Chapter Nineteen
Teagan sighed deeply and shifted positions in the plastic chair a few feet from Bryson’s hospital bed as he slept the morning away.
Three days. It had been three days since she’d cried all over him in the recovery room after he woke up from surgery, only to have him gruffly tell her that he needed his sleep.
Since then, he’d hardly spoken a word to her.
He was acting just like the surly bear she’d encountered the first time they’d met.
But they’d moved beyond that. Far beyond it.
So why was he acting like they were strangers and he was the grouchy hermit again?
She’d asked him that very thing.
His answers were many. He had a headache.
He was feeling fuzzy from the concussion.
The pain from his surgery had him feeling bad and he just needed to sleep.
All of that was probably true. But he was a strong man, and had overcome far worse to save both their lives.
And he’d been at his kindest in the past when he was in tremendous pain, because he’d risen above it to save them. So none of his actions now made sense.
Thankfully, his boss—Mason Ford—didn’t seem worried about Bryson’s less than friendly attitude that seemed to extend to anyone unfortunate enough to be in his vicinity.
He simply ignored Bryson’s gruff responses and went about his business.
And he kept Teagan up to date on everything going on with the investigation.
Which, unfortunately, wasn’t much.
Even with half the Justice Seekers working the case here in Jacksonville, none of them seemed to be making any more headway than JSO.
No one had discovered the identity yet of the man who’d abducted them and killed three innocent people.
But Mason assured her they were doing everything they could and weren’t giving up.
And he did something else—he gave her a company credit card to use for all of her and Bryson’s needs.
He told her the card had no limit and to use it for anything at all, no questions asked.
He’d also ordered Bryson to let her make all the arrangements to get him set up at a local hotel after being discharged so he could get strong enough for the trip back to Gatlinburg.
Teagan decided that she liked Mason Ford very much, especially since he made no secret that he was rooting for her to win this little cold war between her and Bryson.
She crossed her arms and waited another half hour before the doctor’s morning rounds finally brought him to Bryson’s room to perform a final evaluation before giving him discharge papers.
Miraculously, he woke up just as the doctor stepped into the room.
Teagan snorted and looked out the window, pretending indifference, when she was fuming inside.
The hurt had long ago faded. Or, at least, it was buried down deep.
No more crying in front of him. She had her pride after all.
And no crying on her mama’s shoulder either, given that her mother now thought—along with the hospital staff—that she and Bryson were engaged.
That was going to be a huge disappointment for her parents once he went back to Gatlinburg and she told them the “engagement” was off.
They’d half fallen in love with him when he’d had dinner at their home.
They fell the rest of the way after hearing everything he’d done to protect their only child.
But they wouldn’t be the only ones nursing a broken heart.
She kept her face averted, pretending interest in something out the window while she wiped the wetness from her eyes.
How could she still have all these inconvenient feelings for a man who didn’t return them?
She took a few deep breaths and reached down for her anger again, wrapping it around her other emotions like a shield, to keep her safe.
“All in all, you’re an incredibly lucky man,” the doctor said behind her as he apparently finished his exam.
“Any one of your injuries—the blow to the head, the gunshot, the half-dozen pieces of wood that the explosion drove into your back—could have killed you. You might not feel lucky right now, but once the pain fades and you’re back on your feet, I think you’ll begin to realize just how fortunate you are. Someone was looking out for you.”
She turned around, but steadfastly looked at the floor while he thanked the doctor and discussed the discharge instructions.
Her anger had evaporated beneath the shock of what she’d just heard.
She hadn’t known about the wood driven into his back.
On top of everything else that he’d endured, he’d basically been stabbed, six times, as the remnants of the shack rained down on them.
But not one of those pieces of lethally sharp wood had hit her—because he’d protected her.
Again. She had no right to be angry with him.
And he had every right to be angry with her.
He’d be sitting on his dock enjoying a cold beer right now, listening to the rippling water of the stream behind his house if it wasn’t for her.
Healthy, content, his only worry the ache in his hip when the tequila and scotch weren’t enough to dull the pain.
What a selfish immature idiot she’d been, thinking only of herself.
The squeak of metal had her glancing up to see him struggling to lower the railing. The doctor must have left while she was consumed with her own thoughts.
She rushed over to him. “Here, let me.” She gently pushed his hands away and lowered the railing. “Just, please, don’t try to get out of bed on your own. I know you don’t want my help, so I’ll get the nurse to help you get dressed.”
“Teagan, I—”
“It’s okay. I understand. I’ll have the car brought up and will meet you and the nurse out front.”
He frowned. “What do you think you understand?”
Without answering, she hurried from the room.
brYSON EASED BACK against the pillows that Teagan had just stuffed behind him so he could sit up in the hotel bed.
“Thank you.” He motioned toward the impressive fifteen-hundred-square-feet, two-bedroom suite that she’d reserved for them at the Omni hotel.
The accommodations were luxurious, but more important, it was close enough to the hospital that he hadn’t had to endure the agony of a long car ride.
And since she’d insisted on him taking more pain pills after reaching the hotel, he was feeling pretty good right now.
Physically at least. “Thank you for everything, Teagan.”
She seemed surprised by his words, acknowledging them with a quick nod.
Then she turned to finish putting away his clothes that she’d had brought from the other hotel he’d originally been staying in, closer to The Woods subdivision.
Her surprise that he’d actually thank her had him feeling like even more of a jerk than he had since the moment he’d woken up in the recovery room.
All the memories of what had happened had slammed into him, stealing his breath. He’d made so many mistakes that could have cost her life. The very first one was in agreeing to take her with him to that ill-fated interview at the Brodericks’. Everything had gone downhill from there.
The worst part was knowing what had driven him to include her, to give in to her request even though he was the one experienced in law enforcement and knew better, knew the dangers.
What had driven him was pure selfishness, his ridiculous fixation on her and desire, no—need—to be around her as much as possible.
His obsession had clouded his reason. And just as soon as he was able to manage on his own, he’d set her free, break this tenuous bond that had developed between them.
He’d ensure that none of his bad decisions could ever risk her life again.
Obviously he hadn’t learned the lessons of his past—from his sloppy handling of the Kentucky Ripper case to his failure to save Hayley from the person who’d ended up shooting him in the hip all those months ago.
He had no business thinking he could really protect Teagan.
She was much better off without him.
Finally she stopped running around the suite putting things away, and stood by his bed.
“I guess it’s good that you already had a wheelchair and had it at your other hotel,” she said.
“Saved me from having to rent one while you’re here.
Goodness knows you’ll need it for a while until you’re back on your feet.
” She motioned beside the bed where she’d stored it within easy reach.
“There’s a cane too, for when you’re feeling good enough to try to walk.
It’s nothing fancy. I got it at the hospital gift shop.
Your other one, unfortunately, is locked up in evidence.
It practically took an act of Congress just to get my purse released after the police took it from the Brodericks’ home.
They wouldn’t even discuss the cane, for some reason.
Anyway, in case you’ve forgotten your discharge instructions, they’re in writing in the top drawer of your bedside table.
But part of it is that the doctor wants you to try to stand and take at least a few steps several times a day.
If you’re in bed the whole time you could get blood clots and—”
“Teagan.”
“Do you need something? A glass of water? Soda? There’s a bar over there but you really shouldn’t have any alcohol with the pain meds you’re—”
“No. Thank you. I don’t need anything. I—”
“Okay, then. I’m going to explore my room, catch up on some sleep. I haven’t slept well at the hospital and—”
“Teagan.”
“—if you need something, just text me on your phone. I left it on the nightstand. The police have both our phones in evidence so that’s a new one.
I had Mason program your team’s numbers in there, so that should help.
My new number’s in there too, obviously, so you can text me.
I’ll check on you in a couple of hours.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“No, right now you need to sleep. We both do.”
“Wait, please. Just give me a minute to—”
She hurried into the other bedroom, shutting the door hard behind her. But she hadn’t turned fast enough to hide the tears in her eyes.
He swore and punched a fist into the mattress beside him.