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Gotta love her.
She walked farther into the room, ran the top of her fingers over the baby’s head, then moved on to me.
“You look rough,” she said. “And sound rougher.”
“I feel rough,” I admitted. “I think I remember something about being sedated. Is that something that’s done now?”
“That was done the first day. It’s been worn off for a while. We were getting nervous.” She paused. “Who knew the key to getting you to wake up was leaving?”
I cleared my throat or tried to, but whatever was in there was having a hard time clearing. Especially when I tried to clear it and my chest felt like it was about to break in half.
“You have a few broken ribs due to the CPR that was performed on you. Also, two broken collar bones.” She hesitated. “Did you know the guy that did it was an ex-heavyweight champion? I should think you should count yourself lucky you only have three broken ribs.”
I would’ve laughed had I had the energy. “What else is wrong with me?”
She listed off the injuries.
“The main concern was the break here.” She pressed her hand against my left leg that was covered in plaster. “You broke your leg and the bone nicked your femoral artery.”
That sounded bad.
“They were worried about a neck injury at first, but there seems to be nothing wrong with that part of your body. You have a bruise the size of my hand on your throat, but otherwise, you’re completely fine,” she continued.
I felt the baby between my legs lifted and I looked over at my mom.
“Where ya goin’?” I wondered.
“I’m going to go home now that your wife has arrived back to keep an eye on you.” She paused. “This baby thing is hard. I don’t think that I remember y’all being that hard.”
I grinned. “I don’t think we were that hard, as much as you’re just older now. You had us when you were twenty. You’re a bit older now.”
She flipped me the bird. “I’m a spring chicken, thank you very much.”
She laughed her way out of the room and I called as loudly as I could muster, “Love you, chicken.”
She blew me a kiss, leaving me alone with my wife.
Wife.
Oh, how I wish that were true.
“How did that happen?” I asked as I got a load of the ring, now sized, on her finger.
“Well, when your brother tried to have you killed,” she said, “this really nice nurse came up and helped me by handing me your things. She said I needed to check the pockets. I did and found this ring and she gave me these really huge eyes. And I kind of got flustered, put the ring on and announced that you were my husband and Braxton didn’t have any say so on what happened to you. I made them continue CPR. You went to the OR, and I waited. Your dad took the ring to be sized by their jeweler, and I just got it back today.” She blew her hair out of her face. It was still slightly damp, showing her urgency in getting back here. “It’s been a whirlwind of a week.”
It sure sounded like it.
I squeezed her hand then said, “Come give me a hug.”
She immediately came to me, fitted herself against me as best as she could without jostling me and then sighed. “I’ve missed you, Bain McDempsey.”
I curled my arm up and wrapped it around her head, pressing her face into my neck.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I teased.
She snorted against my skin, which made it tickle.
“Bain, you don’t remember shit. Because you weren’t thinking about me, or you, or anything. Admit it,” she teased.
I let her head go, and she pulled away.
“I don’t remember anything,” I admitted. “I do remember waking up once and hearing the doctor list off all my injuries… but that’s it.”
Just as she was about to say more in reply to that, the door of my room opened and my whole club filed in, starting with Wake and ending with Cassius.
They all came and shook my hand, but the surprising part was how they all finished with a hug to Luce.
“You doin’ okay?” Cassius asked her when he stepped away.
“Fine.” She smiled. “How about you?”
“Fine.” He grinned, then turned back to me. “Now that we got all the formality out of the way… let’s talk about your brother and his crazy ex-girlfriend who also happens to be his baby mama. And let’s do it, preferably, before you go back to sleep.”
Before I could reply, Sunny walked into the room.
“I can help with the last part,” Sunny said, giving Cassius a reproachful look that said he knew what he meant without him actually having to say it. “I couldn’t help but overhear.”
Cassius grinned unrepentantly.
“Where is this girl?” I asked.
“Jail,” he answered. “After she hit you with your car—and it was your car. Your brother was letting her drive it—she was arrested. Well, after she gave birth and was officially released from the hospital. She admitted, with her lawyer present, that she was under the illusion that she needed money. And the best way to get that money, she believed, was to take the money out of your life insurance policy.”
