Lucy Monroe - Willing

Tears that had nothing to do with the pain she was in filled her eyes. “You already have.”

The nurse and doctor came in with her dad. She was examined, poked and prodded until she didn’t feel in the least bit numb. Daniel’s tension grew and grew until he told the doctor and nurse to leave her the hell alone. With both her dad and lover there, looking dangerous and none too pleased, the doctor and nurse listened. The doctor gave hurried instructions for her care and left. The nurse injected a pain killer into her I.V. before going.

Josie didn’t have enough energy to say thank you, but as she slipped into sleep the knowledge Daniel wanted to marry her did more to anesthetize her pain than the drugs.

The next few days flew by. Josie improved rapidly, and Daniel never left her side, going so far as to sleep on a cot in her hospital room. The staff didn’t mention in his hearing that it was against hospital policy since he wasn’t a relation, but Josie heard two of the nurses talking about it.

They also mentioned they wouldn’t mind having him sleep in their rooms. Josie changed the subject when Daniel asked why she was so cool toward the two women when they came into her room.

Her dad and the others were frequent visitors. Even Lise flew in and came to the hospital to see her. Josie had another visitor, her third day in the hospital.

A pretty woman with troubled eyes came into the room with Daniel after lunch. Clinging to her hand was a small blond boy of five or six. He was looking at Josie with eyes that broke her heart.

They stopped beside her bed.

The woman spoke first. “He needed to see that you were alive. Mr. Black Eagle assured us you wouldn’t mind us visiting, but I’ll understand if you want us to leave.”

Josie looked at the little boy and put her hand out. “I’m alive. Feel.”

He tentatively reached out and then touched her hand. His was cold, and she curled her fingers around it.

“You’re warm.”

“Yes.”

Tears started streaming down his cheeks. “Dead is cold. I know ’cuz when the men hunted, the animals they shot was cold when they brought them back.”

“I’m warm and I’m alive.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Some, but they give me medicine to help with the pain.”

“I’m sorry.” His lower lip trembled, and then the tears were audible as well as making wet tracks down his cheeks.

His mother dropped to her haunches beside him, and she hugged him to her.

He threw himself into her body, tearing his hand from Josie. “I didn’t mean it, Mommy. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s okay, Abel.” She calmed him until the crying had diminished to a few sniffles, and then she looked at Josie over her son’s shoulder. “I know why you broke in to the compound. Most of us had no idea the men were involved in things that dangerous. We thought we were making a simpler, better life for our children, and now that life is in shambles, but I’d rather that than raise my son to kill.”

She stood up, her son held against her. “I’d never seen a person shot before. When the others talked about fighting for our way of life, it was emotional rhetoric. This is real, and Abel and I will have to live with the memory for the rest of our lives.”

“I don’t blame your son for shooting me.”

The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you.”

“Abel,” Josie said.

The little boy looked at her.

“I forgive you.”

He wriggled down from his mom and came to the bedside. “Can I hug you? Mommy hugs me when I get hurted and it feels better.”

“Sure.” She went to reach down, but Daniel was there, lifting the boy to her so she wouldn’t put any stress on her wound.

He hugged her tightly around the neck, choking her, but she didn’t complain. This little one would live with more trauma from the shooting than she would.

When he let go, he looked at her anxiously. “Do you feel better?”

“Yes. Much. Thank you.”

He and his mother came to see her twice more, and each time, Josie reiterated that she was going to be okay and that she forgave Abel. He’d started smiling again, which his mother tearfully thanked her for. There would be more traumas to come with the investigation into the shooting, but both he and his mother were going to make it through.

Josie could tell. The woman was strong, and her attitudes were changing rapidly. She and Abel were just leaving when the doctor arrived on rounds.

He read her chart and then smiled. “You should be able to go home tomorrow.” He looked at Daniel. “That is provided she has someone to care for her. I’d like her to stay off that leg for another week and then only mild exercise until the torn muscle has healed.”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t overdo it.”

He hadn’t repeated his marriage proposal in the last three days, but his behavior indicated it was on his mind.

“Good.” The doctor put the chart back in the pocket on the wall. “I’ll draw up discharge orders for tomorrow morning.”

“Can I fly?” Josie asked. “I don’t want to spend the next five and a half weeks staying in a hotel.”

“No. I’m sorry, but plane travel would put a lot of stress on the wound, and a long car trip, even with frequent stops, is out of the question for a while as well.”

She understood the doctor’s reasoning, but she couldn’t mask her disappointment. She wanted the privacy of home.

“What about a personal jet where she could lie down for most of the journey?” Daniel asked.

The doctor’s eyes widened. “I can honestly say that’s the first time I’ve been asked that question. If you can arrange such a thing, I don’t see any reason for her not to be taken home. Just make sure she has follow-up care on her wound with her local doctor.”

“Will do.”

The doctor left, and Josie smiled at Daniel. “You think Wolf will fly me back to Portland?”

“No, but he’ll fly you to my home.”

She’d love to see his house. “Do you think you’ll have a better chance of keeping me immobile on your own turf?”

He shook his head, his expression not reflecting her humor back at her. “I think I’ll have a better chance of convincing you to marry me.”

She wasn’t going to need much convincing, but his reasoning intrigued her. “Why?”

“I’m more than a soldier there, and I hope seeing my house will make you realize I can be something other than a warrior.”

“I’ve always known that.” She was going to cry again. “I thought you wanted to stick with the soldier’s life.”

“That was before I had a better one to go to.”

“Being with me is a better life?”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t about you feeling guilty because I got shot?” she asked, needing to know, hoping desperately it wasn’t.

He sat down on her bed, putting his hands on either side of her and hemming her in so the rest of the hospital ceased to exist for her. “This is about me not wanting to live the rest of my life without you.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “I realized you were right about my mom. She chose to stay with Thunder.”

“Like I chose to go on a mission.”

“If I’d been physically present in either case, I would have done anything I could to prevent you being hurt.”

“I know that, but your mom chose to be with your dad, and I chose to go on the mission.”

“Will you choose to spend the rest of your life with me?”

Her heart twisted at the emotion in his voice and the warmth in his eyes. “You don’t have to give up being a soldier for me. I don’t need you to change who you are to want to spend the rest of my life with you. I only have to know you love me.”

“I do love you.”