When he returned to Lin’s room he saw that she was sitting on the edge of her bed with a plastic bag containing only the boot for her sprained ankle. “The doc says I can’t put this back on until Monday, provided the swelling stays down—until then it’s back to the crutches,” she complained.
The paperwork for Lin’s discharge had apparently been completed. A nurse brought a wheelchair to take her downstairs.
“I’m not ready to go yet,” Lin exclaimed, much to the nurse’s dismay. “I mean, I’m ready, but I want to see some friends in ICU before I leave.”
“Then why don’t the two of you go there right now,” the nurse commented, “I’ll give you the papers to take with you. You can leave the wheelchair at the reception desk when you go home. Just remind them which floor it came from.”
Neal gathered the few items Lin had in the room, stuffed them into the bag with the boot, and wheeled her to the elevator. He was glad to sense that her mood had lightened. The tension that had been between them earlier had dissipated, at least for the moment. Still, he realized that they had some serious talking to do—and soon. After all, their wedding date was a scant two months away.
They made their way to the ICU where Lin wanted to first look in on Sue Gray. The nurse at the desk reported that Sue was much improved, and that she’d probably be moved to a regular room the next day. “I think your visits have done her a lot of good,” she smiled, “but she really perks up when that handsome Ted Whitley shows up to visit.”
Lin smiled, and reached for Neal’s hand, “Nothing like a handsome guy to make you want to get out of a hospital bed.” She was certainly in a good mood, Neal thought. I hope it’s not just because she’s going home. I hope she’s not so upset with me anymore. He left Lin to talk with Sue for a few minutes. “Be sure to tell her about the arrangements we’ve made for Ted. Tell her we expect him to be discharged on Monday.” Lin nodded her agreement as the nurse rolled her into Sue’s room.
Lin was pleased to see Sue much improved and happy that her status was to be upgraded soon. They chatted briefly about Ted’s plans also. Sue was happy that he’d be with Lin and Neal.
“Take good care of him,” Sue spoke clearly but quietly, “I think he may be a keeper.”
Lin smiled, “I agree, just like…” she started to say ‘just like Neal,’ but suddenly she was overcome by emotion and tears began to stream down her face. “What’s wrong! ” Sue said, “Did you two have a fight?”
“No, not really,” Lin replied, “but I’m afraid we may have one coming.” Now that the cat was out of the bag, she couldn’t avoid telling Sue what had happened. “I really thought we’d already gotten past this. We talked about this when he first proposed and really it hasn’t come up since then—now I’m not sure how he really feels. I don’t know what to think.”
“Don’t make too much of it,” Sue said, “Neal loves you and he wants you to be safe—always—he’s just afraid of something bad happening; he doesn’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose him either,” Lin said, regaining some of her self-control, “but there are no guarantees in life. Things happen, but we can’t stop living, and I can’t stop being who I am.”
Sue reached for her friend’s hand. Lin felt foolish. “Here I am supposedly trying to help you and you are comforting me,” she said.
“That makes me feel better—at least I can be of some use to someone,” Sue grinned. “Try not to worry too much about this. Sure, you and Neal need to talk. You both need to work out your feelings about this, but don’t give up on him. I feel sure you’ll only strengthen your relationship moving forward. Now I’m getting tired and I’m sure your five minutes are up so get out of here. I need my beauty nap before Ted comes back this afternoon.”
Lin wheeled herself back to the hallway where Neal was seated, waiting for her. “Let’s go check on Luke,” she suggested. “Hopefully, he’s making more progress.” They were disappointed to find Luke’s room was empty. Lin was afraid he might be worse—maybe had to have more surgery. They went to the nurse’s station where they were both relieved to learn that he was simply undergoing further tests.
“ All his signs have shown improvement today,” the nurse was happy to report. “The doctor is hopeful that he might wake up tonight or tomorrow. He wanted him to have another brain scan to see what’s going on.”
“That’s great news,” Lin said. “Could you please make a note to call us when he is awake? The park ranger handling this case wants to be alerted also.”
Lin and Neal left both their cell numbers and also Mark Scott’s number at the desk with assurances that they would be called as soon as Luke was awake—no matter what the hour.
“I guess we can go home now,” Lin remarked. “Nothing else to do here and it feels good to say goodbye to this place.” It was already early afternoon—so much for an early discharge. Hospitals were famous for being slow, and besides, they’d had several things to accomplish before they left.
They rode home in companionable silence, neither of them wanting to bring up the discussion they both knew that they should have, and sooner rather than later. When they arrived at the house, Lin insisted that she could manage getting in on her own with the crutches.
“I really need a shower and shampoo,” she said as they arrived in the kitchen. “Those hospital sponge baths just aren’t good enough.” Neal helped her to get upstairs.
“I’ll help you,” he offered with a smile. Lin was well aware of past times when they’d showered together or he had helped her to bathe. In spite of the yearning she felt at that moment, she declined his offer. “I can manage,” she insisted. “Just put that plastic chair in the shower and hand me my crutches. I’ve done this before—I’ll call if I need you,” She didn’t want to sound as if she didn’t want him around, but she knew full well what would happen if he helped her to bathe, and she didn’t want the talk they really needed to have to be clouded by sexual desire. Neal simply stood there without saying anything as Lin began to undress.
She realized that this was probably the first time she’d turned down an overture on his part. She reached out and took his hand. “I won’t be long, Neal. Why don’t you go down and see if we have any good wine, maybe some snacks? I’ll call you when I’m done. I’ll need help getting downstairs, I know—I think maybe, we should have that talk after this.” Neal leaned down and kissed her gently. He nodded his agreement and then he left the room.
Lin took a long, shower—letting the warm water wash away all the soreness and feelings of filth she’d experienced in the pit. Somehow the hospital baths hadn’t erased all that. She really needed this bath in more ways than one. When she’d finished she felt better than she had since before Luke abducted her. The warm water had eased the soreness in her body. She surveyed herself in the full-length mirror as she leaned on her crutches. Her body looked like a patchwork quilt of blue, purple, and green. Still, the only real soreness she felt was in her lower back, probably the bruised kidneys the doctor had cautioned her about. She filled a cup with water but she took only her antibiotic. Neal was fixing wine for them to drink and she decided not to mix that with her pain medication. If the wine wasn’t enough, she’d take the meds before bedtime.
Her body felt so good that she really didn’t want to put on any clothes at all; that probably wasn’t a good idea if she and Neal were going to talk. Instead she decided to leave off the constraints of a bra and panties, slipping into soft sweatpants and a long, soft T- shirt instead. Then she towel dried her wavy brown hair and called for Neal to come help her downstairs.
When he appeared she started to hand him her crutches and grabbed onto his arm but he tossed the crutches aside and instead picked her up bodily and carried her down to the living room, depositing her on one end of the sofa while he went to get their wine, cheese, and crackers.
“We might as well enjoy these and eat up,” he grinned. “The only thing I could find for dinner was some soup and stuff to ma
ke sandwiches. I suppose we could go out later but…”
Lin nixed that right away. “I really just want to be here with you. I want us to have that talk. We are alone now, but come Monday we’ll have Ted, and soon Sue will be home—now is the best time…besides it sounds as if it’s raining outside.
Neal had to agree. He brought an ottoman over and propped Lin’s ankle up on a pillow. Then he went to get their drinks.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while; Lin feeling relaxed and very happy to be out of the hospital, and Neal seemingly satisfied to have some down time as well. As he poured them a second glass of wine, Lin decided it was time to talk.
“I think this is the perfect time for us to talk about what happened back in the hospital. I realize that you were upset about my getting into this situation, and I think I understand where you’re coming from, but I really want you to share your feelings with me.”
Neal was thoughtful for a moment. Finally, he spoke, “Actually, I’m not sure how I feel sometimes. My first feeling, when I learned you were missing, was fear—fear of losing you. Lin, I’m not sure how I’d face losing you—you mean so much to me.” He moved beside her on the sofa and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. “Then, after I dealt with the fear and made a plan to come back and help find you and Sue, I have to admit I felt almost angry—you know, this is not the first close call you’ve had since we met, and I’ve had a couple of close calls myself since then.” He seemed to be trying to find the words he wanted… “I’m not sure how to say this, but I found myself worrying that our lives together would dissolve into one crisis after another. Of course, that thinking only lasted a short while. Then I just became determined to find you, and I was mad at myself for being angry in the first place—but I was angry, at least for a moment.”
Lin sat quietly thinking about what he had said. She did understand how Neal felt, but she wasn’t sure how to show him that she did. “You know, Neal, we talked about some of this when you first proposed to me. I tried to be honest with you about how I felt—about who I am as a person…”
Neal interrupted, “And that is the person I fell in love with, the person I still love with all my heart. I really don’t want you to change; I guess I’m just having trouble dealing with my own fears.”
Lin realized at that moment that she had never really talked to Neal about her first marriage to Ben Hanna. Neal had been married before also, but that union had ended in divorce. He and his first wife had married very young and had never had children—apparently they simply grew apart. The divorce hadn’t been bitter, and they’d remained friends, although their lives had gone in different directions.
“Neal, I do understand the kind of fear you’re talking about. You know, Ben and I were married for almost thirty years, and he was a career soldier for all of that time. I remember how I felt each time he was deployed, each time he was going into a life-threatening situation. I was afraid for him and for me and for our children. Sometimes, I honestly wished he would leave the military and get some other sort of job—something safe that would keep him at home all the time. Each time he came home safely I was filled with joy, but I knew the next time would come. Sometimes Ben and I talked about all this, and he even offered to change careers if I wanted him to, but I came to realize that being a soldier was a big part of who he was. He loved his work and I loved him—right up until the day I lost him, and I still love who he was and what we had together.”
There were tears in Lin’s eyes now, but she didn’t try to control her feelings. “It took me a long time to deal with losing Ben, to finally be able to move on with my life. At first I simply threw myself into my work and caring for my children. Eventually, I reached the point where I was ready to risk loving someone else again. Then I met you. I love you Neal, with all my heart, and I don’t ever want to lose you, but I’m willing to take the risk that loving someone always carries. Worry and fear of losing the person you love is always lurking in the background of any such relationship, but I love who you are and I don’t want to change that. I hope you can understand.”
Lin realized that Neal was also tearful. She reached out to take his hand in hers as he spoke. “I do understand, Lin. Thanks for sharing that with me. I hope you can deal with my over-protective instincts—with my own fears and worries. I love who you are and the kind of person you are—one who cares about others and who will stand up for friends and others who simply need someone on their side. Sometimes I can’t believe that someone like you would have fallen in love with me—I feel so lucky.”
“Me too,” Lin smiled, “and now I’m starving—how ‘bout you go see what else you can find for us to eat. I’d offer to help but someone left my crutches upstairs.”
Neal retrieved their snack tray and the remaining wine. As he headed for the kitchen he looked back over his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear, “There was a good reason to leave the crutches upstairs—now, at least for the moment, I have the upper hand—you need me.”
Lin smiled back at him, “Get going. I told you I’m hungry. If you expect to ‘take advantage of me’ in my more or less helpless state, you’ll need to feed me first.”
***
By late afternoon, they’d finished eating a meal of soup and sandwiches and Lin was already thinking about bed and sleep. “This is ridiculous,” she said. “I’m so off schedule—eating so early, now feeling tired again—I don’t think I’ll ever get back to normal.”
“I’ll make some coffee,” Neal replied. “A little caffeine will perk you up, but you’ve had quite an ordeal—I expect you need some time to rest and recover.” He moved to the counter and ground some fresh beans. Soon the aroma of fresh coffee permeated the kitchen.
“That smells’ divine,” Lin said. “but after we have that, I think I’d like to go up to bed but…” she smiled at Neal as he filled their mugs, “… I don’t have to go alone.”
Neal placed their mugs on the table and came to stand behind her chair, leaning over her and putting his arms around her. He ran his hands across her shoulders and down across her breasts and arms, “ Ummm,” he murmured, “I’ve always been told that when a girl isn’t wearing underwear she’s issuing an invitation.”
Lin slapped gently at his hands and reached for her coffee. “Watch it, buddy,” she teased. “Let’s at least finish our coffee—then we’ll see.”
A short while later, Neal lifted her up into his arms once more, carrying her upstairs and laying her in the middle of the bed. He carefully slipped her shirt over her head and gently slipped her sweatpants down over her hips—murmuring sympathetically as he saw her bruise painted body. “Geez, Lin, you must’ve bounced and hit every rock in that pit on your way down.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” she rolled over so he could see the more extensive bruising. “Good grief,” he exclaimed, “I don’t know how you’ve managed to sit down or move around as well as you have.”
“Very gently and with some good pain killers,” Lin responded. “Actually, they’re healing rather quickly now the doctor said, and I really am not very sore—except for my lower back, but that’s coming from bruised kidneys. That’s improving also—nowhere near as bad as the first day or so.”
She lay once more on her back and reached to undo Neal’s belt, “If I’m going to lie here stark naked, I’m not going to do so alone,” she smiled.
For the next hour they lay together. Their lovemaking was careful and gentle, but filled with intense longing. Finally, Lin slept—feeling warm and safe in Neal’s arms.
***
Lin woke suddenly. It was dark. She thought she’d heard a noise coming from downstairs. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was nearly midnight. She and Neal had been sleeping for several hours. It was raining outside and the wind was blowing—perhaps that was the noise she’d heard—the wind blowing through the trees and dashing the rain against the house. She settled back down, snuggling into Neal’s back, listening to his relaxed breathing.
Then—she heard it again—a sound from the first floor…maybe outside on the porch. She was sure now that someone was there. She shook Neal gently and when he woke, she put her finger over his lips, signaling him to remain quiet.
“Someone’s here,” she whispered, “I think maybe outside on the porch. It’s raining and the wind is blowing, but I’m sure I heard something out there or—maybe downstairs.”
Neal got up quietly and reached for his clothes, tossing Lin’s to her so she could get dressed also.
“I’m going down to check this out,” he whispered. “Get dressed but stay up here.” He tossed her cell phone onto the bed, “Call the sheriff’s department, but then, call Mark Scott or Zach Taylor—maybe both of them.” He moved quietly out the bedroom door toward the stairs.
Lin hurried to do what he asked. She reached the dispatcher at the sheriff’s office who said they’d contact the deputy on patrol in the area to come by. When she reached Mark Scott she knew she’d awakened him, but he quickly became alert when she told him that they’d heard something. “I’ll come right over, but it’ll probably take me twenty minutes, maybe longer in this weather…I’ll call Zach myself,” he said.
When she completed the calls, Lin reached for her crutches. She moved out to the hallway so that she could hear better. Neal was moving through the lower rooms, no doubt checking for evidence of an intruder. Suddenly, she heard a sharp cry of pain and the sound of a body hitting the floor. What had happened? Who had cried out? Who had fallen? Lin was frozen in fear. Was Neal hurt or had he stopped their intruder? She was afraid to make a sound.
She heard footsteps approaching the stairs in the dark and carefully slipped back into the bedroom to hide behind the door. She propped herself against the wall and lifted one of her crutches—it wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was all she had. She waited. Her heart was pounding and her breath was coming in short snatches.
Then someone called her name—“Lin are you up there? Where are you?” It was Neal. With great relief she slipped out from behind the door, “I’m here Neal. I’m fine. What happened? Who was there?”
Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 41