1.
THREE MONTHS AGO
S ANDI
When I walked out of the bedroom, the smell of coffee hit me. The second I inhaled that heavenly aroma, I felt a tiny bit better. I’d been on the road for almost ten hours yesterday, and even though it was a good way to decompress after the stress of my last job, it still taxed my body. I was sore for no good reason and tired even though I’d done nothing but sit in my truck and listen to audiobooks.
Of course, the stress of traffic as I passed through major cities on the way was enough to make me crazy, but maneuvering around the assholes who acted like it was the first snow of the apocalypse proved to be a bit of entertainment and helped me blow off some steam. I’d been born and raised in Michigan, so driving in the snow was second nature to me. However, the people who were traveling on I-40 between Nashville, Tennessee and Rojo, Texas, apparently thought two inches was enough to get excited about.
Kind of like the men I’d dated in the last few years.
“Morning!” I smiled at my friend Jewel as I walked past her to the coffee pot and heard her laugh as I turned to get a mug out of the cabinet. “I’ll try that again in about five minutes.”
I poured my first cup and then stood there with my eyes closed as I slowly sipped the hot liquid. After drinking half the cup, I turned around and smiled at Jewel before I said, “Good morning!”
“How did you sleep?”
“Like a rock. What time do you have to go into the office?”
Jewel laughed and said, “I’m already home for the day.”
“Shit! What time is it?” I asked as I looked out the window as if the sun was going to answer my question or something.
“It’s almost noon.”
“I guess I did sleep well. I was out for almost ten hours. That’s a record, I’m sure.”
“I thought you went to bed after dinner.”
“I did, but then I woke up around midnight and did a little online shopping before I read a new release I’d been looking forward to. I guess I finally went back to sleep about three.”
“I was able to rearrange my schedule for the afternoon, and I was already off tomorrow, so we’ve got some time to relax and hang out.”
“Where are the boys?”
“They’re at their dad’s. He’s going to take them to a basketball game in Oklahoma City this weekend. They’ll be home after school on Monday.”
“That sounds horrible.”
“I thought you liked basketball.”
“I was talking about having to be in a car with your ex for four hours at a time.”
Jewel burst out laughing before she agreed, “It’s hell on earth.”
“What are we going to do with all that free time?”
“You’ll probably sleep through most of it.”
“Not if we come up with something interesting to occupy our time. Why don’t we take a road trip?”
“Isn’t that the last thing you want to do? You just got here!”
“Yeah, but it’s different riding with someone than alone. Besides, if we go west, we won’t have to deal with all the dumbasses who don’t know how to drive in the snow. I looked at the weather, and it’s clear that direction for the next few days.”
“We could hop on a flight and go to Vegas.”
“We haven’t done that in ages.”
“How long has it been?” Jewel asked as she leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. “The boys were small, weren’t they? I think it was right after Richard and I separated.”
“It’s been too long.”
“Hell, let’s do it. We can get a flight out tonight and come home on Sunday in time to get ready for work on Monday.”
“Do you really need me, or did you just miss me so much you used that as an excuse?”
“We need you. One of our nurses is about to go on maternity leave, and another is about two steps away from being put on bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy.”
“Good grief. Is there an epidemic I didn’t hear about? Why is everyone pregnant at the same time?”
“That seems to happen around here.”
“Well, I guess that means you’ve got me for a while then. I need to call your friend and see when my house will be ready.”
“I talked to her this morning, and she said you can move in whenever you’re ready.”
“Did she mention how much the rent will be?”
“She won’t take your money.”
“Why the hell not? I’m going to be living in a furnished house, for God’s sake.”
“She’s loaded and doesn’t care about money. Besides, she owes me her life.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve known her since she was a child and haven’t killed her yet.”
I burst out laughing and asked, “Doesn’t that hold true for most of the people in your family and friend group?”
“Yes. Yes, it does.”
I turned around to refill my mug when Jewel’s phone rang. I could tell it was a friend rather than a work call when she answered with, “If you’re not calling to tell me that you’ve finally realized you’re head over heels in love and you want to live like the Ingalls in a cabin in the woods, I’m going to hang up right now.”
I smiled as I walked over to the refrigerator to find some of the delicious creamer Jewel kept on hand. Now that I had my first cup of my drug of choice, I could pretty it up a little with some unnecessary calories and sugar.
I glanced over my shoulder at Jewel when she asked, “What’s wrong?” A few seconds later, she said, “The kids are with their dad this week, so that won’t be a problem. I’ll be ready when he gets here.” There was another pause before she said, “I’m bringing someone with me.”
When I raised my eyebrows in question, Jewel winced and lifted her hand as if to say she couldn’t help herself. I knew then that our relaxing trip to Vegas had just been derailed.
Jewel all but growled her next question, and I couldn’t help but smile when she asked, “Do you think I’d have someone I can’t trust staying at my house, youngling?”
My friend had an extended family - most of whom I hadn’t met but had heard about for years, some of whom were younger than her and referred to Jewel and some of the others as ‘the elders.’ I thought it was hilarious, and Jewel secretly did, too, even though she’d never admit that to any of them.
I leaned against the counter to sip the salted caramel goodness that had transformed my already delicious coffee into a luscious dessert as I watched Jewel rush down the hall as she said, “I’m trying to make a mental list of what I need to pack.”
Luckily, I hadn’t unpacked my suitcase yet, so I didn’t need to pack anything. However, a shower was definitely in order, so I took my coffee down the hall to my room, knowing that whatever Jewel had going on was going to be an adventure. I’d heard plenty of stories about the antics the people around her got up to, including some of the things she’d been involved in, so I knew that even though we weren’t going to Vegas, we definitely wouldn’t be bored this weekend.
When I walked out of my room, freshly showered and wearing comfortable clothes for a car trip, I was pulling my suitcase behind me with one hand and carrying my empty mug in the other. Jewel appeared at the mouth of the hallway and was about to say something when she saw my suitcase and laughed instead.
“No Vegas, huh?”
“Let’s take a trip to the mountains of New Mexico!”
“Oh, goody!” I said sarcastically. “What’s going on?”
“A friend of the family needs some under-the-radar medical attention.”
“Badly enough that you’re about to hop in a car and drive for . . . how many hours?”
“Four or so.”
“Is this friend of the family going to be okay until then?”
“He doesn’t have much choice in the matter, does he?”
“I knew this job was going to be an adventure when I agreed to it, but I thought you’d bring me over to the dark side slowly instead of dunking me on the first day.”
“As if you haven’t already been living there for years, my friend.”
“True. I should send my kids a message before I stop sharing my location with them,” I said as I left my suitcase by the front door and pulled my phone out. “Any chance you’ve got a travel mug I can use?”
“Of course,” Jewel said as she walked into the kitchen. “Good call on turning off the tracker.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to explain to them what I’m doing in New Mexico when they know I’m supposed to be in Texas for the next few months.”
“How is it that we survived our teenage years without our parents knowing we were drunk on cheap wine and passed out in a field somewhere near a bonfire, but our children insist on knowing exactly where we are all the time?”
“Probably because they’ve heard stories about the craziness of our childhood and are worried we might revert to our old ways.”
“God, never,” Jewel said with an exaggerated shudder as she searched through the cabinets to find the mug for me. “I don’t think my liver could take it.”
“At my age, a hangover may kill me, so I’m not willing to risk it.”
“You’re not that old!”
“Honey, at any given moment, I’m just one hot flash away from a felony. Menopause and I are duking it out, and I’m still not sure who’s gonna win.”
“I have that to look forward to, huh?”
“Well, the plus side is that I can have fantastic sex and not have to worry about getting pregnant.”
“That is a bonus.”
“Damn straight.”
◆◆◆
“Are you an angel?”
I looked up from my Kindle to my patient, trying very hard to keep my assessment professional as I stared at the gorgeous man . . . or as professional as possible, considering I had helped my friend tend to his three bullet wounds while sitting on the edge of the most fantastic bathtub I’d ever seen. That had been highly illegal, and if anyone found out, the powers that be would strip me of my nursing license and probably sentence me to a hefty prison sentence.
“Well, are you?”
“What do you think?” I asked as I took my feet down from the chair where they were propped up and set my e-reader aside. I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge before I reached into my pocket for the digital thermometer Jewel had brought with us. I turned it on and then slipped it into the man’s mouth, but he shook his head and dislodged it almost instantly. “You need to hold this under your tongue for a few seconds so I can get a reading.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I said no.”
“Well, if you’re not willing to do that, I can find the lube, glove up, and take it rectally.”
“Also a no.”
“Fight me. I dare you.”
“So, you’re not an angel.”
“Never said I was,” I told him before I shoved the thermometer back into his mouth and held it there. He didn’t fight me this time, so I let go and pulled the sheet down to look at his bandages. I could see by the faint light coming from the bathroom that there was no fresh blood, so I readjusted the sheet and pulled the thermometer from his mouth when it beeped. His temperature wasn’t too high, so I asked, “Are you comfortable?”
“Sweetheart, I’m higher than gas prices.”
I burst out laughing and asked, “So, that’s a yes?”
“Absolutely.”
“Do you need anything?”
“I need you to curl up beside me and give me some lovin’.”
“Wow. You are high.”
“What’s wrong, beautiful? You don’t think you could handle me?”
“Let’s see how you feel when the meds wear off and you can reassess that proposition.”
“That’s not a definite no, so I’ll take it.” There was a long pause, and I thought he’d already fallen back to sleep when he said, “I’ve got a funny question.”
“Right now, everything that comes out of your mouth is funny,” I told him as I reached for the cup of water on the nightstand and bent the straw so he could take a sip.
Once he’d taken a few long draws, he turned his head and asked, “What’s wrong with my dick?”
Without thinking, I answered, “Absolutely nothing.”
“Well, I might not be a medical expert, but Thor and I are good friends, and I can tell you that he’s definitely having some issues.”
“You named your penis ‘Thor?’”
“Absolutely. He’s a mighty warrior. Strong and stealthy.”
“I’m going to pray it’s the narcotics that are making you jabber incessantly about your dick because if you’re the kind of guy that does that on the regular, I might have to kill you and put you out of everyone else’s misery.”
“I don’t have to brag when I’ve got proof right under the sheet. Wanna look?”
“I’ve seen it.”
“Then you know.”
“Just because a car looks nice doesn’t mean there’s anything noteworthy under the hood.”
“You’re right, but mine’s noteworthy. C’mon, admit it.”
“Three bullet wounds, and you’re still thinking with your dick.”
“I’m really not that kind of guy, but I am worried that it’s broken.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I’ve got a beautiful woman sitting beside me and he’s doing his usual thing, but it’s a little uncomfortable. Makes me wonder if I got shot in the dick and just didn’t realize it or . . .”
I laughed again before I interrupted, “You don’t think you’d know if you got shot in the dick?”
“There’s enough there that I could stand to lose some, but I’d rather not.”
“Good grief, what is wrong with you?”
“That’s what I’m telling you, honey. There’s something wrong with my dick.”
“It has a catheter in it, dumbass.”
My patient sighed before he mumbled, “It’s a good thing you’re pretty because your bedside manner sucks ass.”
“Go back to sleep, and you won’t have to deal with my attitude.”
“I’d sleep better if you were curled up beside me.”
“I’m not a snuggler.”
“Neither am I, but I’d make an exception for you.”
“Get back to me when you’ve recovered, and we’ll discuss it.”
“You keep saying that, but I don’t think you mean it.”
“I’m glad to see that the drugs aren’t affecting your sense of reality.”
His eyes fluttered closed and then opened again before he said, “You’re not going to snuggle with me, are you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I might not be the brightest bulb on the string, but even I know that canoodling with a man who just got shot isn’t a good idea.”
“Canoodling?Really?”
“Honey, that’s about all you can do right now anyway, so what’s the point?”
“I’ll be better tomorrow, so I’m laying the groundwork now.”
“Good luck with that.”
“I just want you to know that I’m the kind of man who likes a challenge.”
“Oh, I’m not a challenge, I’m a definite no.”
“We’ll see.”