Chapter Two (Part Two)

I picked at a loose thread hanging from the bottom of my hoodie. Part of me wanted her to suggest this option, but I didn't even know him. What's if he's... I don't know? The worst possible thoughts floated through my mind.

Dr. Jacobson gave me a comforting smile. "His mother is one of my closest friends. Colton was raised to respect women. If I ask him to stay with you as a favor he will be a complete gentleman."

"He's already done so much for me," I protested weakly.

"I'd offer to let you sit here with me for a few hours, but we're getting ready to leave for a cruise." She checked her watch. "And I only have about twenty minutes before we get in the car and drive to the airport. The other option would be to have you head to the hospital for observation."

The thought of sitting in a hospital by myself for hours... and the bills that would accompany that decision sounded terrible.

"All right, if he's okay with it, I would really appreciate it if he'd sit with me. But if he doesn't want to, I totally understand!"

She smiled, her gray eyes crinkling in the corners. "I need your permission to share that you've had a concussion. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine," I answered.

"Okay, I'll go talk to him. I'll be back in just a few moments."

I kicked my legs softly against the back of the examining table. "Thank you."

I fidgeted after she left the room. I hated imposing on others. I felt that the plane accident, which took the lives of my parents and left my brother clinging to his life, made me impose on my family members and my parents' friends.

Before I could head down that dark path, Dr. Jacobson knocked on the door and entered. "Colton would be happy to sit with you. If you're still feeling fine by ten, you should be fine by yourself for the remainder of the night."

I tugged at the string of my hoodie. "Thank you."

"Be sure to take 500 mg of acetaminophen every six hours, and if you are still experiencing discomfort, you can add in 400 mg of ibuprofen." She wrote down a note on the paper attached to the clipboard. "I'd like you to come back in for a check when I get back. Stop by next Saturday, okay?"

Nodding, I reached in my pocket. Luckily, I had grabbed a small ID holder instead of a big purse for my time at the cabin. I fished out my health insurance card. "Do you take Blue Cross?"

Dr. Jacobson nodded. "Absolutely. Give me a few moments to run your paperwork. You can head to the waiting room."

I thanked her again before grabbing my jacket off the counter.

When I pushed through the door and entered the waiting room, I found Colton thumbing through a Cosmopolitan magazine. His dark hair was swept to the side, those dimples on full display again. I wonder why he's smiling?

He looked up, and we locked eyes.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Sitting down in the chair next to his, I gave him a small smile. "Just a concussion, some bruised ribs and burns on my cheeks."

I hadn't noticed the tiny flecks of gold around his irises before.

"I'm not sure that's a sentence I'd start with—'Just a concussion,'" he said with a lopsided grin. "You're pretty tough."

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. Luckily, due to the actual burns, no one would be able to tell.

"I appreciate you offering to stay with me for a few hours," I said. "That's really generous."

He arched an eyebrow. "Seriously? The guys from where you live must be a bunch of boneheads."

"What?"

"If a lady needs help—you offer it. No matter what," he said, nodding his head.

My head pounded, but I managed a grin. "I do have to ask you for one more favor, though..."

"Ah, sorry. I'm all out of favors," Colton said in a serious tone.

"Oh, sorry. I mean—I totally understand."

He grinned from ear to ear. "Seriously? After I just said 'if a young lady needs help—you offer it?'"

"Oh," I said, feeling incredibly gullible.

"Anything you need, let me know."

I smoothed the material on my jacket. "I need to grab a few things from the store and my prescription from the pharmacy."

"Not a problem. The store is only five minutes from here, and the pharmacy is in the next building over."

"I owe you big time," I admitted.

He winked. "Not at all."

Dr. Jacobson emerged. She handed me my insurance card and a prescription for the burn cream. "I just need your signature, a copy of your insurance card, and you'll be good to go."

I signed two forms and put the prescription and my insurance card in my ID holder.

"Remember, come back any time next Saturday."

"Thank you again, and have fun on your cruise," I said.

"The cruise? I thought that was next week?" Colton said, scratching his head.

Dr. Jacobson chuckled. "We leave in..." She checked her watch. "We leave in just a few moments. I need to get going."

"Have fun, and tell Chuck I said 'Hi,'" said Colton.

"Will do. If any of her symptoms get worse, take her to Sandler, understood?" she asked.

Colton saluted.

"Tell your momma that I'm thinking about her and that I'll call her as soon as I'm back."

"I definitely will," Colton said, getting up from his chair. He offered me his palm. "Come on, let's get you to the store and the pharmacy."

I took his hand, my fingers tingling as we touched.

"Be careful driving to the airport, Doc. The snow is really starting to come down," Colton called over his shoulder as we walked out the door.

I settled into the passenger's seat as Colton turned on the truck.

"All buckled up?" he asked.

I gave an uncomfortable smile. The light pressure against my bruised ribs felt terrible.

"While you were in the room with Doc, I gave the mechanic a call," he said. "There's good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Good?"

"The good news is that the damage isn't that bad. You only need a few parts. Jimmy will go over the specifics with you tomorrow."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that he's closing up early because of the snow, and he doesn't have two of the parts that he needs to fix your car. They will cost a hundred and eighty-five dollars with labor, on top of the hundred and sixty-five dollars in parts that he does have in stock. He said that after I spoke with you, I could just send him a text. He can order the parts tonight, or you can have the car towed somewhere else."

"Is Jimmy a good mechanic?" I asked, not caring about the amount.

Colton nodded and turned the speed of his windshield wipers up. Snow continued to fall.

"Okay," I said, "you can let him know that I'd like him to order the parts tonight and fix the car as soon as they come in."

The small downtown of New Lake came into view. It had a gas station, two diners, one sports bar, a florist, a grocery store, a pharmacy, and a few other small businesses. If you weren't careful, or blinked when driving through, you might actually miss downtown.

Colton frowned as he slowed down. "This snow is really coming down."

At least two, maybe even three inches of snow had fallen since Colton had helped me out of the ditch.

"I only need a few things. I'll be quick." I fished out the prescription. "I'll drop this off and then grab what I need from the store. Can I get you anything?"

Colton held up his hands. "I'm good. Do you need any help in the store or am I okay to wait in here?"

"I'm good. I'll just be a few minutes."

I eased out of the truck and dropped my prescription off. The pharmacist told me it would be ready in fifteen minutes. Just enough time to get my groceries.

I held onto the handle of the cart as I went up and down each of the five aisles.

I grabbed several small bundles of wood and winced in pain as I placed them in my shopping cart. I could always come back and get more tomorrow. Pasta, spaghetti sauce, canned corn, bread, olive oil, peanut butter, jelly, cheese, cereal, almond milk, grape juice, some fresh fruit, and vegetables. A few of these won't hurt either, I thought as I grabbed three bottles of wine. Two red and one white. That should do. I paused and scrunched up my nose, sending a sharp pain across my face. Well, it will do once my head is better.

The checkout a girl in her late teens stared at me as I approached.

Seriously. Didn't anyone ever teach her that staring was rude?

"What happened to your face?" the girl with green eyes and strawberry blonde hair asked.

Embarrassment and anger boiled beneath my skin. "I got in a car accident. Airbag burned my cheeks."

She scrunched up her nose. "Are you, like, okay?"

"I'll be okay," I said, unloading my cart onto the moving belt.

Another girl in a green apron came up to our register. "Do you see who's out there?" she whispered, motioning to the front of the store.

"He has some nerve," the girl ringing up my groceries said.

"Right?" whispered the other girl. "That family needs to get the hell out of this town. They're nothing but criminals."

I looked out toward the front of the store. The only thing I could see through the snow was Colton's red truck.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked the other store clerk.

She rolled her eyes. "The Hawthorns."

"Who are the Hawthorns?" I asked.

"Judith and her son, Colton Hawthorn."

I froze. "What did they do?"

The girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

The strawberry blonde licked her lips. "Judith killed her husband—you know, Colton's dad. Then, Colton helped her cover it up."

My hands began to tremble. "What?"

"They couldn't prove it in the courts, so neither one of them was found guilty. But everyone knows they did it," said the other girl.

"I think it was Colton," said the girl as she scanned my last bottle of wine. "That one is evil."

Ice spread through my twisted stomach. "How do you know either one of them did it?"

The other girl curled a lock of auburn hair around her finger. "Officer Hawthorn would have never killed himself. Bottom line."

A ding at the door, followed by a blast of cold air, caused me to jump.

Colton entered with a scowl on his face. "Need any help, Claudia?"

******

Cliffhangers,

Uh oh! Trouble in paradise already? Do you think Colton is a killer?

Or, is he just a misunderstood guy going through a tough time?

Hearts and Daggers,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo

P.S. All votes, comments, and adds to your library are massively appreciated! ❤️