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8
DAPHNE
Yesterday was the weirdest day – and one that would go down in the record books permanently;she mused as she lay there listening to Max breathe beside her and being lulled by the faint beep from the machines around him. This certainly wasn’t how she expected to meet someone, and she never anticipated getting married, but Houghton’s words and hearing Max’s desperate cries had struck a chord in her.
Being alone sucked.
Being aloneandterrified?
No, that wasn’t something anyone should ever have to go through. She never really intended to marry the stranger, but as she walked into his room and moved to hold his hand, something else took over in her mind. Max looked like he desperately needed to trust someone – and something in her wanted to be that person.
She had never had any heroic tendencies or urges in her entire life and was slightly commitment-phobic, refusing to be tied down to anything. No house, a cheap apartment furnished with junk that she could pitch at the last minute, craving her freedom and yet now she was tethered to a stranger,married, and living in the middle of Wyoming.
That was not on her mental list of ‘To-Do’s’…
Everything in her wanted to tell this guy not to get attached, that she didn’t plan on sticking around, and they would need to divorce as soon as he got situated and on his feet yet, that wasn’t now and wasn’t happening yet.
Instead, she was lying there, cuddled to some strange man’s side, and had slept with a strange, comforting awareness that had never been there before. If she was honest with herself, his leg looked awful.
She had never seen an amputation or a wound like that before. The stretched skin, mottled bruising, and severity of the wound were staggering. It took everything in her to keep it from showing on her face because she knew that Max was watching her.
His eyes were always on her, almost like he expected her to disappear. He was frightened and clinging to the first ounce of security he could grasp at – but why her? Why exactly had he not turned to Houghton or anyone else?
Ortega obviously knew the man because he’d become ill at dinner one night after hearing that this mysterious guy was on the way and in bad shape. He’d gone outside and was ill, according to Lena, after hearing him yelling at the sweet woman. Lena had looked beside herself when she’d come back inside. Chris had just looked at her and shook her head, Gideon had put down his fork and stared at his plate, looking pale, and Jill had stopped her from going outside to straighten Ortega’s attitude out.
Yet, Ortega surprised her. He was outside the hospital room, looking so upset yet Daphne was the only one who’d entered, braving the lion’s den. Sure, Max had snapped at her, but it wasn’t out of hatred. He was hurting, lashing out, and struggling, feeling completely alone and adrift, and she knew what that felt like to feel isolated. It was weirdly nice to be someone’s comfort.
“Mmm…” she heard him sigh as he tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer. He nuzzled her hair and sighed in contentment, making her heart do crazy wild things.Was he still asleep?She mused, smiling to herself as she heard his even breathing once more.
Oh man, that’s sexy,she thought idly, fighting the urge to smile in awareness. He smelled so good and felt so warm, and just hearing his happiness and contentment, feeling him reach for her in his sleep, was something that really struck her as appealing.
“Max…” she whispered, feeling his hand rest on her hip and fighting the instant sensation of longing it brought within her. This relationship was just temporary until he was able to handle being on his own. She was waiting for her truck to be repaired, hoping to head out in a few weeks, if not sooner.
“Daphne…” he breathed against her ear, and she felt him nuzzle it, causing her to close her eyes in awareness. That simple touch and feeling his breath against her skin sent an electric shiver down her spine. “Have I died and gone to heaven?”
“Newsflash,” she murmured, swallowing. “You are still here…”
“With the sweetest and softest angel cradled against me?”
“I can fix that.”
“I wish you wouldn’t…wife.”
“I can fix that too…”
“Is it so terrible…” he began, and she knew the moment that fragile bubble burst. Every wall between them slammed down with a force that was staggering. She felt him tense as he yanked his hand off of her hip, quickly dislodging the other one from under her head, accidentally pulling her hair as he physically withdrew, curling away from her body.
“Owww!” she winced – and a little insulted. It wasn’t like she had cooties or was ugly. He didn’t have to back away like he was going to catch a disease by being close to her.
“Sorry,” he grimaced. “I’m sorry for all of this. I crossed a line anyway – and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Max, I just don’t think that we should be…”
“No, I know. Nobody is going to force you to do anything you don’t want to – especially with a crippled loser-of-a-guy who’s about to be medically discharged from the Army. Trust me, I don’t need to add to my list of worries, nor do I need to drag you down.”
“Ouch, boy, that was harsh. I don’t think you could have phrased any of that any worse, Eeyore,” she said bluntly, climbing off the hospital bed as quickly as if she’d seen a spider, going so far as to pull the chair beside the bed far from him. “You really have issues, you know that?”
“Multiple ones,” he bit out, refusing to look at her.
