Chapter Eighteen
Jordon finished cleaningup after heating up their food and went into the living room where she found Spider still in his wheelchair, starting to doze off.She stood and watched him for a moment, noticing that even in sleep he had a slight crease between his brows, as if he was worrying about something ...or maybe he was hurting?
“Spider?”she spoke normally at first, hoping he hadn’t fallen too deeply asleep yet.But he didn’t stir.“Spider?”She spoke a little louder this time, moving closer.She didn’t want to startle him awake, and she wasn’t sure how he would react if she touched him.
He still didn’t even flinch.
She moved around behind his chair.Then carefully reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Spider?”
He gasped and sat up straight.“What?”
Jordon moved around so he could see her.“You fell asleep.Why don’t you go lay down?Take a nap.”
Spider shook his head.“That would be rude.Besides, I’d rather spend time with you than sleep.”
She tilted her head and watched him for a moment.He yawned, then glanced at her, as if trying to see if she’d noticed.
“How about I come lay down with you?”
His eyes went wide.He opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if words escaped him.He exhaled in a rush as he dropped his gaze.Spider let his head fall forward for a couple of seconds.When he lifted it again, he met her gaze.“As much as I’d love to say hell, yes, to take you up on the offer, I have too much respect for you and for your father.I wouldn’t want to compromise your reputation that way.”
Now she really wanted to smack him.“You’re an idiot,” she said instead.She moved around in front of him then bent forward until her face was inches from his.“I’m offering to lay on the bed, fully clothed and with the door open.We can talk.Then, if we want, we can fall asleep.”She was silent for only a few seconds.“You’re exhausted.I can see it, even if you weren’t dozing off so quickly.Don’t be an idiot.Let’s go lay down for a while.”
“Are you sure?”
She rolled her eyes, stood and moved around to the back of his chair.“I’ll take that as a yes.Hit the brakes.”She waited while he moved the two levers in front of the wheels, then pushed the chair down the hall.“Tell me which one’s yours.”
He gave her directions and she steered him into the room.
“Which side do you sleep on?”she asked.
“Of the bed or my body?”his tone told her he had a smile on his face.
Jordon shook her head at his word play.“Both.”
“Usually I go back and forth, as I move in the night but with this,” he laid his hand on the cast that came halfway up his right thigh, “It’s easier to sleep on my right.I don’t care which side of the bed, though.”
“Good.Because I’d rather be in front of you, but if you wanted that side of the bed, I’d lay behind you.”She pushed the chair to the right side of the bed.“Do you need help moving over?”
“No.I can get it.It will just take me a few minutes.Can you go grab me a bottle of water?”
“Sure.”Jordon headed for the kitchen.She couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to get her out of the room.Did he not want her to see him move from the chair to the bed?She wondered ...not that she could do much about it.In the kitchen she grabbed a couple of bottles then took them back into the bedroom where Spider had managed to get onto the bed.He sat next to his wheelchair and reached for the bottle when she stepped into the room.
“Thank you.Can you grab that little blanket over there?He pointed to the far side of the room.She picked it up and found it to be kind of heavy, but oddly proportioned.It was two, maybe three feet wide and at least six feet long.Or maybe it was really wide but short?She didn’t know.And she wasn’t asking.Instead she carried it as she went to the other side of the bed and sat.Handing the odd blanket across the bed, she toed off her boots then swung her legs up on the bed and laid back.She rolled onto her side so that she faced Spider and found him laying as well.
“I need something on my shoulders or I can’t sleep.It’s odd, I know.But even when it’s too hot for blankets, I can’t sleep without something like this over my shoulders.Want to try it?It’s plenty long.”He held up the end that had been piled between them.
“Why not?”she said.She might as well try it.If things worked out the way she hoped, she’d need to get used to it anyway, because there was no way she’d let something as small as a blanket get between them.Especially this one.She moved a little closer, so that the blanket could stretch across her shoulders.“This is heavy.Where’d you get it?”
“I had it made.Or more accurately, I had it modified.It’s a twin-size weighted blanket, but I took it to a seamstress and had her fold it in half length wise and stitch it that way, all the way around.”He took a deep breath and let it out.Jordon could see his body relaxing.His shoulders eased, his face softened.She could tell he was close to sleep.Reaching out, she caught his hand where it lay on the bed between them.She hooked his little finger with hers.She needed to touch him.It didn’t need to be much, but she needed at least some physical contact with him.
