Holton tried to hold back his laughter but he couldn’t help it.
“Oh, that’s real great!” she yelled, frustrated.
“Baby,” Holton said as he kneeled down beside her at the couch. “Trust me when I tell you this, I’m frustrated as hell, too. You can’t imagine how hard it is for me to see you naked and not touch you. I am going crazy here. But you are forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?” Elena questioned, sadly.
“I saw you there in that hospital bed.”
“What’s that have to do with anything?”
“Everything. I thought you were going to die, Elena. My whole life was there that day in room 223. I was in the room, holding your hand, bending toward your ear telling you how much I loved you. I was telling you that and then your heart stopped.”
Elena gasped and looked into his eyes. Tears were there, and she could see the pain in them.
“I don’t care how long it takes, Elena. I will wash you for the next twenty years, I will feed you by hand if I have to for the next four, but please…don’t do anything stupid because you have to wait.”
Elena nodded, sniffling. “Okay,” she said, crying. “I won’t.”
“Okay, baby?” Holton cried.
“Yes. Can you just do one thing for me?”
Holton moved to the couch and sat right next to her as close as he could without making her uncomfortable. “What’s that?”
“Can you take off your clothes?”
Holton chuckled. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” she said, smiling. “You’ve seen me a million times.”
“You want me to just take off my clothes?”
“Yes.”
Holton laughed and looked from his left and then to his right.
“What are you looking for?”
“People.”
“What people? It’s just you and me, you big goof!”
“I’m waiting for Ashton Kutcher to run out or something.”
“I’m waiting,” Elena laughed, looking at him.
“Well you can’t laugh,” he said as he stood up.
“Okay I won’t laugh. Just take them off.” Elena licked her lips and smiled.
“I can’t tell you how stupid I feel right now.”
“Put some music on if it helps,” Elena joked.
“So, now I’m just a common stripper to you?”
Holton took a deep breath and started with the buttons on his shirt. “I have to get a shower anyway. You know I am dirty.”
“How dirty are you?” Elena asked. Holton chuckled.
“You are ridiculous. I am very dirty…in fact. I have worked all day.”
“Then maybe you should wheel me into the bathroom so I can watch you take a bath.”
“Men don’t take baths, honey. We take showers.”
“Maybe just this once you could take a bath,” Elena coaxed.
“You play a very unfair game, my dear.”
“I didn’t know there were rules, Holton,” she said sweetly. She smiled as he undid a few more buttons. He pulled the shirt off and stood there looking embarrassed and bare-chested. He had a gorgeous body. It wasn’t one of those bodies that you got from working out in a gym, but one that you got from doing actual work—hard work from ranching.
Holton smiled at her and winked. Elena laughed. “Are you sure you are ready for this? I feel like a pervert.”
“Just take your pants off, Holton!”
“Wow, testy… Okay.” Holton reached for the button on his pants and then undid the zipper. Slowly he slid them off, standing just in his boxers.
“Well I guess that answers that question,” Elena said coyly.
“Oh yeah? That wasn’t one of the 20 questions.”
“If I remember right,” Elena replied, “we only got to 4 or 5.”
“I think it was 4.”
“Keep going.”
“You are a slave driver, woman.”
Holton took the waist band of his boxers and pushed down. He was blissfully naked and erect.
“Wow,” Elena breathed with a lopsided smile on her face. Holton shook his head.
“Why do I feel like one of those dancers that you women pay a few bucks to shake it?”
“You are gorgeous, Holton. Can I touch you?”
Holton looked into her eyes and walked toward her. “You are killing me, Elena.”
“Please! Just let me touch it. I have never…”
“I know, baby. Don’t you want to wait?”
“No. I don’t want to wait. If I wasn’t in this stupid brace would you want to wait?”
Holton shook his head, understanding. “No. If I had the okay from your doctor right now I would be all over you.”
Elena smiled. “Then come here. You can share this blanket with me.”
Holton came over, and when she was finished, they both had a smile on their faces.
Two hours later, Holton was holding Elena in his arms watching TV when he reminded her that the wedding was that weekend.
“I really think I’ll just stay here, Holt.”
“Nope. I need you there,” he replied, stunning her.
“What?”
“You’re going.”
“No…no I’m not.”
“Why? Do you have a hot date?”
“No.”
“Yes you do, me!”
Elena laughed. “No I don’t. I’m not going.”
Holton was getting a bit irritated now. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to go. I don’t know anyone there and I really don’t feel like sitting there with a bunch of people that are just going to stare at the cripple.”
“You know I thought we just got done talking about this…a few hours ago.”
“We did, and I will be good and not complain anymore…for you, but I am not going into town and let people stare at me.”
“Elena, it is a wedding. They will be looking at the bride, not you.”
“Well thank you very much.”
“You know what I mean.”
“You know what I hate?”
“What?” Holton sneered.
“I hate the fact that when I’m mad I can’t even get away from you!”
“That’s what you want? You want to get away from me right now?”
“Yeah, I do. I want to slam a door and stomp my feet, but I can’t!”
“Stop whining about it, and start moving around. Continue with the physical therapy. Get better! Stop bitching and just do it!” Holton yelled. Elena winced.
“Is that what you think?”
“Yeah, it’s what I think,” Holton huffed. “You sit here and bitch about what you can’t do, but you don’t think about what you can… I don’t know, you are breathing. You told me that you wanted to be here. Do you regret that?”
“No, it’s not that!”
“Well then, Elena, I guess I just don’t get it. I know it sucks, don’t get me wrong, but it’s only for a few more months. Maybe not even that long.”
“Why do you want me to go?”
“Because I want you there with me. I want everyone to know that I am with the most beautiful, smart and brave woman that I know. That there is.”
“I can’t even dance.”
“You can dance at our wedding.”
“I’ll just be there. I won’t be able to do anything.”
“Who cares? You can sit there and we can look at all the people and watch two people that we care about get married. That’s why I’m going. He’s my friend, Elena. He has said nothing but good things about you. You should go.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“Fine.”
The wedding was in the evening at one of Dallas’s most exquisite restaurants. It was decorated beautifully and it was all very romantic.
Tables were draped in crimson cloths and bouquets of white roses were on every table along with long stemmed champagne glasses.
“This is beautiful,” Elena said as
Holton wheeled her into the room. He went to their table and removed the chair and placed it somewhere else.
Elena was wearing a white wrap dress with a red scarf that tied around the waist. And of course, a cast on both legs and her back brace. She felt like an idiot. “I wish nobody had to see me.”
“We’ve been over this, Elena. You look fine. Your beauty outweighs that of the braces.”
“You’re sweet, but a liar. You look handsome, though. I never thought I would get to see you in a tux.”
Holton grinned. “I never wanted to, believe me. If you want me to wear one for our wedding I will, but I much prefer a nice suit.”
“You can wear whatever you want as long as I’m able to take it off afterwards,” Elena said quietly with a wink.
Holton chuckled softly. “I could just marry you tonight in a private ceremony and we could…”
“What? I can’t walk, I can’t shower by myself. I can barely…”
“Never mind. I’m sorry I suggested it. I have to go find Joe. I’m supposed to help with a few things. I’ll be back later. Try not to be so miserable.” Holton walked away and left Elena at the table alone.
I have no idea what’s wrong with me, Elena thought.
“Hi, I’m Kate,” a brunette with long curly hair said as she sat down at the table next to Elena. “And this is Sarah.”
Elena smiled at the two. “Nice to meet you, I’m Elena.”
“Shark attack?” Kate asked.
“Excuse me?” Elena replied.
“I was asking you if you were attacked by a shark.”
Elena looked at her oddly and shook her head. “Uh…no. I was run down by a drunk driver.”
“Oh, damn. That’s depressing. Think of something more interesting,” she said as she smiled at the little baby in her arms and bounced her on her knee.
“What?”
“Oh, honey, don’t look so depressed. When you get in an accident like you’ve been in you need to think of better ways to fuck with people who stare. Okay, I’ll ask again. Shark attack?”
Elena laughed nervously. “No…I was…walking.”
“Walking? Like an Egyptian?” the lady asked, chuckling. Her little baby laughed, too, which made Elena laugh. “That’s much better,” Kate said, smiling. “You look way too depressed to be with a man that looks that good,” she said as she pointed toward Holton. He was now wearing a white Stetson and had a white rose in his lapel.
Elena sighed. “I know, I’m sorry.”
“Look, I was in an accident a few years ago. It was pretty terrible, and I pretty much wanted to end it all, and then this little girl came along. Ah, I am so glad to be here now. I just wanted to let you see how I turned out.”
“What happened to you?” Elena asked.
“Nothing as terrible as a drunk driver, but I did break both ankles at once. It was really dumb actually. I slipped on a piece of black ice and both feet turned in opposite directions.”
“Ouch!”
“Yeah…now what I told people when I couldn’t walk for almost seven months because I really screwed things up. Well, mainly because I didn’t want to do the physical therapy.”
“What’s that?”
“Let’s see…bear attack. That one was fun, or I was attacked by a man with an ax…I was writing a famous novel and they were reenacting a scene from it.”
“Oh my God. Sydney Sheldon are you?” Elena laughed.
“Oh, you’ve seen the movie. Some people don’t get the reference.” Kate laughed and sighed. “Holton said you were getting depressed.”
Elena was suddenly pissed. “How dare…”
“No, don’t get mad. He didn’t ask me if I would come talk to you, he asked me how to make you less depressed because we sort of had some of the same injuries.”
“I don’t know why he would do that, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. I sure as hell wasn’t and I had a lot of family around to help. I had my mom—another woman. You have a guy that you’re in love with. It’s different. It took a lot for me to let Jack help with bathroom duties…but my mom couldn’t always be around.”
“That’s the worst.”
“Yeah, it sucked. And not having sex is a real mood killer.”
“Oh, yeah…” Elena said, blushing.
“Oh look here comes some people,” Kate said as two more people walked over and joined their table.
“Hi, I’m Jessica, Sarah’s cousin.
“And I’m Jonathon, also her cousin.”
“Very nice to meet you,” Elena said.
“Nice to meet you both, I’m Kate and this is Elena,” she said pointing to Elena, and this is my little Sarah. Also with an H.”
Sarah took that time to babble and everyone at the table laughed.
“So, I hate to ask,” Jonathon said, looking at Elena. Kate looked over at her as well and smiled and winked. “But, how in the hell did you get in your predicament?”
“Jonathon!” Jessica scolded.
“No that’s okay, Elena said quietly. “It was terrible.”
Everyone held on to her attention at the table. Kate waited and watched the others’ faces. “I was in a plane crash. I was the only survivor.”
Jonathon’s hand went up to his mouth and Jessica tried to cover a gasp. Kate laughed. “Good one!”
Elena smiled and laughed, too. “I got hit by a drunk driver. I’m fine now…I only have a few more months until I can get out of all these braces.”
“Oh, well that’s…” Jonathon said and then started laughing. “Reassuring.”
“You really had me going,” Jessica said, laughing. “It’s good you can joke about it, because a lot of people would let it really get them down.”
Kate winked at Elena.
Elena felt much better. Kate was right and so was Holton. “A few really smart people helped me out with that.”
“That’s good. Are you going to get everyone that comes to the table?”
Elena grinned wickedly. “Sure. Help me out, though, I only have so many odd disasters that I can think of.”
“No problem.”
By the time the wedding actually began, Elena had been attacked by bears, survived a plane crash, was trampled by horses, bitten by rabid foxes and fell down an escalator. It was not only funny, but it helped her get past all of the stares and odd comments about her and Holton’s age difference. It was funny that she never thought it was a big deal, yet everyone else found something wrong with it.
After feeling like she turned over a new leaf, she also used Kate’s idea in her favor for the age difference. She got a lot of odd looks and laughs for her reasoning for landing a man like Holton. Most people smiled and were friendly right away, others took a few minutes to warm up.
As the wedding began to start, Elena saw Holton stand up with his best friend and watch as he and his wife got married. She smiled when Holton looked at her as the vows were being said and she smiled when he finally walked over to her when it was finished and he bent down on his knees to wrap her in his arms. He was completely different, this Holton. He didn’t seem to have any hang-ups anymore about their relationship.
“I’m so sorry about the way I’ve been acting, Holton. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Holton replied and then kissed her.
***
Things progressed the next three weeks. Elena had several physical therapy appointments where she stretched and focused on recovery. And soon, they told her that she could take the brace off. It was two weeks after that when she was finally cleared for physical activity. She couldn’t wait to get home and alone with Holton.
Chapter 17
The day after she was given the all clear, Holton worked the whole day uninterrupted and she enjoyed her day as well. It was nice being able to get your own bath. As she was lying back in the tub with bubbles in between her toes and all around her, the door opened and Holton walked in.
“Oops,” he said seductively. “What do we ha
ve here?”
“Holton!”
“Should I close my eyes, Elena, because I don’t want to?”
“What are you doing in here?”
“Well, I am finished working and I thought I might come in here and spend some well earned playtime with my fiancé.”
Elena smiled. “I’m naked!”
“I’ve…”
“Don’t you dare say you’ve seen it before because I am pretending that the whole last four months didn’t exist.”
“Oh, I can play that game,” Holton joked. “Is your water hot enough, madam?”
“Get out of here!” Elena laughed as Holton walked over to the tub and stuck his hand in the bubbles.
“Now, that’s not the way to treat the help, Elena.”
“Oh, is that right? Well, if you don’t get out…”
Holton frowned. “Please? Don’t make me beg…I am, after all, very dirty. I think you should let me get a bath with you. I can scrub your back.”
“Really? And that’s all you want to scrub?”
“No, ma’am,” Holton said, grinning. “No, I’m pretty sure I want to do a whole lot more than scrub your back.”
“That’s what I thought, and what about your great plans on me still being a virgin until the wedding in three weeks?”
“Well, I didn’t say I didn’t want to do anything…”
“Wipe that grin off your face, Holton Dade!”
“You can wipe it off,” Holton replied as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and then his pants. He let his clothes drop to the floor and then he climbed into the hot bubbled filled bath and smiled.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” Elena smiled, flicking bubbles at him.
“Really? Because I can.”
Elena laughed. “I should get out and leave you in here all alone.”
“You probably should, but you won’t.”
“No you’re right, I won’t.”
Holton grinned and placed his hand on her leg and brought her foot into his palms, massaging it out of the water. “How are you doing?” he asked softly, concern still in his voice.
“I’m great. Thank you for everything, Holton. I feel wonderful.”
“No, you feel great…you will feel wonderful, though,” he said as his hand moved up her leg and then to her thigh.
The Long Ride Home (Cowboys & Cowgirls) Page 14