The Search The Secrets of Crittenden Cou - By Shelley Shepard Gray Page 0,19

let the woman’s voice wash over her, lulling her to sleep.

Where she was thankful to drift back into the warm comfort of her dreams.

Frannie?”

Her name was being called yet again. Oh, couldn’t anyone here simply leave her alone? The words felt like needles to her brain, prickly and stinging.

“Stop,” she mumbled.

But it still continued. “Frannie? Frannie, wake up.”

Slowly, her eye opened. Immediately, she felt the pain. The ache of her wounds throbbing around her eye, her cheeks, her jaw.

Wincing, she tried to focus on her newest visitor, wondering if Micah had returned—and what she would say to him if he asked her to marry him.

But instead of Micah, she saw that Luke now sat by her side.

“Hello, Luke,” she whispered. Her throat was still scratchy, strained.

Without her having to ask, he reached for the pitcher on the side table and poured her a cup of water. Placing a straw in the cup, he smiled as he held it to her lips. “Sip,” he said.

She sipped, and stared in wonder as he set the cup back on the nightstand. “Thank you.”

“Do you need more pain medication? I’ll talk to the nurse . . .”

She was going to try to be brave, strong, but realized it was foolish. With the way pain was tapping a steady drumbeat behind her eye, she wouldn’t be able to focus on a word he had to say. Slowly, she nodded.

“I’ll be right back.”

Purposely, he strode out of the room. While he was gone, she made sure she was tucked in, and even tried to tidy her hair a bit. A lost cause.

When he finally came back in and sat down, she said, “Are you here to ask me more questions?”

“Ah, no.” He settled into the plastic chair beside the bed. “I rarely question women in hospital rooms. I had some extra time so I thought I’d stop by to see how you’re doing.”

“Ah.” She wanted to tease him about caring for her, but she was afraid of his answer.

Afraid he was here out of duty. Out of friendship. Nothing more.

But of course she couldn’t ask, and she shouldn’t even think about it. To him, she was merely another suspect in his murder investigation.

And his former innkeeper, merely an acquaintance.

So instead of saying anything, she tried to relax against the pillows.

She was amazed that with him, there was no awkward silence. And when he smiled at her, his grin did more to comfort her than a hundred visits from Micah ever would.

She didn’t know what to think of that.

“So,” he said, “I used my considerable charm and coaxed some information from the hospital staff. They said you had a rough night of it. But . . . the word is out that the doctors think you’re going to be just fine.”

She’d heard that, too. But it didn’t hurt to be sure. “My eyesight?” she asked.

“As far as I’ve heard”—he paused before continuing—“that’s just fine, too. The doctor will be here in a while to tell you all about it.” Tossing another smile her way, he said, “I tell you what, Frannie Eicher, you gave me a scare.”

Now that she was fully awake, she noticed the beige walls and the beige shade covering the window. The television continued to hum next to her, as did the woman’s one-sided conversation on her cell phone.

“You, scared?” She smiled weakly. “You’re not scared of anything.”

The nurse hurried in and injected something into her IV. She gave Frannie a friendly smile and bustled right back out.

Within seconds, the pain in Frannie’s face started to ebb.

“As much as I appreciate you thinking so, when I heard about all that blood . . .”

Before she could apologize for scaring him, he added, “But that’s in the past. You’re going to be fine. Just need a few days’ rest. You’ll be good as new and making horrible pies before you know it.”

“Oh, how you flatter,” she said, yawning. “Do you think I can go home today?”

“I hope so. If not today, then early tomorrow. Though, if I were you, I’d try to stay as long as possible. You have guests staying at your inn. So no rest there.”

“But that’s my job, Detective. I can’t keep depending on Beth to take care of them.”

“Now, now, no you don’t. I was ‘Luke’ just moments ago. I’m Luke now, too.”

She smiled weakly. Enjoying their shared moment. Enjoying the way that they weren’t arguing, weren’t talking about Perry’s death.

They were having a conversation—well, as good as they could have