Page 57 of Return to You

“Kade, I—”

“They’re here. That’s Ethan’s Jeep.” He pointed to the black Cherokee that was parked next to the emergency room entrance.

He pulled to a stop behind it and they both jumped out of the truck.

A burst of cool air hit her face as the automatic doors opened with a swoosh. Her eyes scanned the room and she saw KJ sitting in the far corner. They rushed over to him and he stood. When he did, Ali noticed blood on his hands and arms.

Doing her best not to show the panic that flooded her system she asked as calmly as she could. “Is he okay? Where is he?”

“I don’t know, they took him back.” KJ pointed to the door beneath the clock. “Ethan went with him.”

Tears were already filling Ali’s eyes and she could barely breathe as hysteria threatened to consume her. She hurried toward the same desk that she had stood at so many times the night Patrick died. Each time pleading for information that they couldn’t give. The linoleum tile was slick, and the next thing she knew her feet were flying out from beneath her. Instinctively, her entire body tensed and she squeezed her eyes and prepared to land flat on her rear. But instead, she found herself in Kade’s arms.

The entire thing only lasted a few seconds, but feeling Kade’s arms around her, having him cocoon her in his strength and solidness, was exactly what she’d needed. A calm settled over her and she found her footing again and she felt her brother smiling. She didn’t see Patrick’s face, but rather, she felt him. She closed her eyes, and without willing it to be she heard his voice say, “You got this” clear as day.

He was letting her know that everything was going to be okay. He was there, with them. And she wondered if maybe it wasn’t the tile being slippery that had caused her fall, but instead her older brother from beyond. A memory of her brother teasing her about believing in ghosts when she was around ten years old came back to her. He’d joked that if he was a ghost he’d go around and sweep people’s legs Karate Kid style. She smiled to herself picturing his ghost doing that exact move on her.

Real funny, Patrick.

He was there with them. Maybe not physically, but he was there.

“Are you okay?” Kade asked as he steadied her. “Your ankle?”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” She nodded, answering that question honestly for the first time in a long time.

A peace settled over her as she stepped up to the counter and waited for the nurse to get off a call. Suddenly, Ethan walked through the doors.

“Where is he? Is he okay?” This time when she asked that question, she felt stronger.

“He’s fine. He’s got a cut on his head that was bleeding pretty bad, he’s gonna need stitches but it’s not serious, and he broke his arm. They’re fixing him up now.”

“Can I see him?” Tears pooled in her bottom lids, but for the first time in a long time they were from sheer relief.

“Yeah.”

As Ali followed Ethan down the hall, she reminded herself of the promise that she’d made to herself. Live life to the fullest. Love to the fullest.

23

Kade waited with Ricky as Ali spoke to the nurse about his discharge instructions. KJ was still in the waiting room. Ali had tried to persuade him to let Ethan take him home, but KJ refused to leave. Ethan also stayed. He kept apologizing and felt responsible for Ricky’s accident, but Ali assured him he wasn’t.

Ali had been a rock star. He’d worried about her being back here after Patrick. He’d been concerned that this would all be too much for her. But, if anything, she’d seemed calmer, more in control, and more herself in the past eight hours than he’d seen her since he’d returned to Whisper Lake.

She was cracking jokes, teasing Kade about his driving like he was in the Indy 500 to get here, and teasing Ricky that he’d crashed his bike on purpose to get out of working at the shop during spring break, and that now he knew when you play chicken with a tree, the tree always wins.

She was Ali again.

Ricky seemed to be showing signs of his old self again as well. There was a particularly attractive nurse assigned to him and it was clear he had a bit of a crush. Ali told him that the best part of breaking a bone was getting pretty girls to sign your cast and Ricky saw that as his opening.

The next time the nurse came to check on Ricky, Ali and Kade stepped out of the curtained off area. They’d stayed close enough that they could hear what was going on. Instead of just coming out and asking her to sign it, he mentioned her Harry Potter necklace. Then he asked her what house she was in and told her he was Gryffindor. They debated the merits of each house and then he said he’d be honored to have someone from House Hufflepuff be the first to sign his cast.

Ali looked up at Kade, her face beaming with pride as she mouthed, “Smooth.”

Kade had to agree. The kid had serious game for thirteen. Patrick would be proud; he knew he sure as hell was.

“Do you think it’s going to leave a scar?” Ricky asked as he ran his fingers over the bandage covering the injury.

“Probably.”

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