29. Hazel

Chapter 29

Hazel

I stayed with Ian until his mom returned. She came with enough food to feed an army. I chuckled lightly as she laid out several containers on Ian’s bed tray. There was no way he’d be able to eat all that, especially not after the pain meds the nurse had given him. He looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Do you want some food dear?” Mrs. Carter asked me.

I considered turning it down, but my rumbling stomach betrayed my hunger. She opened one of the containers and handed it to me along with a spoon. I smiled at her. “Thank you.”

“I stopped by your parent’s house. They were really worried about you. Have you called them?”

“Yes, I have.”

I spoke to my parents about an hour ago. I explained what happened, and I told them that I was fine. They were distraught to hear about what happened to Ian and they promised they would visit him first thing tomorrow.

“This tastes incredible,” I said as I shoved another spoonful into my mouth.

Mrs. Carter gestured to her son. “Too bad this one is out cold. I made all this for him and by the time he wakes up, most of it will be cold.”

“I’m not out… out cold, mom. I’m just sleepy,” Ian said. He was doing his best to fight off the effects of the medication.

“He’s so stubborn,” Mrs. Carter and I said in unison. We laughed together while Ian grumbled. Not long after, he passed out.

I finished my meal, thanked Ian’s mom, and left the hospital. I was so exhausted that I passed out the second my head hit the pillow. My dreams were filled with Ian and the incredible life we were about to build together. I loved him and he loved me too. Everything was perfect.

There was still the issue of Fred though and we still hadn't found Emily. So much time had passed, but I did my best not to think about the worst possible scenario.

Hopefully, she was still alive and we would find her soon.

The next day, I got out of bed early. I wanted to be at the hospital before Ian woke up. I did not achieve that goal. Not only was Ian awake by the time I got to the hospital, but he was also not in bed. I met him standing by the window.

“What are you doing out of bed?” I demanded as I walked up to him.

“Calm down, Hazel. I’m fine. I was stabbed, not shot in the head.”

“I’m pretty sure you would still do this even if you got shot in the head.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

I frowned and shook my head at him while he smiled brightly. He leaned in and kissed my frown away. “I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you too.”

We were about to kiss again when the door opened. My parents walked in and we pulled apart. “What are you doing out of bed?” my mother demanded in the same tone I did just a moment ago.

I couldn’t help laughing and Ian joined in. He walked over to hug my mom. “Thank you for worrying about me, Mrs. Jones.”

“Of course, dear.”

We helped Ian get back in bed. His mom came in shortly after and we all spent the next few hours talking. My parents left first. Ian’s mom left soon after because she needed to change and get some rest.

“I need to get out of here,” Ian said. He turned to face me with a desperate look in his eyes. “My mother would kill me but I need to get discharged right now.”

“Why?”

“I hate hospitals. Always have.”

I nodded in understanding. I knew that he and Jade visited their father in the hospital when they were young. “I’ll talk to the nurse.”

“Thank you. I love you,” he said as he kissed the back of my hand. His kisses moved upward until his lips settled on the inside of my elbow.

“I can't actually call the nurse if you keep kissing my arm.”

“It’s not my fault you smell so good.”

He released my arm, and I went to speak to the nurse. It took a lot of convincing. I had to assure her that I would look after him constantly and make sure he took his drugs before Ian was discharged.

I helped him to my car. Then I called his mom to tell him what was happening. She wasn’t thrilled, but she understood Ian’s need to leave the hospital. Thankfully, she’d brought his clothes for him when she came back yesterday. His other clothes were covered in blood and his shirt had a hole the size of a knife in it.

“We should go to the police precinct,” Ian said.

“What? Why?”

“I need to give my statement and I have something important that I need to tell them.”

I glanced at him before turning to face the road. “Which is?”

“I don’t think Fred had anything to do with Emily’s disappearance.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Fred came to Cloverhill to win his wife back because he knew she’d be here. He’s been tracking her ever since she left their house. When Emily went missing, he was sure she would with me which was why he’d been lurking around the building and trying to get a look inside my apartment. He doesn’t know where she is.”

I didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried by that revelation. If Fred didn’t have Emily, then where was she?

The question remained on my mind until we got to the police station. I parked the car and rushed over to the other side to help Ian out. “Hazel, it’s a stab wound. I can walk.”

“Just let me help you.”

He grumbled, but he held onto me as we walked into the precinct. We went straight to Detective Howard’s office. His partner, Detective Finch was also there. They seemed to be going over a case.

“Ms. Jones. Mr. Carter,” Finch said when he saw us. “Good to see you on your feet, Ian.”

“Thank you.”

We took our seats and quickly discovered that the case they were going over was Emily’s case. They’d spread out all the evidence they had on the table. It was the first time Howard didn’t mind pulling us into the investigation. Maybe he’d finally seen that our help was beneficial or maybe he’d just given up on trying to stop us.

I wasn’t going to stop being involved until Emily was found. That was a promise I’d made to Olivia and her lies didn’t change the fact that I’d given my word. Even if she turned out to be responsible for Emily’s disappearance, I would still follow through with what I said. I promised her I wouldn’t stop and that I would make sure whoever was responsible paid for what they did.

If Olivia was behind this, then she had to pay.

“We don’t think Mr. Warren is responsible for Emily’s disappearance,” Howard said.

“That's exactly what I was coming here to tell you,” Ian told them everything Fred told him before the attack. He also gave an official statement to the police where he stated exactly why he didn’t believe Fred was guilty of that particular crime. He was, however, guilty of attempted murder so Fred remained in police custody.

When Ian was done, I drove him home. The detectives told us that Olivia was now their number one suspect. She was still nowhere to be found which made her even more suspicious. Where was she hiding and why?

I spent the next few days looking into that while taking care of Ian. I stayed in his apartment on most days and also spent the night there. During the day I went to work from his apartment before returning to take care of him in the evening.

We’d never spent so much time together before especially not alone. We’d never been together for this long without fighting. It was strange but also incredibly nice. Ian made me laugh. He was stubborn and caring and compassionate. I loved him.

I loved him a little less when he was being stubborn. Like right now.

“It’s just a trip to the bakery,” he said as he pushed himself up. He was on the floor of his apartment doing pull-ups. The man was supposed to be resting in bed but he was doing pull-ups. I’d complained many times, begged him to rest and get back to his routine when he was completely healed. Ian was obstinate. “We’ve never been on a proper date. I think we should do this.”

He stood up and walked over to me, sweat making his skin glisten under the afternoon sun that poured in through the window. I still hadn't admitted to him how good he looked when he worked out. He certainly didn’t need another boost to his incredibly inflated ego.

“You’re supposed to be in bed. Not working out and certainly not going out. This isn't the right time for a first date,” I said. I sidestepped him and walked into the kitchen.

“There’s no right time for a first date. It’s just two people who like each other grabbing a bite to eat, except in this case, we love each other.”

I kept my focus on the kitchen sink. I knew that if I looked at him, I would cave. Of course, I wanted to go on a date with him. I’ve wanted that for a while now but what we wanted didn’t matter. The doctor ordered him to stay in bed so that was exactly what he would do.

Ian came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He placed a gentle kiss on my exposed shoulder. “Go out with me. Please.”

I sighed. Ian wasted no time in taking advantage of my show of weakness. He turned me around and lifted me onto the counter before claiming my lips. It happened so quickly that my only reaction was to melt against him.

“Go out with me,” he asked again.

“Yes.” In that moment, I would have agreed to anything, and he knew that.

The next day, we drove to Stacey’s bakery. She was thrilled to see Ian looking so good after everything that went down last week. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was really worried and—”

She paused and scrunched her eyebrows. Her eyes did a slow sweep of the two of us, taking in the part where Ian held my waist. A coy smile spread across her lips. “I see congratulations are in order.”

“Don’t make a big deal out of this, Stacey,” I pleaded. She could be quite dramatic when she believed the situation called for it.

“Let her make a big deal out of it,” Ian said to me. Then he turned to Stacey. “We’re in love.”

Stacey squealed loudly, making a few of her employees rush over to see if she was okay. She assured them she was fine. “I always knew you two would end up together,” she said as she smiled at us.

“No, you didn’t!”

“I totally did.”

I shook my head, choosing not to argue with her because I knew we’d be at it forever. Ian and I took our seats. We told Stacey this was our first official date, and she promised to give us special treatment.

When Stacey left, Ian reached over and took my hand in his. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”

“You tricked me to make this happen,” I said, even though ‘trick’ wasn’t exactly the right word. He’d asked me while kissing me and I didn’t have the strength to say no.

“I prefer to think of it as a successful negotiation attempt.”

I laughed at his way of putting it. “Of course you do.”

Ian’s brows knitted in confusion briefly. Then he smiled and gestured to the door. “My mom’s here.”

“I forgot she comes here every Tuesday to get Stacey’s lemon tarts.” Panic washed over me as I considered how I would tell the woman who was like a second mother to me that I was dating her son. I didn’t know how she would feel about it.

“Are you sinking into your seat?” Ian asked.

“What if she’s not happy about the two of us getting together? What if she reacts like Jade? I can't go through that again.”

Ian sighed. “I understand but we can't avoid her. Mostly because she’s already seen us.”

“Ian! Hazel!” his mom walked over to our table with a bright smile. Her smile dimmed when she realized Ian wasn’t supposed to be out of bed. “Didn’t the doctor ask you to stay in bed for the rest of the week?”

“I wanted to, but I also wanted to take my girlfriend on our first date,” he said.

“Your girlfriend?”

She turned to me and I offered her an awkward smile before lifting my hand in greeting. “Hi, Mrs. Carter.”

“You two are dating?”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Carter’s bright smile returned as excitement edged out her initial surprise. “This is great!”

I sat up so fast the table shook. “Really?”

“I guess I should have figured it out when you volunteered to stay with him in the hospital and when you helped him get discharged, drove him home, and nursed him back to health. Silly me, I thought you two were becoming friends.”

Ian held my hand as he spoke. “It’s a lot more than that.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Hopefully, this means Ian will visit home more often,” she said, still smiling.

“One box of lemon tarts ready to go, Mrs. Carter!” Stacey shouted from the counter.

“Thanks, dear!” Ian’s mom shouted back. “I have to go now but it was lovely seeing you two and I’m so happy about this. Enjoy your date.”

Silence fell between us in her absence. What she said made us realize that there was still one big problem with our relationship. Ian traveled often for work, and I couldn’t go with him because I didn’t want to leave my job or my parents.

“We’ll make it work,” he assured me as he squeezed my hand gently. Even if I have to fly home after every game, we’ll make this work. I love you, Hazel, and I want to be with you.”

His words filled me with a sense of relief. We didn’t know what the future would bring, but we loved each other, and we would figure it out. For now, we just needed to enjoy our first date.