by Stacy Eaton
Chapter 17
Josey
A sponge bath, really? Ugh! Yes, I knew I needed to help him with that, but after the thoughts I’d been having about this man, the last thing I wanted to do was wash down his amazing body and not get any satisfaction.
“How about we do a little bit of therapy, and tomorrow morning we get you in the shower?”
He pouted playfully. “I was hoping for a sponge bath.”
“You’re incorrigible,” I commented and heard a knock on the suite door. “Dinner’s here.”
Before he could say anything further, I left the room to answer the door. Marge was waiting with a huge tray of food on the other side.
“Wow, Marge, I would have helped you,” I exclaimed as she entered. Marge was a big woman in stature and girth, and her smile instantly made me want to hug her.
“Don’t you worry about it, sweetie, you have your hands full with Mr. Tucker.”
Marge was setting the tray down on the counter when Tucker called from right outside his bedroom. “Did I hear my name?”
Marge spun around the moment the tray was settled. “Mr. Tucker, my lord, it’s good to see you, son.” She hustled over to him and bent over throwing her arms around him the best that she could. “I’m so glad that you are home. I was so upset when I heard about the accident, and your momma was fit to be tied.”
Tucker laughed as she pulled away. “I bet she was. It’s great to see you, Marge. I’ve missed your cooking.”
“Well, I made your favorite dessert, peach cobbler.”
“A woman after my own heart. I’ve missed you.”
She cradled his face with both hands. “So handsome, I can’t believe you haven’t found yourself a woman to cook for you yet.”
Tucked barked out a laugh. “It hasn’t been from a lack of trying, but no one cooks like you, Marge.”
“Well, it’s good to have you home. I’ll let you two eat, and we’ll catch up soon. Better put this ice cream in the freezer until you’re ready for dessert.”
“Thanks, Marge,” Tucker told her as she squeezed his shoulder and then turned toward the door.
I followed her to thank her. At the door, she whispered, “I’ll give you a copy of all his favorite recipes.” She winked and was gone.
“What did she just say to you?” Tucker asked after I closed the door.
“She told me to make sure you ate all your vegetables.”
He snorted, “She did not.”
“She did. How are you feeling sitting up? Do you want to try to eat from your chair, or should we get you back into bed first?”
“I’d like to stay in my chair, eat like a regular person.”
“Do you think eating in bed makes you not a regular person?”
“No, I’m just tired of being in bed all the time. I got a good nap, my pain is manageable, so I’d like to stay in the chair for a little while.”
“Alright, sounds good. I’m starving, and this smells so good.” I set the food around the table after removing one of the chairs and setting it off to the side so he could wheel himself up to it. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he tried to situate himself without knocking his left leg which his brace kept straight.
He grunted once when he hit it on the opposite chair but shifted himself so that he was situated as close as he could be. While I got a few things from our kitchen, he waited patiently for me to return to the table.
“Go ahead and eat, you don’t have to wait for me,” I said.
“Sorry, but my parents taught me a few things. One is to never eat standing up, unless you have to, and the other is to always wait until everyone is at the table before starting.”
I sat down. “Your parents instilled good values in you.” Tucker smiled my way but didn’t say anything further as he dug into his steak and potatoes. “My god, this steak is amazing.”
He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Home grown, baby. The best angus beef around.”
“You guys have cows here, too? Not just horses?”
“Yeah, the herd is smaller than it used to be, but we do have some.”
“Wow! Did you used to work on the ranch? Is that where you started working?”
“No, I was working on the ranch when I was old enough to walk. I had daily chores to do with the livestock and the horses before I went to school. When I was fourteen, I started working at Tractor Supply, stocking shelves, but I still had chores to do here at home, plus my schoolwork.”
“I feel really lazy compared to you. I didn’t start working until I was sixteen and that was at the mall. My parents never really gave me any chores, other than keeping my room clean and putting my dishes in the dishwasher.”
“Your parents didn’t ask you to help around the house?”
“Nope, not really. Maybe once in a while, but my mom just pretty much did everything until I was seventeen, and then she died in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry, Josey. I didn’t know,” Tucker said tenderly.
“That’s okay. Yes, it was sad, and I miss my mother, but that was thirteen years ago. I’ve learned to deal with it.”
“What about your father?” he asked as he cut another piece of meat.
“Dad’s around. He kind of lost himself after she died, began traveling for business more. I see him once in a while if he comes to New York, but mostly we trade emails every once in a while.”
“I can’t imagine that. If I didn’t speak with my mother at least once a week, she’d lose her mind, and when I speak to her, I always end up on the phone with my father, too.”
“Your parents are amazing, Tucker. No, let me correct that, your family is amazing. I love your sister, too.”
“Yeah, she was pretty fond of you.” Tucker glanced toward the door. “Speaking of my parents, did my mother come back to see me while I was sleeping?”
“Um, no. I guess she got busy and maybe she was worried that you’d had too much stress today. I’m sure she will visit later.”
“Yeah, probably.” Tucker seemed a little bit down the rest of the meal. I’d already wondered myself why Gloria hadn’t visited Tucker, but it wasn’t my place to say anything.
“So what’s on the schedule for tomorrow?” Tucker asked as he pushed his plate back.
I noticed him clenching his jaw. I glanced at my watch and realized it was about time for pain medicine.
“Are you done eating?” He nodded. “Okay, let’s get you back to bed, and then we can talk about tomorrow. It’s about time for your medication.”
“How did you know I was starting to hurt?”
“I’m getting to know your facial expressions, and the tick-tick-tick in your jaw muscles usually tells me you’re angry or the pain is starting to kick in.”
I stood and Tucker grabbed my wrist. “I don’t know if I have told you this already, but thank you, Josey—for everything you have done for me.”
I squeezed his shoulder as I stepped around him. “You’re welcome, Tucker. Let’s get you to bed, and I’ll get your meds. We can wait for that to kick in before we have dessert.”
“You didn’t forget to put the ice cream in the freezer, right?” Tucker glanced up and back at me.
“Nope, I put it in the freezer as soon as she left.”
“Good, man Marge is the best.”
I pushed him into the bedroom and helped him get back in bed. After I retrieved his medicine and gave him the pills, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
“I’ll let you rest for a few minutes while those kick in. I’m going to go clean up our dishes.”
“’Kay,” he mumbled as he began to lightly doze off.
An hour later, I was back in the chair in his room, making notes of our day when he woke up.
“Wow, I didn’t think I’d fall asleep again.”
“It’s been a busy day,” I replied.
“Did you eat all the cobbler?” he asked suddenly.
“I did not. I saved you one bite.” He glared at me until I star
ted laughing, “Of course I didn’t eat it. I was waiting for you to wake up.”
“Good, go put it in the microwave for about twenty seconds, and then put two big scoops of ice cream on it.”
“Okay.” I did as he asked, inhaling the heavenly scent as I carried it back to him.
He patted the bed beside his good leg. “Sit here, you can feed me.”
I quirked a brow. “You do know that your arms are not broken or paralyzed. You can feed yourself.”
“Yeah, but it will be more fun if you do it.”
“What are you, like, two?” I joked as I got settled on the side of the bed.
“Sometimes,” he grinned.
I could just imagine how ornery he would have been as a toddler. As I scooped up a big bite, I imagined a miniature Tucker running around. I stopped with the spoon halfway out of the bowl.
“Is something wrong?”
“What?” I jumped, almost spilling the dessert on the bed, “Oh, sorry, no. I was thinking about something.” I held the spoon out to him and watched as he leaned forward and wrapped his lips around it. His eyes rolled back into his head and the sound that vibrated through his chest almost had me panting with need.
“Just as good as I remembered,” he commented after he finished moaning and swallowed. He took the bowl out of my hands. “Your turn.”
“I’m capable of feeding myself, you know.”
“Yeah, but it’s more fun when someone feeds you. Now, open up. I promise you are going to love this.”
He held the overflowing spoon out to me, his other hand catching a drip of the ice cream as it melted off the warm cobbler. “Open up.”
Slowly, I leaned forward and took the bite, our eyes remained locked on one another until his gaze dropped to my lips around the spoon.
Oh god! No wonder he was moaning. Holy moly! My own moan rolled out of my chest, and I put my hand over my mouth. “This is incredible,” I said after I swallowed. The sweet fruit and spices exploded in my mouth and down my throat.
He handed me the bowl without a word, and I scooped another mouthful for him, holding it out to him. Two drops of ice cream dripped into my palm before he put the food in his mouth. He took hold of my wrist before I could pull away, and brought my hand to his mouth, where he delicately licked the ice cream droplets off my hand.
Forget the spoon. I was about to dump the bowl over my head and allow him to lick the entire contents off of me. A shaky breath left my open mouth as I remained frozen.
“Josey,” he said softly and began to lean forward as if he were going to kiss me, but a second later, his father walked into the room.
“Tucker, welcome home!”
Chapter 18
Tucker
Seriously? My dad had to walk in at that exact moment? Don’t get me wrong, I was glad he was here to visit me, but he could have waited a few more minutes. Nothing like being cock-blocked by your old man when you were in your thirties. Damn.
Josey jumped off the bed so quickly she knocked the cobbler bowl onto the floor. “Mr. Wheatcraft!”
“Sorry, kids. I knocked, but no one answered. Hope it’s alright that I came in.”
“It’s your house, Dad,” I told him.
Josey spun away so my father wouldn’t see her cheeks turning bright pink. Oh, she knew what I had intended on doing, and she’d wanted it. I had seen it in her eyes.
My dad came further into the room, glancing toward Josey who was busy trying to clean up the mess. “I can send Marge in to take care of that, Josey.”
“That’s alright. I have it.” She stood, shot him a nervous smile, and darted from the room.
“She didn’t seem like a jumpy person when I met her at the hospital. Did I interrupt something?”
Yeah, you interrupted our first kiss. “No, I think you just surprised her. She’s probably embarrassed that she dropped food on the floor. She’ll be fine.”
My father gave me a good looking-over, probably seeing the bullshit through my words. I doubt he missed how close we had been sitting when he stepped into the room.
“If you say so.”
“Thanks for coming to see me. Where’s Mom? I haven’t seen her since I arrived.”
My dad looked uncomfortable for a split second. “She’s not feeling well and didn’t want to be around you if she was coming down with something. The last thing you need is to be sick on top of everything else you are dealing with.”
“Yeah, probably a good idea.” His response made sense.
“Is there anything you all need?” he asked as he glanced around and, for a second, his eye landed on the wheelchair in the corner.
“No, we’re doing fine. I think we have a busy schedule tomorrow, a few doctors and therapy appointments to get to. Thanks for the awesome transportation from New York, by the way.”
My dad grinned, “Of course. I wanted to make sure you got back here safely. Well, I’m going to leave you for the night. I have a few calls to make, but I’ll see you tomorrow. I won’t be working from dawn to dusk tomorrow, hopefully.”
“Sounds good, Dad. Thanks for checking on me, and for letting me come home.”
My father paused, “Tuck, this is your home, and you are always welcome here, no matter what. You got that?”
There was something in his tone that I didn’t quite get, but I replied like I did, “Yeah, I got it.”
“Well, good night then.” He headed out and I heard him speaking with Josey for a few moments before it grew quiet in the living room area.
Josey finally wandered in with a wet cloth and went to wiping the floor. “Hey, Josey, you alright?”
“What? Yeah, of course I am.” She stood and tried to smile, but it looked strained.
“Come here,” I patted the side of the bed, and she stared at the spot for a second.
“It’s probably better if I don’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m here to help you, Tucker, and sitting on your bed sharing dessert with you is not part of that package. Taking you to the doctors’, helping you learn to care for yourself, assisting with your therapy, that’s what I’m here for.”
“Are you saying this because I almost kissed you?”
“What?” she sputtered, and her cheeks colored again. “No, that has nothing to do with it.” She paused and shook her head for a second, “Okay, so maybe it does have something to do with it. Tuck, I can’t cross that line with you, not now.”
I’m not sure why I was pissed about that answer. “Not now? Does that mean later you can?”
She looked uneasy. “No.”
“What the hell, Josey?”
She sighed, “Look, it’s been a really long day, and I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m just tired. Why don’t we call it a night? I’ll help you get ready for bed, and then I’m going to get a few hours of sleep before you need more medicine.”
She did look tired, and maybe that was it, but as she left the room, I wondered if there was something else.
Twenty minutes later, she had assisted me with brushing my teeth, washing my face, and left a container beside the bed for me to use if I needed to urinate in the next few hours. She made sure to turn on the intercom between our rooms and connected the hand control to the rail of my bed which she had put up so I wouldn’t accidentally fall out of bed. Not that that was likely, I couldn’t roll over by myself easily.
“If you need me, call me,” she said as she stood at the threshold. “The TV remote is on the side table, and you have something to drink. I’ll set my alarm to check on you in three hours and give you more medicine. If you need something before then, just call out for me. I’m a light sleeper, so I’ll hear you.”
“Okay,” I replied and watched her leave. Something was up, and it was more than me trying to kiss her. Had my father said something to her when he went out there?
I turned on the television and flipped through the channels for a while before I found a movie I hadn’t seen and settled back to watch
it.
I must have fallen asleep because I woke with a start and, in doing so, I must have involuntarily jerked my leg. One of the sharpest pains I had felt since the accident had me gasping for breath, and I tried to find the call button for Josey.
It was then, as I lay there, that I realized what had awakened me. I had been dreaming of the incident. The sound of the gun going off had shattered my peace. I could almost hear the echo in the room around me, and a few seconds later, Josey was there.
“Tuck, what’s wrong?” She put the side of the bed down and reached for me. “What happened?”
I was gasping for breath as the pains continued. “Pain… can’t breathe.”
Josey disappeared from my side, but I heard her in the bathroom, and a second later, she was back. I felt a pinch in my arm and then the rush of the pain medication. Within a few seconds, the pain began to ebb, and I was finally able to fill my lungs.
Josey put something on my chest. When I opened my eyes, I saw her listening to my heart with her stethoscope. She shifted it to listen to my lungs. “Is the pain better?”
“Yeah,” I murmured as the meds began to take me away. I thought she said something else, but I was back to sleep in a few seconds.
When I woke up again, a nightlight illuminated the room from the corner. I could just make out Josey asleep in the chair across from me. Knowing that she was there helped ease my mind, and I fell right back asleep again.
“Tuck,” I heard Josey’s soft voice calling me from my sleep. “Tuck, I need you to wake up and take your pain meds before the pain gets too bad again.”
She sat me up and put two pills against my bottom lip. I instinctively took them into my mouth and sucked on the straw that appeared at my lips. Without another thought, I was back asleep.
When I woke up next, dawn was breaking over the horizon, and I could just make out the sounds of a rooster by the barn calling out. I glanced at the chair and found it empty. I wondered if Josey had gone back to bed finally, or if she was doing something else.
I grabbed the bottle she’d left beside the bed and took care of business as carefully as I could. I wasn’t able to get to the sink to wash my hands, but she’d left wet wipes for me to use. They were better than nothing.