When everything was shifted, the unnamed brother left the bathroom, and Haggard shifted me so that I was standing in front of the toilet.
Everything felt wonky as he started to let me go.
I caught ahold of the IV stand and said, “I’m okay.”
I wasn’t.
But there was no way in hell that I was going to go pee with him in here.
Which he knew.
His eyes took in my body, my pain-filled face, and he left.
He didn’t close the door all the way, and I knew that was for my safety.
After I was finished, I stood up and shuffled to the sink, where I washed my hands.
It was there that I saw what ‘broken capillaries’ looked like in my eyes.
I squeaked.
The sound caught the man’s attention that was right outside, and he was by me in a flash.
“What is it?” he rasped.
I swallowed hard and then looked at the rest of my face.
“I look like a vampire…” I paused. “Or a zombie. A vampire zombie.”
He snorted. “Looks worse than it is, according to the doctor. You have burst capillaries in your eyes, causing all the blood from the pressure your body was under when the truck ran over you. You’re bruised from head to toe, but I’m not sure where this burn on your cheek came from. I was studying it while you slept.”
“Drop of oil,” I murmured. “I watched it drop from the oil pan as the truck ran me over.”
His hands, which I hadn’t realized were already fisted at his side, went white as he squeezed them even harder.
But his voice? Yeah, his voice didn’t show a single ounce of anger.
It only showed… something.
Something that I hadn’t ever seen or felt in him before.
It was weird.
I liked it.
I hoped it never, ever went away, either.
“Let’s get you back to bed,” he said quietly. “Your legs are shaking.”
My legs were indeed shaking. I just didn’t think they were shaking for the same reason they were a minute before.
HAGGARD
She looked horrible.
I placed the phone to my ear and waited for him to pick up, knowing he would.
“Haggard?”
“Where the fuck is he?” I growled.
Taos sighed. “I’m looking, but… he’s not here. He’s completely gone, and he’s not at any of his usual spots.”
Madden, it seemed, had taken up drinking at bars.
Bars that were out of town, so nobody knew him.
Bars that looked seedy as hell, and that was saying something, seeing as I wasn’t too picky on where I drank.
My heart literally fucking hurt.
Mostly because though I loved being there for her, it wasn’t me that should be there.
I wasn’t a replacement for her father.
I couldn’t be.
Because I didn’t want her to look at me like I was her father. I wanted her to look at me like I was her man.
“I’m still looking but, all signs point to him not being in town period. Not just here but avoiding us.” He paused. “Haggard…” he hesitated. “You and her…”
I knew what he was about to say, and I didn’t stop him.
I let him finish his sentence.
“You and her?” He formed it as a question. “Do you… are y’all…” He stopped, the question obviously difficult for him to form. Hell, it was difficult for him to think about, but it was even harder for me to get past that block. “Do you…” he sighed. “Are y’all going to be together?”
I waited a beat and then said, “That was painful to listen to.”
“I’m going to break your jaw,” he grumbled.
I had a feeling it wasn’t the fact that I wanted the little girl he’d watched grow up, and instead because he wanted to hurt me for making him ask it.
The smile that hit my face was the first one that I’d felt there in hours.
“Yeah, me and her.” I paused. “I was trying to deny it. Trying to tell myself that it’s not something that I can do… not Madden’s kid. But… after today? I can’t do it anymore. I can’t deny it. I’ve wanted her for a while, and I’m not going to lose her before I’ve even had her.”
There was a long, silent pause, and then, “I can’t say that I didn’t expect this. She’s had a thing for you for a while. Then, when you and Trista called it quits… I just had a feeling it was going to happen eventually.”
I grunted. “Not for lack of denying it on my part, man. She’s…”
She started to stir on the bed, and I looked at the pump that was shooting morphine into her veins to make sure that she didn’t need it pressed again. Seeing no light on, indicating I was allowed to press it again, I studied her face.
“She okay?”
He must’ve realized my inattention was due to her, and not my inability to remember what I was saying.
“She’s moving around,” I admitted. “She’s been asleep for hours. Almost twelve of them.”