Married Or Not?: Married or Not? / Ian's Ultimate Gamble

“Some internal injuries and a broken arm and leg would bear that out.”

“The doctor said he had to remove my spleen and sew up some tears inside.” She paused before saying, “No more gymnastics for me, I guess.” He didn’t smile, which didn’t surprise her. It was a lame joke.

“My guess is that the seat belt did its job and saved your life but caused damage of its own.”

She had trouble keeping her eyes off him. Greg Hogan was there in the hospital to see her. They’d had no contact in years and yet, now he was here.

“This is too weird. Why are you here?”

“I told you.”

“How did you hear about the accident?”

“At the station. That was one heck of a pile-up and several units were out there. Someone radioed in that your car had been sandwiched between an eighteen-wheeler and an SUV.” He nodded toward the nearby table. “They brought your purse back to the station when they recognized you and gave it to me. I left it here when I checked on you last night.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m having trouble concentrating on anything. I feel like I’m floating.”

“It’s the meds they’re giving you. You’re going to be fine, you know.”

“That’s good,” she murmured.

Greg watched her go back to sleep and smiled. He’d turned over his cases to some of the other detectives and asked for time off. He wanted to be here in case she needed him. She had no family since her aunt had died and he didn’t want her to be alone.

Of course he knew he had no business being there. She’d made it more than clear when she left him that she no longer wanted him around her. He picked up on the fact that she was less than thrilled to see him there, honestly puzzled, and he couldn’t explain to her what he couldn’t explain to himself.

He just knew that he had to be there. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Now he waited until she woke up again.

The next time Sherri opened her eyes and saw him, she frowned. “You’re still here.”

He nodded.

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I took some time off.”

“You said you talked to some of the men who were at the scene of the accident. Did they say how badly my car was damaged?”

“There’s not much left of it, I’m afraid. It’s a miracle you survived. When I saw it, I didn’t know how you could have come out of it alive.”

“It can’t be repaired?” she asked wistfully.

“’Fraid not.” He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. “I’m sorry. I know how much you loved that little car.”

Tears welled into her eyes. “I’m being silly to cry over a stupid car. It’s just that it was my very first car and I bought it brand-new.”

“I spoke to your roommate a little while ago while you were asleep. She didn’t know you’d been in an accident until late last night. When she called the hospital this morning to find out how you were, the nurse forwarded the call to your room. I guess the hospital will only give out information to family members.”

“You’re not family.” Tears continued to slide down her cheeks.

“But the hospital doesn’t know that. I told them I was your husband.”

She started to sit up and then grabbed her tummy and winced.

“Easy. You’ve just had major surgery.”

“Why would you lie like that?”

“Like I said,” he began patiently. “The hospital won’t give out information on a patient except to family members. I needed to know how you were doing so I told them we were married. I had this same conversation with Joan. She’d never heard of me.” He cocked his head and looked at her, his brows raised.

“I never told her your name. All she knows is that I’m divorced.”

“I think she was surprised to find me here.”

Sherri almost smiled. “I’m sure she was.” More tears flowed. “I didn’t get a chance to tell her.”

“Tell her what?”

“About what happened. I lost my job yesterday.”

“So that’s why you were on the highway at that time of day.”

She sighed. “It was definitely a Black Friday for me.”

She kept wiping away her tears. He took a tissue and wiped her cheeks.

“The important thing is that you’re alive. You can always get another car and another job.”

She glanced down at her body. “Right. With my arm and leg in casts, I have a hunch a prospective employer would not be impressed.”

“You don’t need to find a job next week, you know. You’re going to need time to rest and recuperate.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I’m obligated to pay half the bills for our apartment. Joan depends on me just as I depend on her.”

“Joan wondered how you’d be able to climb the stairs to your apartment, which I think is a fair question. You can’t handle crutches until your arm heals and that would be at least six weeks.”

“Oh, no! I hadn’t gotten around to thinking about that.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe all of this happened in one day.”

“Did you get a severance check?”

She nodded toward her purse. “I hope it’s still in there.”

“May I look?” he asked, reaching for it.

She closed her eyes. “I suppose. I don’t seem to have any secrets from you.”

He saw the crumpled envelope just inside the purse. He handed it to her. “Is this it?”

She opened her eyes and looked first at the envelope and then at him. “With one arm in a sling and the other hooked up to a drip, I can’t even take it.”