“I don’t understand,” I say. “Maybe he just stepped out. He’s probably with a client, or maybe he came home. Did you check the houseboat? Surely he’s there.”
Collin sees that I’m getting upset. He squeezes my hand. “I’m sure I just missed him,” he says. “I’m sure once he finds out what happened, he’ll be here as soon as possible.”
I nod. “Am I going to be OK?”
“Yes,” he says quickly. “You hit your head pretty bad, though. You almost drowned. They wanted to keep you for observation.”
“And you saved me?”
“Well, that was the easy part,” he says with a slow smile.
I hear the door open again, and this time a man in a white jacket appears. “Mrs. Wentworth, I’m Doctor Hanson,” he says. “You got a pretty bad bump on the head.”
“I hope nothing permanent,” I say.
“Well, no,” he replies. “But you may have some memory problems in the next week or so.” He looks down at a clipboard and scribbles something down before handing Collin a piece of paper. “I’ve prescribed pain pills. She’ll need them for the next few days.”
He nods, and tucks the paper in his pocket.
The doctor smiles. “Mr. Wentworth, I must say, when I saw your wife’s name on the list of patients, I hoped to have the chance to meet you. My wife’s such a fan. We have one of your paintings hanging in our living room.”
“Oh, I—” Collin fumbles.
“This is not Dexter,” I finally say.
Dr. Hanson shakes his head in confusion. “I don’t understand. The nurse said he—”
“His name is Collin,” I say. “He’s a friend.”
“Oh, right,” Dr. Hanson replies. “I see.”
The door closes before I can say anything else. “He’s judging me,” I say. “He thinks—”
“Who cares what he thinks?” Collin says with a smile.
There’s a knock at the door, and I smile when I see Mama standing there. “Darling!” she cries. “I came as soon as I could.”
“Oh, Mama,” I cry. “Please don’t worry. I’m fine.”
She dabs a handkerchief to her eye, then looks up at Collin. “Who’s this?”
“This is my friend, Collin. He saved my life.”
Mama kisses his cheek. “Thank you, dear,” she says, before turning back to me. “Where’s Dex?”
“I don’t know. Collin tried to find him. He wasn’t in his studio.”
Collin clears his throat and walks closer to my bed. He adjusts the cord of my IV, which has gotten caught on the bed rail. “She’s had a concussion,” he explains to Mama. “I think the best thing for her is rest. Are you able to stay with her today?”
Mama looks panicked. “Oh dear, it nearly took an act of Congress for my boss to let me sneak away today,” she says. “I could be here tonight, after my shift—”
“Don’t worry,” Collin says, smiling calmly. “I will stay with her.”
Mama looks at Collin. She doesn’t say anything, and I can tell she’s wondering who he is, wondering how he’s come to be a part of my life.
“Well,” Collin says, breaking the silence. “I’m going to step out for a cup of coffee. I’ll let you two catch up.”
When the door closes, Mama sits in the chair beside the bed. “Be careful with that one, my water baby,” she says.
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
She sighs. “That boy loves you, Penny. And if I’m not mistaken, I think you love him, too.”
“Mama, that’s nonsense. He’s just a friend.”
She reaches for her bag and pulls out a ball of yarn. We sit together without saying anything else. The only sound in the room is her turquoise knitting needles clicking together, and the beating of my heart, when I think about what she’s just said.
Chapter 16
ADA
The waitress brings out our entrées, but I hardly notice, absorbed as I am in Alex’s story. When he begins to speak, all I can do is listen intently to the words that cross his lips.
“I was married shortly before I began my work in Sudan,” he says. “To a wonderful woman who loved me. But she didn’t happen to love my line of work. And for good reason. I was gone eight months out of the year in war zones. I’d go months without calling her. She always said I wasn’t married to her but to my work. And she was right. I was. You have to be when your work is so intense. I guess I expected her to get that. But she couldn’t.” He shakes his head. “She never could.”