Page 44 of Captivating Anika
“And, Anika? Bring Hog.”
Immediately the line goes dead.
I’ve got to give it to her, her delivery is flawless for maximum impact. She doesn’t yet know there are bigger issues for me to feel guilty about.
If I have to be there anyway Sunday night, maybe I should rip off the Band-Aid and lay all my secrets on the table.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Anika
“No.”
I clap my hand over my mouth to not laugh out loud.
The nurse, all five foot two of her, folds her arms over her chest as she blocks the doorway and faces up with Hog. Apparently, he has a stubborn streak too, because he refuses to get in the wheelchair she showed up with.
“Hospital policy, sir,” she repeats, not in the least intimidated with Hog’s looming figure.
He’s generally pretty easygoing, but I guess after being poked and prodded for the past twenty hours or so, there’s a limit to the indignities he is willing to suffer. I’m also not sure he had a very restful sleep, there are dark circles under his eyes.
“I’m not rolling out of here in a wheelchair when I’m more than capable of walking.”
I’d better step in before this escalates. It doesn’t look like the nurse is willing to budge on the issue, but maybe I’ll have better luck with Hog.
“Noah?”
I purposely use his real name and his eyes immediately flash to me. I don’t even need to say anything else.
Hog drops his head and mumbles, “Fine.”
As soon as he’s seated in the wheelchair, I lean down and kiss the top of his head.
“I’ll go grab the truck and meet you out front.”
Ten minutes later, we’re on our way to my place.
“What’s all that?” Hog asks, looking at the bags behind my seat.
When he called this morning to share he’d probably be released in an hour or so, I was just finishing up my first client of the day. Landon just had a cancellation and offered to take my next one.
It gave me a chance to stop in at the City Market and get some groceries. I realized while I was eating my yogurt and fruit this morning, if I wanted to look after Hog, I’d better get some food to sustain him.
Those are the four large bags behind me.
“I promised you bacon,” I remind him with a grin. “And I picked up a few other things.”
“You don’t have to go to all that trouble,” he grumbles.
“You have to eat, don’t you?”
He makes a point of peeking at the bags again.
“Pretty sure whatever’s in there would feed my entire crew for a week.”
“Hardly.”
It’s quiet after that, but I can feel his eyes on me while I navigate the streets of Durango.