Page 50 of Deception and New Direction

I snorted and slapped my hand across his shoulder. “Youare such a guy.”

“Yes, butIthink that’s why you like me.”Hewinked at me. “Ipromise ifIrecover from this and don’t actually die—as you keep promising meIwon’t—thatIwill allow you to take full advantage of my body as your payment for taking such good care of me.Untilthen, canIpretty please get some more soup?”

He lifted his empty bowl and put it in front of me with the biggest cheesy smileIhad ever seen.Asmuch asItried to hold it in, a little chuckle slipped through.Iescaped to get him more soup so he couldn’t see as that smile got bigger.

What wasIgoing to do with this man?

Needing some time to think and also getDashout of the house so he didn’t botherJack, we came out to the backyard, andIsat on the bench by the pond.Itwas so peaceful here.Iimagined in a few weeks as more stuff started to bloom, this would be the most beautiful spot to be.Maybeeven in the fall when the leaves changed and the backdrop of the woods would be filled with color.

I sat out there for a solid thirty minutes, just thinking peacefully whileDashchased the tennis ballIthrew for him four-thousand times.Thankfully, he was not a fan of the water.Otherwisehe likely would have jumped in there any time he saw a fish or frog.

The sun had started to set and the little warmth left in the air was now gone, soImade my way back inside.Iwalked back in to findJackin the kitchen getting something to drink.

“You okay?”Iasked him.

“No,” he responded. “Thereis actually somethingIneed if you don’t mind helping.”

“Sure,”Itold him, more than happy to be able to help.

He walked over to me and slid his arms around my waist. “Whatwould help me heal the fastest is a snuggle buddy.Willyou be my snuggle buddy?Doublepoints if you’re naked.”

I rolled my eyes, trying very hard to contain my laughter. “You’reincorrigible.Youknow that?”

“I’ve been called worse.”Hepopped that sexy grin at me, and as much asIhate to admit,Ibecame putty in his hands.

“Fine,”Iconceded.

I needed this cast offASAP.Ihad a feeling the longerIstayed here, the moreIwould be conceding to this man on a daily basis.

20

RUTHIE

Two days afterJack’s“near-death experience” as he called it, he was feeling back to normal and we were finally off to get my cast removed.ImadeJackwait in the lobby whileIwent into the patient room.

“HiRuthie.I’mDr.JenFoster,” the doctor said as she walked into the exam room. “I’vegot good news and bad news.”

My heart dropped.WasInot going to get my cast off today?

“The cast is coming off, butIwant you to wear a boot for an additional two weeks, just during the daytime.”

Well, part of that was good news, thoughIdidn’t really understand.

“Is it still broken?”Iasked.

“No, and the bones are healing nicely,” she responded. “Butyour ligaments and soft tissues are still healing.Also, a boot allows for controlled weight-bearing as your foot and ankle continue to heal.”

This made sense, butIwasn’t thrilled about it.

“You are very active, andIknow you have a dog, so this will help us from overloading the area too soon,” the doctor said, andInodded back. “Thegood news is that you can take this off to shower and sleep, so that will make it more comfortable.Evenif you sit on the couch at night or something to watch a movie or read a book.Ireally just want you wearing this when you’re going to be actively putting weight on it.”

The more she spoke, the better this sounded.ThoughIdid feel bad because my friends and coworkers were having a party for me celebrating getting my cast off, andIwould be walking in with no cast but still looking injured.

Jack was sitting in the waiting room whenIwalked out.Hiseyes scanned up and down and noticed the boot rather quickly.Helifted a brow as if to ask what happened.Thenurse who had followed me out—and whoIsuspected had a crush onJack—felt the need to walk over and tell him everything about taking care of my boot.Ijust rolled my eyes as she filled him in since it was pretty self-explanatory.

He turned to me when she was done and smiled at me. “Atleast you don’t have that hideously bright pink cast anymore.”

I knew he was teasing me in order to get me to smile, soIjust rolled my eyes and started walking—though it resembled more like hobbling—to the door.

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