He sped his bike home, wanting to get a few hours’ sleep before he tackled the list of clients Tate would be sending. He turned the corner at the same time another car was coming from the opposite side of the road. As the car took the curve, Cash had only a moment to realize it was going to hit him.
Trying to get over as much as possible without hitting the gravel on the side of the road, he gunned his motor, attempting to gain enough speed so the car would miss him. He almost made it.
The car hit his back wheel, spinning his bike out. Agony crashed through his body as he hit the pavement, then numbness took over. He didn’t feel his spine twist or see the mangled bike that lay only a few feet away. He tried to turn his head when he heard yells, but he could only lie helplessly, staring at the dark sky above.
Chapter 11
Rachel’s hand gripped the bottom rail of the hospital bed as she swallowed hard, trying to catch her breath at the sight of the mangled man lying unconscious.
“Rachel?” She turned at the soft voice from the doorway. “Time’s up.”
Rachel walked to the doorway. “Thanks for sneaking me in, Tara.”
“Everyone is worried about you. You should call your brothers.” Her sympathetic voice didn’t stir any of Rachel’s emotions.
“I don’t want to see them; I don’t want to see anyone. You promised you wouldn’t say anything. You owe me for your little brother. I just wanted to see him.”
Tara winced at her words. “Rachel, I appreciate all your help with Toby—it was worth more than sneaking you into a hospital room for five minutes—but I’m concerned about you.”
“Don’t be.” Rachel started to reach out to touch her but pulled her hand back before making contact. “I better go.”#p#分页标题#e#
“If you give me your number, I’ll call you if there is a change.”
Rachel told her the number of her new phone with a request. “Please, don’t give it to anyone.”
“I won’t. I’ll only call if there’s a change,” Tara promised.
Rachel took a final look at Cash hooked to the machines. She had attempted to help him, but his injuries were worse than any she had ever dealt with before.
“I better go. His friends will be showing up for the regular visiting hours.”
“You can go back out the way you came in—through the employees’ entrance.”
“Thanks, Tara.”
She left unobtrusively. The ICU was small and Tara was the only one on duty; the other nurse was on her thirty-minute break.
Rachel went directly to her car. Before she left Treepoint, she had another stop to make.
Driving aimlessly around town, she finally turned to head up the mountain as the sun rose in the sky. It was just starting to get cold in the mornings, thus she flipped on the heat as she drove over the mountain. Her hands tightened on the cold steering wheel when she passed where Cash had wrecked his bike.
She drove on for another three miles before turning into a private drive. Parking her car, she stepped out, getting her jacket out of the back seat and the wrapped flowers. She made the trek up the path that was kept cleared for those visiting the private cemetery.
The small graveyard held Cash’s family that had been born and died in the county since the town had been formed. She passed Knox’s first wife’s grave and paused long enough to say a small prayer for the young woman who had died overseas. Taking one of the flowers out of her mother’s bundle, she lay it down on Sunshine’s before moving on to her parents’ graves.
“Hi, Mom and Dad.” Rachel laid the flowers down on her mother’s grave. She stood, looking down at the grass-covered mounds, missing her parents as much as when they had been buried. She stood there a while, knowing it would be some time before she came back.
She wanted her mother so much. She could still remember the smell of her perfume, how soft her hair was, and the feel of her arms holding her close. She hadn’t been held since the day her mom had died.
Saying a prayer, she turned from her grave and spotted Cash’s father’s grave on the opposite side of her mother’s. They had been best friends until their deaths. Joe Adams had been over at their house constantly, sometimes even bringing Cash. It was only when she had gotten older and had accidently heard her brothers talking that she had discovered Joe had been in love with her mother.
The path was steep, so going down she had to watch her feet to keep from falling. When she got to the bottom of the hill, she looked up and came to a stop.
“Hi, Rachel.”
“Shade.” He was leaning against the door of her car with his arms folded across his chest. “What are you doing out here?”