“Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
“You’re a special person, Maddie. One day, I hope you see it.” He looked toward the door. “Hellen has been here every single chance she had. She’s had her hands full looking after the shelter.”
“What about George?”
“No one can find him. He’s done a runner from what we could see. The guy was in some serious debt. He was taking money from the shelter. When you first look at it, it looks like the shelter is actually killing him, but between the regular donations and money-raising projects you’re all part of, that shelter would pay for itself.”
Maddie knew something wasn’t quite right. “He was taking the money for himself?”
“George had a fancy life. A house he couldn’t afford. Cars. Even down to his grocery shopping. The shelter wasn’t giving him enough money as he still had to pay fees for the care and upkeep of the place.”
“I should have known.”
“Babe, you’re not superwoman.”
“And he’s just gone?” Maddie asked. “Left?”
Bull nodded, but he didn’t look at her.
She wasn’t a fool. “Was he responsible for what happened?” Maddie asked.
“He had … bad investments. The dogs were helping him to fund his lifestyle.”
She knew Bull had killed him. If he hadn’t killed him, then he would do it soon.
“So it’s all over.”
“It’s all over.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
“And the dogs, they’re … fine.”
“Yes. The dogs are doing fine. Hellen is looking for someone to take over at the shelter. She said that she preferred to volunteer. She was too old to deal with the stress of the place.”
“We’ll find someone,” Maddie said. “When I can, I will help her.”
There was a knock at the door. Pat entered after Bull called out to him.
“You are awake,” Pat said. He moved toward the bed and looked at her. “I would give you a hug.”
“But I look a little worse for wear, I get it,” she said. “Are those flowers for me?”
“You got it.”
She smiled. “You’re sweet.”
It had taken Pat a little time to open up to her, to even talk to her in a conversation mode. This was great progress. He was a good guy at heart, with a lot of demons.
Pat didn’t stay for too long. He put the flowers in a vase next to her bed, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see them. Hellen arrived and told her Beatrice and Carl wanted to come and see her.
Bull had said no more visitors, and he even made Hellen and Pat leave. She watched as he called the doctor into the room, and she couldn’t help but love him at that moment as he started to talk about letting her get out of here.
She hated the hospital so much and didn’t want to stay any longer than she had to. The doctor didn’t think it was good for her to leave straight away, but with a few days of observation, he was willing to release her into Bull’s care.
It was a good day and a good feeling.
****
It was an additional week before Maddie was in any kind of position to leave the hospital. The doctors constantly checked her blood work, made sure she was recovering. There were X-rays to be taken, as well as a few observations they made. Bull didn’t understand half of what they wanted to do, but finally, Doctor Sinclair was the one who was happy to let her go home, providing he could make additional house calls.
So by Friday, he had Maddie all packed up, and the van was downstairs waiting. He had her prescriptions stuffed away in a bag, and she was in a wheelchair. With the extent of the damage to her wrist, she couldn’t use crutches.
The doctor had warned that he was going to have to be responsible for her care and her subsequent rehabilitation. He would stop by once a week to give him an update on when she would be able to start physical therapy. Bull already had a woman in mind to come to the house. There was no way he was going to allow a nice young doctor to get attached to Maddie. She was all his, and now he had her in his home.
“Are you sure you’re ready to leave?” Doctor James asked.
“I’m good,” Maddie said. “It seems ridiculous wasting a bed for someone who needs it. I can heal at Bull’s house.”
Doctor James nodded. “I can’t stop Doctor Sinclair from changing his decision. If anything changes. Dizziness or you feel drowsy, you will come straight back.”
“I will.”
The doctor left, somewhat reluctantly.
“Do you think we should get a second opinion?” Maddie asked. “She doesn’t look happy at the thought of letting me leave.”
“Do you want to stay?” Bull asked. He’d made all the arrangements for her to leave and had been sure that Sinclair knew she had to be healthy enough to move.