Jumped by Colette Auclair Page B

help. He said his place has a lot of stairs, and there’s no way he’ll be able to negotiate them. What do you think?”
    It was dark in the mountains, with no city nearby to lighten the skies and blot out the stars. Beth could hardly keep her eyes open as she stared out the backseat window at the mostly empty road and dark forest. Relief and unease coursed through her at Grady’s proposal, probably because she was exhausted, and the thought of having Finn in the same house pleased and annoyed her. In the tumult of the past hours, she hadn’t thought about where he’d recover.
    â€œYeah, that’s fine. I mean, it’s your house, you can do whatever you want.”
    â€œGrady did practically kill him,” Amanda said. “It’s the least he can do.”
    Beth could see her friend smile at her movie-star husband.
    Grady said, “I did not practically kill him. I was helping my team.”

    Finn couldn’t believe his luck. Before even he knew it was what he wanted, Bethany had asked him to marry her. Over the years he had imagined this moment, although he’d opted for the more traditional route where he would ask her to marry him, but he wasn’t going to look this gift horse in the mouth. They were married next to a stream, in a beautiful meadow. His family was there, as well as several members of the cast from The Godfather . Marlon Brando looked great, although he was carrying around a pet badger that he made everyone shake hands with. Finn and Bethany went to Paris on their honeymoon, but had to carry their suitcases with them wherever they went, and much of Paris looked like the moon. However, the sex more than made up for any inconveniences.
    And then he woke from his dreams, which were inspired by pain-eating narcotics. But this part wasn’t a dream—every time he woke, there was Bethany, next to his hospital bed. He wasn’t completely sure why—he wasn’t in critical condition or anything—but he was glad she was. It was comforting.
    His time in Aspen Valley Hospital sped by because he was so heavily sedated. They screwed his bones back together on Monday morning and told him he couldn’t fly for a month—how could he run his business if he couldn’t fly? The Branson house wasn’t finished. Hell’s bells. He’d get a big dose of the virtual office. He’d also gotten a big dose of morphine.
    â€œFinn? Finn? Finn, are you awake?”
    Finn was not awake, or at least didn’t want to be. He was onstage in a rock band with Tobey Maguire, Heidi Klum, and Plato. The bassist was an actual grizzly bear. Several dead presidents were in the audience. Bethany was his main groupie. He was currently standing on the head of a dancing elephant, playing lead guitar and singing. It was all good.
    He opened his eyes. Bethany was talking, but she was no longer his lead groupie. She was his ex-wife. Wait, where am I? Right. Aspen Creek. Amanda and Grady’s house. Correction, Amanda and Grady’s estate . But they didn’t like to call it that because they were still regular folks, even though Grady was an international movie star and Amanda was short-listed for the Olympic team. They were a quirky power couple, but resisted the title. That’s what made them irresistible—they were unaffected, funny, charming, kind, and fun to be around.
    And Bethany was taking care of him. His own private nurse. Which would have generated all sorts of pornographic thoughts, but for now the only thing he could get truly excited about was his next dose of Percocet, because the pain in his leg was unearthly.
    Thoughts meandered around in his aching head like tourists on the last day of vacation, making it hard to focus. But Bethany was talking to him. He opened his eyes, even though they felt cemented shut.
    â€œHey, babe,” he said. He realized too late that his greeting—which had been a staple of their