I watch the helicopter rise and bank off in the direction of the airpark.Declan says he needs to stop there first before he heads to Travis Ranch.
Only then do I notice that Evander’s hand is clutched around mine.I look up at him, not sure what to expect.But I see only affection and concern in those violet eyes.
In front of everyone, he bends down and lays a kiss righton my lips.
“Phoebe!”Ginny runs toward me then squeezes me in a hug.Her eyes give me a quick scan.“Are you injured?”
“Minor laceration that’s already stitched up.Nothing else.”I gesture to Evander.“He has a second-degree burn to his left anterior compartment which has only had first aid treatment.It’s about eighteen hours old and infection is a concern.”
Ginny nods quickly and calls for the two patient care assistants to bring out the wheelchairs.
“Thanks, but I’ll walk,” Evander says.
“That’s not possible.”Ginny points to the chair.You’re on hospital property and you must be escorted inside.”
I grin at him.“There’s a simple chain of command around here, Evander.She’s in charge.”
He raises one dark eyebrow at me, but he sits.He even allows the patient care assistant to prop his boots on the flip-up footrests.
I have to laugh.They brought out a standard-size wheelchair for Evander, and he reminds me of an adult on a kid’s tricycle.
My heart twists.I’m crazy for this man.I love him with everything in me.And yes, I heard what he said in the igloo, and I believe him, but something’s telling me to keep my optimism in check.
We’re back.
This is real life—work, families, obligations.
His real life and mine.
And I’m having a hard time picturing those two lives intertwined and in balance with one another.It’s possible it can happen, and I hope I’m wrong, but it already feels different.
Well, ofcourseit does.We’re no longer trapped in a hidey-hole or a smoky, snow-buried surveyor’s shack in the middle of nowhere, with nothing and no one to distract us from one another.
We’re out here in the unforgiving light of day, literally.And it’s entirely possible that Evander may decide he no longer likes what he sees in me.
We’re wheeled into the patient elevator.
“I’ll ask the kitchen to make a tray.We’ve got chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese on the menu—does that sound okay?”
“That sounds fantastic,” Evander says.
Fantastic might be overstating it, but I think the man is starving if he’s enthusiastic about that many carbs.I’m pretty enthusiastic too, and I know exactly what those menu items taste like.Not great.
But a Sweetbriar Medical Center lunch will be served on a tray, on clean plates and in clean bowls, with clean silverware and napkins, and I’m really looking forward to it.
We’re brought down to the first floor and taken into emergency triage, where we’re separated.Evander goes with a nurse practitioner and Ginny takes me into a nearby exam room.She yanks the curtain closed, spins around, and gapes at me.
“I know,” I say.“I should be dead.”
“We thought youweredead!Your brother kept calling to see if you’d been brought in, or if the medical evac helicopter could search for you.But nobody could go anywhere—not the state police, not private search and rescue.Nobody!”
“I’m sorry I put everyone through that.”
Ginny comes over and gives me a big hug, then walks me to the gurney.“You smell like a bonfire, honey.Strip down and we’ll take a look at your sutures.Where’s your cut?”
“My right buttock.”
Ginny tips her head and squints.“I know you’re a first-rate nurse, but how in heaven’s name did you manage to sew up your own ass?”
