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“We all are. Thankfully.”
“It was close,” I admitted.
Harlan scanned me head to toe. “Yeah, from what I hear, I need to start kicking your ass in some knife drills.”
“I’m hoping I won’t need them.” I reached down to take Ev’s hand. “Any word?”
He nodded. “We found the family. Nathan was keeping them under guard near their home in Texas.”
Texas. Holy fuck.
“They’re letting the guy go. He really was forced.”
Now that Nathan was gone, I didn’t care. The man he’d kidnapped would be traumatized, given what he’d been a part of, and that his family’s lives had been at stake. No doubt Nathan hadn’t been bluffing.
“I can actually come back to work,” Evelyn said. “If you want me.”
“Hell yes, I want you.” Lena’s voice was way too loud. “But not before you’re ready. But when you are, we’re going to tear down this town with new recipes!”
I looked at Grace, and she nodded. She came over and put a hand on Lena’s back. “Speaking of that, let’s let Evelyn rest.”
“Okay.” Lena hugged Ev one more time, and as she turned away Grace stepped down and hugged her too.
“I’m so glad you’re alive. When you’re ready, I still owe you dinner at Ruby Round.”
“For sure,” Evelyn said with a smile.
Grace guided Lena out of the room, and Harlan’s eyes never left her. He stared after the two of them long after they’d disappeared.
“Everything else okay?”
His gaze snapped to mine. “Yeah. And I’m the envoy.”
I raised an eyebrow, but he looked at Ev. “We didn’t want to overwhelm you with all seven of us in here. But all of us wanted to tell you that we’re glad you’re all right, and we’re happy that you’ll be staying as a part of the family.”
Ev’s hand tightened on mine. “Thank you.”
Harlan nodded to me and left. They were right not to overwhelm her. She was already reaching her limit. So when the doctor knocked on the door apologetically, I gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
“Quite a lot of excitement,” the doctor said, flipping through the chart and checking the nurse’s notes. She didn’t look alarmed at all, so that was comforting. It was the same doctor I’d seen last night, and she’d been leery of letting me stay. But given the unique circumstances, she’d relented.
“Yeah.” Ev’s voice was weak.
“I know it’s going to be a complicated answer, but how are you feeling?”
Evelyn laughed, her voice hoarse. “Everything hurts.”
“We can help with that.”
“Is there anything that you’re going to do here that I can’t do at home?” Her voice shook a little, and I knew that she was scared to ask. “I really just want to go home.”
The doctor looked at her for a long moment. “I’d like to keep you for a couple more days, but you’re in good shape, and I know where you’re going. If you’ll come back once a day to make sure that the burns are healing well, and follow the instructions that I give you to the letter, I’ll let you go home.”
“I’ll make sure,” I said.
The doctor smiled. “I’m sure you will. I’ll give the nurse my discharge instructions and order some prescriptions that you can pick up on the way home, then we’ll get you out of here. But I wanted to mention something.” She put the chart at the end of the bed and leaned against the end of it. “One of the best plastic surgeons in the country lives over in Bozeman. I don’t know why he’s holed up in Montana when he could be making a shit ton of money in a bigger city, but he’s here. And one of his specializations is burns.”
Evelyn let out a tiny gasp.
