Page 16 of The Way Back Home
Her chin lifted slightly. “Look, I appreciate everything you’ve done—I really do—but I amnotyour patient. Not voluntarily anyway. I’ll be okay.”
“Is that your medical opinion?”
“That’s life experience.”
She reached for her backpack, her lips pulling tight with the pain. “I hate to ask, but do you mind if I take a quick shower before I go?”
He wasn’t crazy about the idea. Those sutures he’d put in were supposed to remain clean and dry, as were the bindings around her ankle. And what if she got dizzy and lost her balance?
Yet he understood the simple bliss of standing under a hot shower with a bar of soap and a washcloth.
“Tell you what. Let me check those sutures. If everything looks good, I’ll cover them, and you can shower.”
She considered that for a moment, then nodded. “That’s fair.”
She limped across the floor on silent feet and sat on the edge of the bed. Unbuttoning the shirt only enough to pull her arm through, she held the material tight against her chest.
As if he hadn’t already seen everything.
“Looks good,” he said, careful to keep his touches light and professional. “Any dizziness? Tingling? Sharp pains?”
“No.”
“You won’t be doing either of us any favors if you slip and fall in the shower.”
“I’mfine.”
She wasn’t, and they both knew it. But maybe she needed to believe she was to get through whatever she was going through.
Noah made sure she had everything she needed,then retreated to the bedroom. Wanting to stay close, he began to strip the bed, but his mind was one hundred percent on the mysterious, intriguing woman in his bathroom.
She was stubborn. Prideful. Wary. But he did admire her spirit. She was a survivor.
Shortly after the shower came on, Noah’s cell began to vibrate, and Mona’s name appeared on the screen.
“Is she still there?” Mona asked by way of greeting, her voice uncharacteristically frantic.
“Relax,” Noah responded in his best calming voice. “She’s here; she’s safe.”
“She’s okay?”
Physically, she would recover. He couldn’t speak to the rest. “She’s up and moving.”
“Oh, thank goodness! I saw Bill driving down there this morning, and I wanted to warn you, but he left Carl here, eating all my cinnamon rolls. He just left.”
Noah smiled. Mona’s cinnamon rolls were legendary. “Save some for me, will you?”
“I’ll make a fresh batch if you promise to keep her safe.”
He wished he could, but it wasn’t going to be easy, not when Teagan was hell-bent on leaving sooner rather than later.
“Her name is Teagan.”
“She told you that?” Mona asked with surprise.
“She did,” he replied. “And she wants to leave.”
“She can’t! Not yet. You have to stop her.”
