Page 75 of Always My Love

“I’ll be right back.” He shifted to get off the bed.

“How’s Blue?” she asked.

He stopped and smiled. “He got a few stitches, but I can pick him up in the morning.”

She shook her head. “I think they saved my life tonight.”

Nick’s smile fell as he nodded. “Yeah.” His eyes moved over to Lucy, who was snoring while half of her body covered Harper’s. “Yeah,” he agreed again and turned and walked out.

Harper lay there, running her fingers through Lucy’s thick fur and musing about just how lucky she’d gotten in the past few months.

After a bowl of Rocky Road covered with chocolate syrup, crushed pecans, and Cool Whip, she fell into a deep sleep filled with dreams of puppies and children playing together.

When she woke, Nick was already out of bed. She could hear him on the phone in the bathroom and strained to hear what he was saying.

Something about a hospital.

When he ended the call and stepped back into the room, he smiled at her.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“Tom. A man matching Fred’s description was at the Edgeview hospital last night. He claimed that a stray dog bit him. He received thirteen stitches on his arms and suffered a broken finger.” While Nick said this, he smiled, then it dropped. “They released him after patching him up.”

“So it was him.” In her heart, she’d known it was. Even if she hadn’t seen him.

“Yeah, we’ve put out a statewide search for him.” Nick sat next to her. He was quiet for a moment then smiled. “How about some French toast in bed?”

She smiled and nodded. “The kind you made with bananas and caramel syrup?” she asked.

“Bananas Foster?” He nodded. “Coming right up. You stay in bed.”

“Bathroom first.” She pulled the covers off her legs.

Nick gasped and rushed to her side.

Both of her legs were covered with bruises and tiny scratches from the sand and rocks.

“It looks worse than it feels,” she told him as he ran his fingers gently over her legs.

“We should put something on these. Did Dr. Stevens see these?”

She nodded. “He told me I could put some of that on the worst of them.” She motioned to the tube he’d given her the night before.

Nick nodded. “Can I help?”

She shook her head. “No, you go make me breakfast. I’ll clean up and take care of this.” She took the tube from him, then kissed him. “I’m hungry.”

He chuckled and bowed slightly. “Your wish is my command.”

She laughed and nudged him aside, then stood up and wobbled towards the bathroom. She tried desperately not to, but her legs were shaky.

She tied her hair up in a bun and warmed herself up under the hot shower spray while trying to keep her hair dry.

After applying some of the goo that Dr. Stevens had given her to the worst cuts on her legs, she put a few bandages over them and pulled on another pair of Nick’s sweats and one of his army T-shirts.

When she returned to bed, Nick was there with her breakfast on a tray.

They sat in the bed together, eating the meal and talking about her conversation with her sister.