Chapter Twenty-Four
The two daysbefore Sierra’s operation were pretty awful. Her arm hurt like a son of a bitch and her knee wasn’t a whole lot better. Connor was sweet. So sweet he was driving her crazy. She knew she was cranky. She tried her best not to be, but it was kind of a lost cause. She slept most of the first day but by the second she was heartily sick of staying in bed.
“Hey,” Connor said, sticking his head into the room. “I made you some soup. Do you want it in here or do you want to come to the table?”
“I’m not hungry.” Not for soup, anyway. Ice cream might help.
He gave her ‘the look.’ The one that meant he wouldn’t be swayed. Knowing she might as well expect a rock to give in as Connor she sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll eat the soup but only if I get ice cream later.”
“Deal.”
If she could have she would have stomped into the other room but given her bum knee that was out. Her knee wasn’t broken, it was just badly sprained and hurt like hell. She limped to the small table using a crutch under her uninjured arm and spooned soup in her mouth. When she finished she realized Connor had been watching her with a grin. “You are so annoying. I feel better. Are you happy?”
“Yep. I’ll get your ice cream.”
“You don’t have to wait on me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“I know.” He went to the kitchen and came back with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
After finishing her ice cream she asked him, “Why are you pampering me? You should go back to work. I’ll be fine.”
“Who’s going to take you to the hospital for your operation?”
“I’ll get a ride-share.”
“We’re in Marietta, remember?”
Oh, yeah. No ride-shares. She frowned but had no answer to that.
“I took some time off. I’ll be hanging around until after your surgery. You need someone to help you whether you want to admit it or not.”
Connor’s mom came by later that day. Sierra had met her briefly when she’d stopped by after the helicopter accident to bring food. She came bearing food again. A couple of casseroles and some roasted vegetables, as well as an apple pie.
Sierra had moved to the couch and was idly flipping the TV channels but when Maureen came in she turned it off. After setting down the food on the counter and giving Connor instructions on what to do with it, she hugged him and then sat beside Sierra.
“How are you feeling? Oh, never mind. I’m sure you feel awful. I broke my wrist once and it was miserable. I hear you have to have an operation and a plate put in.”
“That’s what they tell me.” She scowled. “It’s supposed to heal faster. Thank you for bringing food. I love apple pie.”
“You and Connor have that in common then. It’s his favorite.”
“Your mom is really nice,” she told Connor after his mother left. “I like her.”
“She likes you too.”
“She does? How do you know?”
“She told me. She thinks you’re good for me.”
Her phone rang just then. Her mother’s ringtone. Her mom had been ready to jump on a plane and come help her during her recovery. Sierra loved her mom, but she drove her crazy when she was in fussing mode. “Hi, Mom.”
It took her twenty minutes to convince her mom that she was okay and that Connor was taking care of her. Only by telling her mom that she and her dad could visit once Sierra was more recovered was she able to hang up with some degree of hope that she’d forestalled her mom’s plans.
*
Sierra’s operation hadbeen successful and now, several days later, she was beginning to feel well enough to go back to work. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to fly or to be on an EMS ground crew. All she could do until she healed and rehabbed her arm was desk duty. Normally, she didn’t mind a little desk duty but she didn’t enjoy a steady diet of it.
And it gave her plenty of time to think. So much so that when Connor got off work one evening she told him she’d changed her mind. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected but it wasn’t what she got.
