His vaguely menacing tone would have scared the life out of her if she hadn’t been able to see that she’d shaken him to his core. “I’m so sorry, Cal,” she whispered, lifting a trembling hand to lightly touch his scruffy jaw.
“Oh, you’re not sorry yet, but you’re going to be,” he promised, his body going rock solid as she touched him. “I don’t know what I’m more pissed about, Princess. The fact that you nearly got yourself killed again tonight or the fact that you’ve been lying to me.”
Her heartbeat quickened in her chest as she noted his turbulent eyes and tight face. “Cal, I didn’t lie,” she denied quickly. “I might not have been completely forthcoming, but…”
“Some motherfucker has been sending you…my fuckin’ woman… threatening notes and you’ve been fucking hiding it, Melody! Do not try my patience now by attempting to convince me that you should get away with it on a fuckin’ technicality! Did you lie to my face? No. But you sure as all fuck haven’t been totally honest either, have you?” he shouted angrily, shoving away from her to pace the length of the room. “I almost lost you again, Mel! All because you’re as willful as a fussy toddler and refuse to let me protect you!”
“No, I refuse to let you smother me, Cal. There’s a big difference,” she muttered, instantly knowing she’d said the wrong thing when his almost violent eyes flashed with hurt.
“Smothered you,” he breathed, his voice shaking with disbelief. “You’ve got some psycho breathing down your neck, and you think that I’m the problem here?”
“No!” she shook her head, wincing in pain at the way the movement caused her head to throb. Grabbing the side of her head, she inhaled deeply, willing the pain and nausea to ebb. “It’s just that sometimes – while you’re seeing to my safety – you forget that I’m a woman that’s been accustomed to dealing with my problems on my own in my own way. Brad certainly never concerned himself with…”
“For the last fuckin’ time, Melody,” Cal cut her off coldly, “I am not Brad Weller. I don’t look like him. I don’t sound like him. And based on the fact that your body acted like it had never had an orgasm before a few weeks ago, I don’t fuck like him.”
Melody recoiled. “I know you’re angry, but you don’t need to be vulgar, Callum.”
“Evidently, I do since you don’t seem to pay attention when I coddle your delicate sensibilities,” he exploded.
His loud voice seemed to echo inside her aching head and it brought tears to Melody’s eyes. It was clear that if she didn’t find a way how to manage the roaring macho masculine moron raging at her bedside, her head was going to explode. “Please quit shouting,” she whimpered, lifting her hand to press against her bruised temple as tears filled her eyes.
“Shit,” Cal cursed softly, his face instantly a mask of regret as he moved quickly back to her side, brushing her hand away so that he could stroke the angry bruise with his thumb. “I’m sorry, baby,” he apologized, using his thumb to tenderly brush one of the teardrops that had escaped her eye away. “Don’t cry. If you cry, the pain is just gonna get worse, and then one of those gaggle of nurses outside are gonna give me hell. Not an excuse, but you scared me; I’ll get a handle on it though, baby,” he swore. “I won’t get loud any more… at least not until your head can handle the sound,” he amended, bending to press his lips against her warm forehead.
“Don’t be too easy on her,” a sandy-haired man wearing a starched white coat said wryly from the open doorway. “I’d be pissed off, too, if my wife went out and almost got herself made into a hood ornament.”
“And if you yelled at me like that man just did while I was recovering from a concussion, you’d be sleeping on the couch for a month,” a pretty woman in pink scrubs retorted, shooting a censuring glare toward Cal as she followed what Melody assumed was her doctor into the room.
Shooting startled eyes at Cal, she relaxed slightly when he offered her a slight smile.
“It’s okay, babe. That’s your doctor and his nurse,” Cal reassured her with a wink as he held her hand.
“I’m also his wife as you might have guessed already,” the woman added with a smirk, shooting her husband an obviously fond look. “Millie Daniels,” she introduced herself, patting Melody’s leg as she reached for the patient’s wrist and took her pulse while her husband grabbed the chart from the end of the bed.
“And I’m Dr. Mack Daniels, but most folks around here just call me Doc. Give me a minute to look over your test results, and we’ll get started on me telling you how lucky you are to still be here. Maybe you’ll listen to your man then,” the man in the white coat shared grumpily as his finger moved down the page of the clipboard.
Millie snorted. “While you might find his bedside manner to be a little lacking, he’s a pretty great doctor,” she soothed an alarmed-looking Melody before rolling her jade colored eyes at the distracted doctor. “And I’m not just saying that because he’s my husband. I’m talking as a nurse right now. If I were talking about my husband, I’d agree that he’s acting like a horse’s ass,” she said meaningfully, meeting the doctor’s eyes when they lifted to narrow at her.
Melody laughed at the couple’s antics as she felt the calming feel of Cal’s thumb stroking the top of her hand. “How bad is the damage?” she asked a tad nervously, looking at the forbidding doctor standing at the end of her bed.
“Well, my specialty is delivering babies, but all doctors on staff here do monthly rotations through the ER as part of our contract with the hospital. And I’d say it’s my professional opinion based on my examination and all your test results that you’re one lucky-ass woman. As I’m sure this guy has informed you,” he continued, nodding at where Cal perched on the chair beside her bed, “Your injuries could have been a whole lot worse. As it stands, you’ve got a mid-grade concussion and some bruising and contusions over one side of your face and body. In short, it was one of the lighter cases of road rash that I’ve seen. You also had a gash in your forehead that required a handful of stitches which we took care of while you were slightly sedated. Those can come out in ten days or so. Otherwise, you’re still in one unbroken piece. It’s gonna be a real sore piece for a few days, but it’s all still fully intact. Based on what your man has shared with me, you might wanna give some serious consideration to listenin’ to both him and me and not making any snap decisions about your safety that could affect your continued health. Less than a month ago, you’re in here for anaphylactic shock from eating a freaking cookie that contained some form of peanuts. It’s my understanding that cookie might have been sent to you by somebody that intended to do you harm. Tonight, you nearly get mowed down by a speeding car. You’ve been getting threatening letters. Lady, at some point, your luck runs out. Let your man take care of you while you recover and for Christ sake, listen to him and stay safe. Otherwise, next time I see you, I might be sending your body to the morgue instead of releasing you into Mr. Valentine’s custody,” Dr. Daniels lectured, his deep voice stern and serious.
Giving Cal big eyes, Melody whispered, “He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, does he?”
“Nope,” Millie and Cal both said in unison.
“I tend to try and keep all my patients hale and whole, Miss Reardon, and I’ve got this feeling in my gut that says sugarcoating wouldn’t grab your attention. You see, I like my patients to notice me and pay attention when I’m trying to save their lives,” the doctor stated mildly, unperturbed by her comment. “You seem like a nice lady, and given the fact that your guy here nearly threatened to gut me if I made any errors with your case when he learned I wasn’t a trauma surgeon, but a lowly OB-GYN, I thought it’d be in all our best interests to be as clear as crystal with you.”
“Sorry about that, Doc,” Cal mumbled, staring down at the fingers he had laced through Melody’s. “My girl means the world to me.”
“Hey, I don’t blame you. I would be the same way if this shit was happening with my own wife…and she’d probably be just as hardheaded,” Dr. Daniels r
eturned evenly with a knowing look in the nurse’s direction. “Believe me, no apologies are necessary.” Turning his attention back to his patient, he went on. “At any rate, I’m agreeing to release you tonight on the condition that you agree to take it easy for the next 48 hours, let your boyfriend wake you every two hours and ask you a few basic questions, and you take your pain meds without a hassle. Come tomorrow, you’re gonna feel like you got hit by a semi. Don’t be a hero; take the medication without giving your old man shit. I don’t care if you do think you need to be at your store stocking shelves for your grand opening, take a day off. Seriously.”
“How’d he know I was opening a store?” Melody asked Cal out the side of her mouth.
“This is Paradise,” the doctor mocked. “Everybody tells everything to their doctor in this town. I even heard through the grapevine that Honor was making a triple-layer cake for this shindig you’re having. That true?”
“Uh huh,” Melody answered slowly as the doctor dropped a prescription for painkillers in Cal’s hand.
“I’ll be there then,” he stated with a satisfied nod.
Millie grinned when her patient shot her a confused look. “Honor’s cakes are the bomb.”
“Oh,” Melody responded weakly, not knowing anything else to say at that moment.
Dropping her chart back into the metal holder at the end of her bed, Dr. Daniels clasped his hands in front of him and stared at her. “So, in closing, you need rest, relaxation, and to stop doing crazy shit that nearly gives that guy,” he said, jabbing a finger in Cal’s direction, “a stroke.”
“Got it,” Melody agreed softly, carefully nodding her head.
“Great. We’ll step out and let you get dressed. Millie will be back with your discharge paperwork and some bandages for you to do your wound care at home. You’ll need to change the dressing on your head once a day for the first three days. Then, you can leave the dressings off completely. Just put some antibiotic ointment over the stitches and leave the wound uncovered.”
“Yes, sir,” Melody agreed again, more than a little eager to get out of the hospital bed and go home with Cal. She couldn’t wait to go home and slide into a hot shower. Hospitals always left her feeling grimy and out of sorts. Relieved to see the doctor nod at her and move toward the exit, Melody turned her head and found Millie’s kind eyes staring at her.
“I’ll be back in two shakes, hon.” Glancing toward Cal, the nurse added, “Are you good to help her get dressed?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay, then. Don’t give her any more grief tonight, okay? Tomorrow is soon enough for you two to argue over who exactly did what wrong. Tonight, you both need to rest and give thanks that this didn’t have a far worse outcome.”
Both Melody and Cal nodded as Millie offered them a last smile before departing the room. Waiting until the nurse had cleared the doorway, Melody turned her head toward Cal. “I really am sorry that I didn’t say something sooner about the notes. You might not believe me, but I was going to confess everything tonight.”
“Knew that, babe,” Cal acknowledged softly, reaching for the slacks Melody had worn earlier that were now draped over the back of his chair. “Swing your legs around here, and we’ll slide your pants on.”
Moving slowly, she did as Cal instructed. Staring at his averted face, she bit her lip as he slid her trousers over her feet and up her legs. “You knew? How?”
“You told Honor about them. After she heard you were hurt tonight, Honor called and filled in Zeke on your conversation this afternoon. He told me while we were waiting for you to get done with your cat scan. Not gonna lie; I still wanna spank your ass for not telling me when it happened, but I know you were gonna come clean tonight and tell me everything.”
“To be clear, the second note only came after I talked to Honor and Harmony this afternoon. So, there was really only one threat that I didn’t tell you about, Cal,” Melody explained as the man she loved slid her ballet flats on her bare feet.
Looking up from his chore, Cal shook his head wearily. “Melody, that’s still one thing too many that I didn’t know. Can you see that?”
“Yes,” she whispered guiltily. “I can.”
“How would you feel if I hid things from you? Important things?” Cal questioned, his voice stark.
“I’d feel betrayed – like you didn’t trust me enough to confide in me,” she answered truthfully as it sank in just how badly she’d screwed up.
“Yeah, that about sums up my current mindset, too,” he confirmed, rising from his chair to stand beside the bed as he reached behind her neck for the tie to her hospital gown. “Honestly, Melody, I’m not sure what else I can do to prove to you that you’re my end game, baby. My forever. Every time you put yourself in danger… every time I see you in a fuckin’ hospital bed, I feel like the skin is being flayed off my body. I feel like you’re trying to take away my forever, Mel. And that shit really stings. I don’t think you get that I’d do anything to keep you safe, and when you’re in danger….” He trailed off, lapsing into silence. “Maybe you just don’t want this as much as I do.”
Sinking her teeth into her trembling bottom lip as he slid the simple hospital shift down her arms, setting it aside as he reached for her sweater, Melody wondered how to repair this rift between them. Callum had somehow become the single most important person in her life over the last couple of months. Knowing she’d hurt him gutted her. “Please, Cal, don’t say that. It isn’t true.” she murmured as he carefully slid her arms through the sleeves and helped her slide the sweater over her head, “I do want this. Don’t give up on me.”
“Give up on you?” he whispered back, his eyes widening in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“It sounds like you’re getting ready to leave me. To up and walk away because I screwed up. Again, I know,” Melody sniffled, her eyes clouding up with tears again. “I realize that I’m not good at this relationship stuff. You’re mad and frustrated. Rightfully so, too. But, I swear, I’ll try harder. Because what I realized tonight when that stupid car was racing toward me and my feet were frozen to the pavement was that I didn’t wanna leave you. I didn’t want to die and have to leave you. My whole life flashed before my eyes and I saw that until you walked into mine, I wasn’t really living. I was existing, making the best of what I had – even if what I had was a man that didn’t deserve me. The day you bulldozed your way into my life, though, that’s the moment I think I really took my first deep breath. I’d been sleeping my way through life, and you woke me up. Made me feel all those things that – if I’d really been in love with Brad – I would have experienced with him.”
“Melody…”
“So, yes, that means I love you. And I’m terribly sorry if I’m putting you on the spot, and I don’t expect you to feel the same way, but I can’t not say it to you. Life’s too short. I love you. I mean, I really love you, Callum. I love you in that way a woman should love the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Don’t let my stubbornness and stupidity ruin us now that I’ve finally gotten my head out of my ass,” she begged, her eyes watering as his granite jaw relaxed and he shook his head.
“Baby, did that blow to your head knock a screw loose in your noggin?” he asked a little worriedly, moving to cup her pale cheeks. “I’m not leaving you. I’m never leaving you.”
“But you said…”
“I said I didn’t know how to get through to you about what it does to me when you take risks like not telling me some asshole is still threatening you. Never once did I threaten you with leaving. Don’t you see yet that I could no more walk away from your ass than I could sprout wings and fly to the moon? Jesus, woman,” he groaned, running an exasperated hand over the top of his head. “Can’t you see that I’m in love with you, too? That until I found you I was just wandering through life? You saved me from a lifetime of loneliness. Do you think I’d ever willingly give you up?”
“I…”
“The
answer is no, I wouldn’t. You’re mine, baby. You’ve been mine since RJ handed me your picture sitting in our tent in the middle of a warzone. You just didn’t know it quite yet.”
“Yeah?” Melody exhaled shakily when her swimming eyes met his as a wave of sweet relief washed over her. He loved her. He’d said it. Out loud. To her. And she could tell by the look of unwavering certainty shining in his eyes that these weren’t words he was throwing out there in the heat of the moment just to calm her down.
Nope, he meant what he said.
Just like she did.
Weirdly, amid the feelings of joy that he felt the same way she did and liberation that she’d been able to confess her love for him without hurling all over his shoes, she also realized that she felt a tiny bit ashamed. Oh, not of Cal or anything she felt for them. No, she was embarrassed that she hadn’t been smart enough to figure out that the reason she’d always felt as though something was missing with Brad was because a key ingredient HAD actually been missing in their relationship.
Love.
Oh, she’d cared about her ex when she’d been with him. She’d even thought that she’d loved him. She’d said it to him, too, and she actually hadn’t known she was lying to him.
But she had been.
Because what she’d felt while she’d been with Brad had been a pale, empty imitation of what she experienced when she was with Cal.
With Cal there wasn’t any of the empty achiness she’d felt in her heart before he steamrolled his way into her life. There was no gaping void inside her heart any longer. Cal filled every nook and cranny.
“Babe, as much as I wish we could stand here all night and talk about our feelings, there’s some other important stuff we need to discuss,” he added gently. “Zeke is checking out your ex-dickhead’s alibi for tonight as we speak, but he pointed out something to me tonight that disturbed me and made me think that maybe we’ve been looking in the wrong direction.”
Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) Page 24