Page 73 of Damascus & The Wildfire
“Thanks, doll. Can I get a sponge bath later?” he asked with a wink.
The comment earned a snarl from Merrick.
“It’s Dr. Doll to you, asshole. And I’m sure one of the nurses will be happy to give you a sponge bath. Nurse Jason is working today. He’s got nice, big hands. I’ll ask him to fit that in his schedule,” Merci said with a devious grin.
Hatchet held his palms up. “On second thought, I think I’m all set.”
“Good. I’m off for the next few days. My fiancé is taking me away for the weekend, so Dr. Soos will be taking over your case. Take it easy.”
Merci and Merrick slipped out, leaving me standing stiffly in the corner. I chewed my bottom lip and wrung my hands.
Hatchet patted the spot next to him. “C’mere.”
I moved closer and perched on the side of the bed facing him, still uncertain of what to say.
“It’ll take more than Bambi to take me out.”
The little laugh I tried to let out broke into a sob, and before I knew it, the whole dam burst. “I am so sorry,” I whispered as tears streamed down my face.
“Hey, hey,” he said, pulling me against his chest. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
I sobbed something unintelligible, and he held me tighter.
“Kenna, I’m fine. It was an accident. Could’ve happened to anyone.”
“But if I hadn’t blindsided you?—”
He hushed me with a firm squeeze. “Stop that. Like I already told Merrick, you two make sense. If I’m gonna be pissed at anyone, it’s me—for not seeing it sooner.”
I pulled away. “You really think that?”
“Yeah, I do,” he said, wiping the tears from her cheek with my fingers. “Can you do something for me, though?”
“What?”
“Share a donut with me?”
I stood, grabbing two donuts from the box. “I want my own,” I said as I bit into a jelly-filled donut and handed him a bearclaw.
“Unbelievable. I almost died, and you won’t even share the best one.”
A knock on the door interrupted our laugh.
“Maybe we should start calling you Crash,” Reaper called as he walked in, Eva tucked under his arm.
Hatchet grinned. “Too late. No take-backs on the road name once it’s given. Those are the rules.”
As the men drifted into a debate about the salvageable parts on Hatchet’s bike, I turned to Eva. “How’s Brisket?”
Her grin spread. “Having the time of his life with Hawk. I’m asking Rhetta to make them little matching cuts with Maverick patches.”
Reaper’s head jerked around. “Dog cuts are not a thing.”
Eva stuck out her tongue at him. “Don’t think I won’t parade them into Church once they’re officially patched in.”
Reaper rolled his eyes, and Hatchet wheezed out a laugh, wincing as he grabbed his side. “Fuck, you can’t say shit like that.”
Reaper shook his head, returning the conversation to something about exhaust pipes.
