I Promise You This (Love in Provence Book 3) by Patricia Sands Page A

good sign , Kat thought.
    “Molly has actually been slowly waking for the past two days, which is why we’ve kept visitors away. Her functions are continuing to return, but it is best to maintain a calm atmosphere around her. We told her you were coming, and we could tell she’s eager to see you.”
    The head of Molly’s hospital bed was raised, elevating her to a sitting position. Her eyes were glassy as they met Katherine’s, but soon brightened with recognition.
    She smiled and nodded. Katherine hugged her gently, her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Molly, you’re back!”
    Molly suddenly looked confused but said nothing. Katherine felt alarmed and kept talking as she sat beside the bed and held her friend’s hand. Molly gripped hers in return, a veritable vise grip. Katherine could feel her fear.
    The nurses had explained that Molly would be frightened upon waking up. “You need to speak to her in short, uncomplicated sentences and probably repeat a few times how she was in an accident. Dr. Primeau was here earlier when she first was alert and he also told her everything. And Father DeCarlo was here as well.”
    Kat followed the instructions, hoping to ease Molly’s anxiety. Molly would squeeze her hand from time to time and nod. She seemed to grasp what had happened. Kat felt encouraged that she understood everything, hoping she wasn’t fooling herself.
    After a while, she noticed Molly had fallen asleep. Concerned, she told the nurses.
    “She’s going to keep doing that for a few more days until all of the drugs are out of her system. Don’t worry, she’s doing well. In fact, we’re going to move her to a private room in the morning.”
    Sitting by Molly, Katherine considered how quickly life could change. How, suddenly, what was the norm was not anymore.
    Her mind went back to the day James left and how afterward shock had been what she felt most strongly. She remembered how the word “alone” had suddenly come into her consciousness and held a more significant meaning than she ever might have imagined. It wasn’t simply a word to her back then. It had defined her. She’d felt empty, angry, and afraid in her aloneness.
    She thought next about the day her mother passed and how that word had come into her thoughts again in a different way. It had defined how she felt without her parents and caused her great sadness.
    A sense of being alone had been with her on the day she arrived at the wonderful farmhouse in Provence. That damn word again, she’d thought as she sat on the step and cried that first morning, sad at being on her own in those incredible surroundings.
    Yet she also remembered how being alone had become something that gave her strength and courage. Being alone had empowered her to take chances and grow. They were all important progressions in her life.
    “Alone.” She startled herself by saying it out loud now. Her reflections continued. She felt proud of the way she’d accepted being alone during those two weeks in Provence. She had learned to savor it. Well, not totally alone, she chuckled, there was Pico.
    She couldn’t help smiling as she recalled how that adorable dog had touched her aching heart in the most unexpected ways on that trip. His unconditional happiness at being in her company had helped her begin to live in the moment and be content with herself. It was impossible not to feel happy with his molten-brown eyes fixed on her and his non-stop wagging tail signaling joy with whatever they were doing.
    Looking at Molly, she felt a surge of love for her friend . . . her first true friend.
    That childhood friendship really didn’t blossom again in adulthood until after James was gone. He had always discouraged it. Why was I so stupid and accepting of his controlling ways? She had asked herself that question many times over during the last year.
    And if Molly and I didn’t have this friendship, who would be here with her now? Kat’s heart sank with that thought. It was a