I start laughing.
“Nooooo.Are you kidding me?”She heads for the curtain and steps out, then pokes her head back in.“Give me five.I want all the deets.”She waggles her eyebrows.
About a half hour later, I’ve finished my lunch and can barely keep my eyes open.But that’s when the medical resident who’s been doing her rotation in rural hospital care comes in to see me.She says she was set to drive back to Las Vegas when the storm hit, and she’s been here ever since.
The doctor examines me for frostbite and any other injuries and tells me everything is normal.Then she takes care of my sutures.With Ginny standing by, she cleans the wound and injects my lower hip with a solution of 125 mg of ceftriaxone to fend off a bacterial infection.Then she covers my stitches in a waterproof gel bandage that can be left on for several days.
I thank her for that, since the first chance I get, I’m enjoying a long, hot shower.
Maybe the longest and hottest of my life.
“By the way, that’s some beautiful suturing you’ve got,” she says.
Ginny giggles.
“I’ll let Evander know you’re a fan.”
She laughs.“I’m a fan all right.”The doctor grins, then says she wants both of us to stay overnight for observation.She assures me that Evander’s burn will be fine.
And then she informs me that it will be a month before I can soak in a jacuzzi or hot tub, and that she’ll call in a new script for my birth control to the hospital pharmacy, since I’ve gone three days without taking it.
“Remember, no unprotected sex for another seven days, unless you’re trying to become pregnant.”
Before she leaves, she smiles at me again.“You got very lucky, Miss Travis.Seems you picked the exact right person to spend a once-in-a-lifetime disaster with.”
Ginny stares at me for a full ten seconds after the doctor leaves, saying nothing.“Are you okay, honey?”she finally asks.
I nod, but in all honesty, I’m not sure.I’m in a daze.
About fifteen minutes later, I’m in a patient room on the med-surg floor.I don’t know where they’ve put Evander, but he’s got to be somewhere nearby.It’s a small hospital.
I already miss him.
Once inside the bathroom, I find that Ginny has retrieved my toiletries and sweatshirt from my nurse’s locker as I’d asked.The sweatshirt is folded on a wall rack along with a set of clean scrubs and hospital gripper socks for me to change into.The toiletries are lined up on the sink.She’s folded a set of clean scrubs for me to change into.
I spend a long time brushing my teeth, then step into the spray of hot water.I stand still for a long moment, feeling myself breathe, feeling the heat seep into my bones.
It occurs to me that I’ve not had much alone time since I nearly died in the icy water.Because in the days since, I’ve been drowning in the intoxicating sexual and emotional vortex that is Evander MacLaine.
I realize I’m crying.Exhaustion and stress are the reasons, no doubt.And I’m coming down from one hell of an adrenaline rush.The psychological and physical strain of the last few days has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
The recovery from hypothermia.The questions.The discovery.The pleasure.
And all the things I so desperately want to keep now that I’ve found them.
Then there’s the creeping sense of dread…
Rickis here!
And I know damn well he’ll try to go all Dr.McDreamy in front of my family.My family!Mama and all five of my brothers are on their way!
This isn’t just about Evander and me anymore.
I press the washcloth to my face to catch the sound of my sobs.
It takes a few minutes, but I manage to pull myself together.I let the water cascade over me and remind myself of how incredibly lucky I am to be alive.
To be loved by Evander MacLaine.
