He handed her the arrangement she’d brought down, a squat vase filled with exotic-colored roses from Merritt’s Florist. He took the other two arrangements from the nurses and thanked them graciously then placed them in a cardboard box on the back floorboard. She waved at the nurses, who smiled and waved back then turned the wheelchair and took it back into the hospital entrance.
Rachel hadn’t been happy with this arrangement when Eli had first brought it up, saying she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself at home. The first time he helped her to the restroom after they removed her catheter, she changed her mind. That one little adventure out of bed had used every bit of strength she had. She had asked him to call the nurse to assist her, but he’d helped her up and pulled up her panties himself, without batting an eyelash, then helped her back to bed. Rachel knew then that he was right. She did need help. She’d laid back down on the bed in a cold sweat, completely wiped out by the short trip.
Now here she sat on her way to her parent’s ranch feeling like an invalid. It galled her that she would need someone to help her with the basics for a while, but that wasn’t what caused the pain she was in right now. She felt like a big baby.
Tears filled her eyes, and she caught him look over in her direction with concern in his eyes. A hitching pain clenched in her chest.
“Angel, you can do this. It won’t be for long, and then you can be on your own again. Your mom promised not to hover. She knows you like your independence. It’ll be okay.” He covered her hand with his, where it lay on her lap, restrained by her cast. “I took your laptop out to the ranch, with your clothes and other stuff earlier. If you feel like it, you can do some writing later. Time’s going to fly. You concentrate on resting and healing, and you’ll be back in your own place before you know it.”
“It’s not that, Eli,” she said softly, still hoarse from the wound to her throat. It was deep but had not damaged her vocal chords and was healing nicely. The doctor said the hoarseness might linger and would persist if she used her voice too much.
“What is it, angel? Do you need a pain pill?” He reached for the meds her doctor had prescribed for her pain.
“No. I mean, yes, when we get to the house I’ll need one, but that’s not what’s bothering me.” She turned carefully. The tears spilled from her eyes, and she said, “I’m going to miss you so much.” Her lips trembled, and a sob escaped. She gingerly wiped the tears away before they soaked the bandage over her cheekbone.
Because she’d been self-conscious of all the wounds and lacerations she’d suffered, he’d helped her look under all the bandages. She had been able to see for herself that they were all healing well and that she wouldn’t look like Frankenstein’s creature when the healing process was through. Eli had reminded her with tender kisses that he was just grateful that she was all right and would recover fully.
He pulled over to the shoulder of the road and slid across the seat to her. He gently cupped her cheeks in his hands and said, “Angel, I’ll miss you, too. Especially at night. I haven’t slept worth a damn since I’ve been sleeping alone. But I’ll be out there all the time when I’m not working. Your dad and mom will probably get sick of seeing me all the time. You’ll even get sick of me. Don’t worry. You’ll be back on your own in no time,” he said, smiling down at her. She sobbed painfully, and more tears spilled over her cheeks. He looked confused and said, “Rachel, what did I say? I didn’t mean to upset you. Tell me.”
“I don’t care about being on my own. I need you. I’ll never be able to sleep if you’re not there,” she whispered hoarsely.
She felt silly and ashamed as she looked into his eyes, unable to get a better handle on her emotions. She couldn’t believe what a ninny she was being. His face registered a mixture of surprise and sympathy and something else she couldn’t quite pinpoint.
His fingers were gentle as he lifted her chin. “I want you with me, too. Promise me you’ll be good and work hard on recovering for me and then we can be together, just the two of us. Will you do that?” he asked, beaming down at her. Rachel looked into his eyes, and what she saw there made her feel hopeful. She smiled up at him and wiped away her tears.
“I love you, Eli. I’m so in love with you.” She rested her forehead carefully on his chest and sighed shakily, her breath hitching a little from her tears.
“If you only knew what you do to me. I love you so much my chest hurts.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips then brushed his lips over her uninjured cheekbone. She sighed contentedly and wrapped her good arm around his waist.
“Let’s get you settled.” He released her and slid back behind the steering wheel, buckled in, and continued down the road. “I talked to my dad yesterday.”
“Oh, yeah?” Rachel replied, sniffling as she dried her eyes with the back of her hand. Her heart felt much lighter, like a burden had been lifted from it.
“He’s coming for a visit around the end of October.”
“I hope it cools off for his visit.”
“I do, too. Maybe by then you’ll be home?”
“I’m planning on it, big boy.” She smiled when he said “home” like that. Yeah, he was her home.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rachel was the best convalescing patient ever, even when she thought the process would drive her crazy. She spent a little time every day moving around, pushing herself to do things when she could do it in safety while her mom hovered nearby. She did not want to elongate her stay at home.
A week into her recovery, she could no longer stand the thought of the work piling up at her job and called Mr. Grogan. Bernice put her on hold, and after a minute, he came on the line.
“Young lady, you may not return to work.”
“But—”
“I’m sitting at your desk right now. The bills that need paying are getting paid, anything else pressing is coming directly to me. The other stuff you can catch up on when you come back. Get your butt back in bed and get better.” Rachel could hear him chuckling as she gasped in surprise, and then she did something very uncharacteristic as she made a face at her phone and blew a raspberry at it.
She put the phone back to her ear in time to hear him say, “I heard that. Now, see? I told you that you’d fit in just fine around here.”
“But you could send me everything electronically. I can do that from bed.”
“But that’s not restful or healthy, now is it?”
“I’m bored!”
Thorne chuckled deeply. “Tough shit, sweetheart. We miss you around here. You kind of ‘class’ the place up a bit. But I don’t want to see you here or have you working for at least another three weeks. That’s what your doctor says, right?”
Begrudgingly she replied, “Yes, how did you—”
“A little bird told me.” She looked at her phone and stuck her tongue out at it then put it back to her ear in time to hear him say, “So there you have it, sweetheart. Rest and heal, and we’ll throw you a party when you come back. In three weeks.”
“I like working. I’m not a baby.”
“I know. You should work on that book you’re writing instead of pestering your poor old boss. Three weeks, not a moment sooner.”
She set up her laptop and spent time each day working on her manuscript. In a way, the accident had provided her an opportunity to work on it consistently. Writing helped to pass the time.
Eli often spent his evenings off at the Lopez ranch and came to visit her in the afternoons, on the nights he had to work at The Pony. Her parents never tired of his visits and always seemed curious about his work and his plans. Her father was especially observant of Eli, and she wondered what was going through his head when he watched Eli and the way he was around her. She was glad to see they had become friends. Several times she’d observed them deep in conversation and wondered what they found to talk about.
Her mother’s eyes always twinkled when Eli was around. She quickly found out what his favorite foods were and cooked
them for him. She approved of the way he treated Rachel and always made a point of complimenting his manners and personality to Rachel. Mike and Rogelio came to visit her, and, of course, she saw Grace or talked to her on the phone almost daily. That helped because Rachel always laughed when she talked with Grace.
Her one difficulty regarding her recuperation was sleeping. She struggled with insomnia and nightmares of the accident, but she refused to take sleeping pills. She dreamed of being trapped and unable to talk or get out of the car, of being in pain and not being able to move. One time, she even dreamed she was the doe being chased and struck by the SUV. She always woke bathed in sweat, sometimes screaming, which scared the crap out of her poor parents.
Once she had the nightmare, she had a hard time falling back to sleep. Some nights she wasn’t troubled by bad dreams, but she still couldn’t fall asleep, her mind filled with thoughts of Eli. She didn’t worry about him on the job. She just missed him. Eli was having trouble sleeping, too, because he’d told her about it one night when she mentioned that he looked tired. He told her he needed her, that was all. Her heart felt full at his words.
She would lay there in the dark and remember what it felt like when he surrounded her with his big, strong arms and cuddled her against his broad chest and she used his biceps as her pillow. Sometimes she’d go for full-on torture and think about making love with him, clinging to his warmth as he slid his stiff cock into her and stroked her to a hot, moaning orgasm. If she fell asleep thinking of those times, she woke with her body clamoring for his, wet and ready. Once she woke as an orgasm inspired by her dream washed over her, but it felt unsatisfying when she realized she was alone with no warm arms to hold her and help her come down from it.
By the fourth week, she was getting around much better but had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her mom came to her and sat down at the kitchen table with a bottle of Tylenol PM. She showed her the label. Non-addicting.
Her mother tapped the bottle on the table. “I talked to your doctor. You’ll take these tonight, tomorrow night, and the next night. You’ve got to get some sleep, or you’ll never fully recover, sweetheart. I think Eli is what you need now, not more sitting around,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “Be a good girl and do as I say, and I’ll help you pack on Friday and take you to your duplex.”
Rachel grinned and said cheekily, “Tonight, tomorrow night, and you take me home on Thursday. I want to surprise Eli, so don’t say anything to him tonight when he comes over.”
Her mom tried to hide her smile with a grimace. “Always negotiating. I think we should tell him.”
“No, I want to surprise him. Please?”
“All right. Take one now and go lie down for a nap. It’s early enough, and I’ll wake you so you don’t sleep too long.” She handed Rachel a tablet and a glass of water. Rachel smiled and took it obediently, excited at this development. Restlessness had plagued her the last few days and she knew that was because she was getting better. Rachel knew she needed Eli if she wanted to sleep. She knew he needed her, too.
She did succeed in taking a nap that morning and then applied herself into completing the novel. Wednesday night, they all watched a movie together. After taking her Tylenol PM, she laid her head in his lap, and she fell asleep twenty minutes into the movie. She woke a bit as he carried her gently in his arms to her room and tucked her in after sliding her slippers off her feet. She turned to him half asleep as he kissed her cheeks.
* * * *
Thursday morning, Rachel watched her mom close the backdoor on the Escalade her dad had given her as an anniversary gift a few months before. “Grab your laptop, Rachel. I have everything else loaded. Do you need to check and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything?”
Rachel stood in the doorway. Three weeks ago, the laptop had felt like it weighed a ton. Now, she could lift it in its carrying case with hardly any effort.
“No, I already have. Let’s go.”
Her mom chuckled as Rachel carefully climbed into the driver’s seat. “Aren’t you an eager beaver? I already stocked your kitchen with groceries, and I’ve packed some things I cooked for you, so all you’ll have to do is reheat food in the microwave. It can all go in the freezer, so you should have enough to last a week, at least.” As her mom drove down the long drive way, she looked over at Rachel and patted her thigh. “You’ll call me if you need me, right?”
“Of course, Mom.”
“I know Eli will take excellent care of you, but you can call me during the day if you need me while he’s at work.”
“Thanks, Mom, for taking such good care of me. I’m glad you like Eli so much. It means a lot to me.”
“Well, I see how happy he makes you and that he loves you, too.”
While her mom got her unpacked and settled, Rachel took a warm shower and washed her hair. She slipped into a fresh pair of pajamas and settled into her bed, a little strung out from the move and the excitement of being home. Her mom talked her into taking another Tylenol PM and kissed her cheek. She brought Rachel her cell phone in case she needed it and let herself out, locking up behind her. Rachel cuddled up to her pillows and fell asleep.
A noise woke her later, and she sat up, feeling disoriented. The sun was gone from her bedroom window, and she realized she must have slept into the afternoon. She heard the sound again and realized what it was. Eli must be home because the noise that woke her was the sound of a Harley pulling into the driveway.
She stretched carefully, testing how she felt, and smiled at the butterflies in her stomach. Even though she wasn’t medically released for “extracurricular activities” like sex yet, she was giddy at the thought of being alone with Eli. Two more weeks, the doctor had said. Torture. That’s what she thought of his recommendation. She’d be surprised if they made it two more weeks without attacking each other. It’d been easy at her parents’ house because they were never alone, but she was feeling better now, and they were so blessedly alone.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming on the other side of the duplex. Dang. She’d never noticed that before. The walls were—thin. The blood ran cold in her veins as a muffled male laugh came through the wall, followed by a feminine giggle. She fell flat on her back as the adrenaline rush slammed into her. She turned on her side, intending to go see what the hell was going on over there.
Before she could pull on her robe and slippers, she knew exactly what was going on next door. Gooseflesh covered her skin as she listened to the unmistakable sounds of boisterous fucking coming from Eli’s side of the duplex. She tried to stand, but the strength had left her legs.
The sounds of female arousal, begging to be fucked, even the sound of a loud slap and a moan were clear and unmistakable. Even with her hands over her ears, she could hear the joyous sound of a woman getting her brains fucked out. Rachel listened, utterly mystified and hurt. She couldn’t believe she was listening to Eli fucking another woman. Filled with confusion, she couldn’t reconcile this with his solicitous behavior at her parents’ house.
Rachel lay there listening as the pace of the noise next door increased in tempo. She heard loud moans and wailing as Eli evidently satisfied the fuck out of the woman he was screwing and then a loud yell as he got off, too. She curled on her side as it grew quiet next door except for a giggle now and then.
Pain lanced through her from her injuries, and she knew she must have been tensing up too much. She lay there praying that they were finished. She’d give herself a few minutes to recover and then call her mother to come get her and take her back home.
No, she couldn’t do that. She had a place of her own now. She couldn’t run home to Mommy and Daddy even though that was what she wanted to do. She’d screwed up royally taking a place right next door to Eli. Now she’d lose her deposit when she moved for breaking the lease agreement.
This was one gigantic fucking mess. Had this been going on the whole time she had been at her parents’? He must have gott
en tired of going without sex and one of those sluts at the club had seized her opportunity. Better to know this now before her heart was fully committed.
What a dumbass. Who am I kidding?
Her heart had been committed from the moment their eyes had locked across the dance floor. This was going to hurt, no matter how she candy-coated it or tried to rationalize it.
She pulled the pillow over her head and tried to calm her breathing and figure out what to do next because she couldn’t stay there. She’d make some calls in a few minutes and try to find a hotel room for the night and then start searching for a new place from there.
Rachel nearly came out of her skin when she felt a big hand on her arm.
“Angel? What’s the matter?” His soft voice sounded alarmed as he removed the pillow from her head.
* * * *
Eli knelt down at the side of her bed. Her hair was stuck to the damp trails of her tears, and her pillow was damp, too. How long had she been like that? A cold chill went through him at the stark pain in her eyes.
“Are you hurting? When was the last time you took a pain pill? Do you need one? Your mom called me. She knew you wanted to surprise me, but she started to worry and decided to call me and let me know you were here.”
She stared mutely at him, hers eyes full over misery and pain.
He whispered softly, “Angel? You’re scaring me here. What’s the matter?” He sat on the edge of the bed and helped her sit up carefully, but she inched away from him. Fresh tears tracked down her cheeks, and a fresh painful sob rasped hoarsely from her throat. The sound made his heart kick up a notch.
She stared at him as if she didn’t know him. Her brows knitted together when she looked into his eyes. Furiously, she swiped at the tears as he continued to stare at her, waiting for her to say something. She brushed her hair back. Eli became more baffled by the second as she looked at him coldly, her hands trembling. He was so glad to see her and ached to take her in his arms and fix whatever was troubling her, but she wouldn’t speak to him.
The Divine Creek Ranch Collection, Volume 1 [Book 1 - Divine Grace, Book 2 - Her Gentle Giant, Book 3 - Heavenly Angel] (Siren Everlasting Collection) Page 85
