Lily had done exactly as she’d been told. Like an automaton, she’d backed from the door as Natalie’s raucous laughter filled the air. Only someone who really hated her could’ve found amusement in a situation like that. Given the way Natalie had always treated her, Lily couldn’t have said she was surprised.
She looked around the hospital room and thought it odd that relief didn’t course through her at the notion that she was somewhere safe. Away from him. She was free, but all she felt was…empty. Alone.
The latch on the door clicked, and a kindly looking older man with white hair walked in the room. “Ah, you’re awake, I see.”
Mutely, Lily nodded.
“I’m Doctor Burns,” he said, holding out his large hand to her. “I performed your laparotomy last night, young lady.”
Hardly young anymore. “Pleased to meet you, Doctor. Will I be all right? What happened to me?”
Doctor Burns spent the next few minutes filling her in on the details. She was stunned when he told her that she’d been suffering from internal bleeding caused by a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Pregnant?
When she explained where she’d come from, he replied, “You, Mrs. King, are one lucky lady. A four-hour drive, alone, in your condition? It’s a miracle you’re alive. Someone must be watching over you.” He smiled at her from behind bushy, white eyebrows. “Your chart indicates that law enforcement has already contacted your husband, and I would imagine he’ll be here soon.”
A cold, hard knot twisted painfully in her chest. “You called my husband?”
“I wondered about that,” he replied softly. “If you don’t want to see him, you don’t have to. I’m sorry, my dear.” He pushed a button located on the side rail of the bed. A nurse entered the room and smiled at her in greeting. With Lily’s permission, he gently lifted the edge of the gown. “When I saw this bruising on your sternum, I wondered if they should’ve waited. My main concern then was stopping the bleeding.”
“I left my husband yesterday. I’m filing for divorce as soon as I can see a lawyer.”
As he checked the dressing over the incision in her abdomen, she paled even further. Doctor Burns and the nurses who had taken care of her had undoubtedly seen JT’s mark, which was permanently tattooed on her lower abdomen, above her mound. Imagining the revulsion in their eyes at the sight of it made her heart burn with shame. What must they be thinking of her?
Doctor Burns replaced her gown and the bedcovers and nodded to the nurse as she went about her work. They had a brief talk once the nurse left the room about domestic abuse, and he told her he was proud of her for getting out of a bad situation.
He suggested that she document her current condition, including the fresh bruise on her breastbone and the old, numerous bruises and scars on her body. She agreed, knowing she needed the official documentation and hoping it wouldn’t be necessary to show those photos to anyone.
He promised to have the sheriff contacted so the situation could be handled appropriately, if JT showed up. She doubted he’d just let it be. She’d hoped to fade into the woodwork in Divine and he’d never hear from her again, unless it was to serve him divorce papers.
“I’d like to keep you for observation for a couple of days. You’ll want to set a follow-up appointment. Do you have a doctor here yet?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll refer you to Doctor Emma Guthrie. I have a feeling you’ll like her a lot. Once you’re released, do you have anyone you can stay with, to help you?”
Desolation crept in on her again. “No. I—”
“Yes, she does,” an unfamiliar, deep voice said from the doorway.
She heard the scuff of footsteps as a tall man stepped into her room. A man she remembered as a little boy. Her heart pounded and tears clouded her eyes as she took in the sight of him. She was vaguely aware of Doctor Burns asking for his name and then patting her hand and telling her he’d see her the following morning.
Clay Cook stood there in all his full-grown glory, as handsome as she’d always fantasized he’d be. He’d grown tall just like his father, who had been at least six foot five inches, and Clay was every bit as powerful looking, too. When he smiled at her with that little crooked grin of his, the tears overflowed her eyes. She remembered that smile, too. He sat in the chair beside the bed, took her right hand in his and squeezed gently. His moss-green eyes were also the same, so unusual with their gold coronas ringing the pupils. At that moment, they flickered with concern.
“I’ve missed you, Lily. We all missed you.”