and maybe eat something.”
“Someone tried to kill my best friend,” I replied, rubbing my arms as if cold. “It was supposed to be me. What if I had taken my babies with me? What if Candice had died? I’m sorry, Dr. Young, sleep is the last thing on my mind.”
He nodded ruefully. “Well, I have arranged for the nurse to bring a reclining chair in for you. If you must stay, you must put your feet up.”
Candice looked at me, blearily. “I suppose I should tell you to go home. But please don’t leave me, Sutton.”
I fought tears as I moved to her side, taking her good hand. “Nothing could tear me away from you. Certainly not Dr. Young.”
The young doctor shook his head with a soft smile and left the room. A nurse soon brought in the reclining chair and settled it right next to Candice’s bed. Holding her hand, I stayed by her side the rest of the day and into the night. Through every vitals check, I was there. Mark didn’t give one word of complaint either.
It wasn’t until morning that I heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice ringing through the hallways.
“Where is my baby? What kind of place is this?”
Candice stirred groggily, so I patted her hand. “I will find out what’s going on. Just hold on.”
“Mom?” Candice croaked.
“What?” I answered just as the door flew open and a woman in her early sixties came flying into the room.
“Thank God you’re okay!” Making the sign of the cross, the woman raced across the room and nearly knocked me to the floor.
“Mom?” Candice cried out.
Mom? I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to that Candice had a mother, hell, an entire family. Why didn’t I know that?
“You scared us, Candice,” Candice’s mom said as she sobbed at her daughter’s bedside.
“Mom, this is Sutton Williams. Sutton, this is my mother, Leanne. Mom, how did you find me here?”
Leann shuddered. “I don’t know what to think of this godforsaken place. It’s time you came back to the city where you belong.”
Candice shook her head, looking worn and tired. Her voice was thin as she replied, “We have been through this. I am not going back to the city. I love Knox. I’m going to marry him, mom.”
“Why would you throw yourself away on some hick in the middle of nowhere? Listen, I saw the handsome sheriff. He's something else, so have your fun. I won’t begrudge you that. But this is not your forever, Candice. You have so much talent and promise, you can’t throw that all away.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be there for such a personal conversation. And yet I found I couldn’t step away. Was Candice throwing her life away in Otterville Falls? And in essence, was that what Mark was going through as well? I knew he was exhausted from traveling back and forth to New York. Guilt filled me as I listened to Candice argue with her mom.
“Excuse me, Candice?” Dr. Young poked his head into the room. “I need to take your vitals.”
While Candice was introducing the young doctor to her mother, I slipped out into the hallway. Hugging my arms against my chest, I felt oddly lost. Candice had nearly lost her life in an accident that had been meant for me.
“Sutton!” I turned to see Knox coming up the hallway.
I tried to smile, but it must have been flat because Knox smiled sadly at me. “You look like somebody kicked your dog.”
“I’ve never had a dog,” I replied in a trembling tone. “I had a mouse once that I caught in the trailer. But once Mama found out, Scratchy disappeared.”
Knox winced. “That’s a terrible story, Sutton.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“It's not your fault,” he added kindly.
I looked back at the closed door of Candice’s hospital room. “What can you tell me about the accident?”
“We had a positive identification on the driver; old Farmer Johnson was plowing his field when they both flew by. I had to make sure before I came to tell you. But he has identified Forrest in the lineup.”
“Forrest is here? In Otterville Falls?” I couldn’t help the wave of nausea that overtook me.
“He’s here at the police station. Sutton, this isn’t over, but I think he will take a plea bargain and sell out his accomplices. The man doesn’t have an allegiance to anyone.”
I nodded numbly. “Can I see him?”
Knox took a step back and removed his hat. Running a hand through his hair, I could see the