“Jo said something about bleeding.”
Melanie nodded, kept her voice low. “Yeah, but they said it isn’t moving anything around inside, which is a good thing. When Hope woke up right after we got here, she didn’t make a lot of sense. The doctor said it wasn’t abnormal after the knock she’s suffered and the amount of time she’s been unconscious.”
Hope twitched in her sleep but didn’t wake up.
“Do they think she’s been out all this time?”
“They can’t tell. We won’t know until she wakes up and makes sense. Even then we have to base the timeline on her memory, which might take some time to come back.”
Wyatt covered the hand Melanie used to hold Hope’s.
Their silence was interrupted by one of the nursing staff walking into the room. Her genuine smile and kind eyes gave him a passing feeling of comfort.
She set some supplies down on a rolling table and moved about the room. “The orthopedic doctor is here to set and splint her arm,” she told them.
“Is it gonna hurt her?” Melanie asked.
The nurse squinted and sighed. “A little. The doctor will inject some pain meds in her arm, and with any luck, she won’t feel much after that.”
“All right.” Melanie stood when a man wearing a suit walked into the room.
“Mrs. Bartlett?”
Melanie corrected the man, like Wyatt had noticed her doing repeatedly throughout the day. “It’s Miss.”
He smiled. “I’m Doctor Johnson.”
The doctor glanced between the two of them as he explained what he was going to do.
As he spoke, he turned on a lighted box used to view X-rays and slid in what Wyatt assumed were Hope’s films. The break was clearly visible in her forearm, both bones crossed over each other in the wrong places.
That had to hurt.
“Once I line up the bones, it’s just a matter of time for it to fuse together again. In six weeks we’ll take the cast off. I don’t anticipate any problems.”
Another set of hands came in the room and started adjusting the bed to a higher level. Wyatt stood back and watched.
Hope stirred on the bed.
“Hope, sweetie, Mommy’s here.”
Hope moaned and blinked her eyes a few times. For Wyatt, it was the best thing he’d seen all day.
“Miss Gina’s gonna be mad.” These were the first words out of Hope’s mouth.
Melanie laid a gentle hand to Hope’s forehead as the staff in the room opened different packages of what Wyatt assumed was the splinting material for Hope’s arm.
“Miss Gina’s not mad,” Melanie told her daughter.
“Mommy?” The question and tone of Hope’s voice made Wyatt pause.
“That’s right, sweetie. I’m right here.”
“Something’s not right.” Hope looked beyond Melanie to those around the room.
“You’re in the hospital, honey. You fell.”
“Mommy . . . Miss Gina’s going to be mad.” Hope tried to move on the bed and cried out.
“Don’t move, baby.”
Hope opened her eyes again and stared at Melanie as if seeing her for the first time. “Mommy, is that you?”
Melanie started to tear up again. “Why does she keep asking me that?” she asked the doctor.
“Repetitive questions after a head injury are common. Most of the time they go away.”
Wyatt placed a hand on Melanie’s shoulder, she gripped it with one of hers. “Most of the time?”
“She’s already making more sense than when she first arrived. I know it’s hard, but just answer her questions and keep her calm.”
“Mommy, where am I?” Hope kept staring around the room until her eyes finally connected with his. “Uncle Wyatt?”
“Hey, princess.”
Hope gave him a strangled smile. “Miss Gina is mad.”
“We’re about to get started, Miss Bartlett. Do you want to stay here while we do this?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Melanie sat on the edge of the bed as if proving a point.
The nurse eyed Wyatt. “We need a little more room. Would you mind stepping outside?”
Wyatt turned to Melanie. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yep.”
No . . . she wasn’t, but she was putting on a good face.
Wyatt kissed the top of her head and stepped to the doorway. Jo stood just outside, her head tilted toward her cell phone. “No, don’t,” he heard her say. “Tell them to wait until I get back. There are a few things I want them to check out before we shut this case.”
The noise of a curtain closing and the voices inside Hope’s room carried into the hall, equally distracting from the conversation Jo was having.
He heard Hope whimper and cry and Melanie console her daughter, telling her it would all be better soon.
“One night. They’ve flown all this way. Hide their car keys . . . just keep them there.”
“Ouch, ouch . . . ouch.”
“Just do it, Emery.” Jo hung up the phone and tucked it into her front shirt pocket of her uniform.
“What was that all about?” Wyatt asked.
Jo released a frustrated breath. “Nothing . . . nothing. How is she?”