Brooke grinned and lifted the suitcase onto the end of the bed. “He’s a man of simple tastes. What would you like to wear today?”
Natalie watched Brooke lift half a dozen T-shirts out of the case. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
“I think I do. It’s amazing how much your spirit can be lifted by a colorful shirt, a toothbrush, and a clean pair of panties.”
Brooke handed her a pretty pink T-shirt. “What about this one? The color will look lovely on you.”
It might have looked lovely two days ago, but smashing into a wooden door had left its mark. At the moment, her bruises were a mix of violent red, yellow, and black.
“The pink shirt will be great. Thank you.”
“And here’s four new pairs of panties. You can’t go wrong with black cotton briefs. And to finish our hospital fashion extravaganza, I chose a couple of skirts that I think will work. They’ve got elastic sewn into the waists, so they’re easy to pull on and off.”
Tears filled Natalie’s eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
Brooke sighed and wrapped Natalie in a gentle hug. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s hard being in the hospital without having some nice clothes and toiletries with you. Would you like to get changed now or later?”
Natalie didn’t hesitate. “Now. But I’ll need to ask the nurse to unhook me from the monitor.”
“I can do that. Don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute.”
There wasn’t much chance of Natalie going anywhere in a hurry. At least she wasn’t hooked up to the IV drip anymore. Hopefully, by the time the doctors did their rounds, she would be able to leave the hospital and go home to her own bed.
* * *
“Is this G.I. Jane’s room?”
Natalie dropped her magazine onto the bed. “Mom? I thought you weren’t arriving for another half hour.”
“We had a tail wind and the flight landed ahead of time.” She walked across the room and gave Natalie a hug. “How are you feeling?”
Hot tears rolled down Natalie’s cheeks. “Not too good at the moment.”
Her mom kissed her gently on her unbruised cheek, then sat on the edge of the bed. “Gabe said you were very brave.”
“If granddad’s hideout wasn’t there, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Tears filled her mom’s eyes. “He was keeping you safe. I’ve been so worried about you.”
They sat in silence, holding each other’s hands. All Natalie could think about was how lucky she’d been, how fortunate she was to have so many people who loved her.
“Have you talked to the police about what happened?”
“They left a little while ago.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Is it all right if I come in?”
As soon as she saw Gabe, Natalie’s heart squeezed tight. Each time she woke during the night, Gabe was beside her. He’d held her hand when she couldn’t get Chapman’s evil face out of her dreams. When her arm throbbed, he’d told her stories about his family, and when she was thirsty he brought ice cubes for her to suck.
“Did you find a parking space?” Kathleen asked.
“I did. As it turned out, there was one fairly close to the hospital’s entrance.” He smiled at Natalie. “I like your T-shirt.”
She tried to smile but gave up. “It’s Brooke’s. It feels wonderful to be in real clothes.”
“Has the doctor said anything about discharging you?”
“Not yet,” she sighed. “The nurses don’t think he’ll see me until after lunch.”
