Chapter 21
Twenty-One
David finished stitching up the gash in Dan’s palm and applied a bandage that covered most of his hand. “Keep it clean and dry for the next couple of days. I’ll write you a script for pain meds.”
“No need,” Dan said. “I’ve got stuff left over from the earlier disaster.”
“Come back next Friday to get the stitches out.”
“Got it. Can I go?”
“What’s the status of your tetanus shot?”
“I’ve had one.”
“How long ago?”
“I don’t know.”
“Since we have no idea what was on that knife or how clean it was, I recommend a tetanus shot and a dose of antibiotic, too.”
“Fine, whatever you say, Doc. Let’s just get it over with.”
“You’re in an awful rush, Counselor. You’re giving me a complex.”
“Nothing personal, but I’ve got plans with my lady. And besides, I’m sure you’ve got better things to be doing on a Sunday afternoon than stitching me up.”
“Not to worry,” David said. “Part of the job. Be right back.”
Kara came into the cubicle with a can of Coke that she handed over to him. He’d sent her to get it so she wouldn’t be in the room while David stitched him up. She was upset enough without having to see that.
“Come hold my hand while David sticks more needles in me.” The shots to numb his palm had been so painful he’d nearly passed out. The thought of more shots made him queasy and sweaty.
Kara came to sit next to him on the hospital bed, reaching for his uninjured hand as he noted the blood on her dress. He’d tried to keep his bloody hand away from her in the ambulance, but she’d insisted on holding him close.
David returned with two syringes and administered two more shots that burned like a bastard on the way in. “There you go,” he said, adding for Kara’s sake, “Keep it clean and dry.”
“We hate it clean and dry,” Dan said, earning an embarrassed scowl from his fiancée.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” David said with a laugh. “Get out of here so I can go home.”
“Thanks again, David.”
“No problem. Let me know if you have any problems or if it gets red or swollen.”
“Will do.”
As they left the clinic, Dan dropped his arm over Kara’s shoulders. “Do you have my keys?”
“Yes.”
“Can I have them?”
“You’re not driving.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Baby, I’m fine. I swear.”
“You just had thirty stitches in the palm of your right hand. How do you propose to drive a stick shift?”
“My fingers are still working fine,” he said, waggling his brows as he demonstrated his manual dexterity.
“Everything is a joke to you, isn’t it?”
Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, he stopped walking and turned to her. “Not everything. I got us a room at the Summer House. I was going to surprise you after the party.”
She leaned her head against his chest.
He ran the fingers of his left hand through her silky hair.
“I hate that you got hurt again.”
“I’m really fine. I promise.” He caressed the nape of her neck, one of his favorite places to kiss. “Will you come with me to the Summer House and spend the night with me so we can celebrate our engagement properly?”
“Haven’t we already done that at least a hundred times since we got engaged?”
He laughed at her reply. He loved her saucy mouth. “Baby, I’ve only begun to celebrate our engagement. I plan to celebrate it as much and as often as I can for the rest of our lives.” With his fingers under her chin, he urged her to look at him. “Are we good?”
“We’re great.”
“Then will you please take me home to pack an overnight bag and then back to the Summer House to have your wicked way with me?”
“Since you asked so nicely, yes, I will.”
“Excellent.”
Kara’s nerves were shredded after the engagement party that had turned out to be far more exciting than anyone expected, and not in a good way. That Dan was hurt—again—was the only thing she could focus on.
They had settled into the gorgeous room at the Summer House and were taking a nap when her phone rang with a call from her mother.
Hoping Dan would get some rest after his ordeal, she took the phone with her into the bathroom and closed the door. “Hi, Mom.”
“How’s Dan?”
“He’s resting after getting thirty stitches in his palm as well as a tetanus shot.”
“Ouch. I’m so sorry that ruined your big day.”
“It didn’t. Everything was very nice. Thank you.”
“It was our pleasure. We so enjoyed meeting all your friends. You’ve found such a wonderful community here on the island.”
“Yes, we have. We love it here.”
“I’m happy that you’re happy, Kara.”
“Thank you.”
“And I’m sorry about everything at home.”
“What specifically are you sorry about?”
“We… We shouldn’t have supported Kelly the way we did. We have regrets about that, and we want you to know we love you very much, and we’re sorry for what you went through with them. That never should’ve happened.”
“No, it shouldn’t have, and I need you to understand that I may eventually forgive her, but I’ll never forget what she did.”
“I understand. It breaks my heart to see you two at odds with each other.”
“That’s certainly not my doing.”
“No, it isn’t. She has a selfish streak that’s been there since she was very young.”
“Believe me, I know, and you should know I believe things happen for a reason. It took me coming here and meeting Dan to understand the reason, but I see it now. If they hadn’t done what they did, I might’ve married the wrong man.”
“That’s an interesting take. I’m glad you can see it that way.”
“I’m very happy with Dan, but that doesn’t change how I feel about Kelly and Matt.”
“Fair enough. Thank you for letting us celebrate you today. I’m so sorry that Dan got hurt.”
“Me, too. Other than that, it was a great party. Thank you again.”
“I hope we’ll see you back home in Maine before too much longer.”
“We’ll see.”
“Take care of yourself, Kara.”
“You, too.”
After she ended the call, she leaned against the sink as she thought about what her mother had said. They were sorry for the way they’d treated her after the mess with Kelly and Matt and had regrets about the whole sorry incident.
She dashed off a text to Bertha, updating her on the highlights—or lowlights, such as they were—of the eventful day.
Bertha called her. “What the hell happened?”
Kara filled her in on Dan’s injury and the conversation with her mother.
“I’m glad she finally told you she has regrets.”
“Did you know that?”
“She’s hinted at it to me. I made sure to tell her what I thought about how it all went down. I came right out and told her I was ashamed of how she and Chuck treated you while they threw the big, fancy wedding for them.”
“You sent a pretty big message when you refused to attend the wedding.”
“I don’t suffer fools, even if those fools are my own daughter and granddaughter.”
“You’re the absolute best, you know that?”
“Of course I do. How was the engagement party?”
“Other than how it ended, it wasn’t terrible.”
Bertha’s laugh was the best.
“They got to see that I’ve found a lovely life here surrounded by great friends, and they saw how amazing Dan is. He charmed their socks off.”
“Good. I’m glad it went well and that she finally acknowledged that she knows she acted shitty toward you.”
“That was nice to hear. I won’t lie.”
“I’m sure it was, and it’s long overdue.”
“Better late than never, right?”
“I guess so. It’s time to focus on the future and let go of the past. You’ve got so much to look forward to. Don’t spend five minutes dwelling on things that don’t matter anymore.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Call me tomorrow?”
“I will. Love you more than anyone.”
“That’s not true anymore.”
“That’ll always be true.”
“Right back atcha, my love.”
Kara was smiling as she ended the call, even as she once again experienced a pang of fear over the day that would come…
“Nope. Not thinking about that today.”
“Kara! Who are you talking to? Do you have a boyfriend?”
She opened the door. “As if you leave me alone long enough to have someone else.”
“I’m afraid someone’s going to steal you.”
She got into bed and reached for him. “I can’t be stolen.”
“Promise?”
“I think I already did.” She caressed his face as she kissed him. “We talk a lot about what happened to me, but not much about what happened to you, which was pretty bad in its own way.”
“It was a long time ago. Doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Yes, it does, because you’re teasing me about leaving you, yet you worry about that deep down inside. Am I right?”
“Maybe a little.”
“I’ll never leave you, even when you finally drive me crazy.”
“How long do you think that’ll take?”
“Any day now.”
She loved that smile and the dimples that came with it.
“What a way to go, though, right?”
“I can’t imagine anything better.”
“Who were you talking to?”
“First, my mother, who called to check on you and to apologize to me for how they treated me after the Kelly and Matt fiasco.”
“Wow, so she actually apologized?”
“She did and said they have regrets about how they handled it.”
“Good. They should.”
“And then I texted Bertha to tell her what my mom said, and she called to say no way. Now you’re all caught up.”
“I think it’s adorable that your grandmother is your BFF.”
“She really is. I don’t know what I’ll ever do without her when the time comes.”
“From what you say about her, that’ll be decades from now.”
“I sure hope so.” She ran her fingers through his hair, straightening it. “How’re you feeling?”
“I’m in bed with my favorite person in the whole world. Never felt better.”
“Sweet, but you know I mean your hand.”
“It’s fine. For now. I imagine it’s going to hurt like the devil when the block wears off.”
“I won’t let that happen. I’m an expert when it comes to managing you and your pain meds.”
“Was a sexier sentence ever uttered?”
Kara laughed at the face he made.
“I feel like I’m ninety.”
“Nah, just a little accident-prone.”
“I’ll remind you that neither of these incidents was my fault. The boat I was on was hit by a ship, and I was stabbed by a lunatic.”
“Still… You’ve required an awful lot of TLC during this relationship. It’ll take you a while to make that up to me.”
He pushed himself up using his left hand. “Can I start now?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Get naked, and I’ll show you.”
“How naked are we talking?”
“All the way naked.”
Even after all the time she’d spent naked with him, she still felt shy as she removed the T-shirt and panties she’d changed into when they arrived in their room.
Every inch of her skin heated as he gazed at her with love, affection and desire.
“I have to be the luckiest guy in the whole world to have convinced a goddess like you to marry me.”
“Stop it. I’m not a goddess.”
“Yes, you are. You’re my goddess, and I love you so damned much.”
His words filled her with the kind of confidence she hadn’t had before he loved her. She raised her arms over her head and gave him a come-hither look. “You said something about TLC?”
“So I did.”
“Please don’t go busting your stitches open or anything, you hear me?”
“I hear you. Close your eyes and don’t worry about anything.”
Kara closed only her left eye. “I feel like I should keep one eye open to stop you from injuring yourself again.”
“You and that sassy mouth. Close them both.”
She did as she was told and gasped when his lips encircled her nipple. Her eyes flew open.
“Keep them closed.”
Sighing, she closed her eyes and settled in for whatever he had planned for her.
A few minutes later, she decided the word of the day was torture as he placed soft kisses in random places before returning to her nipples and setting her on fire with his lips, tongue and…teeth.
Holy shit.
Her hips came off the bed, looking for more, looking for him.
He was ready for her, having relocated to between her legs.
Sometimes she still couldn’t believe the way she felt with him and how close she’d come to missing out on something so incredible.
She brought her hands down to bury her fingers in his hair as he coaxed a series of orgasms from her that rolled one into the other. How did he do that? He was magic. They were magic, and when he slid into her, she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her.
Kara wrapped her arms and legs around him and surrendered fully. It seemed funny to her that she’d once tried to hold him at arm’s length to keep him from getting too close. Now she couldn’t get him close enough.
“Kara…”
“Hmm?”
“You feel so good. Nothing has ever felt so good.”
“Same.”
“How lucky are we to have this for the rest of our lives?”
“The luckiest ever.”