Hadley
Night two in the hospital went just fine. In fact, it went so great I didn’t even have a panic attack when it was time to go. Justin had refused pain meds all night long and was claiming that his pain was manageable with just over-the-counter drugs. He was in great spirits and even the nurses were commenting on his rapid recovery.
Walking across the room was a pretty big task, but he managed to make it to the restroom with no help, even though a nurse was standing by just in case. So when it was time for me to leave, I felt a lot more comfortable than I had the day before.
“You’ll call me if you need anything or anything changes?” I asked him for the tenth time.
“I will call. The nurses have your number, too. Plus, you wrote it on that giant whiteboard by the door,” he said, motioning to it.
“I’ll come back later after I get back from the middle of nowhere.” I had to admit that being out in the wilderness where cell phone service was sketchy was making me a little nervous. But I knew I could go for a five-minute drive every couple of hours to check messages and that made me feel a little better. “I’ll bring you dinner. No hospital food for you tonight.”
“Oh, talk dirty to me.” His voice was low and sultry. Even though he was trying to play and seem silly, it worked for me.
I leaned over the bed and stopped only when my lips were a few inches from his.
“Bacon cheeseburger,” I whispered slowly.
“Fuck, yeah,” he groaned.
“Stop it.” I laughed as I kissed him swiftly, making sure I didn’t put any pressure on his torso.
“You’re taking my SUV, right?”
I let out a sigh as I stood. “I was just going to take a cab.”
He tensed at my words. I was hoping I could escape before he thought to ask me about transportation.
“Bullshit, Hadley. You’re taking my SUV.”
“Maybe Camden or Riley can take me.”
“They both went back to work today. They can’t drive you out to the middle of nowhere. And a cab will cost a fortune, not to mention I don’t want you riding with some stranger out to the middle of fucking nowhere. Take my SUV.”
“Fine, bossy.”
“Damn right. Come back down here and kiss me goodbye.”
I tried to hide my smile as I did just that.
“Don’t have too much fun without me.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m sure my mother and I will just sit here and play cards or something.”
“Tell her I said hello, okay?”
“Will do.”
“Love you,” I said just before I left the room.
“Love you too, babe.”
Two and a half hours later I pulled up to Aiden’s beautiful house and was reminded of why I wanted to work with him so badly. I was an artist staring at a blank canvas, only this canvas was big, beautiful, and expensive. The best canvas money could buy. And I could make it look even better.
I’d brought some swatches and a few accent tables that were easily accessible at the storage unit. I’d called on the drive over and scheduled Martine and Martine for a big move as soon as they had an opening. Looking down at my phone, I was glad to see I still had one bar of cell service, so I tried to call Justin.
“Hello, pretty lady,” he said as a greeting. He sounded rested and so much better than he had the day before.
“Hey, handsome. Everything going okay?”
“Yep. Mom got here about a half hour ago and we’ve been catching up. Did you make it to Aiden’s okay?”
“I did, thanks to your rig. You guys will text me if anything happens?”
“That’s the deal, but nothing’s going to happen. Aside from more Jell-O consumption.”
“Okay,” I said firmly, trying to convince myself that everything would be fine. “I’ll call you in an hour or so just to check in.”
“I’ll be waiting on pins and needles,” he replied sweetly.
Just then the front door opened and Aiden came out and stood on the massive front porch.
“I gotta go, babe, Aiden just came out.”
“Knock ’em dead, babe.”
“Will do.”
I hit end on the call, took a deep, calming breath to settle my nerves, and jumped out of the SUV.
Aiden was smiling by the time I reached the porch and I took that as a good sign.
“Hey,” I said as I climbed the few stairs.
“Good to see you,” he said, still smiling widely. “How’s Justin?”
“Good. Really good, actually. Better than expected.”
“That’s great.”
“I know. It is. Thanks again for being so understanding.”
“Don’t mention it again. Seriously. Any decent person would have done the same. Besides, I’m excited to see what you have planned for me today.”
“Great, I’m ready to go too. I have a few pieces here that I could get to on my own, but I also have my laptop that has the digital portfolio of all the furniture from my personal collection, plus all the furniture I can borrow from designer friends I’ve partnered with. So, I’m ready to dive in.”
“Fantastic.” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s unload.”
The day flew by faster than it had in a while. I took a few breaks to call Justin and each time he sounded rested, aware, and bossy. The last time I’d called he told me I was bugging him and to stop calling because I was interrupting The Ellen Show. He was kidding, of course. Well, sort of. But I laughed and told him I’d call him when I was wrapping up.
Aiden helped me unload that morning, then browsed through my extensive collection of photos of furniture, but after about forty-five minutes I watched as his eyes glassed over. When an electrician showed up for a few minor fixes he’d looked hilariously relieved. That was fine. He could be as involved as he wanted to be. Or—and this was how it seemed it would play out—he could trust my instincts and let me work my magic.
When my stomach started rumbling for food, I figured I’d better pack up and head back into town, especially if I was going to bring Justin dinner too. I packed up my things and went in search of Aiden. When I found him, he was in my favorite place. The back porch.
“Hey,” I said as I slipped out the French doors. “Wow, it’s so pretty out here. I bet the sunset is beautiful.”
“It is.” His voice was wistful.
“You really love it out in the boonies, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “I can’t hear anything in the city, ya know? Too loud. Too crazy.”
“I can definitely agree with that. I guess the difference is, I like the craziness of it all. Sometimes I think it’s better if you can’t hear yourself think.”
He laughed and looked out at the river running along the property. “You headed out?”
“Yeah. If you didn’t need anything else from me today.”
He laughed again, only this time louder and unrestrained. “I think we established today that you can do your job just fine without any input from me.”
“And the same could be said about your job.”
“We’re even then.”
“Indeed.”
“Let me walk you out.” He turned back toward the house. We went through the whole house, making sure the lights were off and all the doors were locked.
“I still can’t believe you build these houses just, like, from nothing.”
“The next time I break ground I’ll bring you out so you can see the very first stage. You can bring Justin too. I’ve never had anyone around for the whole process before. Well, not anyone who doesn’t help build the damn house.”
“That would be awesome.” I opened the door and looked back at Aiden. “I know you said not to mention it, but thank you, again, for being so great. I appreciate it, and I know Justin does too. I know our professional relationship hasn’t been too traditional, but I promise you won’t regret partnering with me.”
“I’d much rather we be friends and business partners, if that’s okay with you. You and Justin seem like good people and I’m glad everything is working out.”
“Me too.”
“When’s the next time you’ll be out here?” he asked, gesturing back to the house.
“I’ve got the truck and movers planned for a few days from now. I should be able to get everything loaded in and put together in one day. If not, I’ll come back the next day and finish up. But it’ll definitely be done by the deadline. Will that work for you?”
“Sounds good to me. Here.” He held his hand out to me. “Just in case you need access and I’m not around.”
I opened my palm and he handed me a key.
“Thanks,” I replied. “That will actually come in handy. I’ll get it back to you when we’re all through.”
“All right, drive safely back to Portland and have a good rest of your evening.”
“You too.”
I hauled myself back up into the SUV and Aiden closed the door for me, giving me a small wave as I drove away. I bumped along the gravel road until I came to the highway, but then stopped to dial Justin. The phone rang and rang, but he didn’t answer. I figured maybe he was in the bathroom or taking a walk down the hall with his mom. A few minutes later when I crossed back into Oregon I called again and still got no answer.
Immediately, I began to panic.
I dialed Alice next and cursed when she failed to answer too.
I called Camden next and, thankfully, he answered after only two rings.
“Hey, Hads. How’s it going?”
“Have you heard from Justin?”
“No, why? Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know, but I’m freaking out. I’ve been calling him and his mom for almost forty-five minutes and neither of them are answering. I’m starting to worry.”
“When was the last time you spoke with him?”
“About three hours ago. You?”
“Not since before lunch.”
“Damn it.”
“I’m sure everything is all right, Hadley. He’s probably resting. And Alice is probably in the cafeteria or something. The reception down there is shit.”
“I guess you could be right.”
“Everything is probably fine.”
“I’m going to just go to the hospital and see what’s up.”
“Let me know when you find out everything’s all right.”
“Okay.”
We hung up and even though I was starving, I skipped grabbing dinner because nothing seemed as important as making sure Justin was okay.