“In case you haven’t realized from the ease with which I ate, my right arm is fully healed now,” he says. “I mean, I’ve lost muscle bulk, and there’s some stiffness, but my range of motion is satisfactory.”
“That’s great news!”
“Your mother’s care and the gentle exercises I’ve been doing helped.”
I stare at his forearm. “With the cast on?”
“These are splints, not a cast,” he says with a smile. “But yeah, you can do some exercises even with a cast on. Besides, the fracture in my right arm was nowhere near as bad as in my left arm and legs. Those will take a while to heal.”
“Right.”
“I’ve been hiding it from your parents.”
I do a double take. “Hiding what?”
“The extent of the improvement in my right arm.”
“Because…?” I look up at him.
“In your opinion?” He cocks his head. “Why do you think I’d suffer through your mother’s spoon-feeding me, brushing my teeth, and trimming my beard, and your father helping me wash, when I’m now able to do those things on my own?”
“Because you’re lazy?”
He startles for a second, and then guffaws.
I don’t usually crack jokes, so I have no clue where that quip came from. But the fact that it made Darrel laugh fills my chest with more pride than I’ve felt over any prior accomplishment. Over anything at all.
I giggle along while watching his face relax. His grin is delectable. The fine crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes are more pronounced when he’s laughing, and it makes my head turn. My heartbeat ratchets up. I gasp for breath.
Thankfully, before I choke, his hilarity dies down. “Thank you! I hadn’t laughed in a month.”
“Anytime!”
He swipes a hand over his face. “OK, let’s rewind. Why do you think I hide the recovery of my right arm from them?”
“Because you’re at my parents’ mercy? Because they have so much power over you that you derive solace, and a measure of empowerment, from keeping something from them?”
And from charming their daughter to becoming your ally?
“I hadn’t thought of it in those terms…” He strokes his beard. “There might be a grain of truth to your theory. But that isn’t my main reason for putting up with the indignity of being waited on by your mom and dad.”
“What’s your main reason, then?”
“It buys me time.”
“To maneuver me into calling Adam?”
“Yes,” he admits. “Also, to give my people more time to find me if they’re still looking. And, to stall your parents’ final move.”
“What do you mean by the final move?”
He looks at me like I’m the certified idiot of Vosier-en-Haut.
I bristle. “So sorry if my parents’ plans aren’t as transparent to me as they are to you!”
“If they realize that my right arm is fully functional now, they’ll tether or handcuff me. And if they determine I don’t have the info they need or give up, then they’ll jab me with a lethal dose.”
“Are you insane?” I scoot closer, shaking my head. “They’d never do that! They’d never murder a man!”
