MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance)

by Claire Branson

  Elise explained to Moya then nodded at the doctor to indicate that Moya would let him work now. When Dr. Frey moved Moya’s head, Moya groaned but said nothing. Wiping the blood off her hand onto her skirt, she watched as the doctor examined the long gash from the crown of his head to just above his right ear. No wonder there was so much blood! What could have caused an injury like that?

  “Hand me the bandages in my bag, Miss Anderson.”

  Looking into his bag, she pulled out the white linens and handed them to Dr. Frey, who proceeded to fold two long pieces. With those covering Moya’s wound, he had her hold them in place and wrapped a long, narrow piece of white cloth around Moya’s head several times before securely tying it at Moya’s left temple.

  The doctor pointed at three random men, saying, “You. You. And you. We’re going to lift him gently and put him on the buckboard. I need to get him to my office.”

  Elise didn’t recognize any of the men from her class, so she translated just in case they didn’t understand. The men came over, and Dr. Frey directed them into position. While Dr. Frey slid his arms under Moya’s head and shoulders, one man put his arms under Moya’s shoulders and waist. Across from him, another man put his arms under Moya’s waist and just under his buttocks. The last man took Moya’s legs.

  “Tell them that we’ll all lift him on the count of three, Miss Anderson.”

  Relaying the message, Elise backed out of the way while Dr. Frey counted. When he reached three, all the men stood and carefully walked to the physician’s buckboard. Once they were in position, Dr. Frey directed Elise to hold Moya’s head steady. As she did, the doctor got onto the bed of the buckboard and took Moya’s head and shoulders. He pulled Moya onto the wagon while each man released Moya until he was fully on the bed of the vehicle. Dr. Frey climbed over the seat and untied the reins from where he’d secured them.

  “I need the men to come with me, Miss Anderson. You, too, in case I need you to translate again.”

  Elise told the men what Dr. Frey said and began to climb into the back to sit by Moya. Strong hands around her waist startled her as they lifted her into the wagon. She turned to see Lars standing there.

  “I’ll come by your house tonight to see what Doc Frey says about Moya’s condition,” Lars announced.

  Unable to respond, Elise just nodded and moved to the front of the wagon where Moya’s head lay. Tucking her legs and dress under her, she sat beside him. The other three men jumped into the buckboard, and the doctor snapped the reins across the horse’s back. The wagon started at a quick but safe speed.

  “Don’t let him bump his head too much,” Dr. Frey said.

  “Should I sit on my knees and hold his head in my lap?” she asked.

  “That’s the perfect solution. We can’t have him bouncing around against the wood. He probably has a fractured skull and a concussion. He needs to stay as still as possible.”

  Elise maneuvered herself into position and lifted Moya’s head just enough to slide under it and cradle his head between her thighs. When she took her hand out from under it, she discovered that there was even more blood on her. Obviously, the covering of the wound wasn’t working very well because blood was seeping from the bandages.

  ***

  Once the men got Moya into the doctor’s office, they left Dr. Frey and Elise alone and went back to work.

  “How serious is this, Dr. Frey?” Elise asked when they were alone and the physician was working on Moya.

  “It’s very serious, Miss Anderson.”

  “Please. Call me Elise. Will he die?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “He passed out on the way here,” Elise said in concern. “Surely that can’t be good.”

  “It’s not.”

  Shaking his head and pursing his lips, Dr. Frey examined the wound under his lantern light. Elise didn’t like the way he was acting and looked over to see how bad it was. To her surprise, the wound was so deep it was almost as though she could see into Moya’s head. His golden curls were even getting into it.

  “I need to shave off some of his hair so I can get a better look, Elise. Would you go into my bedroom and get the razor off my washstand?”

  He pointed toward a door leading out of his office, so she went to it and opened it. Glancing around the sparsely decorated room, she strode over to the washstand and grabbed the razor. In case he wanted them, she also picked up the shaving brush and soap. Then she returned to the office.

  Taking the items from her, Dr. Frey asked, “Have you ever acted as a nurse?”

  “Only when my parents were sick. Never in an emergency.”

  “Then this will be your first time. You keep pressure on this towel on his wound. I’m going to wash my hands. When I get done, I want you to do the same thing. Then I’m going to sew up his cut. I want you to make sure any hair that gets in the way is moved. I don’t want it in his wound. If you get nauseous, look away, and I’ll tell you when I need you to move his hair.”

  Although anxious about how she was performing, Elise did exactly as the doctor told her. She didn’t feel the slightest bit queasy, so she watched what he was doing and was able to move any stray strands of Moya’s hair out of the way. When he was finished, a hairless swath about two inches wide bordered the stitched wound.

  “You did a wonderful job, Elise,” Dr. Frey praised as he more closely examined the wound now that it wasn’t bleeding. “You didn’t even seem as though watching me bothered you.”

  “That’s because it didn’t,” she replied with a smile. “I was fascinated with what you were doing and how well you did it.”

  “I was just glad he was unconscious. I didn’t relish using alcohol to cleanse that wound. If he had been awake, that would have been very painful.”

  “I think he felt it, though,” she said, her smile slipping from her lips. “I heard him moaning.”

  “If that bothers you, you’ll be glad to know that he most likely won’t remember anything about today. And, quite frankly, I’m not sure what he’ll remember if he wakes up.”

  “If?” she repeated in shock.

  “I’m sorry, but he could have bleeding in his brain. I’ve always wished that there was a way to see into a human body without opening it up, but there’s not. Right now, we can’t fix something like that. We can only pray and watch him.” He paused and gazed over Moya at her. “Would you be willing to sit with him tonight? You could take the first shift, and I’ll take over about two a.m.”

  “Of course, I would be willing,” she said without hesitation.

  “I thought so. I’m an old man now,” he said with a laugh, “and my wife has been gone for years. But I haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be in love. You, Elise, are definitely a woman in love.”

  Her face heated in embarrassment. If he could tell, who else could?

  Chapter 13

  Elise looked at herself in the full-length mirror. One of her favorite dresses was ruined by Moya’s blood, and she imagined that it had gone through to her petticoats. Poor Moya. He hadn’t woken up again before she left to change her clothes and have something to eat.

  She needed to do both, although she wasn’t really hungry. As Dr. Frey had pointed out, she couldn’t keep going without nutrition and rest.

  As she changed into another dress, Elise considered her conversation with Dr. Frey while they waited together for Moya to awaken. The doctor had examined the wound and come to a conclusion that the injury had been no accident. Dr. Frey had found no bits of bark or wood from a tree limb. And the contusion around the cut had edges that were far too smooth to have been made by a branch. He theorized that this had been an attack with a different object, possibly a board. No limb had hit his head.

  Who would want to hurt him? Everyone she’d spoken to since she arrived who knew Moya had said that he was one of the best people they’d ever met. They all liked his easy-going attitude and his consistent willingness to help others.

  None of those people would
want to do anything to him. They would have come to his aid if they had found him, just like Lars had. Whoever did this had to have extreme anger against Moya for some reason.

  A knock at her bedroom door brought her from her thoughts.

  “Who is it?” she asked as she slid into a clean petticoat.

  “Stina.”

  “Come in.” Elise picked up her soiled dress and petticoats.

  The door opened and Stina entered the room, closing the door behind her.

  “I heard about Moya, Elise,” Stina said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “How is he?”

  “Dr. Frey says that he’s in a coma. He doesn’t know if Moya will make it or not.”

  “Oh, Elise, I’m so sorry. I know you like him a lot.”

  “Because he’s a nice man. Everybody likes him.”

  “You like him like a beau, though.”

  Elise’s heart quickened, and she turned away from Stina to put her dirty clothes into a basket. Now Stina was telling her how she felt about Moya. More people seemed to know what she was feeling than she did.

  The dress disappeared from her hands, and Elise shot her startled gaze to Stina, who was studying the blood stain on the skirt.

  “It looks like he bled a lot,” Stina said, “but I think I can get this out. Do you want me to try?”

  As glad as she was that Stina had offered, Elise felt guilty because Stina did laundry all day long most days. “Thank you, Stina, but I don’t want you to have to do my laundry when that’s all you ever do.”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I had minded. And anything else that has blood on it, I’ll wash that, too. So many men get cuts and scrapes out logging that I’ve found a way to take care of their clothes.”

  Elise collapsed onto the other side of the bed. Today had been exhausting, and it wasn’t over. After she ate and took a nap—if she could nap—she needed to go back to Dr. Frey’s office and sit with Moya until about two in the morning.

  “May I ask you a question, Stina?”

  “Of course.”

  “Do you know of anybody who hates Moya so much that he would deliberately hurt him?”

  “I thought he was hurt by a falling tree limb. At least, that’s what I was told.”

  “That’s what everybody was told out at the logging site,” Elise said, “but Dr. Frey said he thinks it was deliberate.”

  “Everybody I know thinks Moya is a wonderful person. I don’t know anybody would do such a thing to him.”

  “Neither do I, which is why I’m so confused. Don’t tell anybody what Dr. Frey said, because I don’t know if he wants it to be general knowledge. All I know is what he told me, and what he told me is so unbelievable.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I’m not hungry,” Elise announced. “I’m just going to lie down and get some rest. Would you wake me in about two hours? I need to go back later so Dr. Frey can get some sleep.”

  ***

  As exhausted as she was, Elise hadn’t been able to sleep earlier. Now she sat at Moya’s bedside, gently rubbing his hand, quietly talking to him in Swedish. The doctor had said that he might be able to hear her, so she wanted to constantly say something, anything, in an attempt to coax him awake.

  For hours, she talked, watching his eyes, which didn’t even flutter. At one point, she laid her head on his pillow but continued speaking to him, all the while silently praying that he would wake up and talk to her.

  Then his voice shocked her into sitting up again. “Don’t you ever stop talking?”

  “Moya!” she exclaimed.

  “Sh-h,” he said with a wink and a smile. “I have a headache.”

  She chuckled, glad that his sense of humor was intact. “I imagine you do. I’ll be right back. I need to get Dr. Frey.”

  “Vait. I need to tell you dat I love you.”

  “I know. You told me out at the logging site. If it helps you feel better, I think I love you, too.”

  “Don’t say it yust because it vill make me feel better.”

  “That’s not why I’m saying it. I’m saying it because I mean it. And if I had any idea of what love is, I might be saying that I do love you. Unfortunately, my mother never had the chance to guide me in this. Now I’m going to get the doctor because he told me to wake him if you came to.”

  When Elise and the physician returned, Dr. Frey examined Moya then sat down on a chair with a pen, ink bottle, paper, and a board to write on.

  “Do you have any recollection of what happened to you, Mr. Sten?” Dr. Frey asked as he dipped his pen into the ink bottle, which also sat on the board.

  “Recollection?” Moya repeated.

  Elise could tell that he didn’t understand the word, so she translated for him. “Minne, Moya.”

  “Ah. No, sir. I vish I knew, but I don’t.”

  “What do you remember from before the incident?” the doctor asked.

  Taking Elise’s hand in his and gazing up at her fondly, he replied, “I remember our picnic.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  Moya frowned, and Elise realized that he had lost all concept of time.

  “De day before yesterday?” Moya responded.

  Dr. Frey looked over at Elise. “Is that correct?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “It was four days ago.”

  “Four days?” Moya asked. “Are you sure?”

  As bad as Elise felt for him, she knew it was best to be honest in her answers. “I’m positive.”

  “Den I can’t remember two days.” He squeezed her hand, but his grasp was weak. “Vat happened in dose days?”

  “You don’t need to fret about that right now,” Dr. Frey said. “I just need to know how bad your head injury is. These questions will help me determine if your memory is improving.”

  While Dr. Frey continued with his questions and Moya answered to the best of his ability, Elise sat on the bed beside Moya. His memory loss obviously troubled him, but Elise didn’t care that he didn’t remember. All she cared about was that he remembered their picnic and what happened there.

  Chapter 14

  Elise spent the better part of five days with Moya as he recuperated in the doctor’s office bed. Thanks to the laudanum that Dr. Frey gave him, Moya’s headaches weren’t as severe as they had been. Since he was feeling better, Moya asked to go home, but Dr. Frey told him that he still had a brain injury and was only feeling better because of the drug.

  On the sixth day when Elise came by again, Moya demanded that he go home.

  “If you live by yourself,” Dr. Frey said, “you can’t go home. You still need nearly constant supervision. How many times have you tried to get up and couldn’t walk but a few steps without getting weak and dizzy? If you fall and hit your head again, it could kill you. Is that what you want?”

  “Vat I vant is to go home. I live in one of the dorms, so dere vill be people around who can help me.”

  “Excuse me, doctor,” Elise interrupted, “do you think we could make a compromise?”

  “What is it?” Dr. Frey asked.

  “What if I take Moya in? I’ve been helping you care for him since we brought him here. I know what to do. I know how often to give him medicine so his headaches won’t come back. When I’m not there, either Stina or Karin are. I can give them instructions on his care.”

  Moya’s face lit at the prospect of staying with Elise, and he spoke excitedly to Dr. Frey. “Ja! Dat vould be a good idea.”

  “I suppose that would work,” Dr. Frey agreed, “if you follow all of her instructions and don’t move around a lot without help or someone in the house.

  “I promise.”

  ***

  With a half an hour, Moya was comfortably situated in Elise’s bed. The dose of laudanum the doctor had given him at the office had made his transport easier since he wasn’t in much pain. Dr. Frey warned him, however, that if he didn’t continue taking his laudanum at regular intervals, he would find that his headaches would increase in intensity.
Elise assured the doctor that she would make sure Moya continued his medicine as recommended.

  Confident that Elise would take care of everything from giving Moya his medicine to cleaning and dressing his wound daily, Dr. Frey left.

  As soon as Elise returned from seeing Dr. Frey out, Moya patted the bed and spoke in a heated tone. “Come sit by your patient.”

  “I don’t think I should, Moya,” she replied. “That look in your eyes tells me that it might make you want to do something you shouldn’t.”

  “I feel fine now,” he said with a grin.

  She sank onto the edge of the bed and turned to look down at him. “You know what Dr. Frey said. You’re not supposed to move around a lot.”

  “We could have a little fun vitout my moving too much.”

  “No fun. You need rest.”

  “I vould rest better after. I promise.”

  “Maurtiz Sten, are you suggesting a repeat of what we did at the river that day?”

  “You had fun, ja?”

  “I did, but …”

  “Let’s do it again.”

  “You moved too much. You can’t be doing that right now. One of us has to be rational here,” she said in her most motherly tone, “and it obviously isn’t going to be you.”

  “Lie down beside me den, and ve can cuddle. De bed is made for two people. I vould love to fall asleep vit you in my arms.”

  Elise thought of the nights since their picnic and her thoughts she had of sleeping with Moya again. She’d dreamed of their tryst, of his kisses, of every part of that day. Although she would love to lie down and take a nap, she couldn’t. She needed to take care of Moya, and sharing a bed with him wasn’t doing that.

  There was no doubt in her mind that she would love to be in his arms, would adore being his lover, but she needed to keep her distance until he recovered. If anything bad happened to him because she relented, she would carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life.

  “Elise?” he asked, bringing her from her introspection. “Are you all right?”