The Vow by Susan Cochran

Author:Susan Cochran
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Susan Cochran

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Derek

THE PAST WEEK has been a blur of intense physical therapy. The breakthrough I’ve worked so hard at is finally here. My therapist has worked a miracle and I’m walking. It hasn’t been his work alone. I’ve worked my ass off to get to this point. I have to walk with a cane, but at least I’m not confined to that damn bed. Avoiding that bed has given me a will to walk.

Enormous relief flows through me at the progress I’ve made. My speech is slow, but I can talk. And more importantly, people can understand me.

Riley had an idea for a backyard barbecue to lift my spirits. I’m not exactly ready for a large group of people, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings, so I agreed. She invited the guys from the firehouse, a few neighbors, and several of the nurses and doctors from the ER. Mother Nature is cooperating, the weather is good, and in a few hours the house will be full of friends.

Riley comes in from getting the mail. “Dad, you got something. Shall I open it for you?” She holds out an envelope containing something inside of it.

I hold my hand out for it. “Thanks, but I’ve got it.” I open it just as Jillian walks into the room. A bullet falls from the envelope to the floor. I move to retrieve it. My brain is moving faster than my legs will allow me. I fall.

Jillian’s eyes are full of worry when she reaches me sprawled on the floor. “Are you alright?”

I lift my head and nod. I bruised my ego far more than any physical injury.

“You shouldn’t try to walk with no help,” she scolds me like a child.

I’m still weak, trapped in a body no longer my own. I hate feeling helpless, betrayed by the body I’d always nourished and treated well.

Riley moves forward and retrieves the bullet from the ground. She holds it out in front of her and inspects it with suspicion. Her eyes widen before meeting mine. “Dad, the bullet has your name on it.”

My body goes rigid. It takes great willpower to not look as terrified as I feel. I’m more worried about what Riley thinks than what kind of message the bullet is sending me.

Jillian meets my eyes. “Derek? Why is someone sending you a bullet?”

I can see she’s just as curious about what the bullet bearing my name written across it means as well.

I hold my hand out, and she places it in my palm. After scrutinizing it, I place it inside my pocket.

“You want to talk about this?” Jillian asks.

“Not particularly,” I reply, then think of something to throw her off. “The guys at the firehouse have a twisted sense of humor.”

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