CHAPTER 14
Mark woke up in the recliner next to Nicole’s hospital bed. He looked over at her, just in case. Twelve days had passed since the accident. Bentley was hobbling about, but was otherwise back to normal. Mark’s gunpoint incident had become the talk of the town, and news of Nicole’s state had spread as well. Flowers, cards and stuffed animals flooded her hospital room. Her sister Annie had been to visit, as well as Mark’s parents. The love that the community had shown them helped him stay strong. But nothing could cheer him up quite like the witty jokes that he had been missing from Nicole.
He stood up and stretched and walked over to the bed to rub her feet, as he had done every day. He sat down with the newspaper and read it to her. “Huh, there’s a new restaurant opening up on
