Page 32 of Unsteady in Love

“I’ll be fine. My head just feels a little wonky.” Sounds were distorted, and it was difficult to understand what Rodriguez was saying, but I managed. “I probably have a concussion, but I’ll be all right, man. Don’t worry about me. Me and Prue with our matching concussions.” I smiled, my eyes falling closed.

He looked troubled and unsure. “Stay with me, man. Think about your wife and how badly you want to see her.”

I wanted to see her so badly. To feel her in my arms and never let her go.

I blinked, and Rodriguez was gone. Everything was gone. I could only see smoke as it became thicker with each passing second. It invaded all my senses. My skin burned, and I choked on the smoke, but I couldn’t move. All I could do was cough as my body remained frozen. I was being pulled deeper and deeper into myself, unable to stop from slipping away.

Where had Rodriguez gone?

My last thought was of Prue. Her beautiful face flashed before my eyes as I drifted away.

20

PRUE

Sitting outsideon the back deck, I sipped my coffee as I watched Atticus chase after a squirrel. It was early. Too early if you asked me, but I hadn’t been able to sleep. I’d tried watching a movie last night, which explained my current state of sleep deprivation. When I did fall asleep, I dreamt of Holden, but not the good kind of dream where I woke up rubbing myself against the mattress or with my fingers inside my panties. Instead, I kept dreaming he would be standing in front of me smiling, and then all of a sudden, he’d get a tormented look on his face before he started to fade away until there was nothing left of him.

Finally, I decided to get up and make another pot of coffee. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day. I needed to go to the DMV to pay the taxes on my new car and get plates for it. I was a little nervous about going out by myself. So far, since I’d been home, Alex’s friend Josh had driven me, but now that I had a car to drive, I needed to get back in the saddle. I couldn’t ask Josh to drive me around forever.

I made it through the DMV with only about a thousand yawns as I waited. I never wanted to go back again. Normally, I would have read on my phone, but I hadn’t gotten the all clear yet from my doctor. I probably shouldn’t have been driving either, but I wasn’t going to call and ask Josh. Surely there had to be some way to make the DMV a more pleasant place to wait. Maybe have dancers to watch. Anything would be better than a bunch of pissed-off people waiting their turn.

As I pulled up to the front of the house, my phone rang with an unknown number. Normally, I wouldn’t answer, thinking it was a telemarketer, but something told me I needed to answer the phone. Hitting the button to take the call, I answered. “Hello?”

“Is this Mrs. Montgomery?” an unknown male voice asked.

“This is she,” I replied as I parked in the garage.

“Ma’am, I’m Sergeant Bishop, I regret to inform you that your husband has been seriously injured. He’s being taken to Germany where he’ll receive surgery for his injuries and continue to stay there until he can be moved stateside.”

NO! No. No. No. NO!

Holden couldn’t be hurt. I refused to believe it. I didn’t want to believe that he could be taken from me before we were really even an us.

“Mrs. Montgomery, are you still there?” he asked, concerned.

“Yes, I’m still here,” I sobbed out. “Is my husband going to be okay?”

“There’s no way for me to answer that right now. I can keep you informed as I find out more information. Since it may be some time before Sergeant Montgomery is brought back to the states, you have the right to come to Germany to be with him.”

“I want to be with him. What do I need to do?” I asked, stumbling out of my car and into the house so I could take notes.

Everything was a blur after I got off the phone. I booked my flights, packed, and headed to the airport. Once I was on my way, I called Alex to let her know what was going on and Josh to look after Atticus. After that, I briefly remembered going from one airport to the next. All my life I’d been afraid to fly, but my need to be by Holden’s side overrode everything in me. The next thing I knew, I was being greeted by a nurse at the front desk of the hospital.

“Ma’am,” I sagged with relief that she spoke English. “I regret to inform you that Sergeant Montgomery has requested to have no visitors.” The nurse had the decency to look away.

“What?” I whisper-yelled. “I’ve been flying and trying to get here for two days, and now you’re saying I can’t see my husband?” My legs felt unsteady as everything caught up; I leaned against the wall.

“No, ma’am, you could see him, but he doesn’t…he doesn’t wantanyvisitors,” she tried to say as delicately as possible.

“Could you please tell him that I’m here and want to see him?” I asked, slumping into the wall.

“Of course, but I can’t promise you that he’ll change his mind.”

“Well, you tell him that I’m not going anywhere until I see him. I didn’t fly all this way to get turned around at the door. I’ve never flown a day in my life, but I got myself on a plane. For him.”

“I understand, and I’m sorry. Sergeant Montgomery was in surgery when you were called. I’ll relay your message.”

“You do that,” I snapped, instantly feeling guilty. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault that Holden didn’t want to see me. If he wasn’t hurt, I would rip him a new asshole for taking at least ten years off my life and then refusing to see me.

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