Page 25 of Haze's Jewel

Dropping down into the seat beside her, I ask quietly, “Are you okay, darlin’?”

Her hand drops to her lap and when the screen becomes visible, I can see she was playing a video game on her phone to pass the time.

She sighs. “Yeah, that guy was more annoying than dangerous I think.”

“I agree. The thing is, lots of people that seem more aggravating than anything else turn out to be more dangerous than they look.”

“Do you think that guy was one of them?”

“Come to find out he was here for an AA meeting, and unless I miss my guess, he skipped out on it to booze it up. His brother showed up and he’s in good hands, but I think he seriously lacks good judgement, especially when he’s intoxicated.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to steer clear of him in the future.”

Before I can respond, they call her name. “Do you want me to come back with you?” I ask, rather than just assuming.

“No. I’ll be fine,” she assures me.

I watch her follow the smiling nurse through one of the doors leading to the back. Since the charity we got to pay for her hospital and rehab stay doesn’t cover outpatient care, I go over to the front desk and make arrangements for her visits to be put on my credit card moving forward.

The receptionist is nice and smiley, like women usually are with me. I can’t pay attention to her though because all I can think about is Anna and if they’re being nice to her, if she’s getting that cast off and if, heaven forbid, it’s painful getting it removed. I feel like I should be there to advocate for her because that’s what I’ve been doing all along.

Deep down inside I know that’s fucked up. She doesn’t need me. The doctor she’s seeing is one of the nicest ones she’s had during her recovery.

Plus, now that she’s strong and whole, she can speak for herself. My protective instincts are out of control when it comes to her. I need to throttle that shit back and lock it down. The way to a woman’s heart is not through smothering her with a man’s need to protect her from all harm. It’s like the logical side of my brain knows this shit, but the emotional side is not getting the message.

So, I sit and wait while the two sides of my brain fight it out. Strangely enough, I always thought that I’d never be a mess over a woman. I’ve spent a lifetime avoiding getting into serious relationships with the multitude of women in my orbit. All it took was one disarmingly sweet woman to pull down all the walls I’ve so carefully built up to protect my heart and I’ll falling hard and fast for her. There should be alarm bells going off, telling me to dial it down and step back. Instead, there is only my inner caveman and he’s telling me to throw her over my shoulder and run away with her.

Chapter 11

Annalese

Riding back to the tattoo parlor in Haze’s convertible, I’m on top of the world. I got my cast removed and a clean bill of health. It’s taken a while but I’m feeling more and more like my old self. No, after being in Haze’s protective care, I’m feeling a hundred percent better mentally than I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s been a couple of weeks and I’ve even stopped obsessing about the stranger on the phone who called me Annalese rather than Anna.

I raise both of my arms just to feel the rush of air glide across my skin. The sun is shining on my face, and for once I’m able to let all my problems go. My phone jingles and I’m quick to answer it because it’s the ringtone I set for my mom. We talk off and on. My rehab was quick, compared to hers, but her injury was so much more complex.

Haze is always quiet when I talk to my mother. I wonder if he ever finds it odd that she never asks me to visit. If so, he doesn’t mention it. Of course, my mom and I both know that I can’t visit because my asshole ex and my stepbrother are on the lookout for me.

I give her an update on my medical condition and she’s happy I finally got my cast off. Unfortunately, her rehab isn’t going as well, the doctors had thought that in time, once the bruising to her spinal cord healed then she’d start to regain some mobility. She has feeling in her left foot, but still has numbness in her right. I can tell by the tone of her voice that the long recovery is getting to her, and one of the medications the doctors gave her for the muscle spasms she gets, is making her confused which isn’t helping.

At some point during the conversation, I hear muffled voices and the phone goes dead. This has happened before. She gets flustered when members of the medical team come in, and hangs up the phone without saying goodbye, to talk to them. It’s like she doesn’t have the capacity to do more than one thing at a time. It makes me sad, but I know she’s getting good care.

I slide my phone back into my pocket and try not to let the situation with my mom spoil the day Haze has planned for us. It’s hard though. I’m not going to pretend images of my mother don’t linger in my mind as we make our way back to the tattoo parlor.

Haze is good at picking up on my mood and immediately starts cheering me up. “Want to guess what I have planned for us today?” His voice is teasing and sexy as hell.

I feel a smile jump onto my face. “Let me guess, we’re going skydiving.”

“No. Too risky. Guess again,” he says smugly.

“Hand gliding?”

“No,” he states emphatically.

I raise one eyebrow and try again. “Bungee jumping?”

“Fuck no to all that, you adrenaline junkie.”

“Tell me then,” I demand lightly.

---