Daniel returned with a white-haired man he introduced as Dr. Michael Lawrence. "Well, young lady, it's good to see you finally awake," the doctor said as he moved to the side of her bed. "You were beginning to worry me. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've had a close encounter with a very big truck," she replied.
"I'd love to have the name of that big truck," Cameron said from the doorway. His khaki uniform was a wrinkled mess, as if he'd slept in it all night long.
"I wish I could give you a name," Lizzy replied.
"Right now I want both of you out of here so I can have a little time with my patient," Dr. Lawrence said firmly.
A few minutes and a couple of prods and pokes later, Dr. Lawrence stepped back from her. "You have three cracked ribs, bruising on both sides and on your arms and legs. You will probably feel the residual effects of a concussion."
"Great. When can I get out of here?"
"I'd like to keep you overnight for observation," he began.
"I've already been here overnight. I don't want to stay another one."
He frowned and was silent for a long moment. "You're going back to Daniel's house?" She nodded. "I'll tell you what, let's see how you get through today. If you can get mobile without too much dizziness or nausea then I'll make the call about releasing you later today."
"Sounds fair," she replied, making a conscious decision not to mention that just trying to sit up had made her nauseous and dizzy.
"I know Sheriff Evans has been waiting to speak with you, and Daniel has been beside himself with worry, so I'll let the two of them back in if you feel up to it."
All she really wanted was to get out of there and back to Daniel's house. She wanted to sink into the bed in his guest room and sleep until her pain was gone.
The doctor left the room and Daniel and Cameron bumped shoulders as they unconsciously fought to get into the room first. She might have laughed if she hadn't been aware of how badly laughing would hurt.
For the next half an hour Cameron questioned her, making her go over and over the event in the barn in the hopes that she might have seen something, sensed something before the lights had gone out and during her attack.
"I'm sorry, Sheriff, I didn't see anyone but Molly before the lights went out and that barn was pitch-black when he went berserk on me." She closed her eyes as the memory shot a deep shudder through her.
A warm hand covered hers and she opened her eyes to Daniel. The caring in his eyes surged a new strength through her. "I just don't have any information that will help you," she whispered.
Daniel squeezed her hand and returned to the chair next to the bed. "I'm going to head back out to Daniel's place now that it's daylight and see what we can find," Cameron said.
"And you're going with him," Lizzy said to Daniel. "I don't want you spending the day here when you have horses to care for and chickens to feed and crops to … crops and chores that need to be done."
"But … " he began.
"Please, Daniel, go home," she interrupted him. "I plan on spending most of the day sleeping. There's absolutely no reason for you to stay here." She didn't want him to witness her pain, and she didn't have the strength to pretend that she didn't hurt.
Daniel looked at Cameron. "If I head home, will you post a guard?"
"I was going to do that anyway. I've got Ben Temple on his way," Cameron replied.
Lizzy stared at first one man and then the other. It hadn't occurred to her that she might still be in danger, but she suddenly realized that if the man in the barn had meant to kill her, then he hadn't accomplished his goal. And that meant he might try again.
"Lizzy, nobody is ever going to hurt you again," Daniel exclaimed. "When you get back to my place, I promise you that nobody will get close enough to you to do any harm again."
"And I'm determined to overturn every rock in this town to find this creep," Cameron said.
At that moment Deputy Ben Temple stepped into the room. "Hey, Lizzy, how are you doing?" he asked.
"It's not my best day," she replied.
"Well, you don't have to worry. I'm going to be sitting on a chair just outside your door until you leave here, and trust me, nobody is going to get by me unless it's Daniel, Cameron or Dr. Lawrence. Oh, and whatever nurse is on duty."
"Thanks, Ben. I appreciate it." Suddenly she was exhausted.
"Okay, everybody out, and let's let Lizzy get some rest," Cameron said.
Minutes later Lizzy was alone in the room, and when a nurse whose name tag said Cheryl came in and offered pain medication, Lizzy eagerly accepted. She was a strong woman, but she wasn't a silly martyr and if there was a shot or a pill that would take away some of her pain, that would relax her into sleep, she was so there.
She slept until noon, when they delivered lunch to her room. Although every movement brought pain, she also realized she was hungry, and as far as she was concerned that was a good sign.
She finished lunch and then for the first time got out of bed. She managed to wobble her way into the bathroom, and when she looked into the mirror she gasped. One side of her face was a deep purple, and when she pulled up the hospital gown to look at her body she realized why she hurt. Her ribs and thighs were deeply colored with bruising. He'd really done a number on her.
Still, she'd survived, and she'd not only survived but she was actually standing. And she was still standing thirty minutes later when Dr. Lawrence stopped in to check on her.
"So, you're up and about," he said. "How do you feel?"
"Stiff … sore, but the dizziness I woke up with is gone and I'm feeling stronger." She realized at that moment how desperately she wanted to get out of there, how desperately she wanted to be at Daniel's house. She wanted the comfort of him and his home that had become familiar to her.
"Any dizziness or blurred vision?"
"No, nothing like that. My head feels okay. It's just all the bruising that hurts, and it hurts to breathe too deep. But, I'm still ready to get out of here."
Dr. Lawrence studied her for a long moment. "If you were going anywhere but Daniel's I would insist that you stay here. But, Daniel has called me four times today to check in on you. He sat in that chair all night long waiting for you to open your eyes. I feel confident that I'm placing you in capable hands, so I'll let him know I'm releasing you."
"Thank you," she said simply.
As he left the room she walked to the window and stared outside. The horror of the attack still simmered in her, but as she thought of going home with Daniel some of the horror ebbed away.
And that scared her. She'd never had a place that felt like home, at least not since she'd left her mother's house at the age of eighteen. Certainly her apartment in Chicago hadn't been a true home. It had just been a place to shower and sleep after long hours on the job.
In the last four months of her journey through her bucket list she hadn't found any place that had tempted her to stay, and yet Daniel's place felt oddly like home.
As she turned from the window and felt the pain that walked with her back to the bed, she realized what she should be focused on was getting well enough to pack her bags and get out of town.
She'd been warned to leave town once with an arm squeezing against her throat and nearly beaten to death because she hadn't heeded the warning.
It had never been her intention to stay here, and her feelings for Daniel couldn't change her mind. She would take a few days to heal, and after that she'd be ready to put Grady Gulch and painful attacks and Daniel Jefferson behind her.
Chapter 10
"You want some more soup?" Daniel asked Lizzy as he entered the guest bedroom, where she lay in the bed. In the past three days since he'd brought her home from the hospital, he'd insisted she stay in bed as he waited on her hand and foot.
"No thanks," she said, a touch of irritability in her voice. "What I want is to get out of this bed."
He pulled up the chair next to her bed. "But, you know that Doc Lawrence said that the best medicine for you right now is bed rest."
"Yeah, but I think I might be getting bedsores," she replied.
Daniel laughed. "I don't think you're in any danger of that. You've been up and down quite a few times to sit with visitors."
Her features relaxed into a small smile. "Honestly, I've been so surprised by having so many people come by."