Page 105 of Daybreak

It was all the verification she needed. She went faster, took him deeper, over and over, closer to the climax building within them.

It came without warning, washing through them in waves, until the ripples had faded into a stupor of afterglow.

“Lord, woman…” He took a breath, and as she moved away, it was like losing a piece of himself. “That was so… You are… You gave…”

She put a finger over his lips. “Shh. It’s just me loving you.” She kissed him and slipped into the bathroom.

When she came back, he was asleep.

“Rock-a-bye, baby,” she whispered, then pulled the covers up over both of them and fell asleep.

When she woke, her alarm was going off. She silenced it, then realized he was already in the shower. That meant he’d need her help replacing bandages. Today she was going back to her actual office to work, and Gunner would be on his own.

* * *

The rest of the week became a whirlwind of decisions. Gunner found an architect to draw up blueprints for the house and took himself back to the doctor to get the stitches out in his arm, and another checkup on his forearm.

When he walked into the waiting room wearing sunglasses and a long-sleeved shirt, nobody paid attention. He was becoming old news, which was a blessing. Time had a way of doing that.

Once he was back in an exam room, it was back off with the shirt, and then waiting. When Dr. Raines walked in and saw the sunglasses lying on his shirt, he smiled.

“Incognito. Perfect.” Then he moved to the stitches. “These have healed great, so yes, they’re coming out.”

He and his nurse proceeded to remove the stitches in his arm, then moved down to his forearm and unwrapped all of the bandages.

“All of the raw places are healing beautifully. A few scabby places, and a whole lot of new pink skin, but that can still be re-injured easily, so proceed with caution. Don’t stop the antibiotic ointment until all of the wounds have closed, and you will still need to keep the new skin soft. Maybe use Holly’s moisturizer, or some of your own. I’d say another week or two and you should be good to go,” Raines said.

“That’s good news all the way around,” Gunner said.

As soon as they finished rewrapping his forearm, he went back to his car and sent Holly a text.

Stitches out. Forearm healing. Mustang on the move. If you need anything for tonight, now’s the time to let me know.

Love you,

Roadrunner

Holly was walking out of the office on her way to the Tarrant County Courthouse when she got the text. She got into her car and started it up to cool off, then read it and smiled. All good news, but now she was back to concern for him. Gunner Kingston was off the “be careful” list, which also meant back to normal. His normal was usually someone else’s nightmare, but she wouldn’t want to change a thing about him. She responded to his message.

Fabulous news. We’re set for food, but if you’re getting short of nonstick bandages or Neosporin, you might want to make a stop at your pharmacy before you go home. I’m on the way to the Tarrant County Courthouse. See you this evening.

Love you more,

Holly

Gunner had one special stop in mind. He was headed to a jewelry store in the Galleria. He’d borrowed one of her favorite rings for size and was coming home with their rings. If he hadn’t pulled that motorcycle stunt, this would have already been done.

The Galleria was in its usual orderly chaos. Moving through the foot traffic inside the mall was almost as hectic as driving on the Loop, but he knew where he was going, and he knew what he wanted.

He got a few double takes but ignored them and kept walking until he got to Zales Jewelry. He began looking in display cases until he found engagement rings and ring sets and started looking for the ones with an oval cut. He’d noticed how pretty that shape looked on Holly’s finger, and she clearly favored the style.

When a salesclerk approached, he handed him Holly’s ring for size, then they began shopping what was on hand.

“I want an oval-cut diamond. White gold, at least a carat, and with a matching band.”

The clerk nodded and pulled what they had in her size.

Gunner wasn’t a man for waffling. He saw what he wanted and pointed. “That set. May I see that one, please?” He picked up the engagement ring and held it to the light, imagining the light in her eyes when she saw it and how it would look on her hand. He had no memory of ever seeing a ring on his mother’s hand, but she must have had one at some time.