Must Be Fate: (Cody and Clover) (A Jetty Beach Romance Book 3) (22 page)

“I’m Dr. Foster. Are you all here for Clover Fields?” he asks.

We all step forward, converging on him. I try to read his face, my gut twisting in a knot.

“Yes,” my mom says behind me. “We’re her family.”

My chest clenches.
Her family.

“Surgery went well,” the surgeon says. “She has bruised ribs, but she’s fortunate that none of them cracked. Her left arm is broken in two places, but we were able to set and splint it. That should take four to six weeks to heal. The real problem was the abdominal laceration. Something pierced her abdomen on the left side. I’m confident I stopped all the bleeding, but we’ll need to keep her here for a few days at least. She lost a lot of blood, but a transfusion took care of that. All in all, she was very lucky.”

I close my eyes. She’s okay. I put a hand to my chest. My lungs feel heavy, like I can’t get enough air.

“Thank you,” I manage to croak out.

“Whoever was first on the scene probably saved her life,” he says. “She was bleeding heavily, but whoever got to her first did everything right. She’s still asleep now, but a nurse will bring you back to see her soon. Although … maybe not all of you at once.”

My legs feel like they might buckle. I shake hands with Dr. Foster and thank him again. I think my family can tell I’m about to collapse, because I feel a strong arm around my shoulders. Hunter. I breathe out a long, slow breath. She’s okay. She’s going to be fine. I’ll be with her soon.

And I’m never letting go of her again.

I’m floating, like my head isn’t attached to my body. The lights are dim, but still too bright. Everything looks stark. Cold. Sterile. Tubes cross my face, hanging near my eyes. I’m lying on my back, my head slightly lifted. I have no idea where I am.

I suck in a breath, fear gripping me. My eyes won’t focus.

“Clover.”

Someone says my name. The voice is so familiar, but it feels like a dream. I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. My head is so fuzzy.

“Clover,” someone says again. A hand over mine, squeezing gently. “Baby, can you hear me?”

“Cody?” My voice doesn’t sound like mine.

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.”

It can’t be Cody.

“Shh,” he says. “Don’t talk. You’re okay. I’m here. I won’t leave.”

I close my eyes. I can’t stay awake. I don’t know where I am, but Cody’s hand is on mine and I relax, drifting back into blackness.

***

When I open my eyes again, I’m still fuzzy, but at least I can think.

There’s an IV in my arm and tubes beneath my nose. I try to move but my breath catches. I feel like I got hit by a truck. Everything hurts. It’s a dull pain, the sort that should be sharp and intense, but it’s being suppressed by pain killers. That must be why my brain is so cloudy.

The room is dim, but slivers of light shine through the blinds. Machines beep and I can see the drip of the IV fluids next to me. Drip. Drip. It trails down the tube into my arm.

I blink again and realize I’m not alone. Cody’s sitting in a chair next to me. He’s slumped down, his head resting awkwardly on his shoulder, his eyes closed.

I try to talk, but my mouth and throat are so dry, it’s hard to make a sound.

“Cody.” My voice comes out as nothing but a croak.

His eyes open and he sits up, grabbing my hand. “Clover,” he breathes.

Images flash through my mind. Memories I can’t quite make out. Driving through an intersection. A moment of panic. A flash of silver. Then nothing. Nothing but blackness until I see Cody’s face. Every time I open my eyes, I see his face, feel his hand on mine. Through the panic and the fear and the pain, he is there.

“Do you know where you are?” he asks.

“Hospital?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I don’t know,” I say.

“You were in an accident. A guy t-boned you when you went through an intersection.”

“When?”

His brow furrows and he pulls out his phone. “I guess that was two days ago.”

“Two days?” I say. It’s coming together, but my mind is struggling to catch up. “Am I hurt?”

He squeezes my hand again. “Your arm is broken, and you have a lot of bruises. Something cut you open on your left side. You were in surgery for a couple hours, but they got you all put back together.”

Oh my god. Surgery? “Did I hit my head again?”

He smiles. “No, baby, you didn’t hit your head. You actually got lucky there. That could have killed you.”

“Am I allowed to have water?”

“Yeah, of course. Hang on.” He’s gone for a moment and returns with a little cup and straw. “Here. Just a sip until we’re sure you can handle it.”

I take a drink and the cool water feels like heaven in my mouth. It soothes my scratchy throat. I shift my legs and wince as a sharp jolt of pain shoots through me.

“Don’t move too much,” he says, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I stare at him. How is it possible that he’s here? I just woke up. I couldn’t have told someone to call him. “How did you know?”

A shadow of pain crosses Cody’s face. “I was first on the scene.”

“What? What does that mean? How?”

“I was a block away, having a beer with my brothers,” he says. “Hunter saw it happen out the window. I heard the crash, and I saw the car was red. I ran to the scene. I had to make sure it wasn’t you. But it was.” He stops and looks away. “I pulled you out of your car and tried to stop the bleeding until the paramedics arrived.”

Tears flood my eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” he says.

“Have you been here this whole time?” I ask.

“Yeah, they tried to make me leave overnight, but I pulled rank. One of the good things about being a doctor, I guess.”

“Cody, I don’t know what to say. I thought…”

He leans forward and touches my arm. “What?”

“I thought you got back together with Jennifer.”

His eyebrows draw down and he sits back. “What? No. Why would you think that?”

“I saw you having dinner with her. I saw the way she was looking at you.”

“Wait, the other night at the Porthole Inn?” he asks. “You were there?”

“I saw your car, so I went in. But you were with her.” My voice breaks on the last word.

He moves close and puts a hand on my face. “Baby, no. She asked me to meet her and I shouldn’t have. I left. I didn’t even finish my drink.”

“But—”

“Wait,” he says, putting a finger to my lips. “You’re hurt, sunshine. We don’t have to do this now.”

Sobs bubble up, and my throat feels like it’s closing. I can’t stop. “You left me.”

“Oh fuck, I know,” he says. “That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it was me,” I say through sobs. “I made you do it.”

“You didn’t make me do it,” he says, caressing my cheek.

“I did,” I say. “I ruined it and I tried to find you to tell you that I was sorry, but you were with her.”

“I tried to find you, too. I went to your house, but your stuff was gone. Jennifer texted me the next day and asked me to meet her. I figured … I don’t know, I shouldn’t have done it, but it wasn’t about you, and it certainly wasn’t about being with her.”

“You went to my house when I was gone?” I ask.
Oh no.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” he says. “I should have just called you, but I wanted to see you in person. When I got to your house, I thought you left town again. I figured you decided to move on, and I kind of didn’t want to know where you went. I should have just called. I’m so sorry.”

I sob again. “Oh god, Cody, I did leave. It was so stupid. I drove seven hours and turned around and came home the next day.”

He laughs. “You’re kidding me.”

“No, I really did.”

“But you came back.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I didn’t want to go.”

He moves one of the tubes that’s sticking out of me and clasps my hand. “Just relax now. We’re both here. You’re going to be fine.”

The rest of the room comes into focus. There are balloons and flowers everywhere. “Wait, what is all that stuff?”

Cody looks behind him. “I think about half of it is from my mom. She got the yellow balloons and the flowers over there.” He picks up a pink teddy bear. “I don’t know why she thought you needed this. I guess she kind of went nuts in the gift shop downstairs. Nicole sent the basket of snacks, and there’s some lotion and a toothbrush and a few other things in there, too. Natalie sent over a box of muffins and some cookies yesterday—but I have to be honest, I ate some and shared the rest with the nurses. There’s more flowers over there on the little table, and I don’t even know who sent them all. There are cards with them. One is from Gabriel, I think. He’s called a couple of times.”

I stare all of it, open-mouthed. I can’t fathom what I’m seeing. “This is all for me?”

“Of course it is,” he says.

More tears run down my cheeks. I can’t possibly stop them.

“No, don’t cry,” he says.

“I just don’t understand any of this,” I say. “Why would all these people care if I got hurt?”

There’s a knock at the door and a man in a white doctor’s coat over a shirt and tie steps in. He has gray hair at his temples, and small black glasses perched on his nose. “Mind if I come check on her?”

“Of course not,” Cody says. He doesn’t let go of my hand.

“Hi, Clover,” he says. “I’m Dr. Foster. I performed your surgery the other day. I just need to check your sutures.”

“Okay.”

He comes around to my left side and moves the sheets down. Cody stands and looks over me while Dr. Foster pulls back bandages. I’m too scared to look.

“This is healing very well,” he says. He meets Cody’s eyes. “What do you think?”

“It looks good,” Cody says. “You did excellent work.”

A nurse comes in behind Dr. Foster to take off the dressing and put on a fresh one.

“How’s your pain level, Clover?” Dr. Foster asks.

“I’m okay as long as I don’t move much,” I say. “I don’t know; I feel pretty out of it.”

“She hasn’t been awake long,” Cody says.

“I’m going to keep her here another night,” Dr. Foster says. “We’ll get her on her feet later today and have her walk around a little. If she’s able to get around without too much pain, she can go home tomorrow. But only if she’s going to have help. Do you live alone, Clover?”

I start to answer, but Cody cuts me off. “No, she’ll come home with me.”

“Good,” Dr. Foster says. “I’ll definitely be comfortable sending her home with you, probably by about midday tomorrow, as long as she keeps improving.” He turns back to me. “Your arm will take four to six weeks to heal, but Dr. Jacobsen here can handle the follow-up for that. Your abdominal wound will be about the same, and it could take several months to feel one hundred percent. It’s really important that you take it easy, especially while the laceration is still healing. You were pretty torn up inside, too, so remember: as much damage as you can see on the outside, there was damage on the inside. Listen to your doctor, and you’ll be fine. Do you have any questions for me?”

I doubt I could think of them even if I did. My head is swimming, but I know Cody heard it all. “No, I don’t think so.”

He glances around at the flowers and balloons. “You have a lovely family, Clover. They’ve really been pulling for you.”

Cody thanks Dr. Foster and shakes his hand. My lower lip trembles as I watch him go.

A family?

“Hey,” Cody says, sinking back down into his chair. He wipes a few tears from my cheeks. “It’s okay. I know six weeks sounds like a long time, but you’re going to be fine.”

“I believe in marriage, Cody,” I say.

“What?”

“I told you I didn’t, but I lied to you,” I say. I feel like I’m slipping again. My eyes want to close, but I have to tell him before I fall asleep. I have to say it. “I said I didn’t because I was afraid. You were right. I’m always afraid everyone is going to leave me. So I leave first. But I don’t want to leave this time.”

“Baby,” he says, caressing my face. His hands are so gentle. “If you think I’ll let you go again, you’re crazier than I thought.”

I smile and Cody clutches his chest.

“Yes, that,” he says. “That right there. My sunshine smile.” He brushes his fingers across my lips. “From the first moment I saw you, all I have ever wanted to do is make you smile like that for me.”

That makes me smile even more.

“I love you, Clover,” he says, his eyes locked on mine. “I love you so much and so big I’m not sure what to do with it. But I know I’m never letting you go again.”

I can’t keep my eyes open, so I let them drift closed.

“I love you, too, Cody. I love you, too.”