Page 66 of Colton’s Inferno

It had been easy to blame Aiden in the moment, but he wasn’t at fault. She’d known that then and she knew it now. The problem was, she wasn’t sure how to take back what she’d said.

“I hate to interrupt.” A male voice came from the doorway.

She turned in her seat. Dr. Palmer stood on the threshold. He held a tablet computer.

“Come in,” she said. “Do you have any more news?”

“I know this can be overwhelming,” he said, stepping into the room. “Is there someone who can sit with you?”

Lucy shook her head. “It’s just me and Rusty.”

“I want you to take care of yourself as well. It’s tempting to stay here all the time, but you won’t help your grandfather if you end up sick or exhausted.”

Hell, she’d been fatigued for years. “I just want to be here when he wakes up.”

“He’s in a medically induced coma for now. He won’t be coming around until we take him off the meds. That’ll be Tuesday at the earliest. Maybe Wednesday.”

He had told her that already. “You said that. I guess I forgot.”

“Like I said, this is overwhelming.” He paused. “When was the last time you ate?”

Funny, he sounded like Aiden. “Dinner,” she said. “Last night.”

“Remember to take care of you.”

Now it was official. He definitely sounded like Aiden.

The doctor continued, “The cafeteria won’t open until noon for lunch.” He looked at a watch on his wrist. “You have about forty minutes.”

At the mention of food, her stomach contracted painfully and started to grumble. The hunger pang seemed like a penance for being gone when Rusty had his heart attack. “I’ll get something to eat later.”

“Make sure you get plenty of rest. There’s not much you can do for your grandfather now. But he’ll need extra help during his recovery.”

Extra help. That sounded expensive and time-consuming. Money and time were two things that Lucy didn’t have. “I’ll make sure I do that, too.”

“Okay, then. I just wanted to stop by and say that I consulted with our chief of surgery, Dr. Colton. He’s going to be stopping in and checking on your grandfather over the weekend. He’ll be the one to decide when to take Rusty out of the coma. Until then, take care of yourself.”

“Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”

The doctor gave her a nod. Then, he left.

Lucy still held her grandfather’s hand. She looked around the room. The medical equipment. The IV. Everything that was keeping her grandfather alive was an expense. And at the same time, she’d spend every last penny to keep him with her.

Her head started to throb.

The doctor was right. She needed to take care of herself. Eat and rest.

She also needed to take care of the livestock.

But how was she supposed to get back to the ranch?

Lucy pulled her phone from her pocket and brought up her contacts. She found Aiden’s number and opened the phone app. Her finger hovered above the call icon. After everything she said, could she actually ask him for a favor?

No. She couldn’t.

Instead, she contacted a rideshare. Sure, it cost money she didn’t have. But once she got back to the ranch, she could drive her grandfather’s car.

“I’m going to go now,” she said, squeezing Grandpa Rusty’s hand. “You keep hanging in there. I’ll be back this evening to check on you.”