The Secrets of Bailey

Chapter 12

Jake fought to open his eyes as he regained consciousness. The throbbing in his head made him squint in the dim light around him. He started looking around and realized he was in a room and a bed he did not recognize. He shifted, causing a stabbing pain to shoot through his ribs, reminding him of what had happened in the forest and forcing him to gasp and settle back into bed.

“I told you to leave it alone,” a woman’s voice came from the doorway in a harsh tone. “You wouldn’t listen to me. Why would you? You are a college professor, and I am just the one who has lived here my entire life, just like generations of my family before me.”

Jake rolled his head to the side, causing waves of dizziness and nausea to wash over him. He watched local nurse practitioner Kaitlin Bailey walk over to where he lay in bed, nearly immobile due to his injuries.

“Nurse Bailey?” Jake questioned, barely above a whisper.

“Yes, Dr. Taylor,” Kaitie replied as she began to examine him. “You are lucky to be alive. If you hadn’t been dropped on my doorstep, I have no doubt that with this weather, you would have been dead by morning, if not sooner.”

Jake breathed, “What…?”

“What happened?” Katie confirmed. “You were seriously injured during your idiotic camping trip in which you were looking for things that are best left alone. You have quite a few cuts and bruises, but the worst of it includes a deep laceration to your scalp that I had to stitch shut, a severe concussion, and bruised ribs. You were unconscious when you were brought here, so I have no idea how long you were out.” Katie began to clean one of the more superficial cuts that Jake had received. She gently washed the cut on his cheek and said in a kinder tone, “Unfortunately, you might not be as pretty as you were. You have quite a few cuts here and there, including on your face.”

“Thank you,” Jake murmured.

“You don’t need to thank me,” Katie told him. “You need to thank the things you came here to look for. They brought you to me so I could help you. It is the same thing they have done for generations with my family. If they find someone who is injured, they take them to someone who can help. You are far from the first and most certainly will not be the last.”

That statement caught Jake off guard. He again tried to sit up, causing him to nearly pass out from the pain and sudden bout of dizziness. Katie carefully placed her hand on his chest. The slight resistance against her hand made Jake lie down again without an argument. His head was spinning, and he was short of breath because of his bruised ribs. He lay gasping as Katie looked into his eyes with a penlight that had been on the nightstand beside the bed.

“You need to stop that,” Katie told him softly. “You need to rest. I will get you something to eat and give you some pain medication if you think you need it. After that, we can discuss what happened, and I will do my best to answer all of your questions as long as you answer some of mine.” Kaitie paused as she stood and added, “You are in luck. I made a roast thinking I could eat on it for a while even if we lose power because of the storm.”

Without another word and before Jake could say anything to her, Kaitie left the bedroom. Jake could hear her moving around in the kitchen. He began to relax as he listened to Kaitie humming as she prepared his meal in the other room. The melody and the sounds of her moving about comforted him as he drifted on the edge of consciousness.

Soon, Kaitie returned with a tray carrying a plate and a glass of water. She slid it onto the nightstand and looked down at Jake. She shook her head, knowing it would hurt when she helped him sit so he could eat.

“I’ll help you sit up, professor. I’m afraid it will hurt no matter what, so you have a choice to make. I can help you sit, which will hurt like the dickens, or I can spoon-feed you a bite at a time while you lay there,” Kaitie told him.

Jake gave her a weak smile and said, “I’d like to sit up if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. But I will warn you that if you hit me because it hurts, I will hit you right back.”

“I would expect nothing less from a redhead.”

“Hmf,” Kaitie grunted as she positioned herself to help him sit. “Put your arms around my neck, and I will help you sit. With the concussion you have, you will feel dizzy and nauseous as you move. All I ask is that you don’t throw up on me. I have the trash can right here if you need it.”

“OK.”

Kaitie leaned down and put her arms around Jake to lift him forward into a sitting position. Goosebumps formed on her skin when he put his arms around her neck. She silently cursed herself for reacting to his touch as she moved pillows behind him so he could sit and eat. She leaned him back, helping him get comfortable before stepping back.

“Are you alright, professor?” Kaitie asked as she studied his expression. To her, it was clear he was trying to hide how much pain he was in.

Jake sat with his eyes closed and answered, “I will be. I just need to adjust to sitting before I try to eat.”

“Take your time. The food’s not going anywhere, and neither am I,” Kaitie replied.

Jake sighed, “I know this might be a bit much to ask, but would you mind sitting with me while I eat? Just in case I have a problem.”

“I don’t mind. Until the weather clears, you are my patient and house guest. That means if you need anything related to your care, I am the one doing it. I haven’t eaten yet, so let me get a plate, and I will come back and join you. Maybe you can tell me what happened to you before you were dropped on my doorstep.”

Jake tried to smile at her, but pain ran through the side of his head, keeping him from it. He tried to relax back into the pillows to ease the pain in his ribs and head. Jake was making a mental note to throttle his soon-to-be ex-friend Bobby for talking him into going to Bailey. Jake had planned on staying home during the winter break and working his way through the growing stack of books he wanted to read. Instead, he was seriously injured and would be convalescing at the home of a woman he knew did not like him.

Katie returned with her dinner and set the plate on a chair against the wall. She picked up the tray for Jake and placed it across him before she went to work, cutting up his food for him. When she was done, she waited for him to take a bite before she went to the chair and sat down to eat.

“So, tell me, professor, what is the real reason you are here, and what happened to you?”

“First, this is delicious. Thank you, and please call me Jake,” Jake said, then paused before he continued. “I told you part of the reason why I’m here. I wanted to use it as a vacation to be out in nature. What I did not tell you is that I was asked to come here by my so-called friend Robert Norris. He is a rabid bigfoot hunter. Somehow, he got the reports from here in Bailey about the hiker who was attacked.”

“I had a feeling,” Kaitie murmured.

“That is because you are smart. Anyway, I agreed to come down here to hike and camp, not actively hunt for anything. I told him that if I found anything, I would document it and let him know. That is all. The only reason I agreed to do that is because the hiker's injuries were similar to those I saw in skeletal remains at a dig sight a few years ago. That intrigued me. While I was hiking, I did see a few things that were obviously constructed, like beds and shelters. However, those could be people trying to make others believe that bigfoot or something lives out in this forest. I promise you that no matter what I find here, I will not tell anyone about it. Not after getting to know some of the residents here. I know how it would affect this community, and I do not want that to happen.”

“And what about your injuries?” Kaitie asked.

“That is actually a little embarrassing. I was hiking along the ridge and came close enough to see your cabin. I sat down, took a quick break, and was hiking back to set up camp for the night and hunker down because of the storm. I was thinking about this place and how much I would love to have one like it, not paying attention to what I was doing, and I slipped. Since I was on the ridge, it was a long way down to the bottom. The last thing I remember is seeing this guy dressed in black standing and looking at me. Then I blacked out.”

Kaitie smiled at him, “I hate to break it to you, professor, but that was not a man.”