“Nothing is worse than the torture barn,” River disagreed, relaxing back against her pillows. The nurse finished with her foot, rewrapped it, and gave her a dose of painkillers in a small cup before leaving. Despite being in a significant amount of pain from the procedure, River set the cup aside.

“I’d be popping those and chasing them with hard liquor if I were you,” Bree said. “That looked like it hurt.”

“It’s weird, but I like the pain. If I can feel it, I know my foot is going to be fine. Hey, how’s Easton? I think he’s been putting on the tough guy front for me.”

“Oh, that man is a nightmare. It’s not a front; he’s really that tough. His sister is worse. Since Easton’s been busy driving the hospital staff up the wall over you, she decided to ‘take charge’ of us.” Bree made air quotes with her fingers. “I have never felt so micromanaged in my life. If she hadn’t rescued me off a mountain or kept stuffing us full of scrambled eggs and coffee, I might hate her.”

“You love her.”

“Probably.” Bree made a playful face. “The Locketts are lovable people. Strange, pushy, and occasionally off-putting, but lovable.”

There was something River couldn’t quite put her finger on about Bree. Her friend sounded relaxed, but so much time with her had taught River the tension in Bree’s shoulders was too tight. Her fingernails kept drumming against the railing of the hospital bed. Bree was determinedly not looking at anything but River, when she normally watched everything around her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Who says anything’s wrong?”

River narrowed her eyes. “Literally every part of you but your lips.”

“I have your phone,” Bree said randomly. “I should probably give it to you, but I really don’t want to. The last thing you need right now is the stress of dealing with everyone.”

River frowned, sitting up higher. “Define everyone.”

Bree sighed. “Someone at the hospital leaked the story.”

“How do you know it was someone at the hospital?”

“There’s a picture of you in a hospital bed on every entertainment website and TV show right now.” Picking up the remote control connected to her bed, Bree turned on the television. “Someone caught a picture of you and Easton kissing.”

She increased the volume, then went to the most popular entertainment and celebrity gossip station. Two women sat perched on stools in a studio with an oversized picture of…yep. That was a grainy photo of River and Easton, on her hospital bed, entwined and kissing right between the two television hosts.