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“Probably just my leg,” she slurred and sighed contentedly as she closed her eyes again. “It’s kind of bothering me.”
My brow furrowed. “Your leg? What’s wrong with your leg?”
“I dunno,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes shut. “It hurts a little.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking that one through. She’d suffered from cardiac arrest multiple times and her brain was swelling and under so much distress that they’d put her into a medically induced coma. Throughout all that, she hadn’t spoken a word about feeling any pain.
Until now.
“I thought you said you couldn’t feel anything like pain in this state,” I reminded her.
“Hmm?”
“Raina,” I repeated.
“What?” She was starting to sound annoyed that I was keeping her awake.
“What’s wrong with your leg?”
With a groan, she rolled onto her back and slapped her arms down at her sides before opening her eyes to scowl up at me. “I don’tknow,” she grumbled. “It’s cramping some and throbs a little.”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure thing, Dr. Union.” Rolling her eyes, she drew up her knee to touch a spot on the side of her calf that was red and slightly swollen. “Does that help?”
“Does it feel warm?” I asked.
She prodded the area, only to wince. “Yeah. A little.”
I whipped the covers off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “I’m going to the hospital.”
“What?” As I stood and hurried to my dresser to find some clothes, Raina finally sat upright on the bed, blinking after me. “Why?”
“Something’s wrong,” I insisted. I could feel it in my gut. “I want to make sure they check your leg.”
I jerked on a pair of pants over my boxer shorts. “You have massive trauma to your brain right now and haven’t said a single thing aboutthathurting. Something is fucking wrong.”
“But…” Finally beginning to look concerned, she shook her head one more time to deny it. “It’s myleg. I didn’t hurt my legs in the accident.” Squinting, she belatedly added, “Did I?”
“Well, I’m about to find out,” I assured her, stuffing my wallet and phone into my pockets.
“But I’m in the ICU,” she argued. “People are checking on me constantly. Paid, professional, medical people, Foster. What’re you going to find that they missed?”
“Hopefully nothing,” I shot back, shoving my feet into my shoes without any socks. “Look.” Pausing after I snatched my keys, I lifted my eyebrows at her. “I don’t care if I end up looking like a fool. Great! Better safe than sorry. But I’mgoingto that hospital because you are not dying on my watch.”
“Geez Louise,” she grumbled, finally crawling off the bed and popping into a fresh new change of clothes for our outing. “I’m already half in love with you,” she complained as she followed me out the back door, pouting. “You don’t have to act like you care so much; you’re just going to make my feelings grow that much stronger.”
I knew she was just teasing, trying to lighten the mood because I was legit freaking out, but my fear would not be swayed.
As soon as I slid the door to my house closed, I whirled toward her in the chilly night and snapped, “Except Idocare.” When she blinked at me, clearly startled by the heat in my tone, I nodded. “Yeah, this is what happens when you get Foster Union to start fallingbackfor you—a paranoid, anxiety-ridden worrywart. Okay, then? Great. Let’s go.”
I whirled away and stormed off, not really concerned about whether she followed me or not. She’d get snapped back to my side eventually. Right now, I was more worried about herphysicalbody.
But as soon as I opened my truck door, she was already inside, sitting in the passenger seat, gaping at me as if I’d lost my mind.
I climbed in next to her without speaking and turned the engine on. She cleared her throat as I pulled onto the road and started down the street.
“So when you saidfalling…” She forced out a small, nervous laugh. “You didn’t actually mean?—?”
