“Andrew?” That didn’t sound like her voice. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt too heavy. Where was she?
“Karen? It’s all right. Don’t move. Andrew’s right here.”
It was Piper. Or was it Evie? They both sounded alike. Why was she so confused?
“Give me Andrew,” she slurred.
“Karen, you can’t hold him right now. You’ve got an IV in your arm. Can you open your eyes, Honey? If you open your eyes you can see him.”
Andrew started coughing. He sounded just like he had before Piper had taken him into the bathroom. “He needs more steam,” Karen said weakly.
“He’s doing much better. We had a doctor check him out since we’re in the hospital.”
“Hospital?” That was Evie talking. Had she said hospital? What were they doing in a hospital? Karen was able to open her eyes a little, and in the dim light she saw Evie and Piper standing beside her bed. Evie was holding Andrew. He looked okay, but then he started to cough.
“Give him to me,” she commanded.
“You can’t even lift your arms. You’re not getting him,” Evie said imperiously.
Karen tried to lift her torso off the bed, but everything hurt. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You fell. Don’t you remember?” Piper asked.
“No,” Karen said. Then she remembered the box and the couch, and she nodded. “I remember. But why am I in the hospital, that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sure, it makes sense,” Evie said vehemently. She bent low and looked at Karen, her eyes blazing. “You don’t ask for help. You ran yourself ragged. You were dehydrated, exhausted and you gave yourself a concussion when you fell. You’re grounded.” Karen tried to lift her arm, so she could touch Andrew, but failed.
“If you tell me you learned your lessen, I’ll lay Andrew down beside you for a moment,” Evie said. She still sounded pissed.
“I’m sorry.” Karen’s lower lip trembled. She was sorry. She never meant to do anything to endanger her son.
“Karen, don’t cry.” Piper pushed Evie to the side. “Evie doesn’t mean to be so angry, she was just scared is all. She freaked when I called and told her that you needed an ambulance.”
Karen looked at Piper who was nineteen and Evie who was in her mid-twenties and realized that both women had been scared. But despite Piper’s words, Evie was well and truly pissed, which hurt, but it also made Karen mad. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
“Evie, I don’t need a lecture. Give me my son,” Karen said with as much quiet dignity as she could summon.
“You do too need a lecture.”
“Give me Andrew,” Karen said in her best school teacher tone. Which wasn’t all that great considering the fact that her throat was dry, and her head felt like a bass drum was beating inside it.
“I’ll set him down beside you,” Evie acquiesced.
As soon as her son’s little body was next to her, despite his coughing, Karen felt soothed. “Are you sure the doctor said he was getting better?” she asked the women.
“Yes,” Piper assured her. “Now we just have to get you well.”
“When can I leave?”
“They want to keep you under observation for two more days. Then it’s bedrest for you.”
“For a concussion? That’s ridiculous.” Why did her voice sound so weak?
“How about for a concussion and exhaustion? You’re my sister. I told you, you’re grounded.”
“Evie, you sound like Drake, and that’s not a compliment.”
Evie’s whole body shuddered. “You could have died,” she said softy. “I don’t care if I sound like Drake, if I sound like Elvis, or if I sound like my evil mom. Whatever it takes to get through to you that you can’t die. I love you too much.”
She was standing stiff and straight. “Come here.”
Evie shook her head.
“I desperately need a hug,” Karen coaxed.
She had to wait four long heartbeats and then Evie rushed over and gently embraced her. “I promise to take care of myself, okay?”
“Thank God.”
But seriously, how could she get everything done? She still hadn’t found a caterer, or a band. There was the apartment. And if it weren’t for wanting to give Drake the wedding he deserved, she throw in the towel, because dammit, she just wanted to spend time with Andrew.
“Karen? Did you hear me?”
Karen tried to clear her head, and she focused on Evie. “What did you say? I missed it.”
“You look upset. It’s all going to be fine. Piper told me about you needing to move. We’ve got you covered. I talked to the girls, and we’ll have you packed and moved in time. You’re coming over to my house to rest.”
“I wanted to get Andrew’s room ready for him at the townhome. I had it all planned.” Her voice trailed off. She wanted to decorate it with white and orange striped curtains, and little helmet decals on the crib. She was painting the room white, but the helmets were going to be orange, the color of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. She even found a baby bib that said, ‘Excuse the Spit Up, I Thought I Saw a ‘Bama Fan.’
“Honey, you can take care of that after you move in.”
“No, it has to be perfect before we get there.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “No, it doesn’t. You’re not thinking straight. This is exactly what landed you in the hospital in the first place. Can you see that?”
Karen looked at Evie. Evie wasn’t mad at her; this time it was like she was trying to explain something important. But it still wasn’t computing.
“But Evie, Drake would be able to get it all done.”
“Fuck Karen, he would have bought his friends pizza and beer, and probably sat on his ass directing traffic.”
“That’s not true and you know it. He does so much. Look how he sacrificed for all of you for over a decade. Look at the life he leads as a SEAL. I want to be just as strong. He needs someone who can take care of him.” Once again, her voice trailed off, and she had trouble keeping her eyes open. She felt someone pick up Andrew, who seemed to be sleeping, thank the Lord. She was relieved he wasn’t coughing.
She felt someone press a kiss against her forehead. “You’re a nut. Can’t you see that you’re perfect for him?” Evie whispered.
She heard the door close and she wished it were true. She wished she were good enough.
IT WAS DÉJÀ VU ALL over again. He frantically asked at the nurse’s station what room Karen Eastman was in. It seemed to take the nurse hours to answer his question. Finally, she told him, and he literally ran down the hall, ignoring all of the glares.
He stopped short of banging the door open, because he didn’t want to scare her, or wake her, or some such shit. Instead, he took a long breath and eased the door open slowly. She was a small mound under a thin blanket. When had his curvaceous woman gotten so slim? For fuck’s sake, she’d just had a baby.
He walked silently across the floor and looked down at her, not missing anything. She was pale, her auburn lashes showed starkly against her translucent skin. Her cheeks were hollowed out. They hadn’t been when he’d left her sixteen days ago. Her hand was clenching the blanket so tightly her knuckles were white, so even now she wasn’t relaxed. She was either stressed or scared beyond her limits. He cupped her jaw and placed a soft kiss on her dry lips. Her eyes fluttered open, but she didn’t focus. Instead of being happy, she looked forlorn.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” he asked quietly. Desperately. Please say he hadn’t lost her. Please say she would forgive him for leaving.
She just stared, her eyes welling with tears.
“Karen?”
She slammed her lids shut. “Karen, Honey?” His thumb traced a lazy pattern across her cheek. Hoping to coax her back to him.
She opened her eyes up again, and he saw the warmth in the beautiful green depths. It gave him hope. “Drake, it’s really you? I’m not dreaming this time?”
Th
at explained it.
“It’s me, Honey.”
“I’m in the hospital.” She sounded so lost. Another thing that wasn’t his Karen.
“Not for much longer,” he assured her. “I’m busting you out today.”
“Really?” Karen pushed up onto her elbows.
“I promise.”
She searched his face. He had no idea what she was looking for, so he did what he always did. He said what was in his heart. “I love you.”
“I love you more,” she whispered back. Tears formed.
“Hey, what’s going on? Except the fact that I come back, and I see you’ve worked yourself to a frazzle and you’re in the hospital with a concussion, everything’s good now, right?”
“I knew you’d be mad at me.” Tears started to fall in earnest.
He sat down on the side of the bed and drew her into his arms. “Hey, hey, I’m not mad. Scared shitless, but not mad.”
God, that moment when Mason said she was in the hospital ranked up there as one of the worst in his life. He gently rocked and kissed her warm temple while wisps of auburn hair tickled his nose.
“Are you okay now?” He asked after her tears subsided.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry I cried all over you. You know this isn’t me. I hate these damned hormones.”
“Karen, I fell in love with the non-pregnant Karen, I fell deeper in love with the pregnant Karen and I’m over the moon with the woman who is a mother. I know your body’s being hit with a lot of different hormones, but have you ever thought that I’m different too?”
She looked at him in confusion.
“I’m a father now. My instincts where you and Andrew are concerned is off the charts. I’ve had to learn to rein it in.”
Karen let out a quick laugh. “This is you reining it in?”
He looked at her in confusion. “Well yeah.”
“You’re so pretty.” She smiled sweetly at him.
He knew that was their code for he was being a dumbshit, but what was she talking about? He was reining it in. He went on the mission, hadn’t he? He hadn’t flown Trenda from Tennessee to come watch her, like he obviously should have. Now that he thought about it, reining it in was a stupid fucking idea.
“Well my days of reining it in are over with,” he said fiercely.
“What do you mean? You haven’t taken it easy in the slightest. As a matter of fact, you’ve been tyrannical.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet. From what Evie’s been telling me you’ve been trying to be superwoman.”
“Well weren’t you the one who called me a Warrior Princess?” she asked tartly.
Drake reared back. “This isn’t funny. Jesus Fucking Christ. You ended up in the goddamn hospital. Piper said you took some sort of bonus from our landlord, so you intended to move out by the end of the week. Andrew’s sick. The wedding is two-and-a-half weeks away. You ended up unconscious from a concussion. Do you have any idea how fucking serious that is? You scared years off my life.”
She shoved a finger into his chest. “You listen to me you overbearing oaf. I’m more than capable of handling things on my own. Don’t you try to dictate to me how to run things when you’re on a mission. At least thirty percent of our life is going to be spent this way, and I knew that when I agreed to be with you. The last thing I need is you second guessing me, I had enough of that from three older brothers.”
“Well they did a shitty job of getting the point across.” Drake glared at her.
“You are not my big brother, you are going to be my husband. My partner. So, don’t you try dictating to me you Neanderthal.”
Normally Karen was a little subtler in how she dealt with him, but seeing her go head-to-head with him, made him feel a whole hell of a lot better. Seeing her so pale and thin, when he walked in, had him shaking in his shoes. Her yelling made him want to do cartwheels. He grinned.
“Why are you smirking?” she asked suspiciously.
He swooped in for a kiss. A long kiss. Soon it was wet and passionate.
She pushed him away. “Ewww.”
“What?” he questioned, perplexed.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
“You taste like Karen.” He bent to take her mouth again.
“I taste like hospital food.” She said turning her head.
He put a finger to her cheek and tilted her back. “I like lime jello.” This time the kiss was slower, sweeter. Karen wound her arms around his neck. She might be thinner, but her full breasts felt luscious against his chest. Soon they were both breathing heavy. He feathered his kisses to the side of her mouth, her cheek, her neck, until finally they were back under control.
“I missed you so much, Drake. Where’s Andrew? God, I should have asked that first thing,” she wailed. “I’m a terrible mother.”
He saw she was serious. “Hey, don’t go overboard. I was in your face, remember. Subconsciously you knew he was safe, otherwise I would have told you differently. Cut yourself some slack, please Baby?”
She bit her lower lip.
“Please?”
She sighed and nodded. “Now tell me where he is.”
“He’s with my sisters, over at Evie’s place.”
“How’s he doing with the croup?”
“Piper said to tell you he’s almost over it. She knew you’d be worried.”
“Still I should have―”
“Karen. Okay, that does it. Obviously, you can’t lighten up. I’m taking charge.”
She scowled at him.
“Come on, let’s get you dressed. We’re staying over at Evie and Aiden’s place while the apartment’s getting packed up and moved to the townhome.”
“I should―”
“If any phrase but ‘I should listen to Drake’ comes out of your mouth, we’re going to have a problem. You’re on lock-down for a week. Doctor’s orders.”
“Let me talk to the doctor. I heard something about two days, but I sure as hell didn’t hear a week.” She pushed back the blanket and pushed at Drake, so she could swing her legs out of the bed. “You’re in my way.”
“Ask nicely, and I’ll move.”
“Please move, so we can go see our son.”
“Now that was nice.” He couldn’t resist. He kissed her one last time.
DRAKE HATED TAKING favors from Aiden O’Malley. Even though he had long ago realized he was a stand-up guy. He still intended to outwardly hold a grudge for at least another year for the way he had treated Evie. It was a brother thing. That’s why it was galling that he had to take a favor from him. But Karen needed the best place to rest before they moved into their townhome and that was Aiden and Evie’s house.
“What has you frowning?” Karen asked as she adjusted the pillows behind her. Drake swiftly tried to take over the task.
“I can manage this on my own,” she slapped away his help. “The doctor said I needed to take it easy, not stay in bed.”
“Humor me. Just for today and tomorrow.” He poured more than his normal Southern accent into his request.
“I know what you’re doing,” she groused.
“Is it going to work?” He smiled.
“Yes, dammit, but on one condition.”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“You crawl into bed with me. You look tired.”
“Honey, I have to―”
“Nope. That’s my condition. Take it or leave it.” He looked at her with her hair fanned out across the mound of pillows.
He gave a swift thought to Andrew who was currently holding court with his aunt out in the living room. Karen probably had two more hours before she had to nurse and anything he could do to talk her into a nap he was all for. What was more, holding her close was his favorite pastime in the world. But she was wrong, he wasn’t tired.
She must have seen him hesitate. “Drake, please.”
“Okay.”
He sat next to her and untied his boots, and Karen started to scratch his back.
�
�Up.” She laughed, because she knew what he meant. She lifted his shirt and scratched his bare back. “That feels so damn good.”
“You’re easy, Avery.”
“No, you’re just that good, Karen.” She played him like a finely tuned instrument. It had to be five minutes before he realized that he still had to take off his socks. “Honey, you have to stop.”
“I don’t want to. I love touching you.”
“I love it to, but if you want me to crawl into bed with you, you have to stop.”
He shivered as she scraped both sets of nails down his back, then licked the line of his spine and pulled down his shirt.
“Actually, I don’t know why I’m pulling this down, you should take it off.”
Drake had his socks off and came around to the other side of the bed in his jeans and T-Shirt. Karen was wearing soft sweat pants and a sleep shirt. She’d insisted since they were at the O’Malley’s house. Normally she liked just nighties and panties.
“If you’re dressed, then I’m dressed. Them’s the rules.” He didn’t want her to see his bandage. It would upset her. She’d try to hide it, but he could always tell.
“Drake that’s a stupid-assed rule. Strip.”
He pulled back the covers, and slipped in beside her. “We’re just taking a quick nap.” Even through their layers of clothing, he could feel her softness, her warmth.
“Ahhh.” She made a strangled sound.
“What is it, Baby?”
“Nothing.”
He stroked back her hair, and tilted her chin up so he could look at her. She was biting her lip, a sure sign that she was holding something in.
“Tell me, Honey.”
“I missed this. I try not to be so needy, but no matter what, in the middle of the night, I ache with the need to be in your arms.”
He pulled her closer, tangling their legs together, but still conscious of her bruise. “God, Karen.” He didn’t know what to say.
“See, I shouldn’t have told you. Now you’re going to feel guilty about leaving me. And you can’t. During the days I can cope. It’s the nights that are the problem. I need to get over this.”
Drake thought about the moonlit depths of the jungle and how his soul reached for Karen’s. He understood. “I hate that you felt lonely, but I’m glad we’re in this together.”
Her Treasured SEAL Page 10
