“I won’t if you bring me a soft drink pronto.”
His friend held up his hands and backed toward the door. “I’m going. I’m going.” He hurried out of the room.
A moment later, a nurse walked in. “How are we feeling, Mr. Knight?”
“Like I’m going to hurl any second.”
She handed Iona a small plastic container. “Here. Keep this ready to use in case Mr. Knight needs it before I return.”
“Our friend went to get him a soft drink.”
“Good. That’s a start. I’ll check with the doctor to see if he’ll prescribe anti-nausea medicine.” She left the room.
Feeling miserable and desperate not to barf in front of Iona, he said, “You should wait outside with Brent.”
She shook her head. “You need help.”
He scowled. “I can take care of myself.”
“When you haven’t had major surgery, sure.”
He finally sucked it up and told her the truth. “I don’t want you to see me puke.”
“Too bad, Elias. I’m not leaving. Besides, I’ve helped every one of my teammates when they were sick or recovering from surgery. I won’t fall apart or get sick myself. I’ve got this.”
Why couldn’t she understand he wanted to keep some dignity around her, but if he was sick, well, nothing was normal about that. Man, he hated anesthesia. It always made him sicker than a dog. “Iona, please just go. Leave me some dignity. I’m begging you.”
“You can handle it, Knight.”
Even as miserable as he was, Elias’ temper flared. “Why are you being so stubborn?”
“I’m taking your mind off your stomach.”
He stared. Why didn’t he think of that? Iona wasn’t one to insist on having her own way when she’d been asked to leave.
She smiled. “Gotcha.”
“Yeah, you did.”
Grant returned with a soft drink in a green can. He broke the seal on the bottle and set the lid on his rolling table. “I called Violet. She recommended this one. Try it.”
Iona unwrapped a straw and dropped it into his soft drink. She held it to his lips.
He sipped the cold drink. Oh, man. The drink tasted so good. He sipped more. Within minutes, half of the drink was gone, and his stomach had settled down. Thank goodness.
Elias sat back and burrowed deeper into the pillow behind his head. “Thanks, Grant. That did the trick.”
The nurse tapped on the doorframe and entered the room. She had a hypodermic needle in her hand. “You’re in luck, Mr. Knight. The doctor had already given orders for you to have anti-nausea medication, so I didn’t have to contact him.” She uncapped the needle and added the medication to his IV line. “The med will make you drowsy, all right? Don’t fight it. Your body needs rest to heal. If you need anything, press the red button.”
After the nurse left, Iona moved a chair closer to Elias’ bedside while Grant moved a second chair to the foot of the bed so he could see both Elias and the door.
Elias watched Iona for a beat, then made a decision he knew he’d regret. He scooted to the far side of the bed.
Iona frowned. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?”
“Are you expecting someone to join you?”
