broken leg, and walking properly with the borrowed crutches, though until Carol’s sore ribs were better, using the crutches was limited. She was pleased to see the portable toilet, though goodness knows Carol was not pleased at all that she needed the damn thing.
By the time Carol returned to bed, she was exhausted. Whoever thought rehab was easy work had never been through it. After placing more pillows under the bad leg, Meredith pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat.
“You’re very lucky the break is no worse than it is.”
“Don’t I know it,” Carol mumbled. She was a little breathless, and that in itself was alarming. Here she’d been playing up the injury so Sela would take over, and it appeared she didn’t need to fake anything at all.
“It’s scary, isn’t it? How what would’ve been a minor incident a couple of months ago can now be life-threatening. Scary, too, how people change, when things go bad.” There remained a kind of sweetness, a patience, in Meredith’s eyes, which was surprising given who she was married to.
“I can’t argue with that,” Carol said. She leaned back and relaxed. It was early in the day, but damn it, she could use a nap!
Meredith relaxed in her chair. “Ted didn’t want me to come here today.”
No shit.
“If I’d heard about your fall sooner, I would’ve come right away.” She smiled. “If Ted knew that, he never would’ve mentioned your accident to me.”
Against her best instincts, Carol liked Ted Parsons’s wife. She never would’ve thought that possible. “He and I didn’t get off to the best start,” she admitted. “I imagine he’s happy to see me suffer.”
“Oh, it’s not that,” Meredith said sharply, firing up in her husband’s defense. “Ted can be difficult, I know, and he always thinks his way is the best way because he’s had to fight for what he has. But he would never purposely harm a soul. He doesn’t like seeing you, or anyone else, in pain.”
Carol wasn’t so sure about that.
“I wish he and your niece could get along. He was so upset yesterday after that business over the gas. I don’t think he slept a wink last night.”
Carol didn’t say anything. This woman knew Ted and his faults as well as anyone, she imagined.
Meredith sighed. “He can be difficult, I admit it. It’s— He needs to feel important. It’s the way he grew up, in foster care. He never felt as if he mattered to anyone. He had to fight for everything he got, and to this day he can be downright unpleasant to people who he thinks are belittling him. He’s very protective of me. Always has been, but especially since my heart attack ten years ago.”
Carol sat up a little. “You had a heart attack?”
Meredith waved off Carol’s concern. “Yes, but it’s no big deal.”
“A heart attack most definitely is a big deal.”
“My doctors say I’m fit as a fiddle. I recovered nicely, but Ted has never believed it. I think he’s always watching me, waiting for the next one to hit without warning. As I said, he’s very protective, much more so than is necessary. If he had his way I’d stay inside until things are back to normal. He tried to talk me out of coming here today, though of course he knew he was going to lose that argument.” She laughed a little. “The secret is in spoiling him a little, then he gives in. When I let him know I wasn’t changing my mind, he drove me down. He was coming down anyway, to see someone. Mike somebody, I think?”
“Mike Kilgore?”
“Yes, that’s it. Usually Ted walks into the valley, but he drove today because he won’t let me make the trip on foot.” She laughed. “I could make it down the mountain, but I’m not so sure about making it back up, so he was right about that part.”
Huh. Teddy had a good quality that Carol hadn’t expected. He loved his wife.
“Are you still taking pain medication?” Meredith asked, changing the subject abruptly. “Barb told me you were taking some of her leftover pills.”
“I quit taking them yesterday.”
Meredith nodded. “Good. Next time I come down I’ll bring a bottle of wine, and we’ll break it open after your session.” Her eyes sparkled, and she gave a mischievous grin.
Wine. Oh, that would be better than the pain pills! She wasn’t much of a drinker, so they didn’t have a single bottle in the house, but right about