The sheriff showed up then and Fo and Luke stood by her as she answered his questions. Fo was horrified and Luke was furious when she glanced at them and then haltingly told the deputy the things Tyree had been threatening to do to her. She could feel the anger roll off of Luke. She was glad Tyree was already locked into the back of the squad car so Luke couldn’t get at him and wondered if he was mad at her as well.
By the time she had answered the sheriff’s questions it was after one o'clock in the morning, and her shoulder was hurting her so badly she could hardly take a deep breath. Luke and Fo saw the officer off and then gently helped her load in to run in to the emergency room to have it checked.
It was her left arm and as they went to pull out, she said tiredly, "You guys both have to work in the morning. I can run myself in. I can drive fine with my right arm." Both of them looked at her as if she was on drugs herself and she said, "Then at least one of you stay here. I don't need both of you."
They talked about it for a minute, and because Fo was the one that had to be in to the very hospital they were headed to the next morning at seven, he got voted to go to bed while Luke took her in. They pulled out and down the gravel road in the deep darkness of early morning and she tried not to wince when he hit a chuckhole. He turned the radio on low and she tried to focus on the music to forget the pain and prayed this trip would go quickly.
The hospital was on the near edge of town and Charlie had never been so thankful for a gentle, steady, strong arm to help her out of the truck in her life. Once inside, the attending physician asked her how she was feeling. When she started to cry again as she hesitantly admitted that she was miserable, Luke put an arm around her shoulders. The doctor hooked her up to an IV and gave her a dose of morphine for the pain even before he sent her to have an MRI taken of her shoulder. The pain relief was so welcome and she was so tired and upset that as soon as the pain subsided, she closed her eyes and went to sleep on the exam bed while Luke stood beside her.
The next thing she could remember, Luke was trying to wake her up to load her back into his truck in the parking lot. On the way home, he started to explain to her what the doctor had said, but then he was waking her up in front of the main ranch house to bring her inside. He brought her one of Angela's silky night gowns that she could get on over the sling they'd put her arm in and then helped her into a vacant guest room. He sent her to bed with the promise that someone would check on her if she needed anything in the night.
****
It was dark. Someone was there. She knew that Tyree was there, but she couldn’t get the light to go on, or move to run. No sound would come out as he suddenly grabbed her. She tried to scream. There was no sound but that of her terrifying struggle. She hit him with the bottle, over and over, but he only laughed and wrenched on her shoulder and she couldn’t scream. She couldn’t scream.
Luke’s quiet voice cut through the fear and his touch helped her to wake up and realize that it was just a nightmare. Pulling her to sit up, Luke sat right on the bed to hug her, telling her over and over that she was okay and that he would be there to protect her. She closed her eyes and clung to him as tried to calm herself. It was only a dream. Luke was here and Tyree wasn’t. She was safe. Luke was here.
With a shuddering breath, she could feel herself calm and settle back into the cottony oblivion of the medicine. Luke was here. He would protect her from Tyree.
In the middle of the night, she woke again and at first didn't know where she was. Between the pain and the strange place and the half awake flashbacks of the night before, just for a few moments she was horribly frightened and cried out. Luke answered her. The sounds of both her voice and his were intensely comforting after so many times trying to scream without being able to.
Struggling to wake, she sat up and put a hand to her chest. She tried to will her heart to stop pounding and her breathing to slow as she realized again that Luke was right there with her in the chair beside her bed.
He touched her and spoke to her quietly, then stood up next to her bed and pulled her over to lean against his chest until her heart quit racing so. He was telling her she was okay again and after a second, she laid back and calmed down, knowing she was fine with him there beside her. Part of it must have been whatever they had given her at the hospital the night before because she wasn't usually the type to be afraid like this.
The pain was brutal again and when she finally was aware of where she was, she went to get up to go to the kitchen to take something. He stopped her with his voice low there in the dark and asked where she was headed.
She let out a big breath. "I have to go take some ibuprofen. I'm dying, Luke." She stood up and then staggered slightly and leaned against the wall for a second while she got her balance.
Reaching for her good elbow, he gently pulled her back. "You get back in the bed and I'll bring you one of the pain pills they sent with you last night."
Absolutely grateful for his gentle care, she carefully eased back onto the mattress. "Thank you, Luke. You're a saint, do you know that?"
A few minutes later when he came back, he handed her a glass of milk and a pill and a couple of pieces of cheese and some crackers on a small plate. "You're going to need to eat with it or it might make you sick." She took it and within only a few minutes she could begin to feel that wonderful weightlessness that helped to ease the pain.
She knew he was still awake with her and when it had dulled to an ache, she tried to turn on her side with a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Luke. For everything. Good night."
Chapter 6
When he knew Charlie was finally sleeping soundly with the pain under control, Luke got up and went to the great room and stretched out on the couch. It was four-fifty in the morning, and though he had cat napped the last couple of hours beside her bed in the recliner, it had been an incredibly long day. And what an amazing day! If only Charlie hadn’t been so harmed.
This morning he'd been engaged and had thought someday he'd end up a CPA off in a city somewhere. After his talk with his dad this evening, he now knew the whole ranch would be left in his own hands one day. He wouldn't be the only owner, but he would be the only one in charge of its stewardship and the feeling that gave him in his heart couldn't even be explained. This land was in his blood and he loved it to his very soul. The thought of someday leaving it had made him heartsick.
And as much as he cared about Lindie, knowing that someday he'd be free to marry someone he chose was like releasing him from a lifetime of bondage. Only knowing what Tuckett had been caught up in, and the fact that Charlie had been assaulted could taint the sweet taste of happiness and freedom he'd been given last night. It made him feel guilty to be so grateful when she was hurt and had been so scared earlier. And he still wanted to string Tyree up. He had to fight down the urge to destroy Tyree every time the attack entered his head.
He thought back to that afternoon weeks ago when he'd picked up the phone to hear Charlie's sweet voice saying something about her mother being a tough bird when she'd called to talk to his dad about coming. He'd had no idea then that that funny phone call would change all of their lives in such a huge way. From the very second she'd shown up here everything seemed to shift in a positive direction. She had to be the most dynamic and yet real girl he'd ever met and he enjoyed her thoroughly.
He considered how he had felt when he'd realized she and Fo weren't a couple. Then that knowledge had been incredibly frustrating because of his commitment to Lindie. Tonight, so much had happened so soon after they had decided to call off getting married that he hadn't even had a chance to explore his feelings, but nothing had ever felt so right as the hug he had given Charlie tonight when she was so scared and hurt.
Thinking again of what had happened with Tyree made him feel sad and angry all over again, but it had been a sweet balm to that sadness to be able to help her at the hospital and then here at the house tonight. Even hurt and drugged, she was good and kind and grateful and he was pretty sur
e he'd been permanently swept off his feet by a happy, quirky girl with long legs and blonde curls. Now he just had to figure out how his whole family could continue to function when she went off to law school this fall. He wasn't sure any of them could live without her anymore.
****
Charlie knew the little girls were here with her, but it was hard to cut through the chemicals in her brain that made her so woozy to tell them good morning. She could hear both Madge and Richard quietly encouraging them to let her rest and then she heard Jamie's cute little voice, but she was so tired. After a while she heard Luke's low, sexy voice and even this out of it she could hear the fatigue in it. He had taken such good care of her last night when she was hurt. The attraction she'd been trying to forget all these weeks had blossomed last night into something warm and sweet that made her want to smile even with her pain medicine and the frightening memories. He was a truly good, truly gorgeous man.
****
She had no idea what time of day it was when she finally woke up. It felt like morning, but the sunshine slanting through the blinds wasn't right somehow. And there were no birds. There were usually tons of birds singing in the morning. She groaned and pulled herself upright and began looking around for her clothes. She could remember Luke handing her Angela's night gown, but that was about it and she really didn't want to parade around the house in it.
The throbbing from her shoulder that had finally woken her ratcheted right up to full blown pain when she sat up, and she decided she'd waltz into the kitchen as is anyway to find some pain medicine. Just as she was about to step out into the hall, she glanced into the adjoining bathroom and saw her clothes. She was relieved until she actually got in there and went to put them on. In the ruckus last night, she'd forgotten she'd been showered in pig milk replacer, not to mention having handled multiple piglets. Her clothes were covered with sticky white spots and smelled like a barn yard.
Seeing a robe on the back of the bathroom door, she opted for it and dropped her clothes back into a wad on the tile. She put one arm into the robe and draping the other side over the sling, ran a hand through her wild curls and headed for the kitchen. The house seemed to be abandoned and the way she looked, she was glad for that as she poured a glass of orange juice and added bread to the toaster.
She was just reaching for the ibuprofen when she heard a sound and looked up to see Chase coming up the stairs from the basement. He still gave her his signature come on look and she rolled her eyes as she went to shake out the pills. He advanced into the kitchen and said, "Hey, Charlie. Heard you had some trouble, huh? Last night. You okay? You look absolutely edible when you wake up."
Charlie laughed half heartedly and shook her head as she glanced down at herself. What an idiot. "Chase, you are a complete dork sometimes. Do you think I could borrow some sweats and a t-shirt?"
"Sure. I'll bet you'll look hot in my clothes. It'll kind of turn me on the next time I wear them."
With the pills half way to her mouth, she stopped and stared at him in disgust. "You know what Chase, never mind. I'd truly rather just walk home in this robe than risk kind of turning you on. Keep your clothes." She took the juice and pills and turned back for the bedroom she'd been sleeping in. What a double idiot.
Luke appeared at the office door as she went to go past. He had a ridiculous grin on his face and she knew he'd heard their exchange. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Please tell me you're not going to say I look edible."
"What and risk being called a complete dork? Actually, you look thrashed. Would you like something stronger than Ibuprofen?"
"Do I have to smoke it?"
He laughed right out loud. "Go back into the kitchen and get your toast and I'll see if I can get Ahnold to go back to pumping himself up in the weight room. Then I'll find you some of Dad's sweats. Even with Tyree gone, you headed across the yard in a nightgown is probably asking for trouble. You do look kind of edible."
She gave him the look. "Stow it, Luke."
He laughed at her again while he was bringing her the little pharmacy bottle of pain pills, and then said to Chase, "I don't get the impression she's in the mood for romance, Chase. You'll have to try later when she's loopy again. Go back downstairs and leave her alone." Chase looked from one to the other of them and then headed back down the stairwell.
She took the pills and said, "Thanks. I think thanks. Now he'll probably be watching to see if I really get looped. Why did you tell him that?"
Luke leaned against the counter and watched her. "I’ll be looking out for you. He knows it. But he left, didn't he? And you have to admit, they do make you pretty snockered."
"Snockered?" She rolled her eyes again and laughed. "You're both nuts. They do not make me snockered."
"Whatever you say, my edible friend. Only don't be around him when they take effect because I'm here to tell you, you're a bit out of your head on them."
"A bit out of my head only sounds marginally better than snockered. Did I do something questionable last night? Why are you hassling me?" She took a bite of her toast.
"You mean you don't remember making a pass at the doctor?"
"Funny Luke. You've been living with Fo too long. I've never made a pass in my life."
"Oh, really? I'm going to remind you you said that if a certain Dr. Greg Nichols calls you today." He didn't look like he was joking and she studied him, wondering what she'd done when she was snockered.
"Um, I didn't even have the pain pills when I was around any doctors did I?"
He shook his head, "No, but they'd given you morphine. It made you just a touch amorous." He grinned again. "You didn't really get all that snockered until we were back here and I gave you some in the night."
She continued to watch him, beginning to get worried. Amorous sounded terrible. Finally, she said, "You can't hold things I did when I was snockered against me. I can't be held responsible when I'm a bit out of my head."
When all he did was laugh and leave to head toward his dad's room, she began to get a lot more worried.
He came back in with the borrowed clothes and then leaned on the counter again and said, "Did you understand any of what Dr. Nichols told us last night? About your shoulder?"
She became slightly paranoid when she couldn't for the life of her even remember this Dr. Nichols; let alone what he'd said or what she’d done. "It's all a bit hazy. Could you remind me?"
He grinned, but didn't tease her anymore. "You're shoulder was dislocated. They call it separated. It's highly painful, but should heal fine. The splint for a week or so and then therapy and you should be good as new. But as soon as it doesn't hurt so badly you need to be moving it. Apparently if you don't start using it after about a week, it will begin to lose mobility permanently. He said it should start to feel better within a few days but those first days are going to be bad. Sorry."
"But no surgery or torn tendons or any of that ugly stuff?"
"No. Which is good. He said shoulders can be tricky, but you were in great condition." He grinned again. "Or maybe what he said was that you had a great figure. Maybe I'm getting it all mixed up."
She swept up her crumbs and picked up her dishes. " Just so you know. I'm planning to be mad at you when I feel better about teasing me when I'm snockered. That's not very fair."
"Who said I was teasing?" He looked at her with a deadpan face for a second and then smiled and headed back into the office and said over his shoulder, "Madge took the kids to a museum for the afternoon, in case you are wondering. For the time being we’re not going to expect you unless we see you, so you can take your time until you feel up to small people. I'll be here in the office all day if you need anything." She heard him chuckle as she went back to the bedroom to change.
Glad Tyree was gone and she could walk straight home, she headed back to her little house. Lindie was in her parents’ garden as she went by and she hugged Charlie and told her how sorry she was for what had happened as she went by. When Charlie got back to her c
abin, she dressed in her own comfortable jams and lay back down. Her shoulder was ridiculously sore and she was grateful for the medicine, even if it did make her snockered. As she fell asleep, she thought again about Luke teasing her. She hoped she hadn’t truly done something questionable last night.
****
She was fighting the bad dreams, trying to wake up again, and needing more pain medicine when Fo knocked on her door and let himself into her house with a steaming plate of dinner. Dragging herself up, she put on a robe and walked out of her bedroom to greet him. She knew she must look a sight when he laughed and said, “Man, Chuck, you looked wasted! You look like you’ve been partying for days.” He gave her another grin and added, “It’s too bad Dr. Nichols can’t see you now. He said hi, by the way.”
Wondering again what had happened at the hospital; she shook out a pill and tossed it back with a glass of milk as she eyed the plate he was carrying. He handed it to her and held her chair for her at her table before going back to the drawer and bringing her silverware. As she began to eat, she admitted to him, “It’s no surprise I look wasted. I keep having these nasty flashback nightmares about Tyree. It must be the medicine. If I didn’t need it so badly, I’d go without just to be able to sleep decently.”
He pulled out a chair across from her and sat down. “Give it some time and hopefully it’ll get better. I was talking to my mom and she told me to tell you hi and to take really good care of you.” He paused for a minute and then continued soberly, “She said something like this could be a big deal emotionally, Charlie. How are you? Honestly?”
She tried to shrug her one good shoulder and act nonchalant about it, but the tears welled up in her eyes unbidden and she had to be more honest with him. “It shook me up so much more than I thought it would.” She started to wipe at her tears with her hand and he got up and handed her a napkin. “Sorry.” She wiped her eyes and was embarrassed as the tears continued to fall as she tried to eat. Finally, she whispered, “I was so scared, Fo. He was so strong. I couldn’t get away from him. That’s the most vulnerable feeling you can ever imagine. It was awful.”
The Outer Edge of Heaven Page 8