“The doctor says your scans look really good,” Aaron told her, coming in from the hallway carrying a few cups of coffee. He handed one to her and then sat in his chair beside her bed. “He said you should be getting out of here in a few days.”
Maggie smiled at the news. She was ready to leave and put all of this behind her, but there was one last question that she needed answered.
“Aaron, can you tell me what happened to the man who attacked me?” Maggie asked. She’d asked before and he kept telling her not to worry, that she was safe, but she needed to know what happened. She knew this was hard for him to talk about, but she needed answers. Aaron nodded, realizing he couldn’t put her off any longer.
“I was coming to see you,” Aaron admitted.
“You were?” She heard the surprise in her own voice and saw him wince in reaction.
“It was killing me, staying away from you. I thought it was for the best, thought it would be easier for you to move on if I wasn’t hanging around,” he explained.
“I could never move on,” she whispered.
“I couldn’t either. I stopped by to see how the harvest was going. I told myself I was only going to talk with the foreman and leave, but I needed to see you. I came in through the kitchen and when I reached the front room I saw him on top of you.” He had to take a deep breath and clear his throat before he continued. “I grabbed him and threw him off of you. You looked… I thought you were… I thought I’d lost you and I was going to kill him for it. I jumped on him and I just started hitting him, over and over. I wasn’t going to stop until he was dead.” A tear escaped and ran down his face.
“Did you?” Maggie asked with a trembling voice.
Aaron shook his head. “Some of the guys from outside, they heard the commotion. They came in and stopped me before it was too late. It almost was.”
“So he’s…?” Maggie couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat.
“He’s in intensive care,” Aaron stated flatly. “But as soon as he’s stable enough he’s going to stand trial for attempted murder.”
Maggie nodded, finally feeling the sense of closure that she needed.
“I almost lost you, Maggie. I don’t know what I would have done.” Aaron’s voice was strained with emotion.
“But you didn’t lose me. I’m here, and I’m going to be okay,” she assured him. “We’re going to be okay.”
~∞~
Leaving the hospital was quite the production. It seemed like everyone from Sweetwater had sent flowers. Maggie’s room had been overflowing with them and it took several trips to load them all into the back of Aaron’s truck.
“You’re sure you’re ready for this?” Aaron asked as they pulled into the driveway at Devereaux Manor.
“I’m ready,” Maggie assured him. She’d been preparing herself for coming back here. Andi had offered to pack up her things for her, but Maggie needed this final closure.
She wasn’t prepared for the crowd that was waiting for them. Ms. Brandy was the first to hug Maggie as she stepped out of the truck.
“We all just wanted to say goodbye before you head off to Savannah,” she told her. “I sure am gonna miss having you around the shop.”
“I’m going to miss you too,” Maggie replied, hugging her with her good arm.
Lacey and Travis Buchannan were next in the receiving line. Lacey was holding little baby Aaron and Travis was juggling the other three.
“Promise you’ll come back to visit?” Lacey asked.
“I wouldn’t miss the Fourth of July barbeque,” Maggie assured her.
“How about we all head inside so Maggie can get off her feet?” Aaron suggested, and everyone murmured their agreement as they made their way into the house.
Andi hung behind the crowd waiting for everyone to file inside before stepping over to loop her arm through Maggie’s “You doing okay?” she asked.
“I really am,” Maggie said. “I thought it might be hard coming back here, but this isn’t a bad place. I spent an amazing summer here. There are so many more good memories than bad.”
The impromptu going away party lasted for several hours, Maggie couldn’t believe how many people had shown up to say goodbye. Even Shannon, the waitress from the café where she and Andi had lunch every day, had come to see her off. When the final guest left Maggie was exhausted.
“I guess I need to go pack,” she said reluctantly.
“Already done,” Andi told her.
“And everything is loaded into the car,” Aaron added as he came back into the room. “Andi said she’d follow behind and drive your Jeep up.”
“Aaron’s going to bring me back in the morning. Dad really needs me to stick around until we get someone else hired at the store. It might take a couple weeks,” Andi said apologetically.
“I’ll be fine,” Maggie assured her.
“I can stay with you if you want,” Aaron offered. “Until Andi gets there.”