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“I want to.” He is firm, and I am too tired to argue tonight. Instead, I close my eyes and take a breath.
“I want my mom,” I say to myself quietly. I miss her. I have been here for a while now, and even before I moved, I hadn’t seen her in months. It is times like this that I feel like I need her more than ever.
“Okay,” he says, and I shake my head, not meaning to say that out loud. “Here.” Bringing over my comfy pajamas, he once again handles me tenderly as he dresses me, his touch soft, his hold warm. Then he pulls back the blanket, guiding me into bed, and as my body hits the mattress, I close my eyes and sigh, the new bed enveloping me completely.
“Weren’t you meant to be away until the end of the week?” I ask.
“I missed you,” he says matter-of-factly, and I smile.
“Have you seen Gertie and the babies?” I’m just now realizing I hadn’t put them in the shed for the night.
“They are fine. Don’t worry about any of that. Take your pain meds and get some sleep. You need your rest.” Handing me the water and tablets, I do as he says and down them before I snuggle in my new linen, my body feeling heavy, my mind thudding in a dull beat but exhausted.
“Tanner?” I say to him as he crawls in to lie down next to me.
“Yeah, baby girl?” he says, his hand coming to my face and brushing my hair away.
“Thank you for taking care of me.” My eyes close, and I don’t hear his reply before sleep takes me under, but I feel his warm hand as it scoops around my middle and he pulls me to him, tucking me under his arm and cradling me to sleep.
33
VICTORIA
Iam a little sore, my head still throbbing, but the painkillers Hudson gave me last night were amazing. I fell right to sleep in Tanner’s arms and felt like I slept like the dead.Dead. Like I nearly was last night… My thoughts swirl, and I sit up and shake the morbid feeling away. I don’t need drama, negativity, or anything like that. But I can’t help the panic that flew through my body for those seconds when the car wouldn’t slow down and I hit the corner.
I close my eyes and shake my head again as I stretch a little, looking at the empty mattress beside me. Tanner was here when I fell asleep, but the spot is vacant now. Glancing at my legs, my skin is still sore and red, but also soft from where he bathed me last night.
I smile, thinking of the gruff burly man and how gentle he was. Tentatively, I slide out of bed, going slowly. I wait for any dizziness, but it doesn’t come, and I sigh in relief. I feel stronger and not as fragile as last night. Seems that not only the bath and painkillers workedwell, but as I look at the clock, I see it is just before midday. I must have slept like twelve hours. I obviously needed it.
I gingerly make my way to the bathroom. The house is quiet, so maybe Tanner left already. I am sure he has lots of work to do since he is back from the city early. I know he will have a lot more questions, but aside from the grazes on my leg and the lump on my head, I actually don’t remember anything else of importance. Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror, I gasp at my reflection. My cheek is red, my hair is everywhere, and my body has a large bruise down my stomach. Sighing, I decide to get in the shower and clean up before calling my mother.
The hot water stings initially, but it feels good on my aching muscles. My stomach growls, so I am quick in the shower, before slipping on my jeans and a light sweater, hiding the grazes and bruising. I pin up my hair and apply a little makeup, diminishing the redness in my cheek, and I already feel a hundred times better than I did when I first woke up.
I think I hear voices downstairs and my nerves spike before understanding washes over me that it must be Tanner. Walking down, I hear multiple people, and I pause at the bottom, looking into my kitchen, which is now sparkling clean. And that’s when I spot Lacy, Jasmine, and “Mom!” I shout, and all three women look at me as I stand in shock, seeing my mom for the first time in months.
“Oh, sweetie, how are you feeling?” she says with relief, walking toward me with her arms wide. I don’t know if it is the shock of seeing her, my emotions justgetting the best of me, or the fact that I haven’t fully dealt with what happened last night, or maybe even all three. But I break down, tears fall, and a howl leaves my throat as I basically collapse into her open embrace.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she coos, her arms wrapping around me and rubbing my back. I cling to her, not believing that she is here, when the back door slams open, and I jump.
“What happened?” Tanner stands tall in the doorway, looking at the girls in the kitchen before he spots me and immediately walks over.
“You’re awake,” he says softly, his frown deep as his eyes search over me. “How do you feel?” he asks as I step back from mom and wipe my eyes.
“My mom is here!”
“I know. I flew her in early this morning.” He nods simply, and my heart skips a beat.
“You did?” I ask with disbelief.
“You said last night you wanted to see her, so I flew her in,” he says, like flying a person halfway around the country is a simple task, such as picking up some milk or bread from the store.
“It was a very nice jet too,” my mom whispers to me, and I look between them both, wide-eyed.
“Rochelle dropped off some lunch and also some pastries,” Lacy says from the kitchen, and I see the sheriff standing just behind her.
“How are you? You slept well?” Jasmine asks, coming over and standing next to my mom.
My mind is a whirl of information as my eyes remain wide, looking at everyone.
