Page 9 of Aaron
Aaron only noticed then that he had his tool bag and had a thought that he was messing with something again that was going to cost him more work.But if he were to get him out of this mess he seemed to be in, he’d fix things for him for the rest of his life and not say a single word to him about it.The issue was that he didn’t know what he wanted in the way of getting out of this mess.
Grannie hugged him when she came into the kitchen.He knew that on some level, Grandda was telling her about him having a loose screw, but he didn’t care.Something was wrong with him, and he wanted him to help him fix things so he’d know.He wasn’t even sure that he wanted a mate right now.He had plenty of other things to do other than to find out what a mate would want from him.Aaron felt the sting of something hitting him in the face and looked at his grannie.
“There’s something wrong with you, boy.”He nodded at her while he nursed the wound on his face.“Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll see to it for you.You seem kind of addled if you ask me.What’sthis about you breaking someone’s ankle and her falling into your lap?Your grandda isn’t making any sense.”
“I think perhaps I found my mate.”Grannie had no trouble telling him congratulations and must have hugged him ten times while he sat there at their kitchen table.“I didn’t break her ankle, but she fell into my lap when she broke it a second time.It had been broken before I met her.”
“Where is she?”He told her that he thought she was in the hospital.“You think she’s in the hospital?You’ve lost your mate already?”
“No, no.I didn’t lose her, but I didn’t know.Grandda had told me…it doesn’t matter.I know she’s gone to the hospital, but I’m not sure she’s still there.Dad said that Reagan was going to have to take over for him as he had a date with Mom tonight.I’m going to go there as soon as I’m off work.”Grannie told him he should be going there now; she might need him.“I don’t think she needs me.She seems to have a good head on her shoulders.In a lot of pain, but she’s not the fainting lily type, Grannie.”
“Every woman needs to be pampered once in a while, even if she’s tough as nails.You get your shift finished and head on over there.If she is your mate, and I understand that there is some confusion on that for you—Lordy don’t take your grandda’s advice.He’ll have you married to her by the end of the day.Go see her and talk to her.Not at her but to her.Find out what you can about her and let her know what you are to her.”
“All right.I can do that.”He stood up and sat back down.“I don’t know what to say to her about my being her mate.What if she can’t stand the fact that I belong to her?What am I supposed to do if she’s married or with someone?”
“You’re babbling again.Do you want me to smack your other cheek, son?”He said he thought that once was enough.“Good.You go and see her and talk to her.Tell her what you do for a living.You can do that, can’t you?”
“I can.”He thought of something else.“What if I’m wrong about this?What if I’m just hoping she’s the one and I mess things up because she’s not my mate?”
“If she slaps you, then you’ll know that she’s not.Can’t hurt a mate, you know.”Aaron looked at Grandma, and she nodded.Grandda was standing by the sink like he was ready to bolt.He told him not to go see her.“Why not?I should be able to meet my newest granddaughter, shouldn’t I?Do you suppose she wants to have children right away?You know I’m not getting any younger.”Grannie told him to go play with his tools and not to leave the yard.“That’s not nice.I should be the first to meet her, as you told me I was the first to know.Durn kids.Never did cotton to having fun with me.”
When Grandda was out the door, he looked at his grannie.She was eyeing him like he had glitter on his face, and she didn’t know how to get rid of it or something.He asked her if she was all right.
“I am.I don’t know about you, but I’m just fine and dandy.”He said he was all right.“You don’t act like it.You’re sort of acting like your grandda right now, and I’m not sure what I should do with you.”
“Don’t hit me again, please?”She nodded.He wasn’t sure if that meant that she wasn’t or that she might need to again.He was feeling a bit off himself.But he wasn’t going to say that to her.“I’ll go see her before Grandda does.I’m afraid he’ll figure out a way to see her before I do, and he’ll mess it up like he did the doorbell.”
“I just knew he was the one who messed with the bell.I’m going to smack him silly.Or in his case, sillier.Durned old fool.”Grannie went to the sink and looked out the window.“You’d better get going before he does.In a minute, he’ll figure out that he’s a grown man and can do what he wants, and then it’ll be all over for you getting her to be nice to you.He’ll have her testing the theory about her not being able to harm you before you’re even able to say ‘hi’.”
On his way out to his car, he called in to work and said that an emergency had come up and he was going to have to take the rest of the day off.He wasn’t worried about his job, not really.He could and would find another one if they fired him.But this was important, and he was going to make it as right as he could.
He knew that he’d not be able to see her without some information.He had no idea what her last name was and knew that the only people who would know it would be his brother and his dad.Avoiding Dad right now, he reached out to Reagan, and he’d tell him.
“Her last name is Troff.She’s doing well today.Trying her best to stay off the medications that I have her on.I’m just hoping that she isn’t in a great deal of pain so that the meds take longer for them to work.Not to mention the pain she might be in, but I have her on a regular diet, so if you’re taking her in a sub I heard you two were talking about, she can eat it.”He did think about getting her a sub, but then remembered his grandda.He might well be on his way.“Why did you want to know?She didn’t hurt you, did she?”
“No.I just wanted to go in and see how she’s doing.I might take her a sub some other time, but not today.Like you said, she might be in pain.”He asked him to talk to her about it.“I will if it comes up.I don’t want her to be pissy with me about hounding her about drugs.For all we know, she might well have a problem with them.”
“Nah, she’s clean.I ran bloodwork when I got in there to see her.Dad said she was funny.So far, I’ve not seen that.But like we keep saying, it might be the pain that is bothering her.”He asked his brother if he was in the hospital.He didn’t want to make a fool of himself while he was around to witness it.“I’m on my way to the clinic to work with Dad.He said that he had a couple of patients that he wanted me to take over their care.I said I would.Dad tell you anything about quitting the practice?”
“Not that I’ve heard of.But you know that he’s not one to talk about something unless it’s something that he’s worked out all the way.He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”He pulled up in front of the hospital and started for the door.“I’m going to go in and see if she’s all right.I feel kind of responsible for her since she fell into my lap when she was hurt.”
He thought that he might use that line again when asked until he found out what was going on with her.He’d been thinking too if she’d been married, but didn’t see a ring.And he thought maybe Reagan might well have said something if there was a man in her room.Maybe.Then he thought that he should have asked his brother which room she was in, and he’d not have to make someone else find her for him.Christ, all this mate business was stressful work.He might need a nap before all this was finished.
Chapter 5
Mac was in a shitty mood.It had nothing to do with the staff at the hospital, but her boss had told her that he was going to pull her from the investigation if she didn’t get herself healed up by Friday.He wanted her to mend a broken ankle in less than a week, or he was going to call her home and be done with her.She wasn’t sure what the ‘be done with her’ meant, but she was sure she was going to lose her job.Mac thought about suing her doctor from before, but thought that it would be a bigger mess than she was in now.Just then, her door opened, and there stood the man who had tripped her up.
Not really, but she needed someone to blame, and he was as good as any.There was no way that she barreled into him when he’d just been coming out of the doorway to his office.Mac had heard from his brother, the doctor, that Aaron was a detective.She knew that already, but he’d made it sound like he was king of the police force.She was in a terrible mood.
“What did you want?Did you come to finish me off?”He looked shocked, and she felt bad about it.Then she noticed the flowers he had in his hands.“Are those for me?”
“They might be.But if you’re going to bite my head off for bringing them, then no, they’re for the nurses that had to listen to you to take care of you.”She deserved that and more, but said nothing to him.“I was going to ask you how you’re feeling, but I think I know.Do you need some pain medication?”
“No.Why is everyone pushing the pain meds?I know when I’m hurting, don’t you think?”Aaron didn’t move from the opening of the door, and she felt something inside of her twist up in pain.“Come in or don’t.I don’t care.”
He went out the door, and she wanted to sob.Nothing was going right for her, and she knew it was all on her.When the door opened up, she was just wiping the tears away when he came all the way into the room and sat in the chair beside her bed.When he didn’t have the flowers with him this time, she grew even more frustrated and started to take it out on him.But he stopped her with the lifting of his hand.
“I don’t know you well enough to gauge if this is normal for you, but I’m going to take a guess that it’s not.”She nodded, still feeling the tears falling down her cheeks.“Is it pain?Are you in a great deal of it?”
