Page 28 of Love and Memories

“Nothing. This is great,” she managed to squeak out.

“Said the crying woman. What’s going on?”

“I’m just overwhelmed. I can’t believe she said yes. I can’t believe I’m in this stupid situation.”

Travis leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She tilted her head to rest against him and breathed in the spice of his cologne. The warm scent alone was enough to stop the gasping sobs, but his strong arm around her had replaced the crushing weight of her problems.

“You’re going to make it through this. You’re not alone.”

For the first time since she woke up in the hospital, she actually believed it could be true.

11

ISABELLA

The nurse handed the discharge papers to Isabella and continued her monologue. The woman had been talking ninety miles a minute since she walked in the door.

“Don’t forget your follow-up appointment on Thursday. Your prescription for pain medication is in there too, but use it wisely. You don’t get a refill.”

Isabella nodded for the twenty-fifth time. She didn’t even remember the last thing the woman said, much less the first. She glanced up at Travis to find he was listening intently to the nurse. She’d have plenty of time to read over the paperwork on the drive, and maybe he’d remember the answers to her questions.

If he had anything to do with her after he dropped her off at Anna’s place. He had good reason to be fed up with her.

The nurse looked around the room. “Where are your clothes?”

Bella looked down at the ratty hospital gown she’d been in for days. “Um, I have no idea.”

“She was unconscious when she got here,” Travis said.

The nurse walked over to the dresser in the corner and started opening drawers. “Oh, here they are.” She pulled out a clear, plastic bag.

Dark, dried blood was smeared over the clothes and bag. She could barely tell the original color.

“You need something better than this,” the nurse said.

Travis stepped forward. “Sorry. I should have thought of that.”

“I didn’t think of it either,” Bella said blankly. She couldn’t wear the gown. The back didn’t secure, and the sides were free to blow in the wind as they pleased.

“I got it.” Travis reached behind his head and pulled the long-sleeve shirt off. The white T-shirt beneath it rode up on his torso, showing off abs no conscious woman could ignore.

Bella sucked in a quick breath and jerked her attention to the wall. Travis didn’t have the hard ridges of a six-pack, but he was thick and strong like a tree. She’d bet on him against one of those well-defined models any day.

He handed her the shirt, and her hand shook as she reached for it. As soon as she hugged the material to her chest, the warmth seeped through her gown and into her skin. The masculine spice she’d come to associate with Travis tingled in her nose as she cuddled the shirt he’d literally given her off his back.

The nurse put the bag on the end of the bed. “I’ll find you some scrubs. Someone will be by shortly to get your contact information for billing. Someone else will come to escort you out.”

“Thanks,” Bella breathed. The hits were coming quickly this morning, and she wasn’t prepared for any of it.

“I don’t even have an address where they can send the bill,” Bella said as the nurse stepped out.

“Don’t worry about it. You can use mine,” Travis said.

Use his shirt, use his address. At this rate, she’d be using his last name by the end of the week.

Nope. Just because things were getting out of hand didn’t mean they’d continue to spiral. She had to believe things would level out and become mundane soon.

Keeping Travis’s shirt close to her chest, she opened the bag and pulled out her old one. It was stiff with blood and split cleanly down the front from collar to hem.

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