Chapter 53 – Harley
I woke up a couple of hours later in the downstairs living room. Dr. Hoffner was peering over me, while my grandmother held smelling salts.
“If you feel sick, there’s a bucket,” the vet said kindly.
The lights were dim, but a current of voices droned in the background.
The animal doctor continued to examine me quietly, staring at my eyes, taking my pulse and temperature. I settled back and let him work, not even trying to piece together reality at the moment.
The couch was surprisingly soft. And warm. And smelled ssooo damn good.
“I might not let you out of my sight for the foreseeable future, sprite,” Kolya murmured, his breath warm against my cheek.
I smiled. “I would be okay with that.”
“Harley, how many fingers am I holding up?” Dr. Hoffner asked.
I squinted. “Um…three?”
Kolya groaned. “Two, babe. He’s holding two.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. If they weren’t going to work properly what was the point in keeping them open?
“I’m not a human doctor, but my professional opinion is that she is suffering from a pretty good concussion. Keep ice on that bump, and keep her in bed, Marta.” Dr. Hoffner moved away.
“Wait!” My eyes flashed open, and I tried to move.
Instantly, a wave of sickness swept over me.
With a hiss, Kolya pulled me against himself. “Lie down.”
“Lilac,” I pleaded as bits of the conversations flickered into place.
“Patched up and doing just fine.” Dr. Hoffner patted my hand.
“Mrs. Kellnhofer, can I trouble you to send someone to my truck for my duffel bag on the back seat?” Kolya rumbled from behind me.
A smile tugged at my lips to hear him use so many words to come across as polite to my grandmother.
Someone chirped in assent, and the front door opened and slapped closed.
I winced.
“I’ll take some of that pie, Marta, if you have any left,” the vet said.
“Just a moment, sir. I have something for you.” Kolya shifted me closer.
Grandma’s slippered feet padded across the floor. “I’ll get the pie, Grant.”
The front door banged again, and Kolya growled. “If you don’t move more quietly, I’ll make sure you don’t have the choice to move at all.”
The cousin yelped.
“He’s only joking, Dallas,” I muttered, closing my eyes once more.
“Oh, I don’t think so. This man hunts sex traffickers for sport,” my cousin quipped. “I’m not pissing him off.”
“You liked it,” Kolya said, and then he surprised me by chuckling. “I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm in a gunfight.”
“We rid the woods of some very, very bad men,” Dallas said amiably. “It was more satisfying than deer hunting!”
I would have rolled my eyes if it didn’t hurt so much.
“What?” Kolya murmured, pausing whatever he was doing with his free hand in the duffel bag to stroke my shoulder. “I can feel your comment, my little water sprite.”
“Not only have you stolen my heart, gargoyle,” I drawled. “But you’ve corrupted my cousins.”
“I prefer to see it as enlisting them.”
If I felt better, I would have smacked his chest. He would not be training them like he trained those vigilantes. None of my cousins had the finesse or skill for that kind of hobby. That was a recipe for disaster.
“He’s right,” Dallas chimed in. “If more of us stand up to this pest on society, even us regular joes, maybe we can do something about it.”
I let it go, too tired to argue.
Brittle joints popped. A rough touch wrapped around my hand. Under me, Kolya’s breathing changed.
Wanting to cry with protest, I squinted once more. And saw my grandfather looking over at me with a watery gaze.
“Down, soldier, I just want to sit with her a spell,” Grandpa muttered.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “A bumped head isn’t going to stop me.”
The breath my grandfather let out produced a full-bodied shudder. “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay seeing my baby girl through my scope with a knife pressed to her throat.”
The final pop. A hunting rifle. “That was you,” I breathed.
He was the one who’d taken the headshot to kill Adler. I would be very proud of him…later, when things like pride and joy could matter. Right now, it was just aches and exhaustion.
Grandpa nodded. “That bump had better not hold you back, now, ya hear?”
I nodded, but it felt like my brain would dislodge.
“You paid good money for that education, and your friend over here isn’t going to get in the way of you becoming a doctor.” Grandpa jerked his prickly, no-shave November beard at Kolya. “I gave him my blessing, but he needs Marta’s approval.”
Grandpa rose and wandered away.
“What’d you say, Rodger?” Grandma called.
Grandpa’s voice sounded fuzzy and far away. “He needs your approval to marry our Harley.”
“He has it!” my grandmother sang from the kitchen. “Can I fix you a sandwich, Kole?”
“Kolya,” I muttered sleepily. “His name is Kolya. And he’s mine.”
“Hush now, that first bit is our little secret.” Kolya took my hand and pressed his lips to my fingers…spinning around the diamond that I was never going to take off.
I huffed. “I’m never keeping you a secret, Kole. The whole world is going to know we belong together.”
“Saints, I can’t wait to marry you.”
I snuggled deeper into his arms. He held me as if I could keep the world at bay forever. We weren’t perfect; we never had been. But we were enough. For the first time, I wasn’t dreaming of a brighter future that would take years to build. The present was perfect just the way it was.
Thank you for reading Silent Heart !