“Okay! I’ve got your discharge papers. Now I understand why they call you a special forces team. I’ve never seen things move so fast. I think I need to find my own six buff guys,” the fifty-something nurse told them with a twinkle in her eyes.
The woman in scrubs looked sternly at Caden, who cradled Brooklyn to his chest. “You take care of her. She is the sweetest patient we’ve had for a long time.”
“Definitely. She’s going to be wrapped in bubble wrap for a while,” Caden assured her.
“Thank you for helping me,” Brooklyn told her.
“I’m glad your soldier got back to take care of you. Let him.”
Brooklyn watched the nurse disappear from the room as her kind words resonated inside her aching head. She relaxed completely against Caden’s solid form. “You make everything better, Daddy.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her softly. “Let’s go home, little girl.”
Jerico had pulled Caden’s truck up to the entrance for him. He opened the door, and Caden lifted her inside. Her daddy buckled her seatbelt before closing the door as softly as possible. She propped her elbow on the console and cradled the side of herskull in her hand. It hurt too badly to rest her head on the seat. Through the window, Brooklyn could hear the men talking.
“That head is going to hurt. I’ll bring over some painkillers and nausea medicine. An icepack is a good idea. Do you have a bag of frozen peas?” Zale asked.
“You made that a staple in our freezers,” Caden said. “Let her sleep or wake her up?”
“Clean her up and put her to bed with some meds. It’s important to check on her for the first four hours. More than that time has passed since she fell. You’re going to have a light-sleep night tonight. Do you need the team to take turns monitoring her so you can rest?”
“My little girl. I’ll take care of her. We’ll recover together,” Caden told him.
“I’ll lobby for several days off for you to recover. We’ll get at least three. If you need more…”
“I’ll take personal time,” Caden said brusquely.
“Noted. Keep me in the loop. We’ll let Hank lead training for a while. I get the impression he’ll have something unique up his sleeve,” Jerico said.
“Take her home. I’ll drop off some meds at the front door soon,” Zale said, hurrying back to his vehicle.
In seconds, the driver’s door opened, and Caden heaved himself into the truck. She could tell he was operating on his very last bit of energy and regretted adding to his exhaustion. He should be in bed sleeping. The entire team should have celebrated their return with their little girls.
“I’m sorry. I’m so stupid and clumsy,” she whispered, overwhelmed by how much trouble she had caused.
Caden turned to her immediately and ran a hand over her cheek. “You aren’t stupid, little girl. Accidents happen. You didn’t plan this.”
“You could drop me off at a hotel,” she suggested. Her life was so screwed up. Maybe some people were unlucky at life. She definitely was.
“That’s never going to happen,” he told her sternly. “I will never abandon you. I’m your daddy, and I love you.”
“But I’m so much trouble,” she said sadly. “I won’t think badly of you if you decide I cause too much havoc.” Her tears exhausted, Brooklyn couldn’t even cry.
“If you didn’t have a head injury, I’d spank your bottom now. Given your condition, I’m going to wait to punish you for talking so badly about yourself,” he told her in a hard voice that she didn’t dare argue with.
“Sorry,” she squeaked.
“No more talk about leaving or being a bother or I’ll add additional punishment to my list.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, Daddy,” he corrected.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“I missed you, little girl. Spending time in the hospital when I return from a mission outshines arriving home to an empty house. One makes my heart hurt from worry, the other rips my heart out of my chest. Which do you think I prefer?”
“My being in the emergency department.” The band around her chest loosened as she realized he really meant it.
