Accept Me

by Marion Ueckermann

  “Nitrous oxide?” Sounded ominous.

  “Laughing gas,” the doctor clarified.

  Well that didn’t sound half bad. Haddie relaxed as her eyes shifted from Dr. Brock on the one side of the bed, ready to go to work on her leg, to Judd on the other side. She was in good hands. Not only the doctor’s and the EMT’s, but also her Father’s. It couldn’t get any safer than that.

  How grateful she was now for that time on Friday night inside the little chapel overlooking the cove. With God at her side, anywhere was home. Even Chapel Cove.

  And right now, it felt really good to finally be home, back in her Father’s arms.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  IT WAS agony for Riley to sit on the other side of that wall, listening to Haddie groan with pain as Hudson and Judd cleaned that nasty laceration. Every now and then, he’d hear a brief giggle, as if Haddie had enjoyed a glass of wine too many. Merely the effects of the nitrous oxide they’d given her for pain, her every giggle short-lived as the laughing effect disappeared with the next breath of normal air.

  Haddie’s face looked cleaner but pale when Hudson finally wheeled the examination bed out of his consulting room and headed for the x-ray room. Above her head dangled the IV Judd had set up back at the accident site.

  Judd followed them out. He said goodbye to Riley, assuring him that Haddie was all right and that Dr. Brock had done a brilliant job suturing her leg. Then he headed back to the ambulance where Thomas already waited.

  Riley relaxed into his seat. Thank heavens that ordeal was over. Now he needed to focus his prayers on the x-rays, that they’d reveal no internal injuries.

  A while later, Hudson returned Haddie to his examination room. She smiled at Riley as she passed. Even gave him a little thumbs-up.

  Now that he knew the worst was over for her, or at least he hoped so, he could call Ivy and tell her what had happened. Haddie would need support from those who loved her once Hudson discharged her.

  He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket, but before he could dial, Hudson slid onto the seat beside him.

  “You probably saved Haddie’s life by stemming the bleed in her leg. She lost a fair amount of blood, but thankfully not that much to need a transfusion. She has no internal injuries or concussion, thank the good Lord.”

  “And her ankle?” Riley asked, not knowing the extent of that injury.

  “Fortunately nothing broken, merely a bad sprain, so no surgery required. I’ll fit her with a walking boot which she’ll need to wear for a few weeks. She’ll also have to go for physical therapy.”

  Riley exhaled a relieved sigh and shot a prayer of gratitude heavenward that she didn’t need surgery. In hindsight, he could kick himself for taking that boot off. Clearly he’d panicked a bit and hadn’t been thinking straight. If her leg or ankle had been fractured, it could’ve displaced when she was moved, although, thankfully, Judd had splinted Haddie’s leg before they’d rushed her to the ambulance.

  “Thanks for updating me, Hudson. I really appreciate it.” Riley patted Hudson on the shoulder then pulled him into a bear hug.

  “What happened out there?” Hudson asked, his voice lowered.

  Riley shook his head. He felt so responsible. “I did something really stupid on Thursday night. Haddie found out and was leaving town, abandoning her quest. And me.”

  Hudson’s brows narrowed. “Her quest?”

  “To find her biological mother. Maybe even extended family. She’d had such high hopes when she’d arrived in Chapel Cove a month ago of finding the woman who’d given her away at birth.” Riley swiped at the moisture forming in his eyes. “Anyway, when I heard from Ivy that Haddie was leaving to go back home to Kentucky, but planned to first stop somewhere to say goodbye, I figured she might’ve headed to the stables and the old house. She grew up on a stud farm and loves horses. She loved that old house too.”

  Riley filled his lungs then exhaled. “Long story short, my instincts were right. I found Haddie in a closet upstairs, hiding from me. She tried to run away, but her heel got stuck in a depression in the wooden floor, and she fell.”

  “That twist is likely what caused her ankle injury,” Hudson said. “If it had been from the fall, it would’ve been far worse. I’m still surprised, with a fall from that height, she didn’t have more severe injuries. God was definitely watching over her—Psalm 91 in play.”

  Riley knew that piece of scripture well. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, he prepared to relive that morning’s awful moments. “Next thing I knew, there was a loud crashing sound, and Haddie disappeared through the floor. I raced down the stairs to the room below where she lay hurt and bleeding.”

  “None of this was your fault. Just remember that.” Hudson squeezed Riley’s shoulder as he rose. “Thanks for filling in the gaps. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to Haddie.”

  Riley stood too. “Do you need help?”

  “I don’t, but I’m sure Haddie will appreciate having you there to hold her hand.”

  Riley kept pace at Hudson’s side as Hudson walked back to his consulting room.

  Hudson paused before entering. “If Haddie was planning to leave town today, does she have anywhere to stay now? She can’t be alone tonight.”

  “I was about to call Ivy. Haddie was staying in the mother-in-law apartment at the back of the bookshop. Without a doubt, Ivy will take her in again. I’ll keep watch over Haddie tonight, and for as long as is necessary.”

  Preferably for the rest of her life.

  Haddie’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Riley follow Dr. Brock into the examination room. She wished he could’ve been with her through everything, but he was here now, and that was all that mattered.

  She reached for him.

  Riley didn’t hesitate to enclose her hand in his own.

  He leaned down, kissed her cheek, and then whispered, “I’m so glad you’re going to be okay. A little banged up, and you’ll feel it tomorrow for sure, find bruises you didn’t know you had, but other than that, you’re fine. It’s a miracle. And I’m going to be right there beside you, Haddie, my love. I’ll help you with your recuperation.”

  He smiled at her, love shining in his eyes. “You know, when I told you I was falling for you, you didn’t have to go and fall for me too.”

  Haddie chuckled then stopped. “Ow, it hurts to laugh.”

  As Dr. Brock fitted her walking boot, he said to Haddie, “I’d like to observe you for a while longer.”

  He turned to Riley. “Can you arrange for a set of crutches with Marylin at reception, and then fill Haddie’s prescription for pain relievers and an antibiotic? I’ll have it with Marylin in a minute.”

  “Of course.” Riley leaned over Haddie and kissed her lightly on the lips. She was grateful those hadn’t been cut or bruised. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. You rest now.”

  As Riley walked to the door, Hudson added, “And make that call to Ivy.”

  Riley nodded then left. Already, Haddie missed him at her side.

  Dr. Brock checked the IV line then squeezed Haddie’s hand lightly. “I’m going to write that prescription then I’ll be back.” He smiled and pointed a finger at her. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Dr. Brock, all I’m going to do is close my eyes and forget about how much my body hurts.”

  When Haddie opened her eyes again, Dr. Brock leaned against the wall, staring at her, the strangest look on his face. Had she drifted off to sleep? How much time had passed since last he’d spoken to her? If any. Maybe he hadn’t even left the room yet.

  “Ah, you’re awake.” He pulled a stool beside the examination bed and sat down.

  Haddie rubbed her eyes. Remembering the IV line, she straightened her arm and looked up at the bag dangling just behind her. Almost finished. “Was I asleep?”

  �
��For a short while. It’s good to see that you have a little more color to your cheeks.”

  “Dr. Brock, I think I had more color the moment Judd cleaned my face.”

  He laughed at her humor.

  “Riley…?”

  “He left to fill your prescription at the pharmacy. I called ahead and told them he was coming, just to ensure he encounters no hiccups in getting your meds.” He paused, something seemingly on his mind. “Ivy is outside waiting to see you. Before I show her in, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  She knew it. Had Dr. Brock seen something in the x-rays? Was she more injured than she thought? Did she have to go to hospital in Portland?

  Fear wrapped sharp claws around her, drawing her into its vile embrace.

  God hasn’t given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

  Haddie repeated the verse in her mind, and the approaching darkness quickly dissipated. Her heart stopped beating so wildly in her chest—just a hypnotic thump, thump, thump, reassuringly slow and steady—and her pulse returned to a normal rhythm.

  “Riley tells me that you came to Chapel Cove looking for your mother.” Dr. Brock’s statement sounded more like a question.

  Haddie nodded. “I did, but it doesn’t seem as if she ever lived in Chapel Cove twenty-eight or so years ago. I guess it’s possible that Scott is her maiden name, so some folk might remember her by a different surname. But I don’t think so. Riley and I didn’t even get an ‘Oh, I knew a Kayleigh back in high school’ or anything remotely similar.”

  Dr. Brock cocked his head to one side. “Kayleigh Scott was your mother’s name?”

  “The one on my original birth certificate according to my adoptive dad.”

  Had her doctor’s eyes just flinched at the mention of her mother’s name? A kind of flash of recognition?

  No, she must’ve imagined it. Just as she’d imagined that Kay Alverson was the woman who’d given birth to her. The memory of that encounter last night still made her want to run and hide from embarrassment.

  “Anyway, I’m done chasing down rabbit holes.” If she decided to stay in Chapel Cove, it would be because of Riley alone. Not some ghost.

  Dr. Brock drew a deep breath then exhaled. “Would you consider going down one last hole and agree to a DNA test? I think I might know who your mother is, but I want to be absolutely sure before I give you a name and it turns out to be just another burrow.”

  Rabbit hole or not, Haddie couldn’t stop hope from blossoming in her heart.

  “You have my mother’s DNA?”

  He shook his head. “No. But I might have something better.”

  “What do I need to do, doctor? Give blood?”

  Dr. Brock chuckled. “No blood, Haddie. I want you to keep everything you have left. Just a simple cheek swab taken inside the mouth, that’s all. That’ll be sent to the labs in Portland.”

  Her eyes widened. “And then?”

  “Then we wait for the results. Genetic testing shouldn’t take more than seventy-two hours.” He brushed a hand over her head in a familial sort of way. “But I’ll do whatever I can to speed up the process. I know you’ll be anxious to know, and I am too. For your sake, of course,” he quickly added.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  HADDIE PUSHED the lunch tray toward the empty side of her double bed. “That was delicious. As always. Thank you, Riley.”

  Three days had passed since her accident, and Riley had still not left her side. When he’d brought Haddie back home to her little apartment on Saturday, he’d moved an armchair from Ivy’s living room upstairs and parked it at the foot of her bed. He’d slept there for the past three nights.

  He’d also taken some way overdue leave from work, according to him, to look after her, and done a first-class job of that. Cooking, cleaning, making sure she had three wholesome meals a day. And at exactly the right time of day, he made sure Haddie swallowed her medication. He literally catered to her every whim, not that she’d had many of those. Yesterday, she’d slept most of the day away, just as she had on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. It must’ve done her a world of good because, today, she started to feel a lot more human.

  By now, though, purple and black bruises had appeared on her arms, legs, and back, just as Riley said they would. Her face, fortunately, had escaped, except for a few minor scratches. If she thought she’d been in pain on Saturday, by Sunday she felt as if she’d been hit by a bus and dragged halfway down Spruce Street.

  She ruffled her fingers through her hair—it felt like straw—then picked out more fragments of ceiling from where they’d made a new home nestled against her scalp. If only she could shower or bathe, but with the dressing on her left leg, and her right in a walking boot, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. A sponge bath in the bathroom’s wash basin would have to suffice. And she was going to have one right now. Riley had better not protest. She was tired of lying in bed, half-drugged on pain meds. If she cleaned up and got dressed, maybe she and Riley could enjoy a piece of cake and a cup of coffee together in the coffee shop. And maybe she could find a new book to read.

  She swung her legs slowly over the edge of the bed. Before she could even reach for her crutches, Riley was there, holding them ready for her.

  She limped to her closet where Ivy had unpacked all her clothes on Saturday evening while she’d slept. She opened it and grabbed her favorite sweater, the blue, chunky one she’d worn the day Riley had found her crying on the beach. Unable to wear the gray leggings and chiffon skirt that accessorized the outfit, she chose a pair of baggy sweatpants that could fit over the boot.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Riley took the clothes draped over her arm.

  “I need to clean up and get dressed. I need to get up out of that bed. Aren’t you suffering a little cabin fever too?”

  Riley’s mouth, the one she so loved to kiss, curved into a crescent. He winked. “Coffee and cake in the bookshop?”

  “Riley Jordan, only three days at my side and you already know me so well. You read my thoughts. But before we charge out of here searching for some sweet adventure, would you mind washing my hair for me over the wash basin? If I find another morsel of gypsum stuck to my scalp, I’m going to scream. Not to mention the dust clinging to every strand.”

  “Your every wish is my command, fair maiden.” He rolled his hands in an elaborate bow. Thankfully Haddie could better manage laughing today.

  “Oh, you’ll need to help me dry it too. I can’t go outside with damp hair, even if it is just to another part of this house. My hair has looked bad for long enough.”

  “I’m here to serve and love you, Haddie Hayes. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll do it for you.”

  Resting on the crutches, Haddie feigned thought. “Hmm, a sinful chocolate pancake stack?”

  Riley trailed his fingers over her cheek then tucked her hair behind her ear. “We could scrap our initial idea of the coffee shop and head for the boardwalk and The Pancake Shoppe instead. Would you like that?”

  Haddie couldn’t contain her grin. He was simply the best boyfriend in the world. “I would love that. To feel fresh air against my skin, see the ocean, listen to seagulls squawk, and eat pancakes…just what the doctor ordered. But first, I need to look and feel respectable again.”

  Ninety minutes later, Haddie and Riley sat inside The Pancake Shoppe, their table offering the best ocean view, waiting for two sinful chocolate pancake stacks and two coffees. Haddie felt clean, and despite her injuries, more alive than she’d ever felt before.

  From inside her tote bag, her cell phone beeped with an incoming message.

  She fished out the phone and turned it on. The message was from her doctor—the young, good-looking one. She read then looked up at Riley, intrigued.

  “Dr. Brock wants you and me to join him and his wife for dinner at five thirty tonight at their home—if I’m feeling up to it.”

  Riley reached for her hand and threaded h
is fingers through hers. “And are you?”

  “Well, I am sort of dressed up. Why waste this effort. Plus, you won’t have to cook tonight.”

  Riley chuckled. “Tired of my food already?”

  Haddie shook her head. “Never. You could cook for me every day of my life. I love your food. And I love you.”

  “I love you too, Haddie Hayes.” Riley leaned forward and lifted her fingers to his lips.

  Haddie gasped. She’d been so drugged up on pain meds the last few days, she’d totally forgotten. “I wonder if Dr. Brock has received the DNA results. Why else would he invite us over?”

  The sun was just starting to set when Haddie limped into her doctor’s magnificent home. Riley had told her those were lavender fields the house overlooked. Must be so beautiful in the summer. Haddie could just imagine the carpet of purple.

  She was surprised to find Reese there as well. She presumed the man on the lovely jewelry store owner’s arm was none other than her husband, the youth pastor. And, of course, Dr. Brock’s brother too. His sibling was equally attractive, in a slightly more rugged way. It was easy to tell they were brothers, and Haddie couldn’t help but wonder whether the oldest brother, the one in jail, bore the same handsome genes.

  “I’m Heath Brock.” Instead of sticking out his hand in greeting, Heath drew Haddie into a warm, extended but gentle hug, seemingly sensitive to her recent injuries. “It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Reese, and now from Hudson as well. How are you feeling after your accident? What a miracle you didn’t get more hurt than you did. God is good.”

  He was indeed.

  Haddie shrugged one shoulder feeling the ache in the movement.

  Note to self—no shrugging.

  “Let’s just say that it looks as if I’ve been in a paintball war. And lost. I even have soft white shrapnel in my scalp to prove I’ve fought the battle. At least, I did until this afternoon. Riley helped me wash my hair, a way simpler feat, let me tell you, when performed in the shower than over a wash basin. But, as the shower is out of bounds for me for a while, we had to improvise.”