“No, we figured we’d wait.”
“And when did you find him with butt-pillow girl?”
“Eight months ago. On Halloween.”
At her answer, he opened his eyes. “Huh,” he said. “We drove over the mine on Halloween.” But he was just recovering, and that had been eight months ago.
“They didn’t get everything out the first time,” he answered her unspoken question. “This last surgery is the third time they’ve had to go digging.”
“Oh, my God! That’s horrible.”
“Yeah.” He’d closed his eyes again. “I thought I was all fixed up but then the pain increased again. Infection. When more fragments showed up after the second surgery, they shipped me back to Colorado. I sure as hell hope they got ’em all this time.”
“Me, too.” She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. And afraid.
They talked about other things, some about her marriage, and some about his life in the Navy, before he finally drifted off.
Penny was torn.
He looked even younger when he slept.
And even more perfect.
Up close, she discovered a tattoo she’d not noticed before. It started at his neck and disappeared beneath the bandages. Flames? She couldn’t tell. The rest of his skin was unmarked.
And his hair was soft, not bristly at all. She rubbed her cheek against it and sighed. He didn’t look so pale anymore. Hopefully, the pain had receded.
Was it possible he actually liked her?
She crawled off the bed and took stock of his bedroom. Some old football trophies, his wallet, medical instructions, and a few dollars sat on the dresser. A small desk tucked in the corner had several picture frames propped on the surface.
The largest of them featured his parents, younger looking, but smiling with their arms around one another. Beside that were a few smaller frames displayed football pictures of a youthful, but equally adorable Chaz.
Propped adjacent to those, stood several portraits of him with a beautiful adolescent-looking brunette. The same brunette appeared in a few different dance photos. In the largest of them, the same girl posed in a meadow with the name ‘Francine’ written diagonally across the bottom.
Must have been her senior picture.
Obviously, Francine had been his high school sweetheart.
Not so very long ago.
This must be the room he’d grown up in.
She tiptoed back to the bed and brushed her hand along his unshaven jaw. She couldn’t help herself. This had been amazing, phenomenal, earth-shattering… but it couldn’t be anything more. He lived his life in an entirely different world.
She located her skirt and glanced in the mirror. Her lips were swollen and her hair a tangled mess. But other than that, she was the same.
She locked both the front and back doors before leaving the house.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Always Come Prepared
It seemed likea lifetime had passed since she’d gone to check on Chaz this morning. Had she subconsciously intended to take advantage of the injured neighbor boy next door?
It was possible.
She was a nasty, nasty woman, throwing herself at young men with debilitating injuries.
