When she looked at herself in the mirror, she grimaced. Her hair was half-styled, with pins keeping her ringlets curled around the nape of her neck. Courtney pulled them out, throwing them in the trash as her hair spilled out over her shoulders.
She hated the reflection staring back at her. It belonged to a woman who ruined everything she touched. Two years ago, she’d told a man she wasn’t sure she loved him any more, and he’d ended up here, losing his life less than an hour later.
And today it felt as though it was happening all over again.
This time she wasn’t sure she could take it.
“Mrs. Roberts?”
Courtney looked up from the seat where she was next to Mary. It took her a moment to realize the doctor wasn’t talking to her. He was looking at Mary and Ellis with tired eyes.
“I’m she,” Mary said, trying to stand. Courtney reached for her arm, helping her up, as Ellis supported her on the other side. “Is my son all right? Where is he?”
Courtney swallowed hard. There was a clock on the wall in front of them, the second hand slowly ticking. They’d been here for less than an hour. If the doctor was coming out already, that had to be bad news, didn’t it? Otherwise he’d be in surgery with Carl.
“He’s still in the ER, ma’am, but I’m pleased to say he’s doing well. The bullet went clean through his arm. It didn’t hit any bones or tendons. He’s being cleaned and stitched up, then we’ll want to monitor him until tomorrow.” He gave her a small smile. “You’ll be able to see him once he’s admitted to the floor. Hopefully within the hour.”
Mary blinked, as though she didn’t quite understand. “He’s all right?” she whispered, her hand fluttering at her chest.
“He lost some blood, which we’ve replaced. And he’s shocked, of course. But yes, he’s doing pretty well considering.”
“I thought… I thought…” Mary let out a sob. Her legs gave way, and Courtney just managed to catch her before she slumped to the ground. She blinked away her own tears, sending up a silent prayer of thanks.
“He’s okay,” Courtney said, exhaling raggedly. “Carl’s okay.”
Mary nodded, her face contorted with emotion. Ellis patted her arm, his own expression stoic. He never was a man to show emotions.
“I’ll have a nurse come for you once he’s ready for visitors,” the doctor told them. “But as I said, it might take a while. Feel free to go to the cafeteria in the meantime if you need a break.”
But none of them were in the mood for food or drink. Instead, they sat and waited, all three of them silent until Mary suddenly turned to look at her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be flying to Boston?” she asked, her voice steadier than it had been.
“I was.” Courtney shrugged. “But I’m not going anymore. It’s fine.”
“Oh sweetheart. But you were so looking forward to it.” She looked up at the clock. “What time are you supposed to catch the flight?”
“It should have taken off ten minutes ago.”
“Oh no.” Mary’s voice rose. “Can you catch a later flight? You shouldn’t miss this.”
Courtney shook her head. “I’m staying right here with you. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Her heart ached at the thought of not going. But what could she do? Even if Carl was okay, Mary and Ellis would want to be with him. And somebody had to take care of the farm.
No, she wasn’t going to Boston. Not when she had responsibilities here. And in a little while, when she found the guts, she’d let Logan know what had happened.
But right now, the thought of hearing his voice made her eyes water. Because he’d be another person she’d be letting down today.
And she hated being the cause of anybody’s pain.
Logan grimaced as his call went straight to voicemail again, leaning his head back against the restaurant wall. “Court, it’s Logan. Again. I hope you’re doing okay. Call me back when you get a chance, all right? Just let me know you’re hanging in there. Okay, bye.” He ended the call and sighed. This was the fifth time he’d called. He’d even tried calling the hospital, but they’d refused to give out any information.
He glanced at his watch. Gray and the others would be arriving any minute now. It had been Maddie who’d called him before they took off and told him about Carl’s shooting. It had taken Gray’s soft, reassuring tones to stop Logan from catching the first flight out to be with Courtney.
“Just wait,” Gray had said over the phone. “I know you want to be with her, and it’s right that you should. But at least wait to hear how bad it is. You’ve got a damn restaurant opening tonight. Get busy sorting everything out in case you need to leave, okay?”
Gray was right, but it didn’t stop Logan from feeling absolutely fucking useless. Especially when Courtney wasn’t answering her phone. He couldn’t even ask one of his family to go and check on her, as they were all on their way to Boston.
He gritted his teeth, walking through the backdoor and into the kitchen. It was full of staff leaning over steaming pans and calling out directions to each other. He could see Ryan muttering to his sous-chef, something about the carrots being cut too thick. Logan nodded to him in greeting, then walked back into the main restaurant, where Paris and their event organizer were supervising the décor.
“Everything okay?” Paris asked, her face bright.
“Fine.” Logan gave her a curt nod. He hadn’t told her about Courtney. He didn’t really want to talk about
