Page 49 of Full Throttle

His eyes, his words, said everything. I gave in because the bottom line was, I wanted to be with him.

“I might be a terrible patient.”

A grin crossed his face, and he folded his arms, leaning on the bed. “I already know you’re gonna be a handful. Ordering me around. Refusing to listen to the doctor. Trying to do too much. I can’t let Hannah and Chase take that on. I can keep you in line.”

I scoffed at his words, and he winked.

“I have ways, Cherry. As soon as you’re feeling up to it, I’ll show you all of them.”

I was about to argue when I yawned, a wave of exhaustion hitting me. He kissed my hand and stood. “Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up. I’ll take you home later.” He paused then smiled. “Our home.”

“Temporarily,” I muttered.

“We’ll see,” he replied. “We’ll see.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Cherry

Iached all over but insisted on a shower when I got to Dom’s place. I hated the smell of smoke that clung to my skin and hair. Hannah went to the beauty supply place and got me the shampoo I asked for, and she helped me wash my hair. Even after three washings, the smoke scent was there, but at least it was more manageable. I dressed in some leggings and a loose shirt of Dom’s, grateful when Hannah removed the plastic my arm was wrapped in to keep the cast dry.

“Why couldn’t it be a removable cast?” I grumbled.

Dom walked in, carrying a tray. “Maybe they were fast to figure out you’d be ripping it off the first chance you got, Cherry G.” He winked. “Troublemaker.”

He’d showered again as well and looked more relaxed. I knew he was as tired as I felt, but not as troubled. He slid the tray onto my lap. “Lunch.”

I picked up the spoon, tasting the thick soup. “Delicious.”

He perched on the end of the bed. “Rosa,” he said simply. “The fridge is full. Lasagna, more minestrone soup, ziti. Charly brought a couple of casseroles and did some shopping. She brought you some more clothes too.” He looked upset. “All of yours are gone.”

“Everything?” I asked.

He nodded. “Sorry, Cherry. Everything.” He reached over and squeezed my hand. “I know how upsetting that must be.”

“Not as upsetting as it would be if this had happened a month ago.”

“Why?”

“When I moved in to the smaller apartment, Connie let me store a bunch of totes filled with things I didn’t have room for in the apartment in the basement of the building. Not long ago, she discovered a leak, and Chase and Hannah graciously let me move them to their basement about a month ago. All my photos and a lot of my things are in those totes. The apartment was too small for me to have them out or to have too many photos around. I lost what was out, but I think Hannah has copies of a lot of the photos. The knickknacks and other things… Well, I suppose they’re just things. My mother’s quilt makes me sad, but…” I trailed off, trying not to cry.

“Maybe some things can be salvaged. Once we can go in, I’ll pack up what we can,” Dom assured me, stroking my hand.

“We’ll help,” Chase said, coming in with Hannah.

“Of course we will,” she agreed. “If it’s just smoke, we’ll take it somewhere.”

“We do ozone bombs in cars,” Chase mused. “Gets rid of odors. Maybe we could try that on other things.”

Dom nodded in agreement. “Good thinking.”

“Once we can get in,” I agreed, amazed at their offer. “I wonder when they’ll know what it was that caused the fire.”

“Soon, hopefully,” Hannah murmured.

I was suddenly exhausted, and the soup no longer held much appeal. Dom looked at Hannah, who took the tray and gave it to Chase. “Sleep a bit, Mom. You might be hungrier later.”

Dom helped me settle, and he gave me some pain pills. “You want me to stay?” he asked quietly.