The flames from the garage were nearly out now. Jace needed to find out how the building fared, though he suspected poor Bonnie had likely lost most of her possessions. He sure hoped he was wrong. What he needed to do right now was check on Gunner and Noel, deal with the police, and get to the hospital to check on the woman he loved.
* * *
A moan wasthe first thing Bonnie registered as she began to wake up. Where was it coming from? The person sounded miserable. A few moments later, she realized the moan was coming from her own throat. And then it hit her.
The mother of all headaches. Her whole head throbbed. She tried to open her eyes, but the moment light hit her pupils, the headache intensified. She squeezed her eyelids shut.
Where was she? What happened?
Confusion mixed with the pain. “Jace?” She barely recognized the sound of her own voice.
Something was pinching her arm. She put a hand there and felt a tube coming out of it.
“Hey, Bonnie. I’m here.” A warm hand covered her own. “You’re in the hospital, and I need you to leave the IV alone.”
His thumb drew circles on the back of her hand. The repetitive motion stilled her, and Bonnie tried to focus on the sound of his voice.
She was in the hospital? She struggled to remember what happened. It slowly came together. Cabe surprising her in the garage. Getting locked in the closet. The fire. And Jace coming to her rescue. If it hadn’t been for him…
A hot tear escaped the corner of her eye. It didn’t make it halfway down its escape route before Jace wiped it away.
“Are you hurting?”
Bonnie nodded and even that motion sent waves of pain through her head. “My. Head.” She coughed, sending splinters of agony through her head and chest. Had they caught Cabe? Was the garage okay? She had so many questions, yet her throat was too scratchy and hurt too much to voice them.
“I’m going to find the nurse. I’ll be right back.” His hand left hers, allowing cool air to hit her skin. She wanted to tell him not to leave. A few minutes later, she heard his voice again. “Bonnie says her head hurts. She won’t even open her eyes.”
A woman spoke. “Bad headaches are common after smoke inhalation and exposure to carbon monoxide. We’ll give her some pain medication through her IV which should help. The best thing for her is rest, continued oxygen, and time.”
For the first time, Bonnie noticed the oxygen cannula in her nose as someone adjusted it.
Apparently, whatever medication the nurse had given her was working. Her head stopped pounding as hard and she began to relax as everything around her started to fade. “Jace?” Her raspy voice was barely above a whisper.
“Right here.” His hand held hers again.
“So sleepy. Don’t leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The last thing she registered was the sensation of his lips on her forehead as blissful sleep claimed her.
The next time Bonnie woke up, her head didn’t hurt nearly as bad. It still took her several moments to remember where she was and what happened. But this time, when she tried to open her eyes, the light didn’t make her head throb like it was going to explode.
She blinked several times and moved a little. It must have gotten Jace’s attention because his face shifted into focus. When he saw her eyes were open, he smiled at her. “Hey, you. Welcome back.”
Bonnie coughed, winced in response to her sore throat, and tried to clear it. “What happened…with Cabe? Did they catch him?” She coughed again.
Jace produced a small cup of water with a straw. “Here, take a sip of this. The nurse said the more you can drink the better.”
Even though it hurt to swallow, the cool water felt like heaven as it coursed down her throat. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He set the cup down again and smoothed some hair away from her forehead. “As for what happened, let’s see… I was waiting for you to get home. When I saw your car arrive, I wanted to come over and talk to you even though it was late. I didn’t want to wait until Monday morning. But as I was walking to the garage, I saw Cabe running.”
Bonnie listened in silence as he told her about shooting Cabe, seeing the flames, getting Bonnie out, and then the officer returning with Cabe after hunting the man down.
“Cabe will be charged for attempted murder among many other things. Between what I saw, what he told me, and what he did to you, there’s no way he’ll be getting out of prison any time soon.”
Bonnie shook her head, the movement reminding her of the lingering headache. “I can’t believe he did it all…because he hated that your grandpa willed the ranch to you and Noel instead of him.” She coughed and reached for the cup of water again. After several sips, she said, “How is the garage?”
