhood had not been a happy one and that had just gotten worse with the deaths of her parents.  After that, she couldn’t walk through town without people pointing and whispering behind her back.  She’d pushed herself to graduate high school a year ahead of schedule just so she could get the hell out of there.

She started to turn onto her side, but the pain in her hips and pelvis stopped her.  Groaning in frustration, she pounded the mattress with her fists.  “Damn it!”

“Well, now, that doesn’t sound like a happy camper.”  Jack said from the doorway to her room.

She jerked in surprise and frowned at him, “What are you doing here?  I thought I told you to go away.”

“You did, but I didn’t think you meant it.”  Jack stepped into the room and sat down in the chair by her bed.  “Emotional outbursts aren’t your style, Nicole.  I’m worried about you.”

Nicole turned her head so she could see the man sitting next to her.  “So you and Mitch just swoop in and start making all the decisions about me
for me
?  That’s not
your
style, Jack,” she held up a hand to stop him before he could speak.  “Not even when Mom and Dad died, did I feel like I did today, and I was only 16 then, barely old enough to know
how
to make a decision, let alone be trusted with making any.  Yet, Aunt Helen and Uncle Steve always asked what I wanted to do; they made suggestions and they gave advice but they never just moved forward on me without asking me first.”