Page 20 of Heal Me One Night

“Give me that. Give me that sweet nectar of life right fucking now.”

He passes me the coffee. “I know I offered to stay, but you don’t have to invite me in. I know Kari’s here and that might be a weird thing to have to explain to her. But I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

He worked all night. He took care of my baby girl. And now he’s here to take care of me. But after all the shit with Dakota, it’s been so hard to trust that any man can be that good. Dad likes him, though. Dad likes him and he fucking hated Dakota’s lying ass from day one. Maybe I don’t have any confidence in my own judgment, but Dad’s is pretty damn solid. I take a deep breath. “No. I want you to come in... I want you to come in because even though I’m not okay, I feel a lot closer to it with you around.”

I step back and open the door wide for him to step inside. And I’m letting him into a lot more than just my house.

“If I tell you the donuts are chocolate, will you make out with me?”

“Coffee first. And a donut. Then I’m going to brush my teeth. And assuming Karli stays asleep, then I’ll make out with you... Play your cards right, Dr. Blake, and you might even get invited to sleep over.”

FIFTEEN

Silas

“You look beat.”

Britt smiles, but it doesn’t reach her tired eyes. “I am. Karli doesn’t get sick a lot, and when she does, it’s usually not bad. This was more than I expected. I’m so tired.” She yawns, putting her hand over her mouth.

“You were running on adrenaline last night. How’s she doing?” I take a drink of the orange juice I brought along with the coffee.

“Good. She’s still running a fever, although it’s coming down. The Benadryl really helped her itching. Thank you for giving her that.”

I shove the rest of my donut in my mouth. “You’re welcome. I rarely give it intravenously like that, but you kinda got VIP treatment.”

“I know, thank you.” She leans in, kissing me softly. When she pulls back, she’s yawning again.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and get some more sleep? I’ll hang out down here in case Karli wakes up.” I offer.

“I wish I could, but I can’t ask you to do that.”

Reaching over, I wrap my palm around the back of her neck. “You’re not asking, I’m offering. You’re recovering too. You put a lot of pressure on that leg, and I saw you limping. Let me help you.”

Unexpectedly, she sobs, full on gut-wrenching sobs that come from deep within her.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

She shakes her head. Those lips of hers pressed firmly together again.

I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Britt. Just let it out.” It hits me that she does all of this by herself. She’s expected to always be strong, and she’s breaking.

“I’m so sorry.” Her voice is muffled next to my ear. “I don’t normally do this.” But that voice breaks again and her body shakes as she continues.

“It doesn’t matter what you normally do. You do exactly what you need to right now. You went through a very scary situation last night. It’s okay if you’re feeling that today.” I rub her back, rocking her, trying to offer what comfort I can.

There's a knock at her door. “I better go get that. It’s probably Dad.”

“I’ll handle it. It’s time I meet him somewhere other than the hospital.” I let her go, and start toward the door.

She reaches out, grabbing my hand. “Don’t let him in. I don’t want him to see me like this.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of it.” It’s not as if he won’t see the moisture on the shoulder of my scrubs. He seems to be intelligent. He’ll put two and two together. I’m nervous as I stride through the foyer and open the door.

“Dr. Blake.” He gives me a shit-eating grin. “Why am I not surprised to see you here?”

“You’re a smart man, Ranger. I think it’s time we meet officially. I’m Silas.” I offer my hand to him. He takes it, pumping it up and down firmly.

“Ranger, as Britt must have told you.” He looks down at my hand. “You’ve got working man’s hands. You worked on a farm or something?”