Chapter 11
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Prophet
“You look tired, brother,” Rebel says as we all arrive at the base camp after another day spent clearing the detritus from the hurricanes.
“I am, but it’s more of a good tired than exhaustion,” I admit.
“Being here with Phoebe, taking care of her, and Kevin is rewarding in a lot of ways. Doing the manual labor to help these folks return to some form of normalcy is as well. I think once we’re home everything will settle down because I am worried about her still trying to work, even in her limited capacity.
I don’t want her pushing herself too much, but I also don’t want to treat her like she’s incapable of knowing her limits. ”
“It’s definitely a balancing act,” he replies. “But it seems that we manage to find strong women, Prophet, so it’s something we’re going to have to figure out, I guess.”
I chuckle because I’m pretty sure Rebel didn’t plan on Marnie, Holly, and the kids coming along.
He probably figured some of the brothers would come with him to lend a hand.
However, knowing Marnie and Holly, there’s no way they wouldn’t want to help as well.
But having Esther and Paul here too? It’s been a blessing to everyone who has been here since they were allowed into the area. Fresh blood and all that jazz.
“Yeah, I know and I promise I’m working on it. Okay, I’m going to go shower and I’ll meet y’all at the food tent. Can’t wait to see what Esther and Bubba have put together for tonight’s meal.”
“She’s in her element right now, you know that, right?” Rebel asks.
“She loves taking care of people, that’s for sure. So does Paul,” I reply. “See y’all shortly.”
Walking into our RV, I see Phoebe sitting in the recliner, Kevin curled up to her as he eats. “He’s getting bigger,” I say as I walk over and lean in to give her a kiss.
“Yeah, he is,” she replies once I pull back from her lips.
“Did you get any rest today?” I ask, walking toward our bedroom.
“Actually, yes. Ella helped me open up my late-night purchases and your prospects delivered them. I ended up taking a nap until this little guy started licking my chin to let me know he was hungry.”
I can’t help laughing because we haven’t had him long, but he’s got a huge personality despite his small size. “I’m going to grab a shower then we can head over to the tent to eat. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me. The breeze has been wafting delicious smells in this direction which has my stomach rumbling,” she says. “Come on, little boy, let’s finish up so I can fill my tummy.”
With my clean clothes over my shoulder, I scoop him up and tell her, “I’ll get him sorted out if you want to get your shoes on.”
“Oh! I bought some flip flops because I’ve been having a hard time tying my shoes,” she says, giggling.
Shaking my head, I go into the bathroom and after getting Kevin’s bladder taken care of, I hop into the shower. Seeing the full hamper, I decide to run the clothes over to the firehouse and get them started before we eat. With food on my mind, it doesn’t take long to get myself clean and redressed.
“You ready, Phoebe?” I ask, the hamper in my arms.
“Dang it, I could have done those today,” she replies, seeing what I’m carrying.
“Babe, you don’t need to be carrying this right now,” I tell her.
“Whatever,” she grumbles.
“Don’t ‘whatever’ me, you have to be careful, remember?” I ask.
“I know, I know. I hate this, Eli.”
“That’s because you’re not used to being idle.”
“Nope. Plus, I can’t really hold Cami since I don’t want her to accidentally pull on the tubing to the wound vac, and even though the PICC line is protected, if she were to bump it, that could cause a problem. I know she doesn’t understand, and it breaks my heart when she cries for me.”
“Then we’ll figure out a way so you can hold her without causing an issue, I promise.”
“Good, now, let’s go eat. And for the record, you may get away with washing and drying the clothes, but I can and will fold them!”
“Yes, ma’am, whatever you say.”
“Now you’re just placating me,” she grouses, sticking out her tongue.
It took a bit of finessing, but seeing the look on Phoebe’s face as she cuddles Cami made it worth doing.
She’s leaning against me with something Holly called a boppy pillow and Cami is settled inside it, unable to reach the hose that connects the covering to the wound vac.
I listen as Phoebe hums to Cami and can feel when my daughter finally decides to stop fighting sleep.
This right here, having both of my girls in my arms, is worth everything to me.
“Do you want Rebel to take her and put her to bed?” I whisper next to her ear.
There’s no real danger of waking Cami up; she can sleep through just about anything and that’s in part due to the woman curled into my chest. She told me during one of our many talks that she refused to keep the house ‘quiet’ whenever the baby was sleeping, so if Cami went down for a nap and she was in the middle of cleaning, she kept going, running the vacuum and singing along to the music she usually had playing in the background.
I had noticed that even when the brothers were coming in and out on their bikes, if my girl was napping, she didn’t so much as flinch.
“Not just yet, Eli. I’ve missed this so much,” she replies.
“Okay, Mama,” I tease, earning a glare. “No? What about Mami? She’ll figure out how to say it soon enough.”
“Eli,” she grumbles. “You can call me Phoebe or sweetheart, or any other pet name you decide on, but only Cami can call me Mama.”
“Bossy, I like it,” I murmur. I see her shiver as my warm breath hits the shell of her ear and grin.
I won’t push for anything until the PICC line comes out.
I think it’s because I know it’s a direct line to her heart.
The last thing I’d ever want to do is start something sexual and it cause a problem for Phoebe.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” she retorts.
“Somehow, I think I’m going to enjoy your version of being bossy,” I admit. “Are you gonna miss this when we leave?”
She sighs and nods. “I really did enjoy doing the travel nurse thing. All I had to do was go in and work. No hospital politics that always seem to creep in, no worrying about who was involved with the cute doctor. Just punch in, do my twelve to the best of my ability, then leave. But there was no way I was going to leave Rosa once it became obvious that she was struggling, you know? So, I stayed on at the hospital with the understanding that Thelma might call on me from time to time.”
“Plus, you got to work with Ella,” I add.
“Thelma calls us the Dynamic Duo,” she says. “One of the things I pushed to the side, at least for now, was going back to school to become a nurse practitioner. They’re able to diagnose and prescribe medication, as well as order diagnostic testing.”
“What do you need to do to be able to do that?” I ask.
“I have to get my master’s degree in nursing, although Thelma has suggested that once I accomplish that, I get my doctoral degree, since the field is always changing. That way, I’d be prepared. Oh, and I have to keep my nursing license current, which isn’t an issue.”
“Let’s look into that once we’re back home,” I reply.
“Really?” She turns her head and I can see the surprise and excitement shining in her eyes.
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’ve also got something else in mind, but need to discuss it with Rebel first,” I tell her. “Now, how about we let Rebel get Cami so I can get you into bed.”
“That works for me. I’m glad I can just take the oral pain meds now, though. Crap, Ella has to do the nighttime antibiotics.”
“Then we need to get you sorted out because you’re going to need some sleep before you work your last shift tomorrow,” I reply.
“Yeah.”
She’s nearly asleep by the time Ella is finished.
I helped her take a shower so she could get into her pajamas.
The feel of her silky skin as I put her various lotions on has me fighting my body once again.
I mean, she’s got a whole routine and now that I’ve taken over from Ella and am helping her, I can definitely say it works for her.
Me on the other hand? Wash and condition my hair, wash my body, then get out and dry off.
Sometimes, to mix it up a bit, I’ll trim my goatee and mustache before I shower.
I grin as I clean up around the RV while Phoebe and Kevin snuggle in the bed.
We’ll be heading home tomorrow night, so I want to make sure everything is secure today.
“He’s such a cuddle bug,” she murmurs as I finally climb into bed and curl up against her.
“He’s going to get bigger and still want to do what he’s doing now,” I warn as I reach out and pet him.
“That’s a problem for Future Phoebe, not Sleepy Phoebe,” she teases. “Good night, Eli, and thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me, sweetheart?” I ask.
“Because you tracked me down when you figured out where I was at. I missed you so much, but I know I needed the time to get my head sorted out.”
“Is it straight now?”
“Yeah, you’ve shown me how much you love me these past few weeks,” she admits. “I’m glad I took this chance.”
“Me too, Phoebe, me too,” I reply, kissing her temple. “Now go to sleep.”