Page 53 of Married With Lies

There’s nothing but stubbornness in the look he sends me before returning his attention to the doctor. “How long is all of this gonna take?”

“We will have you mended and back here at home as soon as possible to recover, just as I promised your uncle.”

“Back here?” I say without thinking.

And…

At home??

“Of course.” Dr. Bond flashes a dazzling smile. “My understanding from Mr. Amato is that you are newlyweds. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations.”

“Thank you,” says Cale and prods me with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, thank you,” I say and force my lips to smile. “I’m just so worried about him and I’m very grateful for your help. We both are.”

Dr. Bond beams. “Naturally you, as his wife, will be riding with him in the ambulance.”

“Yes, I am the wife.” My voice is suddenly robotic. “Of course I need to go with him.”

Cale stands up and grimaces in discomfort but he grits his teeth and nods to the doctor. “Let’s get this shit over with.”

“Hold on, honey.” I block his path and cross my arms. “Don’t you think you ought to follow the doctor’s orders and sit on the gurney? After all, so many people have been inconvenienced today. The least you can do is to accept that you should cooperate for your own good.”

Cale’s exhale of irritation is so deep you’d think I’ve just ordered him to tap dance in front of the crowd. What gall. All I’m trying to do is get the obstinate jerk to behave in his own best interest now that he’s invaded my life and probably turned me into an accomplice of some kind.

But then the corners of his mouth twitch and I wonder if he’s stifling a smile. Anyway, he doesn’t argue and takes a seat on the gurney.

I flinch at another closeup shot of the angry wound in his side. The bullet entered just below his right ribs, just two inches from the edge of his chiseled abdomen. There’s a mirror of the same hole where it exited in the back. I wish I knew more about biology and what kind of important parts might be located in that corner of the body.

“Don’t you worry, Sadie.” Dr. Bond pats my shoulder as Cale is grumpily strapped into the gurney. “Your husband is in excellent hands.”

The doctor then steers me out of the room to follow Cale’s gurney to the waiting ambulance. I wiggle away to have a quiet word with Gus, who has kept her mouth shut while watching everything unfold.

“I have no right to ask you a favor like this but-”

“Of course I’ll stick around here at the ranch,” she says and then gives Doctor Bond a final onceover. “See if you can find a way to discreetly snap a photo of that view. I need to fill some space on my dream board.”

“Absolutely,” I say with no clue how to pull that off.

Out front, Peggy and Jasper are staring as Cale gets loaded into the ambulance. There’s a background soundtrack of barking from The Doghouse plus the outraged howls of Apollo and Zeus from where they are still closed in Peggy’s bedroom.

“Feel better, Mr. Wingate.” Jasper calls with a cheerful wave. Not his fault. I never did tell him Cale’s name.

I wave back. “Thank you, Jasper. Mr. Wingate appreciates the support.”

“Who is Mr. Wingate?” Dr. Bond says as he helps me climb up into the ambulance.

“It’s just an expression,” I say. “You know teens and their memes and pop culture jokes. Mr. Wingate is slang for a cranky menace who practically ignores you for months, then ruins your day and yet still has the audacity to behave quite rudely when he should really be prostrate with gratitude.”

“Right.” Dr. Bond blinks. “Yes, I think I have heard that one before.”

“Jesus,” Cale mutters and tries to blot us all out by covering his eyes with his arm.

I kneel down near his head and lean close to his ear. “Quit complaining. Or I’ll order Dr. Bond to sedate you.”

He keeps his mouth shut. I’ll count that as a victory.

15

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