CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
PAIGE
I ached everywhere. Every minuscule movement sent shocks of pain rippling through my entire body.
I’d never been in a car accident before last night. I’d never so much as fallen out of a tree, and I wasn’t athletic enough to play sports when I was growing up.
This was the absolute worst pain I could imagine, and even then, I knew I was still, really freaking lucky.
All last night I’d been battered with nightmares. Hannah’s face floated through my visions, screaming at me, and even as I was drifting awake, already knowing Beaux was right next to me because I could sense him anywhere, I still had no clue why she’d done what she did.
What was she thinking?
I couldn’t reconcile the sweet, playful girl I’d worked with for months with the psychotic and shitty racecar driver she’d been last night.
I’d always thought I was a decent judge of character, but damn, I was way off with her.
I shivered as I remembered the last thing she’d yelled at me, and jerked away, my eyes meeting Beaux’s concerned one.
“You okay?”
“I was thinking of Hannah,” I said, wiping the sleep from my eyes and yawning. “How is she?”
A muscle jumped in Beaux’s cheek and his jaw went tight.
“Beaux?”
“We’ll talk about it later. When you’re better.”
I was sore and in pain, but I was damn lucky. Nothing was broken, nothing permanently damaged. The doctor had said I’d been lucky, might have a few scars where my head crashed into the glass, but my hair could hide them. The possible concussion had concerned him the most, which was the reason they admitted me overnight. Otherwise, I could have been sent home.
“I’m fine, Beaux. Tell me.”
He rolled his lips and heaved a breath. “She wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Paige.”
“What?”
It took me a moment, but I slowly understood. I shook my head, trying to shake away the tears already flooding my eyes. The girl had literally tried to kill me. I knew that even if I didn’t want to admit it. And she was obviously sick, needed some help.
“What happened?” I asked when Beaux didn’t say anything further.
“Babe, she didn’t make it.”
He reached for me, grabbed my hand and held it tight. “She went through the windshield and into a tree.”
“She…” I tried to picture her. Laughing. Smiling. Teasing me. She was so young. Had everything in front of her. The world. Sweet parents. I couldn’t see any of that. All I saw were green eyes as she shouted at me. Her manic screams once she got me in the car. “She died?”
Beaux nodded. A shudder rolled through me and I braced myself for the onslaught of emotion, of tears, or pain, or sadness or whatever.
None of it came.
“You okay with that?”
“No,” I whispered. “I’m not okay with any of this. And I can’t believe it happened. But God, does it make me a bitch to feel relieved she can’t hurt anyone anymore? I wouldn’t want that for her though.”
“Yeah, I know.” His voice was cold as steel and thick as molasses. I looked back at Beaux, jaw tight, muscle popping his jaw, one throbbing at the side of his neck and I reached for him, placed my hand at the muscle on his neck and held him tight.
“I want to go home.”
“Nurse said the doctor would be in here soon, and we’ll talk about it.”
Good. I was still exhausted. Not even sure what time it was or how many times I’d been woken up during the night to have my vitals checked, but I closed my eyes and laid back down.
“When I mean home, I mean yours.”
My voice was slow, thick with exhaustion, and as sleep pulled me back under, I barely heard him reply. “Good. Because that’s exactly where you’re going.”
***
When I woke up again, a nurse was pulling her stethoscope away from my inner elbow and my dad and Beaux were whispering to each other at the side of my bed.
I looked at the nurse first. “All good?”
“Seems that way. Doctor’s making his rounds so he should be in in a few moments. Need anything?”
“Ice water, please.”
“I’ll get it,” Beaux said, stepping from my dad to grab the large plastic cup next to my bed. “I need to stretch my legs.”
I didn’t want him to go. I liked him next to me. I liked hearing him tell me he loved me. That I was going to his place as home. I wanted him to be next to me.
“Maybe—”
“Hush,” he whispered, bending down and gently kissing me. “Your dad wants to talk to you. I’ll be back before the doctor gets here.”
“Dad?”
“Yeah, darlin’,” he said.
He wheeled himself over to me and Beaux gave me another kiss. “Be right back.”
“We need to talk,” Dad said, taking my hand with his good one. It struck me then how frail he was, and I didn’t think all of it was his strokes or being worried about me. He was just getting old.
I bit my lip and nodded. “Okay.”
“First, I need you to know how much I love you and how damn glad I am that you’re okay. When I got that call last night,” he paused, shook his head. My chest burned with emotion but I held it back, staying strong for him. “No dad should ever get that call, scared the hell out of me, sweetheart.”
“I’m going to be okay, Dad.”
“Yeah. And I’m thankful. But thinking of you, how much you’ve given up for me by giving up your job in Charlotte and moving home, taking over the garage, working two jobs, that’s not right.”
“I don’t regret it for a second.”
“Don’t care,” he said, and his voice was thick. Stern. My dad was rarely grouchy, and I pushed up as best I could on my hospital bed and took notice. “Talked to Melanie last night on the way home, and she and I, along with Beaux this morning, made some decisions.”
None of that sounded good. My pulse raced, the beeping of my monitors increased. My dad looked at them and back to me.
“Don’t get mad. But some things need to change and I needed Beaux’s help with some of it.”
“Okay.” I swallowed a thick mass in my throat and squeezed his hand. “Hit me with it.”
“Melanie found me a place at Crossroads Townhomes.”
“What?” I knew the development. It was a fifty-five and older community on a golf course. He was barely eligible. “Why? You’ve always said those places were for old people.”
“I know what I said, but I’ve changed my mind. It’ll be good for me,” he said. “Lots of people around and things to do in the clubhouse. The places are all one-level and only two bedrooms. It’ll be easier for me to manage.”
Nothing was computing. I shook my head. “But you’re doing better.”
“Yeah, and I don’t need Melanie hovering over me at home, and I don’t need you pausing your life to take care of me.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You were. But now you got a man who loves you and a life to lead with him, and you, doing whatever you want. I’ve already talked to Mike. I’m handing over the garage to both of you. He can lead the mechanics and you can handle the garage.” He waved a hand in the air. “Or figure it out for yourselves or walk away. That’s your choice.”
“I like the garage.” I didn’t necessarily want to own it, but it was my family’s. For that reason alone, I didn’t want to let it go. He’d talked before about leaving it to Mike and me, but I had still thought that was years down the road, decades, even.
Emotion gripped me, lodging in my throat. My chin trembled as I stared at my dad. “Everything’s changing so quickly.”
“And it’s about damn time it does. All of this needed to happen. It’s time we move forward.”
“What about when you’re better?”
His brown eyes softened, and he held my hand to his mouth, kissing it. “I ain’t ever gonna get one hundred percent better, Paige, sweetie. And even if I do, I’m still getting old. I’m tired of being alone. I don’t want to be a burden to you, and I need to live my life the best I can. It’s not living in that house, unable to take care of it, unable to take care of myself. This development gives me that freedom, plus, they have an on-site medical facility so I can continue getting help if I need it.”
“So it’s all decided, then.” This was a lot of information thrown at me at once, and Beaux had promised he’d talk to me about these decisions.
Yet, for once, I couldn’t summon the energy to become angry.
Everything my dad said was right, as much I despised change and thinking of him getting older. And Beaux had already proven all he wanted to do was be there for me, to help make my life better.
“Where will I live?” I asked, trying to follow everything my dad was saying.
“In the house, but to be honest, I think you got yourself a man who for a long time, isn’t going to let you out of his sight again, honey. Worried I wouldn’t see the day you found a man who would love you and take care of you the way you needed it, but Beaux’s got that for you in spades.”
Before I could say anything, the door opened and the doctor walked in, Beaux right behind him carrying my water.