by Sable Hunter
Drew’s heart fell into his stomach. He didn’t fully understand what had gone down, but he had an awful feeling Angelina was involved. “Hold on, boy, I’ll get you some help soon. Let’s just find Angelina first.” He began to run and call her name. “Angelina! Angelina!”
Frantically searching his surroundings, Drew saw a section of fence had been broken off, the wire hanging loosely. He sprinted toward it. As he got closer, he could see something or someone lying in the tall grass. “Oh, God, no.” Angelina was sprawled out on the ground near the fence. What if she’d been stung? He knew she was highly allergic to bee stings. Unable to breathe, people died from this allergy. “Angelina?” Drew went to his knees to examine her, immediately taking his phone from his back pocket to call 911. A thin trail of blood had run from her nose and dried on her upper lip. He felt for her pulse, then leaned down to check her breathing. Her breath was coming at regular intervals, but she wasn’t responsive. Rubbing lightly on her cheek did nothing to rouse Angelina from her slumber. “Wake up, sweetheart, please.”
When the dispatcher answered, he shouted, “This is Dr. Drew Haley, I need an ambulance out at my place. I’ve got an unconscious female, twenty-eight years old.” Running his fingers over her scalp, he found a wound. Her hair was matted with blood. “I think she’s had an incident with one of my horses, there appears to be some head trauma. Tell them to drive into the pasture and head north to the back of the property. I don’t care if they have to break damn land speed records to get here, tell them to hurry.”
The ambulance arrived in under ten minutes, but to Drew it felt like a lifetime.
He watched the vehicle bounce its way across the open field toward him. Maybe he would’ve been better carrying her out on his own after all.
“I’m not sure what happened,” Drew told the paramedics when they jumped from the ambulance.
“We’ll take it from here Dr. Haley,” one of them said when Drew tried to explain the situation.
“Like hell you will.” Drew knew the guy, he was young and cocky. He’d dealt with him on a number of occasions and each time he had been civil and reserved to keep the relationship professional, but this was different. “You get your ass back in the truck and call ahead to the clinic and tell them we’re headed in. I want a room prepared and the X-ray machine ready to go the minute I get there.”
The young EMT shrank under the dominance of the man ordering him around. Helping the other EMT strap Angelina onto the stretcher, Drew assisted in loading her into the ambulance, climbing in next to her. “Now get us out of here, but watch it on the bumps. I swear to God, son, if you go even one mile an hour too fast through this field, I will yank you out of that seat and drive myself.”
They might as well have been floating on a cloud the ride was so smooth. Drew banged on the window between the cab and back of the ambulance once they hit smooth ground. “Step on it!” He took the blood pressure cuff from the EMT’s bag who was riding with them in the rear and started examining Angelina on the way to the hospital.
The man let Drew do his job for him, not once protesting. He simply handed Drew what he needed and agreed when spoken to.
Drew stroked Angelina’s hair softly as they drove. “It’s gonna be okay, Spanish Eyes. I’m here. I promised I’d take care of you.” He kissed her serene face. “And I will.”
The ambulance pulled up to the front of the clinic. Two nurses were waiting for them and Drew took charge right away, telling them what he needed.
Angelina was wheeled into a waiting room where she was examined further. “There’s a bump on the back of her head.” Drew touched the tender spot with care, examining her all over to make sure no further injuries were present. “X-rays. Arms. Legs. Everything. I want them all done and I want them done now.”
He’d been exhausted just a half hour ago, but now adrenaline was rushing through his veins and his mind was entirely focused on Angelina. While the X-rays were being taken, he stepped outside to give Hattie a quick call. “Hattie, we’re at the hospital. Angelina’s been hurt.”
“Oh, God, what happened? I thought I heard an ambulance, but I had the dryer on and a pair of your old tennis shoes was making a helluva racket.”
“I think she fell and hit her head. I don’t really know.”
“Is she conscious?”
“No, she’s in X-ray, but her breathing is good.”
“Now, you stop worrying. I’ll call the church and get a prayer chain going.”
“All right. You tell God to do his part and I’ll do mine. Hattie, call the vet too. Have him go check on Onyx, he got tangled up in some barb wire.”
“I’ll do it, and don’t you worry. I trust both you and God. Everything is going to be fine. You have to believe that and act accordingly.”
Hattie was always able to calm the frantic energy running through him and Drew was thankful for it. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her,” he told Hattie.
“I know, Drew. I know.”
“Dr. Haley?”
Drew whirled around and saw a nurse waiting with the X-ray negatives.
“I’ll call you when I know something.” He hung up and went to review the panels. Drew was relieved to see no fractures or breaks. He could see a few broken blood vessels right beneath the injury, but if she had a concussion it was a mild one.
“You look spent, Dr. Haley,” the nurse said. “Why don’t you go home? She’s unconscious. If she wakes up or anything changes, we’ll call you right away.”
The idea lingered in Drew’s brain for exactly zero-point-zero seconds. “No, no way.” Leaving Angelina was not an idea he’d even entertain. She was so precious to him and he couldn’t help but feel like this was somehow his fault. “I appreciate the concern, but I think a cup of coffee is all I need.”
The coffee was horrible, it tasted like it’d been sitting in the pot since that morning. Despite its close relation to mud, Drew still swallowed it down. He couldn’t stand the distance between them as he stood on the other side of Angelina’s door. Taking his shoes off, he padded in and took a seat in the chair next to her bed.
“I know you can’t hear me and that’s probably for the best, Angelina. I’m sorry I let you down. I promised I would keep you safe and I failed.” He covered one of her hands with his. “I promise I’ll do a better job looking after you when you wake up.” Leaning near, he gently kissed her cheek.
At the light touch, Angelina stirred and whimpered.
“Oh, thank God,” Drew cried out in gratitude and began peppering soft kisses all over her face.
Angelina tried to open her eyes, but the light was so bright, it sent knife-like pain right into her head. She could feel a warm breath on her forehead, then someone kissed her on her cheek. When she was able to open them a sliver, Angelina couldn’t believe her eyes. Drew was kissing her?! A rush of excitement fired through her blood. If this was a dream, she might as well make the best of it. Looking right into his eyes, she whispered, “Kiss me, Drew.”
Drew’s heart skipped a few beats. “There’s nothing I want more. I was so worried about you.” Bringing his lips to hers, he kissed them gently.
A knock at the door interrupted their intimate moment. Looking around, Drew saw Hattie standing there white as a sheet. “Oh, sweet girl,” Hattie gushed when she came in. “Are you okay?”
Angelina accepted a big hug from the woman. “I’m fine. I don’t know what happened. I was helping Onyx get untangled from the fence and then I woke-up here in this bed.” With Drew kissing her!
“You took a pretty good knock on the head,” Drew added to the story. “He must have kicked you or knocked you down and you hit your head.” He rubbed the top of her hand. “You’re okay now and that’s all that matters.”
Hattie stayed for a few minutes. Having someone fuss over her was nice, but as much as she enjoyed the older woman’s motherly doting, it was Drew’s attention she really craved.
Watching Drew speak to Hattie as he saw her out
, Angelina had time to think. Oddly enough, the chaos of the situation and the ache in her head seemed to have dampened the effect of the Extase for the moment. Angelina smiled to herself, thinking this might be the cure. To keep the rest of her body from betraying her, all she had to do was get whacked over the head by a 2x4 every once in a while. A tiny giggle fell from her lips at the thought.
“What are you laughing about?” Drew was all smiles.
“Nothing. Can I go home now?” She caught herself quickly. “I mean, can I go back to your place?”
Drew’s smile noticeably widened. He loved the tiny slip of her lips. “You can definitely come home with me. I would like nothing more, gorgeous.” He placed a soft palm on her cheek. “To be safe, I want you to stay here for the night and I’m going to be right here with you.”
“Oh no, Drew. You don’t have to do that.”
He took a seat on the chair next to her bed. “I know I don’t. I want to.”
…Even though the chair he slept in was a million times more comfortable than the one he’d slept in outside her bedroom door a few nights back, Drew still spent a restless night.
They talked until it got late, not once being disturbed, per Drew’s orders. He kept an eye on Angelina the entire time, watching to make sure she was okay, insuring there were no changes in her condition. Coming upon her lying unconscious in the grass had been a huge shock to his system and Drew had felt his heart break at the discovery. Luckily the bump wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Keeping her here for the night was more precautionary than anything. Angelina seemed okay and he was confident she’d be back to normal by morning.
When Angelina woke in the middle of the night, it was to find Drew passed out in the chair beside her. She couldn’t remember when she’d fallen asleep. They’d been having such a good conversation and then he’d yawned. Angelina felt like she was being a burden, so she insisted they turn the lights out and call it a night. He’d been running himself ragged lately and she knew he needed to get some rest. He looked so peaceful, asleep in his chair.
Angelina’s hero yet again.
Drew was always there for her and she would miss him more than words could say when the time came for her to go.
* * *
“Is this really necessary?” Angelina protested as Drew pushed her out into the parking lot in a wheelchair. “Oh, brother.” There were only five cars in the lot and nobody milling around, but she still felt embarrassed enough to pull her sweater up over her head.
“Doctors orders,” Drew assured her.
“Well the doctor is a quack. I want a second opinion.”
“Sorry, Toots. You’ve got a bad case of being gorgeous and it’s terminal.” He bent and kissed her on the cheek.
Angelina swooned. She just wished she knew if the attention was because of her injury, or because he really liked her.
Hattie was in full-on fusspot mode when they arrived at Palo Gaucho. She doted on Angelina from the moment they walked in the door. “I’ve set up a spot in the den for you to rest.” She carried a tray that held a lukewarm bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. “I didn’t want to make it too hot.” She ushered the patient into the den. “Have a seat.” Hattie had placed a blanket and pillows on the couch. A stack of random books pulled from the shelves sat beside every current magazine the corner store had on the rack.
Angelina felt guilty. Sure, she’d been knocked unconscious, but she didn’t feel all of this was necessary. But Hattie needed to fuss. She’d called Drew four times at the hospital that morning alone to check-up on her favorite patient and ask when they were coming home.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Drew asked when he saw there was no meal for him.
Hattie didn’t turn to talk to him, she was totally focused on Angelina. “You know where the kitchen is.”
She wanted to know every detail and Angelina obliged. She could remember seeing the barn door open and wandering around the pasture until she came upon Onyx tangled in the wire. “I ran to him and worked until I was able to free him, but Onyx was scared and he reared up and ran, knocking me down. The rest is a blank until I woke up with…” With Drew kissing her all over the face.
“Visiting hours are over,” Drew proclaimed when he returned from a shower.
Hattie rose with a huff. “All right, all right, Nurse Ratchet. I guess the patient needs her rest.”
Drew slid into the spot Hattie had just been occupying and she gave him a sideways look. “What? I’m her doctor. I need to stay and observe my patient.”
Hattie said her goodbyes, leaving the two of them alone in the den.
“What should we do?” Angelina asked the question, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted to get back to the kissing they’d been doing yesterday before being interrupted. Every moment she spent with this amazing man just made her want him more. He had no idea how sexy he looked with his messy hair and bedroom eyes.
Drew knew what he wanted to do next, he wanted to lay her down and bury every inch he owned as deep inside of Angelina as humanly possible. “Let’s watch some TV,” he suggested, much to Angelina’s disappointment.
After a few hours of binge watching Nashville, Drew’s head lolled and he stretched out on the couch, placing his head in Angelina’s lap. Angelina was so engrossed in the show, that she absently began to stroke his head, running her fingers through his thick hair.
Settling in to get comfortable, he sighed at the caress of her fingers on his head. “Mmmmmm.”
It was only at that moment that she became aware of the situation. Drew’s head was in her lap and she was touching him like he belonged to her.
A loud bang on the TV show woke Drew up. “What?” He sat up and looked right at Angelina. “Are you okay?”
Even in a dead sleep, he was ready to be her hero.
She fumbled for the remote, angry with the noise that had halted this idyllic moment. “It’s okay.” She reached for his face and urged Drew to put his head back down into her lap. “Lie back down.”
“No, it’s okay.” He sat back against the couch, rubbing his eyes. “I’m awake.”
“You can go to bed, Drew. I’ll be fine.” She didn’t want him to go, but she wasn’t going to beg.
He opened his eyes wide and took a drink from the water Hattie had left for them. “I’m all right. What did I miss? Did the two exes get back together?”
“Two episodes ago.”
“Oh, good. Hopefully they figure out why the plane crashed.”
“What plane? There’s no plane on this show.”
“Oh. I must have dreamt that.”
“Drew, if you’re tired, go to bed.”
Drew considered his options. He was still bone tired, but he’d had such a good time sitting on the couch watching TV with her that he didn’t want it to end. Knowing he might be making a mistake, he just laid his cards on the table. “I hate to be forward, but I do want to go to my bed. I just don’t want to go without you.”
CHAPTER TEN
Angelina’s heart leapt in her chest. A rush of heat swept through her entire body. Go to Drew’s bed with him? Where did she sign up?
“You can watch this in my room. I just need a good night’s rest and I’ll sleep better with you by my side.”
Angelina didn’t have to be asked twice. “I’d like that, Drew.” Understatement.
He pulled her to her feet and held onto her hand, Angelina felt tingles of excitement cascading over her body.
This was her first time to sleep with anyone. Ever.
Even though this was her first time in his room, she took very little notice of the heavy dark furniture or the rich wood paneling. Her attention was on the man who crawled into the big four poster bed and held the covers back for Angelina to join him. “Climb in. I’ll turn the TV on for you.” He took a remote from the bedside table and turned the television on to the same program she’d been watching in the den. “The noise won’t bother me a bit. I’m sorry, but I don’t th
ink I can keep my eyes open another minute.”
She was so excited to be with him, that it took a few seconds for what Drew said to sink in. She stared blankly at him, doing her best to process the fact that he hadn’t brought her to his room to make love to her. She was here to share his bed – and that was all. Disappointment swamped Angelina so hard and fast that she felt like she was being plunged to the bottom of a deep ocean of despair. With embarrassed disbelief, she watched him raise his hips and shuck off his lounge pants, then turning on his side to face her with a satisfied smile on his handsome face. Folding the pillow beneath his head, Drew let out a big sigh and closed his eyes. “Goodnight, Spanish Eyes.” In a few seconds, he was sound asleep.
“Well, Hades,” she whispered.
Yes, she’d almost said something else.
If any situation qualified for a swear word, this was it. Stiff as a board, Angelina lay beside him. Maybe she was wrong to feel slighted. After all, Drew was exhausted. Somehow, she felt any woman would be hurt. What was he thinking? Did he not know she had feelings?
Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to regulate her breathing and slow her heart rate. Her chest felt sore from the huge letdown. No matter how sensible and rational she tried to be, every doubt she’d ever felt came roaring back full force. She just wasn’t exciting or appealing enough to tempt him. Being this close to the only man she’d ever wanted was a form of torture all its own. And to make matters infinitely worse, the familiar, uncomfortable ache of the drug began to rise within her.
