Page 57 of Taking a King

She groans. “Unfortunately.” She sits up quickly, her hand flying up to her bandaged head as she does. “Ow. Too fast.”

I ease her back to the bed. “Don’t try to sit up,” I chastise. “You’re concussed. Take it easy.”

She gives me a goofy smile. “Concussed.” She giggles. “Why is that word so funny?”

I smile at her. “Because you’re a little loopy on pain meds right now.”

She shrugs. “Maybe, just a little. But I didn’t forget that you love me. You said it.” She holds up two fingers. “Twice. I remember.”

I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you forget. I’ll make sure I tell you every day.”

She smiles and snuggles against me. “Mmm. I like that idea.”

She seems to be on the verge of falling asleep, so I try to keep her talking. “You were going to tell me what happened. Earlier you asked about Bambi?”

Her eyes pop open and she looks annoyed. “Oh yeah,” she mutters. “That damned deer. I didn’t hit it, did I? I’m going to be pissed if I wrecked my car trying to save it and it died anyway.”

That explains why she suddenly ran off the road. She’d been trying to avoid hitting a deer.

“I didn’t see any sign of a deer,” I say. “I’m pretty sure he ran off.”

“Good,” she mumbles. “I’m glad I didn’t kill Bambi.”

I smile. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” I take in a breath. “Speaking of, there are a lot of people who want to see for themselves that you’re okay. They would only let one person back at a time. I need to let the others have their turn.”

Hannah furrows her brow at me. “Who’s waiting to see me?”

I look at her like she’s lost her mind. “How hard did you hit your head? Everyone’s out there. Your brothers, Hannah, Hope, Quinn. I didn’t see Liam, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t show up soon. He’s probably riding his bike here as we speak. They’re your family, Claire. You scared them.”

Her eyes close on a sigh. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” I say, hugging her gently to me once more. “I’m going to go and let someone else come in, okay?”

“I guess so,” she mutters. “Stupid rules.”

“Try to stay awake for 5 minutes?”

“No promises.”

Chapter Thirty-one

Claire

I somehow manage to stay awake long enough for Ronan to arrive. Even though Garrett said they were only letting one person back at a time, I’m still disappointed when Ronan shows up without him. Still, it’s good to see my brother. I give him a half-hearted attempt at a smile, knowing I probably look like death.

“Hey, bro,” I say. “Fancy meeting you here.”

He doesn’t smile at my lame joke, but that’s no surprise. Smiles from Ronan are rare, and this isn’t the type of situation likely to coax one from him. He walks over and sits in the chair Garrett had been using earlier and peers down at me, assessing.

“You okay?”

I nod.

Ronan seems to deflate slightly. His shoulders slump just a little and he looks suddenly exhausted.

“Please don’t do that again,” he says.

“Didn’t exactly plan to do it this time,” I say with a smile.