Chapter 21

I’ve been on my feet all day, but as I stand here at the front counter folding cupcake boxes, I know that my exhaustion doesn’t even hold a candle to that of Alexa’s.

“How are you holding up back there?” I call out to her behind my shoulder.

“I’m hanging in there,” Alexa chimes back with a pitiful laugh.

It’s close to closing time, and we have been working hard all day. I can’t wait to go home and put my feet up while watching a Lifetime movie or something.

“See you guys tomorrow.”

I glance to my left, where the weary voice just spoke. “Bye Keesha, have a great night,” I call out to her with a wave.

“Ugh,” she groans. “I wish. I have a bucket load of algebra homework calling my name.” She wrinkles her nose in disgust.

“Yuck,” I agree. “Math has never been my thing.”

Keesha tosses her long braids over her shoulder. “Girl, me either. I can’t wait until this semester is over.”

“Well good luck,” I say and give her an enthusiastic yet sympathetic smile. “We’re pulling for you over here.”

Keesha chuckles and pushes open the double doors that lead out of the bakery and onto Main Street. “Thanks,” she says, and then she’s gone.

I admire Keesha. She can be kind of chatty at times, but she means well and she’s got ambition, not to mention a good head on her shoulders. Most teenagers are annoying, but this one is great. I know she has to help her mom out a lot with her three younger brothers and working at the bakery on top of school work has to be tough on her, but she never complains a bit.

“I’m out of to go order boxes,” I tell Alexa who’s still in the back, getting her custom cupcake orders into their own containers for delivery in the morning. She’s been working on them all day, cupcakes decorated like baseballs, basketballs and tennis balls for an opening ceremony at the local recreation department.

I start sweeping the front, trying to keep myself busy. I rode with Alexa today, so I can’t leave until she does, but we are hurdling toward the finish line now with ample speed.

“I’m done,” Alexa emerges from the back of the store, wiping her hands on her apron. 500 cupcakes have been prepared and are ready for delivery tomorrow.

“You are a wonder woman,” I tell her and give her a high-five.

“Thanks,” she says and wipes her brow, getting a smudge of flour on the top.

I take the liberty of wiping it away for her like a decent friend would do, and she giggles. “I’m a total wreck,” she says.

I give her a sour look. “No, you are wonder woman, remember?”

She rolls her eyes. “Right. How could I forget?”

Then she glances up at a display case above us on the counter in the front, by the windows beside the cash register. “That damn light is always going out,” she groans. “I guess I’m going to have to order a different kind that doesn’t have to be replaced every five minutes.”

I laugh. “Do you need any help?”

“Yeah,” she nods. “Can you go get me the box of lights in the back? They are in my office along with the step ladder.

“Sure thing,” I tell her with a smile and trek to the back on the mission.

Alexa sags against the counter, completely spent of energy for the day and I don’t blame her. I’m worn out too and I didn’t work nearly half as hard as she did today. I grab the lightbulb box and the step ladder and journey back to the front where Alexa waits patiently with her eyes resting and closed.

“Here you go,” I tell her and pick the broom back up because I have a couple of piles of dust and dirt I need to scoop up into the dust pan and throw away in the garbage container in the back.

“Thanks,” Alexa grabs the stuff for me and pulls open the step ladder.

“Be careful,” I tease her.

She laughs and yawns, stretching before peeling open the box containing the lightbulbs. “Well, things are looking up after all,” she chuckles.

“What is it?” I ask from my crouching position on the floor.

“We are down to the last of these crappy lightbulbs,” she notes. “That means I can order new ones. Better ones.

“There’s a silver lining in everything,” I say.

Alexa reaches up to change the lightbulb and I go back to sweeping. There’s a squeaking sound and I look up to see her lose her footing. It must be exhaustion, because she barely tries to catch herself as she wobbles, sways, and then falls right off.

Her arms fly up and she collapses onto the hard ceramic tile floor below, the step ladder tumbling down on top of her.

“Alexa!” I cry out. I drop the broom and spill the entire bin of dust and dirt I’ve collected back out onto the floor, but none of that matters right now.

Alexa cries out in pain, and then curses. I know that means she must be seriously hurt. Alexa doesn’t complain, and she’s always got a smile on her face. I don’t think I’ve even seen her frown before.

Now she’s really wailing, and as I run up to her aid, she’s gripping her wrist as tears of pain dribble down her cheeks. To my horror, I can tell her wrist is broken because it’s twisted, contorted in a funky way that doesn’t look natural.

I try not to touch her arm. “Here,” I tell her gently. “I’m going to help you get up. Just hold onto me with your other hand and I’ll grip you up by the shoulder.”

“Okay,” Alexa sniffs and clears her throat. I know she’s trying to be brave, bless her heart but I can see the enormous amounts of pain in her eyes. I help her stand and keep my arm around her waist as we walk to the counter.

When I get her in better lighting, I can see that her wrist is already swelling up to an abnormal size. I glance at her and she moans. She knows what I’m going to say but I’m afraid we probably don’t have any choice.

I don’t want to let on that her wrist looks like mess, so I tread the water gently and lightly. “We need to go get this looked at…” I trail off and pause, waiting a second or two before adding, “at the hospital.”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Alexa groans.

“I know,” I tell her softly as my heart races at the sight. I’m trying to stay calm here but holy shit this looks bad. “I don’t think we have any choice. It looks broken.”

She brings her wrist closer for inspection and then screams in pain. Once she composes herself again by taking deep, labored breaths she looks back at me through her tear glistened eyes. “Okay…” she says. “Yeah, I agree. I need to go to the hospital.”

“Thanks for not giving me a hard time about it,” I tell her with a smile and rub her back.

“I’m so klutzy,” she says bitterly.

“Don’t talk about yourself that way,” I remind her. “You are wonder woman.”

“Wonder woman doesn’t get hurt climbing a ladder,” Alexa scoffs.

“Cut yourself a break,” I tell her. “You are exhausted and overdid yourself today. Accidents happen. We’ll get you to the hospital and make you good as new again in no time.”

“I hope you’re right,” Alexa sniffs and wipes her eyes with her uninjured hand.

“Let’s go,” I tell her and help her walk outside. I grab the keys from Alexa’s pocket and use them to lock up behind me.

Luckily, her car is only a block or so down the street, so we don’t have to walk very far. Once we get to the car, I help her climb inside the passenger seat and get her seatbelt clinked into place. I jog around to the driver’s seat and jump in, but then I throw my head onto the steering wheel with frustration. “Dammit!”

“What is it?” Alexa glances at me in horror, clutching her wrist which is now swollen to three times its normal size.

“I don’t know how to drive a stick shift!” I say, pointing toward that scary gear shifter that sits between us.

I should have remembered this very imperative fact before we trudged down here, but in the chaos of the moment my mind became a blank slate on everything that didn’t involve caring for Alexa.

“You never learned?” Alexa blinks at me.

“No,” I tell her apologetically, then look in the backseat, spotting a towel. Looking for a way to redeem myself, I grab it. “Here,” I tell her and gently take her arm. “I’m going to prepare a makeshift splint for you.”

“I’m scared,” Alexa squeals.

“I’m going to be as tender as I possibly can,” I tell her gently. “Just hold still. I promise this will help you.”

“Okay,” Alexa moans and winces, holding her breath.

Holding true to keep my promise, I wrap the clean towel around her wrist to stabilize it so that she doesn’t have to sit there and grip it so tightly.

“Is that a little better?” I ask her.

“Slightly.” She finally takes a breath. “What do we do now?”

I look behind me, back in the direction of Main Street. I can see the lights of Lone Star Cycles.

“I have an idea,” I tell her. I can only pray it will have a favorable outcome.

If Mason is still over there working, then maybe he can drive us over to the hospital. “I’m going to call Mason,” I tell her. “If he’s at his bike shop, I’m sure he’ll be willing to take us to the hospital.”

“Hopefully,” Alexa leans her head against the head rest of the passenger seat.

I dial Mason’s number and listen to the ringing and the pounding of my heartbeat swishing through my ears.

Mason answer on the third ring. “Hello?” He sounds a little concerned before he even knows what I’m going to say.

“Mason!” I cry out in a panic.

“Livi? What’s wrong?” It doesn’t take him a split second to realize that I must be in some sort of trouble judging by the sound of my voice.

Alexa is getting a second wind of fresh pain because she begins hyperventilating and sobbing in the seat beside me.

“Are you at work?” I blurt out.

“Yes…” he sounds concerned. “What is wrong? I hear crying in the background.”

“It’s Alexa,” I say quickly, my voice all frantic and too fast. “She fell off a step ladder and we think her wrist is broken. We are in her car but I don’t know how to drive a stick shift. Can you help us?”

“Of course. Where is Alexa’s car?”

“We are on the next block over,” I tell him. “Just on the other side of Main Street by the bank.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Mason says.

“Thank you,” I sigh with relief. “Please hurry.”

After I hang up, I glance over at Alexa and help her wipe some of the tear off her face. “It hurts so much,” she wails.

“I know,” I whisper. “Just try to be brave. Mason is heading over this way now. Luckily, he’s still at work.”

Alexa gives me a funny look. “Even if he weren’t at work, he would still rush right over to help us.”

I nod my head and glance down at my legs. I know deep down she’s right. Mason is a great cousin to Alexa. I wonder if he’d rush over here if I had been the one who got hurt?

A couple of minutes later, Mason pulls up beside us in his oversized heavy duty truck. He takes one look at Alexa’s wrist and his eyes widen. “Damn, girl,” he says, giving her a smile that doesn’t look very reassuring.

“Help me get her to your truck,” I tell him.

I open the passenger door and Mason ducks in, gently cradling his arms around his cousin and lifting her out of the car. “No!” Alexa yelps. “Don’t carry me, I’m way to heavy.”

“You weigh nothing,” he says as he stands up, then walks her to his truck. I see her smile a little, and it warms me that he’s so nice to her. I know Alexa is a little self-conscious about being chubby, but Mason’s certainly not having a problem carrying her.

I open the backdoor of his truck and he carefully puts her back down. “I’ll sit with you,” I tell her, climbing in on the other side. Alexa rests her head on my shoulder, staring at her towel-wrapped arm. Once we are settled into our seats, Mason peels out of the parking lot.

“Easy there, big cousin,” Alexa pants through her pain. “I know I’m falling apart but I’d still like to get to the hospital in one solid piece.”

I can’t help it, I burst into laughter. Even in unforgiving pain, Alexa is trying to make light of a terrible situation.

Mason grins at us through the rearview mirror. “I hear you cuz. Loud and clear.”

The ride over to the hospital is unforgiving for Alexa. Every time the truck hits a bump in the road or anything that we would otherwise never notice, she cries out in pain. I’ve never heard her curse as much as she does in the five minute drive. 

I do my best to comfort her, stroking her back and rubbing her hair to calm her down. It helps a little bit, but she’s still squirming in uncomfortable pain.

“We’re here,” Mason says as he pulls into the back of the hospital by the emergency room.

“We’re here!” I tell Alexa. Tears stream down her face and she makes a small smile at me.

I get out of the truck and try to help Mason, but Alexa gives us both a glare. “I have two perfectly good feet,” she mutters as she steps out of the truck. “I can walk.”

“I’m just worried,” Mason says, rolling his eyes.

When we step inside the waiting room of the emergency room, the nurses at the desk take one look at her and whisk her away. Mason is given a clipboard of paperwork to fill out, and I dig Alexa’s wallet out of her purse, finding the insurance card for him.

“I hope she’ll be okay,” I say mostly to myself.

Next to me, Mason chuckles as he fills out the paperwork. “She’s tough. She’ll be okay. But I worry that she’ll try to get back to work too soon, you know? She won’t want to let her arm rest for six weeks.”

We can still hear Alexa’s wails of pain for several minutes even after she’s gone, but soon they become faint, and subside altogether. Hopefully they gave her some morphine.

“I’m always afraid to breathe in these places,” Mason says. “I’m worried I’ll get the flu or something.”

I kind of love that he’s making small talk right now, even though we’re not here to foster our friendship. We’re here for Alexa. I glance around the emergency room. It’s relatively quiet in the waiting room. There’s only one man waiting who is heavyset and yields an oxygen tank. I glance up at Mason. “You don’t have to stay.”

He gives me a funny look. “What are you talking about?”

I shrug. “I will stay here with her and you can go. I mean, I really appreciate you giving us a ride but you totally don’t have to wait here for her.”

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Mason states defensively.

“I know…” I trail off and glance at the set of magazines on the waiting room table in front of me. There’s a Field and Stream and a Good Housekeeping along with a Bible to choose from.

“Then why are you trying to kick me out?” Mason asks.

“Well…” I pause because I can’t really think of an authentic reason to not let him stick around. “I don’t want to put you out. I know you don’t want to sit in a waiting room for hours bored out of your mind.”

Mason gives me an amused grin. “How do you expect to get home later with Alexa?”

“I’ll take an Uber,” I tell him flatly.

Mason laughs and turns to the next page on the clipboard. “I don’t think so.”

 “What’s that supposed to mean?” I say.

Mason glances at me over the clipboard and raises his eyebrows. “Come on.”

“What?” I sit next to him, becoming increasingly frustrated.

“You grew up in this town, right?”

“A little…” I respond.

“Then you should know already that Mable Falls is one of the most boring towns in America, and Uber hasn’t made its way to the slow paced environment around here yet.”

“Oh,” I say and glance at the floor. “I guess I um…didn’t really think about that part.” Now I feel sheepish.

“Well at any rate…I’m not leaving.” He looks playfully smug as he crosses his ankles and places them on top of the waiting room table.

I glance at him and giggle while he gives me a sweet look. There’s something in his eyes that holds the window to all the answers I need that he won’t express verbally. My heart aches to be closer to him because I love spending time with him. I relish in these private moments of just us…where there’s no noise or other people around to guard our emotions or dictate how we should behave around each other.

I feel like he has something to hide, a deep dark secret that he’s not ready to confess to yet. I wish he would open up to me and reveal whatever is bothering him.

I’m trustworthy, and maybe in time he’ll witness that for himself and give me a chance. I glace over at him and even under the harsh fluorescent overhead lights of the waiting room, he looks rugged, masculine and protective.

He has just the slightest hint of stubble on his cheeks and his lips are red, full and delicious looking. I close my eyes and recall with excitement how those lips had been on mine once upon a time. I tremble internally at the thought of being close to him, naked with him while he wraps his arms snuggly around my waist.

I shake my head because it’s not reality. It’s just a fantasy that I don’t need to stew the embers about. I glance at him and smile until he looks over at me. “What?” He says.

“Nothing,” I shake my head, debating on whether to be honest with him about my attraction. To be quite honest I’m surprised he’s not fully aware of that fact, but guys are always superficially clueless anyway.

He finishes the paperwork and brings it up to the front desk. I watch him take out his wallet and hand over a credit card. Then I stare at his backside like some kind of creeper while he slides the wallet back into his pocket. He really is the whole package. Sexy from his hair down to his muscular arms and adorable ass.

“I guess now all we can do is sit here and wait,” he says as he comes back, sinking into the plastic chair next to me.

“Yeah…” I smile and wonder what we’ll talk about. “Now we wait.” What a loaded statement that is.