Apparently, some delusions are happening in my near-death state because the last thing I see before everything goes black is a big furry object lying on my gut.
Chapter Seventeen
Molly
The doc says Fluffy is going to be OK. She will need to be carefully supervised until she delivers those pups.
I stayed with her at the emergency animal clinic all night and then drove her down to our regular vet as soon as his office was open.
The receptionist stood up when she saw me carrying Fluffy’s box in the door and helped me bring her straight back. The kind vet took the poor Bichon straight away to an exam table and calmed her immediately with his steady tone. “Easy girl. Don’t give up on us now. We haven’t found homes for all your babies yet.”
He’s decided to keep her there until she delivers, and he’s told me to go home and sleep, promising to call me if anything changes.
She’s in good hands, and I can’t argue with that.
As I drive home I think about going straight over to see Daniel. He’ll want to hear all about it.
I glance at the clock on the dash. It’s nine a.m. No point in sleeping now. I need a shower and dogs need feeding and tending to. I pull up to my gate and punch in the code as I contemplate whether to bring Daniel muffins or scones. And whether I should show up naked.
As soon as I pul
l into my driveway, I see something terribly wrong. Dolly is lying on top of a lump in the grass that doesn’t belong there. The other dogs are running all around, barking up a storm. Moving closer, I see it’s a lump with legs. Closer still and I realize it’s Daniel.
The air in my lungs feels like fire.
I hop out of the truck and bolt towards him. My hands tremble when I check his pulse. It’s weak, and he doesn’t respond when I shout his name and slap his cheeks. I don’t think twice; I run into the house to call 9-1-1.
I still can’t remember where I put my fucking iPhone and god knows where my flip phone is. The cruel irony is that by using a landline, the dispatcher doesn’t need a detailed explanation of my location and is able to send someone right away, but the bad part is, I can’t stay on the phone with them and observe Daniel’s condition at the same time. Being anti-cell phone is no longer cute or quirky; it might mean Daniel is going to die because of wasted minutes.
Crouching down on the grass next to him, I hold his hand while we wait for the first responders. I run my fingers through his hair. I try not to cry. Dolly refuses to move and I’m afraid of what she is hiding underneath.
“Daniel, you’re going to be all right. You have to be, because I never got to tell you I love you. I mean it. If you leave me, I’m going to be so pissed.”
Chapter Eighteen
Daniel
I wake up flat on my back with a pain in my gut that feels like the time I had food poisoning, only ten times worse.
It’s too bright to comfortably open my eyes, plus my head doesn’t feel that awesome either. Around me there is beeping, and voices. So I’m not dead, but I am in the hospital.
An official-sounding person, probably a doctor, is talking to someone, not me, about my gunshot wound.
My eyes fly open. “I was shot?”
“Baby! You’re awake!” I look to my left and it’s Molly. The sight of her eases all the pain in my gut and in my head. My mouth opens to speak but it’s so dry, no sound comes out.
My hand instinctively goes to her, and she takes it. Even that small movement sends pain through my abdomen. And yet the touch of her softness floods me with relief. But something is wrong. My girl’s eyes are leaking. My lips form the words, “What’s wrong?”
Molly’s chin quivers and she replies hoarsely, “I thought I lost you. I thought you’d left me before I got the chance to tell you… I love you, Daniel.”
A nurse comes at me with a cup of water but Molly takes it. She tries to hold it for me to sip from like a toddler, but fuck that. I try to sit up.
“No, don’t,” she says.
I grudgingly let her hold my head up and hold the cup to my lips. I take a sip and finally I can croak out the words, “I love you too, Molly. And you can stop your crying. I’m too ornery to die. Who would drive you crazy, if not me?”
She does this adorable laugh while she’s still crying, but it seems more tears are coming. It hurts not to hold her.