Page 27 of Gentle Persuasion

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“Good morning, honey.”

Debbie opened her eyes, stared up into the faces of two extra Brownfields who were grinning down at her, and stretched and smiled. Her arm hit the other pillow and she jerked, suddenly remembering her bed partner. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He was gone. It would have been awkward explaining his presence.

“Cole made us get up,” Buddy said.

Morgan grinned. “He got an early call. He said to bring your food to you. I’ll just set it on the bed here beside you. After you’ve washed up, you can dig in.”

He watched her wince as she tried to smile around the bruise on her chin. A dark anger, similar to the one his son was wearing, began to simmer. He’d give a lot for an hour alone with the man who’d done this. “Can you manage on your own? Maybe you need some help getting out of bed? Are you sore?”

“Yes. No. Yes.”

Morgan grinned again. Their old Debbie was back. “I get the picture. Come on, Buddy. We’re in the way.”

“When it’s time, I’ll fix lunch,” Buddy announced.

Morgan rolled his eyes as they made an exit. “No one wants a diet of pure sugar but you son. I think we’d better just wait and see if anyone even wants to eat. What do you say?”

He hated to discourage the first normal thing his son had offered to do in nearly five years, but he didn’t think any of them was ready for ice cream decorated with dollops of peanut butter and sprinkled with Fruit Loops.

Debbie wanted to laugh. But she wasn’t sure her mouth would take the punishment so she settled for a small smile instead. With a little effort and a lot of moaning, she made it into the bathroom and into a pair of shorts and a huge oversized T-shirt that had belonged to her brother, Douglas. The less that touched her body, the better she felt.

She crawled back into bed, dug into the lukewarm toast, the still-hot coffee, and saved the strawberry jelly for Buddy. Bland food was all her stomach could tolerate.

***

“Yes, darling, I love you, too.” Debbie smiled carefully, tucked a stray curl behind her ear, and pivoted on bare feet as she heard someone walk into the kitchen behind her. Her eyebrows raised at the expression on Cole’s face, but she continued her conversation, knowing that he’d probably misinterpret it and figuring that it would be good for his blood pressure when he did.

Cole wanted to rip that phone out of her hand, demand to know who the hell she was calling “darling,” and then tell them to get one of their own. This one was his.

He caught himself short. What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve given her nothing but walls. What makes me think she wants to climb over?

His eyes narrowed as he watched her body dancing beneath that oversized shirt. He knew she was wearing next to nothing and the thought made him hot…and hard.

“Yes, I promise,” she said. “And I’m really having a good time. No. I won’t forget. I’m proud of you, and thanks for calling. Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”

She hung up with a secretive smile and turned. The wall was behind her. She decided to use it for a prop and waited for Cole to ask. He didn’t disappoint her.

“Who was that?” His question wasn’t friendly.

“Douglas.”

He waited. Nothing more was forthcoming. And it was not enough.

“So…you’re going to make me ask, aren’t you, Little Red?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.” And then her conscience tugged. Last night, after he’d finally let her sleep, had been the best night of her life. She wanted more like it…and often. “Douglas is my brother. He got my number from Lily. He got a promotion and his company is moving him to L.A. Small world, huh?”

“He doesn’t know you were hurt, does he?”

Debbie ducked her head and shrugged, then winced at the movement. “No need. I survived.”

I don’t know if I will. The bruise on her chin made him want to cry. Cole walked over, slipped her over-sized T-shirt down, letting the neckline slide off her shoulder. Another bruise was revealed. He’d seen it in the E.R. It wasn’t any less faint. Neither was the one on her chin. They were very vivid, very dark swatches of purple and green. The thought of that man—of anyone—hitting her with such savagery…

She looked up. The fury in his eyes made her shake. And she knew it was not directed at her. She pushed herself from the wall, wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him.

“I’m okay,” she whispered.

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