Beyond Doubt (Beyond Love Series #2)

by Bolton, Karice

  He returned victorious, sandwich in hand. He slowly unwrapped it and placed it on a napkin and slid the table toward me.

  “I need to tell you something,” Aaron said.

  “Uh-oh.”

  “I’m taking it no one has talked to you about what caused the accident?”

  I shook my head.

  “Your brake fluid had been drained.”

  “Derek err I mean Jeff?” My stomach rolled with nausea. “How could that be? He was in custody.”

  “He did it before they picked him up.”

  “When he was at my condo,” I mumbled.

  “Yeah. He confessed.”

  “Why would he do that? Confess, I mean.”

  “I don’t know. I’m guessing a plea bargain. Your mom knows the details. Instead of attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, maybe?”

  I nodded completely disinterested in the sandwich sitting in front of me.

  “I can’t believe it, but I do. When I tried using the brakes absolutely nothing happened and then when the deer jumped out…” I shivered as the memories flashed through my mind.

  “I didn’t want to upset you, but I knew you’d want to know.”

  “You know me well.”

  “They also found more code. The finale of sorts.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you know how he recreated the images of him lurking in your apartment?”

  I nodded.

  “The rest of the game was a chase,” Aaron’s eyes filled with anger.

  A surge of fear pulsed through my veins.

  “And you were the target.”

  “So I guess I should be thankful that this is all that happened to me?”

  “He’s a sick son-of-a-bitch.”

  “I’m just glad they have him in custody. I don’t know what I’d do if he was still on the loose.”

  “I don’t either.”

  An uncomfortable silence filled the air between us as I thought about everything. I took a bite of the sandwich and Aaron was right. It wasn’t that bad.

  “I’ve arranged for you to come back to my home once you’re released,” he began.

  “What?”

  “I’ve got the best physical therapists lined up and two nurses who’ll help you with anything that’s needed. Your parents aren’t very happy about it. But I’m telling you right now, Brandy, I’m not having it any other way. They can’t take care of you like I can. They work during the day. This is the best option and it’s all squared away. I had a special bed delivered for the guestroom that’s on the main floor so stairs won’t be a problem and—”

  “I can’t accept that.” I shook my head. I was torn between being horrified and being flattered. My parents were proud people, and I can’t imagine them taking a liking to anyone offering help. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes.

  “It’s not up for negotiation. It’s the best thing for your recovery.”

  “Well, then, I guess a thank you is in order,” I said, smiling. “Has anyone heard how much longer I might be here? When I get to go home?”

  “I’ve been talking with the doctors and because of the facilities I have arranged for you, I think we’re looking at really soon.” His eyes sparkled. “You know, I wanted to ask you to move in, but this wasn’t exactly what I was thinking.”

  I started laughing and noticed my appetite crept back up.

  “Everything you’re doing for me means so much. You don’t have to do this. You’re not responsible.”

  “It has nothing to do with that. I’m doing this because I love you and I want the best for you. You mean everything to me.”

  “For you to say that when I look the way I do…”

  “You look gorgeous.”

  “You’re not as hot of a liar as you think you are. Gabby showed me a picture of myself earlier today.”

  “What’d she do that for?” he asked, his voice angry.

  “Don’t be mad at her. I begged her and you know how I can be.”

  Aaron calmed down and laughed. “True. You actually look a lot better than when you were first in here.”

  “You don’t have to be that honest.”

  He leaned over and gently kissed my cheek. “I’ll get it right one of these days.”

  Voices arguing woke me up, and I slowly raised my head and opened my eyes to see my brothers and mom on one side of my bed and Aaron on the other.

  “She’s not going to your house,” Mason said. “She’s going to mine.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Mason. I’m her mother. She’s staying with me,” my mother said, her eyes flashed to Aaron’s. “But she’s definitely not staying with you. You’re the one who got her into this mess. It’s your fault she’s in here.”

  I glanced at Aaron, his jaw tightened. I could tell he was holding everything in.

  “Excuse me,” I said, clearing my throat. “This isn’t exactly how I dreamed of waking up.”

  “I’m sorry, dear,” my mom said, grabbing my hand. “We’ve got good news for you.”

  “What?”

  “You get to go home today,” Ayden piped up.

  “That hinges on where she’ll be recovering,” Aaron said, his voice steady and determined.

  “Listen, man. You got her into this whole mess. She never would have touched a bike if it hadn’t been for you. Just because you’re feeling guilty doesn’t mean you should swoop in like a hero now.”

  “Hold up,” I said, raising my free hand. “Don’t I have a say in this?”

  My mom nodded at me and said, “Of course.”

  She wasn’t going to like what I had to say.

  Oh well!

  “I want to stay at Aaron’s,” I began. My brothers began to shift uncomfortably, and their gazes dropped to the mattress. It was moments like these where it was quite apparent just how deep the twin thread ran. “You both work nonstop, and mom, you’re probably worse than both of them combined. Get your emotions out of the mix and really think about it. Do you have the time and resources to make sure I can wheel myself into the restroom or get taken to therapy appointments?”

  None of them said anything.

  “I didn’t think so.” I reached for Aaron’s hand. “And blaming anyone for this accident besides the person who drained my brake fluid is absolutely asinine. If it wasn’t the bike the guy tampered with, I’m sure it would have been my car or who knows what. If it hadn’t been for Aaron, I probably wouldn’t be alive. I decided to ride bikes because I wanted to. End of story. And if I ever hear anything like this coming out of any of your mouths again, I won’t be speaking to you. Ever.”

  My mom’s eyes filled with tears and she glanced at Aaron. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me. You didn’t deserve that. We know it’s not your fault and I’m just awful for suggesting it.”

  “We’ve all been under stress. Forget about it,” Aaron said. “If you guys would like to see the arrangements I have at the house for Brandy before she goes home, you’re more than welcome. She’ll be on the main floor. The physical therapists will be coming to the house, and I have two nurses who will help with anything else that may arise during her recovery.”

  My dad wandered in with a cup of coffee and smiled. “Ready to come home?”

  We all started laughing, and my dad just looked around the room, completely confused.

  “Here we go again,” Mason whispered.

  “Dad, I’m actually going to begin my recovery at Aaron’s house.”

  “Over my—”

  “Don’t bother,” I interrupted. “It’s already been decided.”

  He let out a sigh and shook his head. “Story of my life.”

  “So can someone tell me about law school? Is there a way I can catch up for the semester?”

  Aaron traded looks with my mother and drew in a breath.

  “You won’t be going back this semester,” Aaron said softly.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. I have waited my entire l
ife. I can guarantee you that I can get caught up.”

  “I know, babe. I tried to explain that to them, but they wouldn’t reconsider.”

  Blood was rushing to my head. I was furious. As hard as I’d worked all through undergrad and then studying for the LSATs and finally getting admitted into law school, this was how I was going to be rewarded?

  Aaron let out a deep breath. “I was able to get them to defer your enrollment until next semester. They wanted to drop you from the roll all together.” He shifted uncomfortably as my brothers stared at him. “I had to remind them who helped fund the new law library that opened last year and then they were more willing to listen.”

  Typical of schools.

  “So they’re letting me back in?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

  He nodded and my eyes filled with tears.

  “Thank you, Aaron.”

  “We’ll leave you two alone,” my mom said, rounding up the males in my family.

  I watched my family walk out of the hospital room and looked back at Aaron. “You’ve done so much for me. I don’t understand—”

  “I love you, Brandy. I haven’t done anything that you wouldn’t have done.” He leaned over and gave me a soft, tender kiss.

  “Honestly, I think this actually works better. You can focus on rehab and by the time the next semester rolls around you’ll be better than new.”

  I laughed and glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes to nine o’clock.

  “So when do I get some crutches to hobble out of here?”

  His eyes focused on mine as he squeezed my hand. “They’ll be wheeling you out at around noon.”

  “Wheeling me out?” My eyes widened.

  Aaron nodded and slowly pulled down my blanket to reveal a brace encircling my waist…as if I needed reminding what was going on down there.

  “How am I supposed to fit in a wheelchair like this?” I asked.

  “You know? I have absolutely no idea,” he started laughing. “But I guess we’ll find out soon.”

  I groaned as my head fell back to the pillow. “This is so not my idea of showing you a good time.”

  “Showing me a good time, huh?” his eyes sparkled as I burst into laughter.

  I heard a light tap on the door and looked over to see a nurse pushing in a large wheelchair. “Shower time.”

  Thank God!

  “Fun’s starting already,” Aaron murmured.

  I rolled my eyes and giggled as the nurse came over to my bed.

  “I’m going to take out your IV and your catheter.”

  I looked over at Aaron, completely mortified. “I think that’s your cue to exit stage right.”

  He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and headed out of the room as the nurse began preparing me for home.

  Aaron was taking things very easy on our drive home, changing lanes like he was ninety years old and turning corners so slowly I swore I could’ve gotten out and pushed us faster.

  But I appreciated it. I appreciated him.

  I was sprawled out in the back of his Mercedes SUV. My right leg was anchored straight out in front of me, taking up the entire back seat. I was as close to feeling like a mummy as humanly possible. I watched the scenery go by at a snail’s pace and had to laugh.

  “I promise I won’t shatter,” I teased.

  “I just don’t want your leg to fall off...”

  “The seat?”

  “No, just off. You look like you’re barely pieced together.”

  I started laughing. “Well, thank you for that.” We were only a couple of minutes away from Aaron’s home, and anxiety started to pulse through me as I thought about what was ahead for me, for us. I felt absolutely helpless and completely powerless. I wasn’t used to depending on anyone but myself, and here I was having my brand new boyfriend take care of me in a way that I wasn’t sure either of us would be able to handle.

  I let out a sigh as he turned into his driveway.

  “Someone’s overthinking something back there,” he said.

  “It’s how I was wired.”

  I saw two cars in the driveway and my heart started pattering faster. “Guess the therapy is starting already.”

  The front door opened and a friendly-faced, older woman waved at us.

  “That’s Jackie, the new housekeeper.”

  “Good choice,” I said wryly.

  “I thought you’d approve.” He turned off the engine and got out of the car just as two more strangers piled onto the porch.

  Jackie came over to the far side of SUV and opened the door. “Hi, my dear. Welcome home. I’m Jackie.”

  I blushed and glanced over at Aaron who was taking charge like this sort of thing happened every day.

  “Thank you. It’s good to be home,” I said, realizing how very dependent I was in this moment. I couldn’t even get out of the damned car.

  “This is Austin behind me,” Aaron said, ducking his head into the car. “He’s one of the best physical therapists in the state.”

  I looked around Aaron and noticed that Austin was quite good looking and couldn’t help but smile. He had dirty blonde hair and was completely built.

  “Don’t go getting any ideas,” Aaron teased.

  “Right. I’m sure he’d be all over this ass,” I whispered, rolling my eyes. “Nice to meet you, Austin.”

  “You too, Miss Sullivan.”

  My eyes flashed to Aaron’s. I liked the way it sounded, even though it wasn’t a reality.

  “My last name’s Rhodes, but you can call me Brandy,” I said, smiling at Austin who had managed to set up the wheelchair.

  “Your chariot awaits,” Aaron said, grinning.

  “Lord,” I huffed.

  “I’m going to come from behind you and open the door your back is resting on, and then we’ll just work you into the chair,” Austin instructed.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Aaron, if you could just carefully crawl in there to ensure she doesn’t fall out backwards that would be great.”

  “Yes. That would be great.” I started laughing at the absolute horror of what had become a day in the life of Brandy.

  My hot, new boyfriend was crawling in through the SUV, maneuvering around my mummified leg and metal encased torso, and reaching his arms out in front of him like he was rescuing a stray cat.

  “If this doesn’t scare you off, I don’t know what will,” I teased, feeling Austin’s arms wrapping under my armpits as he began hauling me from behind.

  “Okay. One. Two. Three. Lift,” Austin gently placed me in the wheelchair and Aaron came tumbling out of the vehicle.

  “That was graceful.”

  He flashed me a smile as Austin began pushing me to the stairs.

  “Oh, I’ve got a ramp,” Aaron said, glancing at Jackie. “Do you know where it went?”

  Jackie nodded and pulled it out from behind the rhododendron. “Didn’t want anyone to steal it,” she muttered.

  Aaron attached it the porch and Austin wheeled me up to the waiting nurse. I see how it worked. I got Austin and Aaron got…

  “I’m Kristy,” she said, reaching down to give me a light hug. “I’m one of the nurses Aaron hired.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle and turned to Aaron. “Is she one of the best in the state too?”

  Aaron’s eyes flickered with amusement. “Why, yes she is.”

  Thankfully oblivious to what we were joking about, Kristy took over wheelchair duty and wheeled me into the home.

  “You’ll be walking again in no time,” she whispered. “He spared nothing when it came to this setup. You’re one lucky woman.”

  “Thank you. I really am.”

  She wheeled me through the large foyer, straight through the family room and down the hall to the guest room. There were silver and pink balloons hovering all over, and a huge sign that read “Welcome Home”. The nightstand was covered in flowers and so was the dresser. The sleigh bed that had originally been in the room had been replaced with an ad
justable hospital bed. There was also a twin bed right next to the hospital bed. There were several newly attached poles and posts hooked to the far wall.

  “Are you planning on me taking up ballet again?” I teased.

  “My work is done with you once you can lift your leg on that bar,” Austin said, smiling.

  “And how long do you think that will take?”

  “Different for every patient.”

  “Where’s our girl?” Gabby hollered from the foyer.

  “She’s in here,” Aaron called out into the hallway.

  “I’ve got her favorite treats,” Gabby gushed, coming into the bedroom. “Welcome home.”

  I spotted a platter full of cookies and fruit bars and couldn’t help but smile.

  She cleared off a place on the dresser and set the tray down before giving me a big hug.

  “It’s so nice to see you out of the hospital. And your hair smells so good.”

  “Amazing what a shower will do for a person.”

  “I hate to bust up the party, but the sooner we start on rehab the quicker she won’t need it,” Austin said, glancing at Aaron.

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, smiling.

  “I’ll be out in the family room with Aaron,” Gabby said. “And Lily’s on her way up too.”

  Jackie and Kristy followed everyone out to the living area, leaving Austin and me alone.

  “I can’t promise that this won’t hurt or that you’ll like me by the end of it. But I promise by January no one will ever know you were even injured.”

  The fear of pain was quickly replaced with adrenaline. “Whatever we’ve got to do, let’s hit it.”

  Austin helped me to the flattened bed and as I felt my body stiffen and pull with pain, I knew I was going to be in for a long, grueling process of recovery.

  But nothing would prepare me for the pain I’d endure with Aaron. I just didn’t know it yet.

  Four weeks had gone by, and I was feeling more and more like myself every minute. I had transitioned from wheelchair to crutches and from plaster cast to bootie. At this rate, I’d be snowboarding by January. Although that goal made Austin cringe every time I mentioned it.

  But a person’s only got one shot at life, right?