Red visited when she could, which was the only thing I looked forward to. My light in the absolute darkness. Staff treated me like I was some fragile freaking mental patient. I wasn’t mental. I knew exactly what I wanted and that was for the pain to stop. Pain in the form of my memories. Pain in the form of needing it all to disappear. Did that make me a fruitcake? Perhaps. Dec and Mac popped in separately, Mac on nurse duty in a different ward, and Dec stopped by pretending like nothing had changed. I admired him for attempting to act normal.
On Friday, the third day, Red walked in at five p.m. dressed in jeans, a white fitted tee, and a large smile on her face.
“It’s time to go, Sunshine,” she sang.
“What? Go where? Home?” My spirits lifted. Could I be finally getting out of the hospital?
“You’re coming with me. Not home. Just away from here.” Her cryptic answer had silent questions bouncing around in my already too full brain, but I didn’t voice them. I’d go anywhere with her to escape my room.
“So…they’re letting me go. Just like that?”
“I’ve taken care of it.” She moved to the bed with my crutches. The IV had been removed earlier in the day and my wound redressed.
As I dragged the sheets away and looked down at my missing limb, I asked, “What about getting the bandages on this replaced daily? You driving me here tomorrow? And the day after that?”
“Don’t need to. I’m a nurse, remember? I have supplies.”
Just what was she planning? The gleam in her eye held excitement. I guess I’d wait and see.
Swinging over the edge of the bed as best I could, I gripped the crutches and leveraged myself upright. She crowded me like a mother cat.
“It’s okay. I’ve got this.” It came out a little grouchy, but I didn’t like to be coddled. She should know that.
I began to inch forward but stopped when Char opened the metal drawers beside the bed, pulling out my cell.
“It was in the pocket of your jeans when you were brought in.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” I’d forgotten all about it.
We slowly crawled down the hallways, Char waving goodbye to her colleagues, telling them to have a good weekend. They’d go out. Party. Spend time with families. Relax. Do whatever the fuck they wanted. Me? I’d probably be getting transferred from one prison into another. Visions of Char taking me to her apartment so she could monitor me flashed through my brain. I didn’t want to be treated like a helpless moron.
The new meds I’d been put on made my head cloudy. Today I’d awoken a little confused and spacey.
Reaching Red’s SUV, she opened the door and again went to help me in. I stopped her immediately.
“I’ve got it! I can do this!” I barked at her, immediately sorry when I eyed her crestfallen expression.
“I’m just trying to help.”
“I know, and I appreciate it, but I don’t need it. If I do, I’ll ask for it.”
Hopping closer to the passenger seat, I gripped the overhead handle and hoisted my body onto the seat, thankful my right leg was still intact. It took some maneuvering, but I settled in, shutting the door as Char walked to the driver’s side with a sour face.
A sliver of fire in my veins had me rejoicing at the normalcy of our exchange, at her reaction to my snarky tone. This was how we began.
I watched her closely as she slammed her door and threw the car into gear. Damn, if it didn’t almost make me smile. For just an instant things felt…normal.
***
We’d missed the turnoff to my house so it grew pretty clear we weren’t headed there. When the turnoff to Char’s came and went, I had to ask. “Ahh, just where are we going? I’m not exactly dressed for an outing.”
I wore an old pair of jeans and a shirt Dec had brought by on one of his visits. Apart from that, I had nothing else. If we were going to Char’s I’d need more clothes.
Glancing in the back, Char skewed me a sideways smirk. Her earlier anger at me seemed to have eased somewhat. “All taken care of. Dec packed a bag for you.”
Swinging around I found my large duffle bag on the seat. I was packed so full, it bulged. Pivoting back to the vague woman driving who looked like the cat who had caught the mouse, I asked, “Why do I need so many clothes? Cut the crap, woman, and tell me where I’m going.”
I’d just been released from the hospital after attempting to blow my brains out. I didn’t exactly feel like going on a trip, even if it were just to her apartment.
“Oh, stop being a baby. If you must know, we’re going to my parents’ cabin at Pinckney. It’s surrounded by trees and backs onto a lake.”
Seriously? Oh, my God. Barking out a laugh, I shot, “You have got to be kidding me? You want to take me into the wild? Like this?”
Pointing at the space where my leg was missing, I glared at her.
Not daring to meet my gaze, she cringed and looked back to the road. “It’ll help you relax.”
“Relax?” Laughing some more, I had to hand it to her. She knew how to push my buttons without even trying. “You expect me to relax as if I don’t have a care in the world?”
Her cheeks reddened. Whether from anger or regret, I couldn’t tell.
Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the wheel. Definitely anger. Little Miss Spitfire had returned.
Chapter Thirty
Char
He was going to suck it up whether he liked it or not. People did things because they cared and for no other reason. I cared. More than I should, judging by the hostile glances I kept receiving. He could be angry at me. I didn’t care. What I did care about was keeping him occupied for the next few days. Jenny, a new nurse, had agreed to cover my shifts, while I tended to my outside patient.
Viper’s mindset had taken on the victim mentality, and rightfully so, considering, but I needed to snap him out of it. Taking him home had been out of the equation. It would put him right back at the scene of his horrendous attempt at suicide. He needed a neutral space to help clear his head. Or that was my logic, anyway. I hope it worked.
I’d run it by Dec and he’d agreed. I had him on speed dial should I need him quickly.
I could feel the tension leaching out of Viper, so the ride to Pinckney remained silent but tense. I wouldn’t goad him any more than I already had. I needed to let him settle.
Pinckney hadn’t changed and neither had the cabin if it could be called that. It resembled more of a lake house. Low set. White with blue shutters. Lots of deciduous trees surrounding the property. My folks hadn’t been here in a couple of years, as they now lived in Maine, but I’d always had a key. I needed to utilize it more for relaxation time. It was kept well maintained by a local crew my father kept on salary.
Pulling in to the driveway and pressing the garage remote, I turned slightly to gage Viper’s reaction.
His jaw remained firmly set and his focus, straight ahead. He’d be a tough nut to crack, but I never backed down from a challenge.
Turning off the ignition, I stepped out and moved to retrieve his bag and mine from the backseat.
Viper remained in the passenger seat.
“Do you need a hand getting out?” He had his crutches with him, so I knew he could probably do it, but it was in my nature to ask through concern.
Forcing open his door, he ignored my question, juggling himself and his crutches around so as to lever himself up. Slamming the door shut, he barked out, “Don’t think I’m happy about this! You didn’t even ask. You drove me to some hick town without my consent. So you’ve not only kidnapped me, you’re holding me here against my will!”
God, he could be a dick. “Ha! First, I didn’t force you! I didn’t hold a gun to your head…” Immediately regretting my words, I watched his face turn red and his eyes go colder. Gripping the crutches, he used the sudden adrenalin to surge forward. I moved back, a sinking feeling clutching my chest.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Too late. He crowded my space. Even in
jured, he was a force to be reckoned with.
“You think you fucking know what’s best for me? Just because you’re a nurse? Well, news flash, lady! You don’t know shit! You don’t know me, and you sure as hell don’t know how I feel or what I’m going through!
Anger rose. It was true I didn’t know what he’d endured, but I knew enough about how the brain worked after life-altering injuries. I knew he was an ungrateful jackass.
Taking a deep breath to help tamp my ire, I slowly said, “You’re right. I don’t know you or how you feel, but I care, okay? I want to be here for you. I want to help. And it’s not because of my job, or that I feel obligated. Stop pushing me away!”
His chest heaved. Eyes on fire. He resembled more of the Viper I knew at that moment and it caused my libido to nearly catch alight.
A flicker of humanity showed itself and then disappeared before he rotated and made his way inside.
I still held both our bags, so I trudged in behind him, taking his bag into the master suite with the bathroom. I took the spare room. I figured it would be easier for him to have the facilities closer.
The place smelled musty after being shut up for so long, so I opened windows, letting the cool breeze flow through. Viper had plonked himself on the couch in a huff, so I decided to ignore him and proceed to find the takeout menu my folks normally kept stuck to the fridge. Sure enough, it still remained.
“What pizza do you like?” I called out.
“Get whatever you want. I’m not hungry,” he gruffed.
Fine. Meatlovers and Hawaiian coming up. I bet once he smelled it, he’d change his mind.
***
The atmosphere didn’t change. I set the pizzas on the coffee table and filled my plate, watching and waiting to see if Viper would cave into the temptation. Nope. His strong will held firm, so I ate and placed the leftovers in the fridge, heading out back to sit on the verandah to watch the stars.
“Come out back with me? It’s a gorgeous night.”
He didn’t even look at me, simply rose, and hobbled down the hallway to his room, slamming the door.
Would he keep this up the whole time? It was possible. Viper didn’t do anything he didn’t want to. I imagined he did really want the pizza, and would normally have sat outside with me, but his pride and stubbornness wouldn’t give me the satisfaction.
Too bad, because the stars were extra bright, even with the bite in the air.
Pulling my cell out of my pocket once I’d settled on the outdoor lounge chair, I dialed Mac.
“Hey, girl,” she answered on the fourth ring.
“Hey.”
“How’s it going? You made it there okay?”
“Yeah. Just sitting out back, relaxing.”
“How’s Viper?”
“He’s in his room, being an ass.”
Mac chuckled. She knew the bantering that went on between His Highness and me. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. How will you cope over the next few days?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. He wouldn’t eat dinner. Wouldn’t come sit out the back. He’s actually really pissed I brought him out here.”
“Hahaha. That sounds like him. You want a word with Dec to see if he knows how to break through the barrier Viper’s put up?”
I wasn’t sure his best friend had the answers either, but it was worth a shot.
Waiting for a minute, I heard shuffling and then a deep voice. “Char. What’s up?”
His voice held mild concern.
“Nothing bad, just the usual. A stubborn, grumpy soldier to contend with. No biggie.”
“He giving you a hard time already?”
“Well, let’s just say he feels like I’ve kidnapped him.”
Dec roared with laughter. “Maybe he’s more himself than we thought.”
“I just don’t know what to do to help him. I thought he might like the idea of getting away from it all for a few days. Maybe it’s just me he doesn’t want to be around.”
We’d had a weird relationship if you could call it that. It had so many bends and sharp corners to it, I couldn’t keep up.
“I think you just need to toughen up some and tell him how it’s gonna be. Don’t let him walk all over you and be a dick. Get him outside tomorrow any way you can. He needs it. He’s not going to sulk in his room forever. If I was there, I’d be on his ass like some drill sergeant, demanding he get his butt outside and moving. The longer he sits around feeling sorry for himself, the harder it will be to get him to do anything. You need me to come out there and kick his ass?”
Giggling, I replied, “No. Thank you. I just need to grow some balls and hope he listens to me. I’ll give him tonight to sulk, but in the morning, I’ll try what you said. He can only curse me and throw a tantrum, right?”
“Ahh, yeah. He probably will, but don’t listen. Dig your heels in. Be tough with him. Don’t take his crap. This is like an intervention. We’re his friends and love him. We’re doing this to help him. He may not see it, but eventually, he will. We’re all he has. Seeing him with the gun to his head…”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. “I’ll handle it. Don’t worry. I’ll put my suit of armor on in the morning and become the bitch from hell.”
“Atta girl. You got this. If taking the hardball approach doesn’t work, then I don’t know what will. Keep us posted, okay?”
“I will. And thanks. I mean it.”
“All good.”
After hanging up, I felt a little better. Maybe I did need to harden up when it came to Viper. Show him I wasn’t backing down or walking away, no matter what. Come morning, he was going to truly know the meaning of the term, fiery redhead.
Chapter Thirty-One
Char
Morning came and with it, life outside stirred. As for inside the house, silence ensued. Today was the day to test both of our wills. Sleep had come in fits and bursts. On and off. My mind had been on Dec’s words. Toughen up. Don’t take his crap. Could I do it? I’d like to believe so because if I failed, I’d be handing him over to his best friend. I’d never dealt with anything like it, personally. At work, we sent patients to therapy. An expert. Today, I needed to be that therapy. I hoped and prayed Dec knew his friend as well as he said he did.
Rising, I showered and made a pot of coffee, steeling myself for the morning ahead.
The lake house set back from the road in a thicket of trees that expanded down to the water. A track had been carved out by my father years ago, but with the caretakers focusing on only on the grounds around the house, everything had probably flourished.
We’d have to forge our own path. Kind of like life, really. This new road I traveled. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but with one foot in front of the other, I’d discover new ground.
It was early. Seven thirty, to be exact. The sun was only beginning to raise its head. The sky had lightened, but the trees held the rays at bay.
Taking a long swig of coffee, I strode with purpose to the last room on the left. I didn’t bother knocking, but blew in like a tornado, finding Viper asleep on his back with one arm covering his eyes. For a second, I faltered and just stared. Blankets covered his chest with only his head sticking out. October in Michigan was pretty cool. It felt like five degrees. I wore socks, sweats, and a long sleeve tee, but I knew in order to step outside, I’d need a jacket.
Viper’s arms were bare, so I assumed he slept without a shirt, even in fall temperatures.
Dragging in a deep breath at his rugged handsomeness, I swallowed any doubts and moved forward.
“Rise and shine! Time to wake up and head outside!” My voice echoed in the quiet.
Viper stirred and turned slightly, but didn’t wake. I neared the bed and jiggled him on the shoulder with my hand.
“Time to wake, Viper! The sun’s up. You should be too.” It sounded weird to be demanding he get up when technically he didn’t have to. We didn’t have anything to do other than making it to the lake, but if I was to le
t him know I was serious in my endeavor to help him, I needed to push aside any emotion and give him some tough love.
Both of his eyes opened and in a second were focused on me. Even bleary from sleep, they shot adrenalin into my bloodstream and upped my heart rate.
Don’t back down, Char. You got this. Don’t let him intimidate you. Stick to the plan.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he rasped, his brow scrunched up.
“Getting you out of bed. I didn’t bring you out here to sleep all day. Get. Up!”
Shit. His face morphed into one of carefully controlled anger. I’d seen that look before and it scared the hell out of me. My brain yelled at me to back out of the room slowly and shut the door, but if I did that, I’d be giving in to him. I wouldn’t follow through with it.
The sheets got thrown back, revealing his naked chest in all its masculine finery. My eyes wavered on the dips of his abdomen and then flew to his eyes as he pivoted to sit on the edge of the bed. His crutches stood against the wall beside the bed. Within reach.
An inferno blazed in the depths of such glorious green eyes.
“You think you can tell me what to do? Sorry to disappoint you, Red, but I’m not doing squat today, so I suggest you get that pretty ass out of here and go to the lake yourself.”
He creaked his neck as if meaning business, and I’m sure he did. So much for taking charge. I needed to up my game.
Grounding both feet into the timber floor, I gritted my teeth. “No! I’m not going alone.” Needing to change tactics, I almost yelled, I didn’t peg you for a quitter. But that’s exactly what you are. The going gets tough and you, what? Give up? Just like that! Huffing, I placed a hand on my hip. “You disappoint me.”
It killed me to say it. But I turned and stormed out of his room to the kitchen to finish the rest of my coffee. If he’d been one hundred percent mobile, there’s no way I would have said what I did. I’d pay for it, but I couldn’t dwell on that. The words were out. I heard a thud, followed by a loud, “Fucking bitch!”
True Beginnings (The Lost and Found Series Book 3) Page 18
