The mystery man almost whimpered as hospital staff loaded him onto a gurney. They called out visible injuries, but my brain couldn’t absorb what they were saying. I felt horrible for this injured man. What did he look like when he wasn’t impersonating a punching bag? Who was out there wondering where he was? Surely someone missed him. It was Thanksgiving night.
Why was he so familiar?
“Don’t touch his right arm. That hurts him. A lot.” I hovered close, worried about the poor stranger.
When he reached out his hand, I moved in closer. “They’re going to help you, okay?”
He clasped my hand, and I was careful not to touch what looked like road rash on the back of his knuckles.
I ran along side, keeping up as they pushed through the double doors.
The nurse waved a hand in front of my face. “Ma’am, what’s his name?”
Based on her frustrated expression, I gathered it wasn’t the first time she’d asked. But it was the first time I’d heard. “I don’t know. I tried to play a game where he signaled when I got to the first letter of his name, and that was X. But he shook his head when I asked if his name was Xavier or Xander. So, I don’t know.”
She glanced down at his hand wrapped around mine. “You don’t know him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t recognize him, but . . .” I widened my eyes and nodded at him, hoping she’d understand that his battered face hindered recognition. I didn’t want him to hear me say how bad he looked. That seemed unkind.
The nurse looked at him. “What’s your name?”
Even though she wasn’t talking to me, I answered. “I’m Tessa. He can’t really talk.” That seemed pretty obvious, but I said it anyway.
She ignored me. “Is there anyone we can call for you?”
The guy let go of my hand and pointed at me.
It made no sense why he was appointing me guardian or whatever his pointing meant, but maybe he thought of me as his guardian angel. A muddy, sympathy-crying guardian angel.
I stepped out of the way as they wheeled him into the back but leaned around the nurses and called after him, “I’ll see you later.”
Too muddy to sit in a chair, I paced. But after only two laps around the room, a woman motioned me toward the big glass check-in window. “Could you please fill these out for him?”
“I don’t know him. I spilled coffee on myself and pulled over. And I found him on the side of the road.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “He looks familiar though.”
Her brow furrowed as she gave me a surveying look. “The police will want you to answer a few questions.”
“Okay.” It wasn’t a surprise that the police would be called. And like it or not, I was involved, but I was a mess. I didn’t want to leave, but I needed clean clothes. “I’m going to run out to my car. If he asks for me, tell him I’ll be right back.”
“I thought you didn’t know him.” She tapped her pen against the desk.
“I don’t, but I want to know he’s okay.” I pointed outside. “I’ll be right back. Is there a restroom in here?”
She pointed to a hall. “Down that way on the left.”
“Thanks.” I moved my car out of the drop-off lane and into a parking space, which I should’ve done as soon as they’d rolled him through the doors.
Grateful that I’d packed a just-in-case bag to take to my parents’ house, I grabbed clothes and found the restroom. There wasn’t much to be done about the mud in my hair, so I knotted it atop my head and shed my muddy clothes. Clean clothes felt like a luxury. The dirty clothes got wrapped in the ruined seat covers and dropped into my trunk.
Wringing my fingers, I walked to the far corner of the waiting area, plugged in my phone to charge, and curled up in a chair. As my adrenaline rush waned, my eyelids grew heavy. A few minutes of sleep would probably do me some good.
When my eyes closed, I saw the stranger’s face. Familiarity clawed at me. I knew him.
That thought made me sick. Seeing a stranger in pain was bad enough.
“Ma’am.” A man’s voice sounded close.
I sprang out of the chair, nearly crashing into a wall of a man in uniform. “Yes?”
He backed up, surprise sparking in his brown eyes. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Deputy Gomez.”
“Not your fault. I’m a bit jumpy tonight.”
“Would you like to walk next door and grab a cup of coffee? We can talk there.” He shifted his belt.
Was he flirting or just playing the good cop? I was in no mood to meet the bad cop tonight.
“I don’t want to leave.” I glanced at the doors where they’d wheeled my new friend out of sight.
“Okay.” Deputy Gomez nodded slowly and pulled a small notebook out of his shirt pocket. “Can you tell me what happened? We have a guy badly beaten with no ID, and you brought him in.”
“He was on the side of the road. I found him like that. I’ve already told this to multiple people.” I crossed my arms and tried to keep my voice even.
“Did he say anything to you?”
“He just moaned a lot. I tried to figure out his name, but he may have been too hurt to understand because he signaled on X, and then tapped no when I asked if his name was Xavier or Xander. What other X names are there?”
“Tapped no?” The deputy scribbled in a tiny notebook.
“One for yes. Two for no. Isn’t that like some universal code?” I glanced toward the double doors. “Can I see him?”
With a furrowed brow, the deputy looked up from his notes. “I thought you didn’t know him.”
“I didn’t. Don’t. Maybe. Whatever. But after rolling around in the mud together, we sort of have a bond. I need to know that he’ll be okay.” I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I knew he’d survive, and trying to explain to the deputy that the man looked familiar would only use up perfectly good air.
Deputy Gomez surveyed my outfit. “The mud?”
“I changed.” I gave a shrug, not interested in explaining how I’d managed to get the stranger on his feet. “I was driving home from my parents’ house—because it’s Thanksgiving—and I spilled coffee on myself thanks to an animal that ran across the road. I pulled over to wipe my face, and that’s when I spotted the guy. My phone was dead so I couldn’t call anyone. It’s cold outside, and he doesn’t even have a jacket, so I loaded him into my car and drove him here.” I sighed when I finished. “That’s what happened.”
He tapped the pen against the little notepad. “So . . . you maybe don’t know him but loaded him into your car and brought him here. And now you’re waiting for . . . what?”
“I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting a small fuzzy animal. Do you think I’d just drive away and leave an actual person on the side of the road? As to why I’m waiting . . . do you only read half a mystery? I’d like to know if he’s going to be okay and maybe find out what happened.”
“Picking up a stranger was risky.”
“You sound like my cousin.”
“Who’s your cousin?”
Lightbulbs went off in my head before I made my situation worse. “Doesn’t matter.”
A nurse with silver hair and an efficient smile walked out of the double doors, headed straight for me. “Miss.”
“Yes?” I stepped around the deputy.
“He’s asking for you.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder.
I picked up my purse and phone. “He’s talking?”
“Trying to. But he keeps pointing this direction. It wasn’t hard to figure out what he wants. And, Deputy Gomez, just let me know if you need to talk to the patient again.”
“Thanks.” The deputy put his hand on my arm. “I need to get your name and a contact number. And if you think of anything else that might help, please call me.” He held out a card.
I gave him my info, then followed the nurse to the back.
She pulled aside a curtain and motioned for me to go in. “I pulled a chair in for you.”
Pillows were tucked in around the guy’s head, and the top of the bed was lifted. He was bare chested, but a sheet covered his lower half. A brace was on one hand and the other was wrapped in bandages. Only his thumb stuck out the side of the brace. The other hand was completely wrapped.
He looked horrible.
I flashed a smile, determined to be a bright spot if possible. “Hey there, Mr. X.” I froze as my own words bounced around in my head.
Last month, I’d called a guy Mr. X after I’d turned him down for a date. I’d emphatically told him that I couldn’t know his name. He’d met with Eli and was probably part of some surprise for Delaney that Eli was cooking up. I’d told him I didn’t want to know because if Delaney asked me about anything, I couldn’t lie convincingly.
The guy in the doughnut shop that day had been strikingly handsome. Fan-myself-and-sigh kind of handsome.
I blinked after staring at him too long. “I’ve met you, haven’t I?”
His thumb tapped the bed once.
The chair screeched as I dragged it closer to the bed. I slid my hand under his. “You were in the doughnut shop a few weeks ago.”
He tapped my hand. Just once.
“You asked me out.”
The thumb brushed my hand again about the same time one of my tears landed on the bed. I pictured how he’d looked before someone pummeled his face.
“You told me X so that I wouldn’t know your name, huh?”
That thumb answered.
“I know I said I didn’t want to know your name, but now I need to know your name. Don’t you want me to tell your family that you’re okay?”
He tapped twice.
“What about Eli?” Offering that was a risk because then I’d have to come clean about what I’d done.
Another two taps let me off the hook.
“If you want me to stay, I need to know your name.” I could be bossy if need be.
The thumb moved back and forth. He wasn’t answering, just caressing my hand.
“Please. It’ll help clear things up with the deputy who thinks I’m crazy for picking up a stranger on the side of the road.”
The nurse walked in. “If we can get his info, we can send him home with a prescription for something a bit stronger. He’s probably in quite a bit of pain.” She set a clipboard down. “So, if you can get any info, that would be helpful.” Clearly, the curtains didn’t block the sound.
“Why can’t he talk?”
She glanced at the bed, and my mystery man nodded. “He’s got a case of vocal fatigue, it looks like.”
“Vocal fatigue?” I blinked away tears as the realization hit. “You yelled for help for a while?”
The tap felt more like another caress. He knew I was about to cry again.
“Okay. You let your vocal cords rest, and we’ll get this paperwork filled out. Deal?”
His thumb brushed my hand again.
I shouldn’t like the way it felt. “First name. A . . . B . . . C . . . D . . . E . . .” I snuck a glanced at his chest. It was obvious why he felt like a brick on top of me. “F . . . G . . .”
The tap stopped me.
“G.” I wrote in the first letter of his first name. This was going to take a while. “Next letter of the first name. A . . .”
He gave the signal.
“G A. Hmm. You don’t look like a Gary or a Gandalf. If you were Gandalf, you’d have a cool staff and a few hobbits following you around.”
He shifted and winced.
“Sorry. Let me think. Gabe or Gabriel?”
Nope.
“Gavin?” I kept my hand under his. “Not Gavin. You aren’t named Gallagher, are you?”
Two taps brushed against my hand.
“Garrett?” When he tapped once, I grinned. “Yay! It’s nice to meet you Garrett who likes my pecan praline doughnuts. One T or two at the end?”
He gave the signal, and I filled out his form one handed.
“I hope your last name is short. Should I start at A?”
His head moved back and forth as he double tapped.
“I think you just want to see if I can say the alphabet backward.” I wouldn’t do well if I were ever pulled over for drunk driving because I could barely handle backward ABCs sober. “Z . . . Y . . . X . . . W . . .”
After he signaled, I moved onto the next letter. We continued the game until I’d filled in Garrett Wright. I stared at the name. Where had I heard that name?
He shifted his head to look at me. His eyes were blue. I could tell now that the swelling had gone down a bit. Blue eyes. With my eyes closed, I thought back to that day in the doughnut shop when he’d asked me out. He’d seemed familiar then even though I’d never met him. He reminded me of someone.
Garrett brushed his thumb on my hand.
“Sorry. I was trying to figure out why you seem familiar.”
His mouth moved, but his words were soft.
I stood and leaned over the bed. “What?”
“Beau Henry.”
Hovering inches over Garrett, I stared at him. “You’re Beau’s son.”
His brace bumped my shoulder. Only once. Everyone in town knew Beau Henry.
“I should call him. Eli will know how to get a hold of him.”
Garrett shook his head and tapped my shoulder twice.
“All right. We’ll just go back to filling out this form. If you feel up to whispering, it might go faster.”
“Yes.” His face twitched like he was trying to smile.
When Garrett had shown up in town just over a year ago, Beau’s secret son was gossiped about a lot. From everything I knew, Beau and his family were good and kind. Why wouldn’t Garrett want them to know about what happened?
In two hours, I was supposed to start making doughnuts. I was beginning to question if I’d make it there on time.
Once I had the form filled out and delivered to the nurses, I sat in the chair by Garrett’s bed. “Where are your clothes?”
He pointed to a bag at the foot of his bed.
I pulled out his shirt and jeans, hoping I could clean them up enough for him to at least make it home. His shirt was cut down the middle. He wouldn’t be wearing that again. His jeans were caked with mud.
“You keep acting like you want to leave, but you don’t have anything to wear. Unless you want to walk out of here in boots and a hospital gown.” I glanced at the sheet. “And whatever’s under that sheet.”
He motioned me closer. “If you go to the store, I’ll pay you back.” Slowly, his voice was regaining strength, but I didn’t want him to overdo it.
“I would go to the store except it’s one in the morning, and nothing is open. A little creativity is required.”
“My house.”
“I don’t mind taking you to your house, but what are you going to wear on the way? Because like that you’d be cold, and I’d have trouble focusing on the road.” Gosh, I was tired. “I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud.”
He rested the brace on my hand. “You go while people are asleep.”
“I am not going to sneak into a house where people are sleeping. I’ll get shot!”
“I live alone. In a cabin. You won’t be noticed.” His thumb brushed my hand. “Please.”
Nodding, I picked up my purse. “I’m probably going to regret this. And don’t bother making a list because I’m only grabbing jeans and a shirt. That’s it.”
“Thanks.”
“And when I get back, I want you to tell me what happened. Who did this to you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Maybe.”
“That sounded a lot like ‘later’ to me. I’m agreeable to that. Now tell me where I’m supposed to go.”
With detailed directions, complete with landmarks visible in the dark, I drove to the ranch. I slowed down as I pulled through the gate as if that would make me harder to see. When I reached the fork in the road, I followed his directions, hoping I was remembering correctly. Three cabins came into view, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Avoiding the first cabin, so I didn’t wake the woman who lived there, I rolled to a stop in front of the third cabin. He said it wouldn’t be locked, and he was right.
Stomping on my curiosity, I avoided the temptation to snoop around the place. In the bedroom, I grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and picked the softest t-shirt out of the drawer.
Back in the car, I drove back toward the gate, hoping police didn’t show up at my door tomorrow to arrest me for breaking and entering.
I hadn’t broken anything. I’d just entered. Was that a crime?