that he would have to put that plan into action. He threw what few clothes he had salvaged from his house into a carryon bag and headed out the door, making phone calls the whole way there.
After being taken to the emergency room by ambulance, having x-rays and even a cat scan, she was declared well enough to travel. Her nose wasn’t broken, but merely bruised…which didn’t make it hurt any less in her estimation. And finally she was told that she could resume normal activities, including and most especially…eating. By the time she met up with the guys in the waiting room, she was beyond famished and slightly medicated.
“Can we go eat?” She asked quietly.
“Is everything about food with you?” Joey asked as he stood up from a seat behind the column.
“Oh my God! How long was I in there?” She walked over to him. He met her halfway. It wasn’t how she pictured it. In the movies it would have been an epic embrace, the hug of all hugs, the moment of all moments. In reality, her ribs hurt, her neck ached, her nose throbbed so that talking, breathing, and moving seemed impossibly difficult. When he wrapped his arms around her, glad that she was alive, thrilled to have her close once more. “Ow. Ow. OW, dammit!” She yelped into his chest.
He looked her over. She seemed to be intact. She seemed as feisty as ever. And to him, she looked beautiful. He checked her all over. And finally, he checked her wrist. The bracelet was there, still intact. “I brought you something,” Joey said with a smile. “For your first ambulance ride: an ambulance charm.”
“I can’t believe they make such a thing,” she chuckled sadly as she held out her wrist.
Joey added the new charm and kissed her wrist when a cold familiar voice called her name from across the waiting room. “Martha!” His voice was harsh, rigid. And Marti wondered if he wasn’t upset to see another man kissing her wrist.
“Blaine,” she said without even turning to acknowledge his presence. She could see from the corner of her eye that he was walking toward them. Hot on his heels was Suzette. Together, Marti and Joey turned to face him.
“I hope this means you moved everything.” He looked down his nose at her and then studied Joey. He sniffed, which was an obvious indication of his disapproval. She knew it well. And his disapproval really made her laugh, which actually hurt.
“Yes, I removed everything. And I have hired an attorney, so it looks like we’ll be fighting this out in court.” She frowned. “I’ll see you then, although I doubt you’ll recognize me. Really, there’s nothing more for us to say. I need to get home.” She didn’t know how to end the coversation. This was more than goodbye. There was too much dislike for her to ever lie and wish him a good day. And the honesty was simply too much for him to handle, and likely to incite a fight she hadn’t the energy to begin. That’s why she merely took Joey by the hand and walked away.
They didn’t talk again until they exited the hospital. They piled into the minivan. And as soon as he was confident that she was comfortable, he asked her what she wanted to do. “Want to go eat?” He reached over and placed his hand on her knee.
Gingerly, she nodded her head. “Yeah. Let’s eat. Then take me home, please?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled at her and they drove off.
It was the drive to the beach all over again, only this time, when she opened her eyes at the end of the trip, she was facing his house. “You backed in, I see,” she said with a wry smile. “I get it. Lesson learned. Future tragedies averted.” She glanced at her phone. It was already mid-morning. They had driven through the night. There were already members of Joey’s crew hard at work on her house. She stepped out of the vehicle and smiled. The air was crisp, but not unbearable. “I love this,” she said with a smile. “Let’s go to the café for breakfast. I’d dare say that Laurel will have whatever you want…”
“It’s very tempting. Let’s just do a couple of things first.” He threw an arm around her shoulder and walked her into her house. “What do you think?”
Her eyes were wide with surprise. “It’s done?!”
“Well, no, but the main floor is. You have that downstairs bedroom. The