I hadn't answered when I'd heard Connor speak through the door, telling me he would be stepping out for a few minutes. I was inside the small bathroom brushing my teeth. Finishing up, I was gonna take a shower, but I couldn't be bothered and simply washed my face, patting it dry.

Hanging up the small towel, I straightened and faced the mirror.

Oh, sweet Jesus. I'd certainly had better days.

Pale face, dark circles and dull eyes waved hello. Angling my head to the left and then to the right, I guess I should be thankful they hadn't smacked me around some more. Although... I tentatively touched the back of my head. Hissing a breath, I had a lump the size of a football, but thankfully only a few scratches on my neck, shoulders and legs. The worst for anyone to see decorated my arms, bruises had flourished to a colorful purply blue shade.

But outside wounds would heal in no time.

Pinching my cheeks to add a little colour, my lips felt dry, rough. I rummaged in the bag of necessities my nana had brought me. Inside, I found a stick of cherry lip gloss and dabbed a little on, squeezing then puckering my lips in the hope it might make me feel more... me.

As my eyes wandered down my reflection, they stopped on my midriff. I hesitantly pressed my hand to my stomach, trying to picture what I would have looked like with a round tummy, a little life growing inside me.

And what if I'd had a little boy, cute with dark hair and simmering dark eyes like his daddy. I gulped and quickly replaced that image with one of a little girl, dressed from head to toe in pink whilst climbing a tree.

My chest tightened and sadness crashed over me as I breathed in slowly.

I would never know.

I gave my head a little wobble. Thinking like this would do me no damn good. In truth it only made it worse, and it didn't help that my emotions had hiked over to crazy town. Hormones the doctor has said and I could go from sorta okay to hysterical in a matter of minutes. It was stupid to torture myself with what if's...especially when I'd never even known I was pregnant.

My eyes dropped to the floor. Just like everything else in my life, I'd been slow on the uptake. Only realised too late because if I'd had known, the last place I would have been was a bar.

The burning swell of tears blurred my reflection so it became an out-of-focus mess... just like my head. I didn't think anyone would understand why I felt so upset, so hollow over my loss.

"Don't you dare start crying Riley Jo Lockwood." I angrily swiped a tear. "Na-ah" My voice was loud inside the small bathroom.

I was sick of crying. My Nana and Connor had sat through hours of tears and you would have thought there would be none left...But apparently I had an abundance of the little, wet critters.

Sighing and with a heavy heart, I turned away and headed back into the room. It was quiet, and honestly, I was happier just being here by my lonesome. I knew Connor meant well, him, my nana and of course, Max and Stella. And I loved them all for it. But I just wanted to be on my own.

Well, from tomorrow, I could be all on my own. The doctors had said they would kick me out or discharging me as they put it as they had no concerns about my concussion. And the cuts and bruises would be gone in no time. My loss, sadness and bruised heart would take much longer to heal, and being away from Lockwood would surely help.

I climbed into the bed, lay on my side and pulled the sheet over me. My head lifted when I thought I heard muffled raised voices outside in the corridor, but I didn't have the energy to care who it was.

I was tired.

Tired of Lockwood.

Tired of my life.

Inhaling the smell of the pillow, tomorrow couldn't come quick enough. I hated the smell of disinfectant, and the fabric was rough on my cheek.

My head lifted for a second time.

Had someone just knocked?

Not sure or too tired to be bothered, I returned my face to the pillow. My mind screamed out its thoughts... Just go away!

No such luck.

The door opened and I clamped my eyes tightly closed, hoping whoever it was would think me asleep and get the hell out.

Footsteps came closer, followed by a soft whisper. "Riley?"

I'll be damned! Holding my breath, I remained perfectly still.

It was Adam. He was here.

I'd been stupid to think Chris would keep his mouth shut—but had he told him everything?

My stomach knotted when I heard him unclip my medical chart. And if Chris hadn't spilled the beans, then I was sure my chart would fill in all the gaps.

I tried to keep calm and still in the hope he couldn't hear my thundering heart.

Adam cursed under his breath, gently replacing the chart. He was behind me as I caught wind of his scent. Damn, I missed the way he smelled. That might sound crazy to another person, but his smell was pure male, and always so clean like he'd just stepped out of the shower. And once I opened up my mind to thinking about Adam and showers, or rather Adam in the shower, the rest of his fine form presented itself and my whole body flushed.

I cursed myself.

Quit it with the crazy thoughts. Thinking things like that brings nothing but trouble and a whole heap of heartache.

"Riley," he whispered in a hoarse tone. "Please Riley, I know you're awake."

How could he know? Connor. It had to have been them two outside my door, talking about me.

But colour me happy. I'd also missed hearing him say my name like that.

Giving myself another verbal warning, I steeled my resolve. And so what if he knew I was awake? Didn't mean I had to speak or acknowledge him. He should be happy I was making this easy on him. Giving him a good excuse to slink out of here.

But he didn't leave.

"I can't know how you feel, Riley. Only imagine what you must feel right now." He paused and my heart was going like the clappers. "But I know what loss feels like. I live with it every day."

Guilt seeped in. Could I compare the loss of something I didn't even know I had with his pain?

No. I didn't feel I had any right. Nevertheless, it didn't make it hurt any less. I waited for his next words with hope in my heart he wouldn't leave.

Curse my foolish heart.

"I know you might hate me right now and I don't honestly blame you."

Hate? Was he serious? Never.

"But I want you to know how sorry I am." He inserted a breath, adding, "sorry for what happened to you," he growled, then softened his tone. "And sorry for what I said. How I behaved."

A well of tears stung my eyelids. My cheeks burned.

He came from behind walking around the bed to stand in front of me. Reaching out, he pushed loose hair from my face and I tried not to whimper when his finger grazed my cheek.

"I said those words out of fear. Fear of what I feel."

My stupid heart started tap dancing.

"The truth is Riley, I was an empty shell of a man till you came along." He paused, sighing. "I know I have no right to ask, but I'm gonna ask anyway."

I stayed perfectly still.

"How can I make this right. Make you forget those words?"

There was a long beat of silence before my well of tears got the better of me, spilling over.

"Oh, Riley," his voice was soothing as his thumb swiped away my tears and his lips kissed away the others.

God, he was killing me and unable to avoid my face crumpling. I gasped on a sob and broke apart as my eyes opened.

"Oh Christ, Riley... no, no."

Without me moving a muscle, he lifted me as if I weighed nothing, slipping himself onto the bed under me and drawing me into his side against his firm chest. Resting my head over his beating heart, I gripped his shirt tightly with my fingers. "Let it out, I've got you, Riley."

"I-I-I'm—" I stumbled over the words. "I'm—" Sucking in a sob. "...Hunkey." Sniff. "Dorey."

"Brave, sweet liar," he whispered, nudging his lips into my hair as he ran his hand comfortingly down my back. "I'm here, baby."

I clung on for dear life.

Tears finally slowed as I blinked through the haze to catch sight of Connor's blond hair before it vanished. He was giving us space and I couldn't have been more grateful.

Adam's shirt was damp from my tears. Shit.

I pushed up, missing his warmth in seconds. My eyes dipped. "Sorry about the shirt." It looked a crumpled, wet mess.

He smiled. "It will dry."

If only the same could be said of me. "Look at me, I surely look a mess," I cupped my cheeks, avoiding eye contact.

"You look beautiful, Riley—you always do."

Suuure. Puffy eyes, snotty nose, hot wet cheeks, hair all over the place with some stuck to my sweat dampened forehead.

Yea, I was beautiful alright... Miss USA didn't stand a chance against little ol' me.

Perhaps I wasn't the only one with a mild concussion. I pushed further away to the edge of the bed and stood on shaky legs. I would go back into the bathroom and try to make myself look half decent! If there was such a thing.

"Riley, wait." Adam rose to his feet, following me. I raised my hand to stop him.

"Please, I just need a second." I hurried inside and shut the door behind, leaning up against it, flushing out a breath as my eyes zoned in on my reflection.

Oh boy. It would take more than a splash of water, a comb, and some lip gloss to fix what stared back.

Groaning, I turned on the faucet and got to work. Looking a little less blotchy, I attempted to smooth down my hair. It was having none of it. There was really no point in worry on something I could't change. I just needed to head back out there.

Quietly opening the door, I saw him sat in the chair, his head hung between his drooping shoulders, his elbows braced on his spread knees. My first instinct was to reach out and lift the burden off his shoulders.

Although bare footed, my feet still made a sound as his head shot up and he straightened up. He looked tired as he smiled. "Better?" he asked with a sadness in his eyes that he couldn't mask.

Ha, yeah. Sooooo much better. I cursed my own sarcastic thoughts. "Sorry for unloading all that." I pointed toward the bed, referring to my mini breakdown.

He was up out of the chair in three strides, he towered above me. "What can I do to make this right, Riley?"

What could he do? I shook my head. "There's nothing to do. I can't undo being assaulted or losing sumthin' I didn't even know I had." I swallowed, trying to hold back a fresh tide of tears.

I was sick to the back teeth of crying.

Tipping my head up, I saw coals of anger in his eyes. "Do you remember who did this to you, Riley?" His eyes brushed over my bruised arms.

I took a breath. Another reason I felt so useless. My memories weren't any clearer, although I was sure Clay and Cooper Stanton were involved, although Connor nor Max had seen Cooper at the bar. So was my mind playing games with me? But every time I thought of him and Clay, an icy breath scuttled down my spine. And this time was no different as I shivered.

Adam was quick to gently run his hand up and down my arms. "Jesus, Riley—you're freezing. Let's get you back into bed." He gentled me toward the bed, but I stiffened.

"No, I've done enough lying down." That was the truth. "My memories insist on playing tricks on me and I honestly don't know who did it."

His brows drew together, not believing my words.

"I can tell y'all there is nothing I want more than them to feel the edge of an Arkansas toothpick." Anger riled me up. "They're gonna find who did this. They sent samples of skin from under my nails to some fancy laboratory for testing."

"Chris told me—" he stopped, a look of shame washed across his face.

"Nothing in this town stays private." There was no hiding my bitter tone.

"I'm sorry, Riley." My shoulders sagged, anger deflating. "He told me you think the Sheriff's son might be involved."

"Like I already said, I can't be sure."

Something desperate flashed through his gaze as his nostril flared. "I'm going to have a chat with this Sheriff's son myself. He wont to get away with it."

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Fear spread like fire through my veins, making my heart beat faster. I pressed a hand to his chest. "Please Adam," shaking my head. "Let the Sheriff's Department deal with it." I didn't want Adam to get into trouble, not because of me.

His handsome features pinched as he shook his head. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. Didn't stop this from happening to you," he said sadly. "I wish I could take those stupid things I said back. And how I reacted."

He looked so stricken; it floored me. Did he really care this much?

"This is not your fault, Adam." I was sure about that. "This could have happened to anyone." The unease in my stomach told me I was wishful thinking.

And it didn't matter if he cared or not about me. The fact of the matter was, he couldn't feel an ounce of what I felt for him. Adam was still mourning the death of his wife and when he was ready to love again – no doubt he would choose someone who was gorgeous, brilliant and self-assured. Everything I wasn't.

We stood in silence.

"Talk to me Riley. Please tell me what I can do to fix this—I want to try."

Astonishment froze me for a second. His eyes and pleas were so earnest and my heart and mind swirled with the what if's and maybe's.

I mentally slapped myself. No, I had to protect my heart, my sanity.

I didn't know what to say. But walking away now with just a bruised heart rather than a shattered one was the sensible option.

"Please..." he repeated.

And having him here with me, standing this close, my fragile hope stomped my common sense into the ground.

He stepped closer, and I pressed my hand harder into his chest. "Please just go, Adam. I don't have it in me to say no to you."

I took a step back.

His jaw tensed and heat flared in his eyes. "No." He said as he pushed toward me, fetching up his hands to cradle the sides of my face. His touch was so gentle and what I needed as he swept his thumbs across my cheeks. Slowly, he dipped and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. "Let me try."

His touch was comforting, strong. My eyes closed as he pressed another tender kiss over each eyelid, then my nose, moving across to my cheek. "I want to try, Riley,"

With each slide of his lips, my reasons for wanting him to leave me trickled away along with my will to fight him on this.

My hands grabbed hold of him, almost greedy in their touch, his shirt bunched in my fingers, pulling us closer. "Please Riley, say yes."

His hands moved to the nape of my neck. I could not reply as his lips claimed mine, and my body for the first time since waking up in hospital came to life.

I wanted this man. I wanted him to want me. Feel what I felt. Burn for me as I did him.

His kiss wasn't uncertain and it truly felt like he wanted me as much as I wanted him in that moment. I shivered as he sank into the kiss, his tongue sweeping over mine with urgency. I was almost mindless with every passing second.

We came up for air, and easing back, he smiled.

A shred of sanity returned as I took in some much needed air. Could I do this...give him another chance?

My hope wavered. What chance did we have here in Lockwood? My mama wanted me out. Maddy was about to marry a snake and refused to talk to me, and I had a life in New York. Not forgetting his life... his work, his friends were here.

It all boiled down to one simple question and I would risk everything if he gave me the right answer. Wetting my dry lips and laying my heart on the line, the words came out strong. "Are you willing to open up your heart to me, Adam?" It was an honest question.

He stood staring at me, his eyes sad and desperate. "Riley—I... want to—" It was his turn to stumble over words as he looked down at his feet.

My heart stuttered, and unease gripped my stomach. Seconds stretched out and my hope vanished, obliterated. The spark of what ifs—snuffed out.

He didn't need to say the words, as transparent recognition registered on his face. He wasn't able to love me. His eyes darted to mine, then quickly away. Shame. Guilt. Brief but undeniable. There wasn't room in his heart for another.

The door to my room was pushed open as Connor and my Nana flooded in. Adam looked at them and then back at me. "Can I come back later?" he asked. "And we can talk some more?"

"I'll be tired later." I thought my knees would buckle as I pushed out a smile.

"Yes, you're right. You need to get some rest." Undeterred. "Tomorrow then. Can I come by tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Sure, afternoon, okay?" I would be gone by midday. He stepped up and brushed his lips against my cheek.

"It's a date," he whispered, his breath warm on my face.

I felt unsteady on my legs as I watched him leave...it was better this way... or at least that's what I tried to tell my stupid heart.

...Bye doctor, I'll miss you...