Chapter 9
Flint
The December sun shines through the window as I blink my eyes open, taking a moment to realize where I am.
Petula shifts next to me, snuggling into my hairy chest, and a sense of warmth and hope courses through me.
Memories of the evening before rush back, and I smile to myself.
Completely flabbergasted that this is my life.
Picking up my phone, I check the time and then sit up with a start, accidentally waking up the curvy witch beside me.
"Sorry," I say with a soft chuckle, "but I didn't realize it was this late. I need to shower and get to the diner."
"Oh, yeah. Your big Christmas brunch," she says, smiling at me sleepily.
"Do you want to join me? They would love to have you."
"Are you sure? I don't want to be a party crasher."
"Oh, I'm a hundred percent sure, but just be prepared that my buddies and one of the moms, Sheila, will definitely be all up in your grill wanting to get to know you. She's a sweetheart, but she definitely is a bit of a busybody," I say with a sheepish grin.
"Alright. If it's cool with you," Petula says, snuggling into me, and I lean over, kissing her forehead.
"It's beyond cool with me."
The diner is bustling when Petula and I walk in.
There are several people I don't personally know, but I see my friend Maddox with his very pregnant wife, Lita, and their eight-year-old daughter, Hope, as soon as we walk in.
His brothers, Sawyer and Hunter, are playfully arguing at the jukebox as their cousin, Arlo, and his wife, Calissa, wave us over.
"Hey, Flint. Who's your date?" Calissa asks, giving me a sassy smile.
"This is Petula Delvaux. She is considering moving onto the mountain."
"Jealous," Calissa says, and Arlo laughs, rolling his eyes.
"My wife is a former mountain woman. I had to drag her into the foothills when we fell in love," he says, and Calissa gives him a tight side hug.
"Yup, but it was worth it," she says, looking at her husband adoringly.
Suddenly, I hear an excited gasp and turn to see Sheila rushing over to us.
"Flint, did you seriously bring a date?" She says, clasping Petula's hands.
"You must be Sheila," the woman I'm falling for says with a grin.
"Oh, she's not only gorgeous but smart as well. Nice catch, Flint," Sheila says. She wraps her arm around Petula's shoulders and walks her around, introducing her to everyone.
Christmas brunch is, as it always is, full of fantastic food and laughter.
At one point, Hope runs past us, slipping on a piece of dropped food, and slams into the floor.
Her eight-year-old face crumbles as she bursts into tears.
Maddox rushes over, checking on her, and Petula gets up from her chair, rushing over as well.
"What hurts, sweetie?" She asks the crying child.
"My arm," Hope wails through tears.
"Is it okay if I try something?" Petula asks Maddox as Lita waddles over.
"Sure. Are you a doctor?" he asks.
"No. But I'm a witch who practices a little bit of healing magic. Nothing major, but I can take most of the pain away, I think."
"Go for it," Lita says as soon as she reaches them.
I watch the woman I'm falling for close her eyes and place her hands near Hope's injured arm.
She mutters an incantation I can't quite make out, and Hope's tears almost instantly stop as she stares wide-eyed at Petula, her face breaking out into a wide grin.
The voluptuous witch blinks her eyes open, looking at Hope.
"Is that any better?" she asks.
"It's almost a hundred percent better. Wow," the girl breathes out.
Standing, Petula says, "It still will probably swell, but the pain should be relieved for at least a couple of hours. I would give her some pain medicine within an hour just so she's prepared. And I didn't sense anything broken either."
"Thank you so much," Maddox says as he helps Hope stand.
Petula walks over to me, and I pull her in, pressing my lips against hers.
"You seriously are an incredible woman," I say as she beams up at me.
The late January wind whips through my mop of hair as I head out to a forty-foot Douglas fir hung up in another tree. We've had a lot of wet weather the last two weeks, and today is one of the first dry days we've had to work. The ground is still damp under my boots.
As I survey the tree, assessing how to drop it, I hear a loud crack above me. The next thing I know, a dead branch lands right on my lower left leg. I fall, the pain consuming me, and immediately yell out.
Culver and Aldo come running over, cursing as they find me.
"Shit. The bone broke through your pants," Culver says.
"Fuck! Goddamn!" I yell through gritted teeth.
Aldo applies pressure as Deegan and the others come to help while Culver calls 911. My crew keeps talking to me as we wait for the helicopter, which arrives as the light begins to fade. The medics carefully get me loaded up after assessing the situation, with Culver climbing in as well.
"We're headed to Corvid Valley Medical Center," they tell us.
The ER is a whirlwind as they stabilize me, cleaning the wound and pumping me full of antibiotics and pain medication. I feel loopy and confused, only half understanding what they're telling Culver.
The next thing I know, I'm being wheeled into an ambulance with Culver pulling himself in behind me.
"What's going on, man?" I say thickly.
"We're headed to Fresno for surgery."
"Oh, man. You don't need to come," I say, my mouth feeling like it's full of cotton.
"Fuck that, Flint. Of course I'm coming," Culver says as the paramedic slams the door shut.
I blink my eyes open, the bright room blurry, and Culver is the first person I make out.
"There he is, mister sleepyhead," he says with a grin.
"Shit, man. Did you stay the night?" I say, realizing where I am.
"Of course I did."
"Thanks, mate," I say thickly.
"Don't you worry about it. I'm actually about to head home, but you still have someone to hang out with," he says with a grin, opening the hospital room door.
My auburn-haired, curvy girlfriend rushes in with Aldo following behind sheepishly. Culver says his goodbyes as Petula kisses my face all over.
"I was so scared," she whispers as I wrap my arms around her.
"I'm going to be fine."
"I'll give you two some space," Aldo says. "Want anything from the cafeteria?"
My stomach growls in response. "Yeah. I don't know what they're going to bring on a tray, so do you mind? Like a turkey sandwich or something?"
"You got it. How about you, Petula?"
"I'll have whatever he's having. Thanks, Aldo," she says, resting her head against my chest.
Aldo leaves, and the two of us lie there with Petula half on my hospital bed. I hear her choke back a cry.
"I was seriously scared, Flint."
I stroke her hair and kiss the top of her forehead. "I swear I'm going to be okay, babe."
She looks up at me, blinking back tears, and blurts out, "I love you. I can't believe I didn't tell you that before. I've been thinking it these last couple of weeks, and I've been too chicken shit to say it, but I love you, Flint. I was so scared I wouldn't be able to tell you."
My heart swells beneath my ribs as I pull her close to my face, studying her dark brown eyes.
"I love you too."
She grins at me, then smashes her lips against mine right as a nurse comes in to check my vitals.
Petula had to return that day because of a book cover deadline, but Aldo stays until it's time for me to be released.
On the drive back, he casually mentions, "By the way, Petula is planning on helping you out at home, so the hospital didn't assign you an in-home nurse."
"What? Are you serious? I can't ask her to be my nurse," I say, aghast.
"Well, she insisted. Already set up a cot in your living room."
"A cot? She can sleep with me," I say, laughing. "It's not like we haven't done that before."
"I know, but she was worried you might need more space with your leg and everything. She wants to take care of you." He keeps his eyes on the road. "I have to admit, I'm jealous, man."
I stare out at the highway flying by, feeling bad that I'm going to be a burden on Petula.