“That’s only because you grabbed the wrong paint can.”
“It said living room.”
“And here we go again.Trim. It said living room trim.” Jackie’s laughter now was a far cry from the horror on herface when she walked into the room and found her camel walls blotched with patches of not quite white over every filled nail hole.
“A very valid reason why I should never be given a paint brush.”
“Okay. No painting,” Jackie’s voice still held a healthy dose of humor. “But seriously, when’s the last time you had a vacation? And I don’t mean time off to clean out your closet or catch up on your laundry. A real get out of town vacation?”
“I get out of town.”
“I don’t mean for weddings.”
Well, that poked a hole in her argument. “Touché.”
“Does that mean you’ll come out and visit?”
“What if Congress stops the pissing match and we all have to go back to work?”
“Then you go home, but when have you ever known a shutdown to last only a week?”
Point to Jackie. “Let me think about it.”
“Don’t think. Pack.”
Had her friend always been this pushy? Her mind turned to when Jackie gave up everything to chase after the wrong man. Yep, she’d always been this pushy. “I’ll think about it.”
“Well,” Jackie sighed, “I guess I’ll have to settle for that. For now.”
Setting her phone on the side table, Katie looked around. She really did love her little garage apartment. Nestled in the Memorial neighborhood of downtown Houston, there were mature trees lining every street, lots of colorful blooms, well manicured lawns, and no cookie cutter homes—yet. This apartment had lots of character, and she liked that. Her gaze landed on her dwindling pile of books to read. It was time to face facts; she was bored out of her mind. But West Texas?
Once more she took in her surroundings. Before she realized what she was doing, she found herself in her room, yanking her suitcase out of the closet. “West Texas, here I come.”
Chapter Two
Staring up at the ceiling, Josh bit down on his back teeth. Every time someone bumped against his bed he felt like he was riding out a tsunami in a rubber raft. It had been days since the explosion and he still couldn’t catch his balance. At least not one hundred percent of the time—and you didn’t serve in Uncle Sam’s army if you were less than one hundred percent.
A small part of him muttered in the back of his mind to stop bitchin’. Of all the guys who’d been caught in the blast, his vestibular dysfunction was the least serious injury. Even the gash in his side no longer bothered him. On the other hand, his buddies were going to be stuck here for a while, and it was still a coin toss if Kent was going to make it out of the burn ward at all.
“What are you still doing in bed?” Kade appeared at his bedside. “Didn’t you get the memo? You’re being discharged today.”
He would have nodded, but that would bring on the nausea.
“You packed?” Kade glanced around.
Reaching slowly, Josh used the control to lift the head of the bed and gingerly inched himself to an upright position. “Not much to pack. Nurse helped.”
“The pretty one?” Kade teased.
That made Josh smile. “Which one?”
“Damn.” Kade shook his head. “I’ve only seen the brunette. There are more?”
He heaved a deep sigh, not from frustration but more of a wowza response. “Red hair, green eyes, and an hourglass would wither beside her.”
“If I weren’t a happily married man, I might be tempted to request you stay longer so I can get a glimpse.”
While he would be the first to agree that the nurses here were definitely easy on the eyes, he was ready to get out of this place. What he wasn’t looking forward to was convalescing. No one would tell him how long it would be before this stupid inner ear thing would go away. Or if it would ever go away.
