Eyes back to Cody. “Yes, we are.”
She wouldn’t dare say so, but she thought she might’ve seen just the slightest twinge of a smile right there at the corner of his glorious mouth, but robot training had paid off and he quickly returned to his factory settings.
“Well, I don’t have to tell you how lucky you were today, Miss Chambers,” the doctor said.
“No, you don’t.” Hadn’t Cody already done that?
“But I’m going to anyway. If this man hadn’t spotted you, you would surely have drowned out there.”
She stared at her folded hands in her sheet-covered lap. “I’m aware.”
And whoever it was that had called the Coast Guard—that was someone she should send a box of chocolates to.
“Great,” he said. “Your tests have all come back normal, but do you have someone at home who can keep an eye on you?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said.
“That’s not what he asked,” Cody said, glaring.
She glanced at him, wishing she had someone to claim as her own so she’d seem less pathetic.
“Yes, I have someone to keep an eye on me.”
The doctor did a surprisingly good stink eye for someone so young.
“I’ll be fine,” she repeated, this time more slowly.
“We do want to watch out for any odd or unusual behavior.”
“You mean odder and more unusual than my normal behavior?”
He stared at her for a few seconds before clearing his throat, evidently unsure how to respond to her—which wasn’t all that uncommon, now that she thought of it.
“Who will take care of you? Is there someone we can call?”
“A family friend. Maggie Fisher? You probably know her.”
The doctor went quiet. “I do. I was sorry to hear about—”
“She’ll make sure I don’t die in my sleep,” she cut in, avoiding Cody’s curious expression.
“Very good,” the doctor said. “I’ve signed your discharge papers. I’ve heard you’re quite the workaholic, young lady. Best you head home and put your feet up for the rest of the day. Let your body recover from your morning. And I’ll personally make sure Maggie knows how serious this is.”
“Please don’t.”
“Give me your word you’ll take a few days off and get in touch with Maggie immediately.”
She nodded compliantly, knowing full well she would do no such thing. She had the Timmons anniversary party that weekend, and there was no way she was flaking out on them. She had a reputation to protect. A business to run. An ex-boyfriend to impress. And bills to pay.
She tried not to groan at the thought of all the medical bills.
The doctor shook Cody’s hand, gave Louisa one last smile, and walked out the door.
“You’re going to do what he says?” Cody asked sternly, though it sounded more like an order.
“You should try to look less mean when you talk,” she said pointedly.
He might’ve actually snarled then, and the words You’re on thin ice popped into her head—a sort of warning, she supposed, though she didn’t make a habit of listening to the commonsensical parts of herself.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and tried to push her hand through her hair but found the tangles problematic.
“You gonna answer me?”
“Oh, that wasn’t a rhetorical question?”
“Louisa.”
“I’ll make sure to rest,” she said, doing nothing to hide her exasperation.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because I’m lying?” She stood on unsteady legs, trying to ground herself, but her head was light and the room spun. She might’ve taken a step—she wasn’t sure—and yep, she was going down.
In a flash, Cody’s arms were around her, and though she was barely conscious, she was coherent enough to notice he smelled really, really good, but not coherent enough to keep that thought to herself.
Next thing she knew, she was back on the bed and the room went dark.
CHAPTER THREE
MAGGIE FISHER DIDN’T HAVE ANY KIDS OF HER OWN, but she’d become a sort of wacky aunt to both Louisa and Cody when they were kids, and these days Louisa was much closer to Maggie than to any of her actual family members.
Even if her parents had been in Nantucket year-round, Louisa wondered if Maggie would still feel like the only family she had. Things hadn’t been right in the Chambers house for a very long time. The best thing Louisa had done for her parents was to move away. Never mind they’d replaced her with a dog.
None of that mattered, though. What mattered was that the local news had caught the story of her little mishap on the ocean, and while her parents might not learn about it from the news, Maggie definitely would. In fact, she was a little surprised Maggie hadn’t shown up at the hospital.
After her brief dizzy spell, Cody got bossy and told her to lie back down. She ignored him, of course, and might’ve told him he didn’t have any right to tell her what to do, thank you very much.
Did it matter that she sort of liked that he seemed to care? As if they had any chance of being friends again.
Now Louisa lay on her couch while Maggie fussed around the cottage, mumbling to herself. Louisa tried to ignore her, but Maggie seemed to emphasize certain words as she puttered.
Life jacket.
Weather radar.
Common sense.
She’d made her point.
Leaving the hospital, Louisa had had no intention of lying around the rest of the day, but as promised, the adolescent doctor had called Maggie and told her what happened. Another traitor.
Maggie brought her a cup of hot tea. Louisa didn’t like tea, but she took it anyway for fear that her wacky sort-of aunt would add the word ungrateful to her mumbling.
“Thanks,” she said without looking up.
Maggie plopped down in the chair Louisa had found at the Ryersons’ yard sale two summers ago. It was white wicker and most likely meant for outdoor use, but the Ryersons had expensive taste, and this beauty was the perfect complement to Louisa’s shabby-chic living space.
Louisa took a sip of tea (mostly to appease Maggie), then set the mug on the coffee table.
The cottage had been a labor of love for Louisa. Purchasing it three years ago had been a bit impulsive. Maggie said it was nostalgia, but Louisa genuinely wanted to take the house and transform it into something beautiful. It had been neglected for so many years.
She hadn’t counted on Cody returning to the island, however. At some point he was going to find out she’d bought this cottage, right? Just like at some point Maggie was going to learn it was Cody who’d pulled her from the water.
Her mind took her straight back to the moment she’d been plunged into the depths by a wave so strong and merciless Louisa was certain its sole purpose was to end her life.
Her chest closed as her imagination made her relive the whole ordeal in vivid detail as if she needed the reminder. As if she could ever forget.
“I suppose I should ask if you’re okay,” Maggie said.
Louisa’s eyes fluttered open, and she forced a smile. “Of course I am, Mags. It wasn’t really that big of a deal.”