The Light Through the Leaves(122)

She held Raven again. “None of this is your fault. Not one thing, do you understand?”

A nurse came in. She wanted to take Raven’s blood pressure and temperature, but she refused. Ellis saw no signs that Raven was in immediate need of medical treatment. She had some bruises and scrapes, but it was her emotional distress that was worrisome. Ellis didn’t try to bully her into complying. She asked the nurse for clothing.

Jasper left while Ellis helped Raven change into a pair of hospital scrubs. Ellis scanned her body for signs that she might need the X-rays and CAT scans the doctor had suggested. She didn’t see anything obvious, but when she mentioned the tests, Raven shook her head violently. She set a panicky gaze on the door, as if she were bracing to fly out.

“Okay, we’ll wait and see how you are,” Ellis said in the most soothing voice she could muster. “Everything is okay. No one will hurt you.”

Ellis wet paper towels and wiped the dirt off her face. “Keith drove us here,” she said. “Should I tell him to go home, or would you like to meet him?”

“He came back?”

“Yes, just before we found out about the accident.”

“He came back for good?”

“I think so.”

She studied Ellis’s eyes. “You must be happy.”

“I am. At least, I was.”

“Where is he?”

“In the waiting room. I need to let him know what’s going on.”

“You’ll come right back?”

“I will.”

“You won’t want him to leave,” Raven said. “You can bring him in here.”

Ellis found Keith and brought him into the examination room. Jasper and Raven were seated, Jasper’s arms enveloping his sister. It nearly made Ellis cry again.

Raven stood to meet Keith. She shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Gephardt.” Audrey Lind must have been a stickler for manners.

They waited almost two hours before they were allowed to see River. He was still unconscious. His face was bruised and his head bandaged. He was attached to many machines—just what Raven feared—including a nasal cannula for supplemental oxygen. Jasper and Raven wept. Ellis was relieved he wasn’t on a respirator. She softly kissed River’s cheek, the first time since he was four years old.

Two hours later, River was moved to a patient room in the ICU.

An hour later, Jonah walked in.

Other than his present look of exhaustion and anxiety, he hadn’t changed much. He was still slim and fit. He had the expected age sags and lines in his face, white wisps in his dark hair. The most notable difference was something new about his eyes. At first, Ellis couldn’t grasp what it was. Then she understood. His gaze was layered. Beneath his usual bright, blue-eyed confidence was a depth of sadness she’d never seen before.

“Dad!” Jasper said, running into his father’s arms.

Jonah held him tight. Ellis still knew him well enough to see he was fighting tears.

Jasper didn’t hold his back. “I’m sorry. It was my idea to come here. River didn’t want to. This is my fault!”

“It’s not your fault,” Jonah said.

“Didn’t you know they were in Florida?” Ellis asked him.

“I thought they were at the Outer Banks,” he said.

“I told them to tell you. I insisted on it.”

“I’m sorry,” Jasper said. “We didn’t want to make you angry.”

Jonah walked to the bed, gently laid his hand on River’s cheek. “I last talked to the doctor when my plane landed in Orlando. Any changes?”

“No,” Ellis said. “They expect him to wake from the coma soon. The brain trauma was minor.”

“She said he also took some water into his lungs.”

“A small amount. That’s why he’s on oxygen and intravenous antibiotics.”

Jonah turned to Raven, still wearing hospital scrubs. “You pulled him out of the car as it sank. The paramedics told the doctor you saved his life.”

Raven said nothing. Ellis knew she believed the opposite.

Jonah put his hands on her shoulders. “You are a smart, brave girl.” He took his daughter in his arms and pressed her to his heart. “Thank you. What a miracle you are.”

She was crying when he let her go.

Jonah and Ellis at last fully acknowledged each other. Sixteen years of pain, guilt, blame, and anger crammed into their gazes. And maybe a little bit of love. Jonah embraced her, and she hugged him back. The strangest part was how easily her body remembered his. The smell of him, the way he held her, the soft sound of his breath in her ear. A thousand memories ignited in her nerve endings in the few seconds their bodies touched.

“Jonah, this is Keith Gephardt,” Ellis said.

“Good to meet you, Keith,” Jonah said as he shook his hand.

Keith had gotten a megadose of Ellis’s past in the six hours since he’d returned. But he bore it well. He told Jonah he was sorry about the accident and offered him something to eat.

Jonah declined. He went to River and held his hand.

Ellis sat next to Keith. “Try to sleep a little,” he said, tucking her to his chest.

“You’re the one who needs it,” she said. “You have to be at work soon.”