“No, of course not. She saw a doctor. I guess they’re still ruling out other things, but it sounds like the doc suspects MS. The last thing I want to do is add to her burden right now.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Does there need to be?”
“Nope. I’d say that’s plenty to deal with.”
Two hours later, Gabe was gliding on the wind. Yes, it was cold, but his feathers covered every bit of skin, so he barely felt it. His mind was so preoccupied, he wouldn’t have thought about the weather anyway.
What must Misty feel like? He hadn’t even tried to put himself in her shoes. Her slippery, klutzy shoes. He knew she wasn’t a klutz, though. He remembered her twirling down the sidewalk. He and Parker were asked to watch her while her mother was entertaining friends. She was light on her feet and nearly acrobatic. She could cartwheel down an entire city block without appearing dizzy at the end.
In feathered form, Gabe couldn’t sigh, but he was doing a lot of that in his mind.So, what does Misty feel like, knowing she might never dance again? Shit.She would be devastated if the doctors told her that.
And what about physical pain? She never complained about it—never showed it—except for the time she fell in his bathroom. She’d winced. Could she have been keeping that to herself?
He pictured her on the floor, naked, massaging her left leg. Then he pictured her in his bed, the sheet slipping down to reveal…
Focus, Gabe!
It didn’t matter how many times he tried to forget what they’d shared on the night of her birthday. The feel of her soft skin under his fingers, her rounded breasts and bottom, her responsiveness to his every touch…it was all burned into his brain.
Yup. If he couldn’t find a way to put that behind them, he was well and truly screwed. At least he had his job to keep him occupied for the next few days.
Gabe landed on the deck of Jayce’s boat and shifted back to his human form. He shivered the minute the freezing wind hit his skin and couldn’t get his clothes on fast enough. Jayce came up from below with a blanket and wrapped it around him.
“So, little brother. Did you get any answers?”
Gabe shook his head.
“I guess you’ll just have to keep following the yellow brick road. Watch out for those flying monkeys.”
“Thanks for that.”
* * *
Gabe hadn’t called in nearly a week. Misty would be damned if she was going to call him. There were more tests and appointments, but her friend Julie said she’d take an afternoon off and go with her to the next one.
Misty really didn’t want to tell her friend anything was wrong, but fortunately, a plausible excuse was built into her eye exam. They asked her to have someone with her, because the medicine that would dilate her pupils for the exam could interfere with her vision for a little while.
She’d rather be able to see Gabe when she was with him, anyway. Picturing his tall, solid body and his naturally brooding expression didn’t help. She missed him like crazy. But letting him come to her would answer the only question she had about him. Unfortunately, she was getting the answer she didn’t want.
She wanted him to care. To call her and ask how she was feeling—at the very least. The truth was she was feeling better, and she wanted to tell him so.
The last thing she wanted was to become a burden on anyone. That scared her more than any disease or problem. And she knew that would scare away almost any guy. Except, apparently, her boss, Adam. He’d been asking if there was anything he could do to help make her life easier. The only thing she wanted him to do was to stop asking.
Julie arrived, and Misty greeted her with a huge hug. Then she leaned back and stared at her friend. “Your hair! It’s purple!”
“Yeah. I wanted something different. It’s been too long, girl. What have you been doing with yourself?”
“You know. Work, work, work.”
“Ewww. No, I don’t know. I work as little as possible.”
Julie jogged down the stairs to the narrow sidewalk. Misty managed to get into her friend’s car without incident. She fastened her seat belt. “So, why are you doing the toy parties, if you don’t like to work?”
“For that reason exactly.” Julie started the still-warm car. “The parties are more fun than cleaning houses any day.”
“I’ll bet. You’re so fun and friendly. Isn’t there something else you could be doing instead of maid work?”
