The antiseptic hum of machines greeted him before memory did. Ryder blinked against the pale hospital light, head heavy, throat dry, ribs aching like he’d been trampled. For a moment he thought he was alone—until he turned his head and saw her.
Isobel. Curled in the stiff vinyl chair, her hands clasped tight around his, eyes red-rimmed from crying but fixed on him with a tenderness that undid him completely.
“Isobel…” His voice rasped, low and cracked.
She was on her feet in a heartbeat, pressing the call button, smoothing his hair back from his forehead with shaking fingers. “Ryder—you scared me half to death.”
He swallowed hard, shame burning deeper than any injury. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. Just… I couldn’t stand the weight anymore. Felt like every rope I’d ever thrown slippe
