Page 34 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity
“Nope, got it right here,” he said, lifting the tubing for her to see before he lifted her shirt far enough to reveal the catheter taped to her abdomen. Selina had suggested she leave it taped at an angle rather than coil it to prevent it from kinking.
“What are you doing?” she asked, grabbing his hand to stop him. “I can do it. Please, get my chair.”
“I’m connecting your catheter to the bag. Selina showed me how.”
“I can do it, Land. Please,” she begged.
He held up his hands and then motioned for her to do it. It was then that she realized she couldn’t see the connections while lying flat.
Frustrated, she flopped her head back onto the pillow and sighed. “I can’t see the connection. If you’ll get my chair, I can transfer to that and do it.”
“Or, I can connect it in five seconds to save you the effort required to transfer twice.”
Finally, she nodded and let him carry out the process until it was connected, and she heard the catheter draining into the bag.
Reece lowered her shirt and covered her with the blanket before kneeling beside the bed. “It’s okay to accept help sometimes, angel. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means someone cares about you enough to take that burden off your shoulders for a few moments.”
With her eyes squeezed shut, she nodded, but mostly, she wanted him to leave long enough for her to fight back the tears. She knew she’d lost the battle when his finger trailed down her cheek to wipe one away. “Could you have picked something less gross to help me with?”
“Angel, there’s nothing gross about what I just did. My God, I’d do it fifty times a day if it meant you never had to go through what you went through this morning. It’s a basic human function that we all do. You do it differently. That doesn’t mean it’s gross or shameful. I think it’s an amazing advancement for spinal cord injury patients. Youdon’t have to do the intermittent catheterization that used to rule your life and make you sick. I know I don’t live in your body or understand what it’s like to do that, but I do want to learn how to help you.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The light was low in the room, and the darkness and shadows made her feel braver than she was as she wiped a tear from her face. “Why do you even care?”
“I’ve always cared about you, Sky, and I always will. We can’t go back to pretending that the other person doesn’t exist once this is over. At least I can’t, so if I learn how to help you, at least I can be there for you as a friend, right?”
“I don’t want to lose you as a friend again,” she agreed with a whisper. It was her way of telling him that all they could be was friends, and the look in his eye told her he understood that.
“Then you won’t,” he promised, kissing her forehead. “I’m going to get your chair. Be right back.”
Land stood and strode from the room, so she quickly wiped her face with the soft sheet. He wouldn’t be gone long, and she wanted to get herself together before he returned. He wanted to help, and she’d allow it for now. It felt good to feel cared for, but once this was over, that was a different story. He had his own life, and staying in touch, while it sounded nice, would be far too painful to her heart when she couldn’t have him in her life for all time.
Once he had the chair next to the bed for her, he climbed onto his side, keeping a sheet between them, and then covered himself with a spare blanket. He propped himself on his arm and slid the other across her chest to cup her shoulder.
“We need to talk.”
“Can it wait until morning? We’re both exhausted.” The last thing she wanted to do was talk about their relationship, or lack thereof, at 2:00 a.m.
“I’m afraid not. I found Silas.”
“What?” she asked, turning to meet his gaze. “How? Why? Where?” Her moan that followed the rapid questions said exactly how she felt about knowing he’d dug up part of her past. “I wanted him to stay buried.”
“He is,” Land said, raising his hand to stroke her cheek with his thumb. “He was using the alias Tom Sullivan.”
“Oh, God, from that video game!” she exclaimed. “He was obsessed with that game. Why didn’t I think of that all those years ago?”
“It probably didn’t cross your mind that he’d use an alias. I’m surprised the private detectives never asked your parents.”
“They may have, but I was pretty out of it for those first few years after he left. So, he’s dead?”
“Yes,” Land said with a sigh. “Once I found his alias, I could trace him to a death certificate in Colorado.”
“Colorado? That’s an odd state for him to pick.”
Land opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but paused. “There are a lot of places to hide in Colorado.”
“When did he die? Did you find out anything else about him? What did he do for work?”
“According to the death certificate, he died three years ago. The cause of death was drowning. There wasn’t a lot of information I could find about him regarding his life or work history. Iris will dig into it in the morning. I’m sorry, Sky. I hated to be the one to tell you this, but you had to know.”
