Where I Belong

by Charlene Bright

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Cuddling up to Drake’s hard body felt like heaven to Sophie. She was in that place between sleep and awareness where it felt like she was floating on air. His arms were so warm and strong, and they made her feel so safe that she felt like she could stay in them forever. She felt guilty for not saying she loved him back, but she was going to need a little more time. For now, she was relishing the quiet and the peace that settled down over them after the perfect storm of their lovemaking, and this was everything she needed.

  She closed her eyes and ignored the daylight that had broken through the clouds and was now trying to sneak in through the curtains. She’d worry about burning that daylight later. She let sleep take hold of her instead and pull her back down into its embrace, and for the next two hours she slept like she hadn’t slept in years.

  When she woke again, she was still tangled in Drake’s long limbs and she could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest. The clock at her bedside said nine a.m. She’d allowed herself as much of an escape as she could for now. Reluctantly she began to disentangle herself and slide out of the bed.

  “Where are you going?” Drake asked in a warm, sleepy voice that made her want to crawl back up against him.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you. I need to get to work.”

  She felt his body shake as he laughed. “I’m the one who works for you, remember? You’re going to let me sleep while you get up and work? Damn, I scored with this job.”

  She giggled. “Don’t think you’re so smart, Mister. You went off the clock the minute your pants came off.”

  He laughed again. “You know what … I win either way.” He opened his gorgeous eyes and looked at her, and suddenly his face was serious. “Thank you.”

  She leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his. “You are so welcome. Thank you.”

  “Anytime … and I do mean that more than I’ve ever meant anything—absolutely, positively, anytime … anywhere …” He began to shower kisses around her face.

  She laughed again. “Okay, I get it. I do have to get up now and shower so I can get something done today.”

  “Are you going to eat your breakfast?”

  “It’s cold now, I think.”

  “It’s a good thing I got my tip first then, huh?”

  “You could warm it up for me while I shower.”

  “You make love to a woman one time and suddenly you’re her slave for life … how warm would you like it?”

  She kissed him again. “Thank you. I’ll be down in a few.”

  He closed his eyes again and nodded.

  “Are you going back to sleep?”

  “Nope, I’m just picturing you in the shower.” A slow grin spread across his face. “I have a clear image to work with now.”

  She stood up and threw the pillow at him before running for the bathroom. He opened his eyes and said, “Mm … and one more for the memory books.” She was giggling as she slammed the door.

  ****

  By the time she made it downstairs, Drake had her plate warmed and covered, his washed and put away, and a little vase with wildflowers and a note that said, Eat hearty. I’m off to work, but I won’t be far if you need anything … and I mean ANYTHING from me.” He signed it –D with a smiley face. She smiled and rolled her eyes. She’d created a monster.

  After she ate and cleaned up the rest of the kitchen, she headed into the office to check her messages. She heard her cell phone vibrating and hadn’t realized she’d left it in there. Still smiling and thinking about Drake, she picked it up and looked at the screen. She’d missed three calls from the same number. It was a Vermont area code, but she didn’t recognize the number. She slid the button for voicemail and as she listened to the message, the smile fell from her face. With her heart pounding, she ended the call and pressed the number for the missed calls as she ran out the kitchen door, calling for Drake at the same time. He came around the corner of the house just as the phone was answered on the other end.

  The phone answered, “Memorial Hospital, how can I help you?”

  “My name is Sophie Michelson; my mother was brought into the ER …” Drake’s eyes went big. He dropped the can of paint he was holding as he heard her say, “Yes, she was with a man. His name is Mac Tanner. Yes, I can hold.” Her eyes met Drake’s and she said, “Mom and Mac were in an accident …”

  “Are they okay?”

  “I don’t know … she’s getting the nurse.”

  “Miss Michelson?”

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  Drake was watching her face, looking for confirmation that Mac and Brenda were okay. She pressed the speaker button so he could hear too just as the nurse said, “Your mother was brought in about an hour ago. I honestly don’t have a lot of information to give you yet. The doctor is still in there with her. What I do know is that she was conscious when they brought her in. She was talking, and she’s the one that asked us to call you.”

  “That sounds good,” Sophie said, feeling her eyes fill with tears. Drake’s were still staring at her face. “What about the man she was with … Mac Tanner?”

  “He was taken straight to surgery.”

  “Why?” Drake asked, panic rising in his voice.

  The nurse hesitated and Sophie said, “That’s Drake Tanner. He’s Mac’s nephew.”

  “He had some pretty extensive internal injuries and he lost a lot of blood. I’m sorry, that’s all I know. The officer with the Vermont State Police who was on the scene is still in the ER, I believe. Would you like to speak with him?”

  “Yes!” Sophie and Drake spoke at the same time. She could see the pain and worry in his eyes, and she could hardly stand it. They waited in silence until a man’s voice came on the line.

  “Miss Michelson, this is Officer Williams. I was first on the scene of the accident.”

  “What happened?”

  “Your mother’s car was hit head-on by a pickup of teens that lost control after skidding across the slick road. The driver of the other car was ejected from the vehicle and sustained minor injuries. Your mother and her passenger were pinned in their car.” Sophie sucked in a breath as he paused. He continued, “I’m sorry. I don’t know exactly what their injuries are yet. She was able to talk to me while we waited for the ambulance. She told me her passenger, Mr. Tanner, was a paraplegic, and she gave me your number and his nephew’s number …”

  “I’m here,” Drake said.

  “Mr. Tanner?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your uncle is in surgery—”

  “Yeah, the nurse told us that. You were there, you saw him. Was he awake at all?”

  “No sir, he was unconscious. I’m sorry.”

  Drake turned away from Sophie and kicked the paint can out of his way. He started walking to his truck. She thanked the officer before ending the call and followed him. “Drake …”

  “I need to get to the hospital.” He looked and sounded like he was in a trance.

  “Okay, me too. Can I ride with you?” He nodded. “I’m going to get my purse.” He nodded again. Sophie left him there and ran inside. She grabbed her purse and locked the door and when she got back outside, Drake was still staring off into the distance. “Drake … are you okay?”

  He snapped back to the present and started the truck. “I’m good,” was all he said. The drive to the hospital was long and quiet. As they passed the turnoff for the wildlife rehab, Drake slowed the truck down and sat there for a few minutes, idling. He looked like he had checked out again. Sophie waited. Finally, he said, “This is my fault.”

  “No, Drake. It was an accident that no one could have predicted.”

  He put the truck back in drive, and she was surprised when he started heading up the hill instead of down into the town. “Those damned kits. I started all of this by not being able to keep my nose out of something that I had no business in. They probably would have survived if I hadn’t picked them up. And if they didn’t, that’s nature, right?�
�

  “Drake, you have a good heart—”

  “Do I? Do I have the kind of heart of a man who was left entrusted with the care of another one and failed to give him what he needed? I was so busy working and doing anything I could do in order to see you that I completely neglected him. If he dies today, he’ll die thinking that he’s all alone.”

  “No, that’s not true. Mac knows you love him.”

  Drake didn’t say anything, he just kept driving. Just as Sophie was going to ask him what they were doing, she saw it. Black skid marks lined the road like an ugly scar, and pieces of glass and metal still littered the shoulder. Drake pulled the truck over and got out. Sophie followed him. The cars were gone, but there was a black mark up against the white cement guardrail where the paint from Sophie’s SUV had come off as it was likely shoved up against it. Drake bent down and picked something up. He held it in his fingers and looked at it before his eyes suddenly filled with tears and he crushed it in his hand.

  “Drake?”

  He smiled as one of the tears escaped from his eyes and rolled down his cheek. “I saw him out in the grove behind my house yesterday rolling around. I asked him what he was doing and he got really defensive. He had a bucket in his lap, and it was filled with figs that had fallen off of one of the trees. He used to feed them to the kits. He took that bucket with him today.”

  Sophie could tell that it was taking every bit of strength he had to hold it together. She went to him and put her arms around him. She just held him, and when she felt his body stop shaking, she pulled back and said, “We should go. Maybe they’ll have good news for us when we get there. We have to stay positive.”

  He nodded and kissed the side of her face. She looked down as they walked back to the pickup and saw there were figs scattered all over the ground.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Drake and Sophie went straight to the ER when they arrived at the hospital. The nurse was kind, and she told Drake she’d find out where Mac was and if he could see him before taking them in to see Brenda, who was in a cubicle in the ER behind a sliding curtain. She was surrounded by gurneys on either side in front and behind. Brenda looked pale, and she had a few cuts and scratches on her face. The rest of her was covered, but there were lines and tubes running here and there underneath the sheet.

  “Mom?” Sophie’s face was as pale as her mother’s. Drake suddenly felt bad for the breakdown he had had. He should have been there for her. She was as worried as he was, and he was wasting time making it about him and how he felt. “Mom, can you hear me?” Sophie slid her hand under the sheet and grasped her mother’s. Brenda’s eyes fluttered open and then closed again. The nurse said she was on pain medication, so she was probably having trouble waking up.

  “Sophie?” Brenda said groggily.

  “Yeah, Mom. I’m here. Are you okay?”

  “Mac?”

  Sophie looked up at Drake. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. “We haven’t seen him yet. Drake’s here too. As soon as we see him, we’ll let you know how he is, okay?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, turning her head slowly and pulling her eyes open as if they had weights on them. Drake realized that she was apologizing to him. He felt another lump welling up in his throat. He stepped closer to the bed and took her hand.

  “I’m sorry that you had to go through this,” he said. He bent down and brushed his lips across her cheek. “Everything’s going to be okay. You don’t have anything to apologize for, all right?”

  A stray tear rolled down her cheek, and Sophie wiped it away. “Don’t cry, Mom. Everything’s going to be okay. Are you in pain?”

  “No,” Brenda’s voice was raspy and hoarse.

  “Do you want some water?”

  “They won’t let me have any,” she said, having to force each word as if her chest hurt when she spoke.

  Sophie suddenly looked annoyed. To no one in particular, she said, “Where is that doctor? The nurse said he’d be right in.”

  “I’ll go check,” Drake said. He left the women alone and stepped out from behind the curtain. He felt like he could breathe a little easier out here. He found the nurse that had helped them and asked about Brenda’s doctor. She assured him that he’d be in as soon as he could. Then, he asked about Mac again.

  “He’s still in surgery. I let the staff up there know that you’re here. They’ll call when he’s out and I’ll take you there, okay?”

  He nodded, feeling like he was suddenly caught in a bad dream. The day had gone from a beautiful kind of surreal to a nightmare. “Mr. Tanner?” He turned at the sound of the voice. He was facing a middle-aged man with a long face in a green uniform with gold piping holding a green trooper hat.

  “Yes, Drake Tanner.”

  “I’m Officer Williams.” Drake shook his hand. The officer said, “Have you gotten any word on your uncle?”

  “No sir, not yet.”

  “I just wanted to give you my card and ask if you could keep me updated.”

  “Sure. Thanks for helping them.”

  “It’s nothing. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do until the fire department got there. I hope your uncle comes through this okay.”

  “Thanks, me too.”

  Drake put the card in his pocket and headed back to where Brenda was. The doctor was walking in just as he was. It was a female doctor with the posture of a soldier. She smiled at him, but it was the smile of a professional. There was nothing overly warm about it. She had her hair pulled back into a severe bun and a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. She pushed them up as she perused the file in her hand. Sophie looked up as they walked in and said, “Are you Dr. Garrison?”

  “Yes,” the woman said, holding her hand out almost robotically. Sophie stood up and shook it, then introduced herself and Drake. He watched poor Brenda trying to keep her eyes open, but they kept drifting back shut. “So Mrs. Michelson was the driver in a multiple-injury accident. The car she was driving was pushed into the guardrail, and she and her passenger were trapped inside. She sustained some crushing injuries to her ribs as well as a punctured lung. It looks like she already had a break to her left ankle that was cast, so that isn’t new.

  “So far we haven’t detected any other injuries or internal bleeding. She has a chest tube in place now to keep the fluids from building up in that lung as it heals, and the oxygen is to help her get enough air exchange while it’s healing. She’s scheduled for one more CT scan of her abdomen this afternoon. She had a lot of bruising and swelling when she came in, so it was hard to read. We didn’t see anything worrisome, but we’ll want to check it again just to be sure.” She looked from Sophie to Drake and said, “Do either of you have any questions?”

  “Her broken ribs … they’ll heal on their own?” Sophie asked.

  “Yes, that’s what we hope for. She’s wearing an abdominal brace now so that when she breathes, coughs, or moves, she won’t experience so much pain. She’ll likely have to wear that until they’re healed.”

  “How long will she need to stay here?”

  The doctor shrugged. “At this point, we’re still at the stage of finding out what her injuries are. Hopefully we’ve already identified them all, but we’d like her to stay under observation for the first twenty-four hours. She’ll be transferred to a room as soon as one is available.”

  Sophie nodded. She looked relieved, and Drake was relieved for her and Brenda both. Now if they’d just tell him something about Mac. The doctor answered a few more questions for Sophie before leaving. Sophie looked up at Drake and asked, “Have they told you anything else about Mac?”

  “No. He’s still in surgery.” Drake sat down in the chair on his side of the bed. “They said they’ll call me when he’s out.”

  They both sat there and watched Brenda sleep. It was about an hour later when the nurse stuck her head in and said, “Mr. Tanner, he’s out of surgery.”

  Drake got up and looked at Sophie. “I’ll let you know
as soon as I talk to someone,” he said.

  She smiled gently at him and nodded. “I have my phone. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

  “Yeah, I will.” He kissed Brenda’s cheek again and then Sophie’s before following the nurse out of the room. Drake looked around as the nurse led him to the surgical waiting room. The hallway was as untouched with personality as the rest of the hospital. The floor beneath his feet was white and slate gray tiles, and the light overhead was way too bright. It reminded him of one on television when the police were interrogating a suspect. As he walked on, wondering how far away the ICU was, he noticed how everything was clean and spotless and tinged with bleach.

  The nurse, who’d told him her name was Marla, pushed a button on the wall at the end of the hall, and a set of double doors swung inward. In between that set and another, there was a black phone on the wall. She picked it up and dialed 1 before speaking. “Hi Katie. I have Mr. Tanner here to see his uncle.”

  Marla listened, then hung up and put some sort of code into the keypad. The next set of doors opened. Drake felt a rush of cold air and was once again overwhelmed by the strong scent of ammonia.

  “This is where I leave you, Mr. Tanner. Good luck. I wish your uncle a speedy recovery.”

  “Thank you for your help.” She nodded and smiled and then left as the other nurse came toward him.

  “Hi, Mr. Tanner. I’m Katie.”

  “Hi … where is my uncle?”

  “They’re bringing him up right now.”

  “Can you tell me what’s wrong with him? What did they operate on him for?”

  “I’m going to let Dr. Gill tell you all of that. Here he is now.”

  Dr. Gill was a tall, broad, Eastern Indian man. He shook Drake’s hand and proceeded to give him the rundown on Mac’s injuries. “Your uncle is paraplegic, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long?”