Page 9 of First Love, Second Draft

She did a double take.Five hours?She let out another groan, this time one hundred percent pirate. So much for a quick catnap.

“Here.” He took the pillow out from beneath her feet and shoved it behind her shoulders.

“Oh, would you knock it off with the pillow already? How did you even give me those pills?”

He shrugged. “I crushed them up and mixed them with water, then used an eyedropper syringe-looking thing I found in the bathroom cabinet to pour it drop by drop into your mouth. What?” He adjusted the dish towel back over his shoulder. “That’s what nursesdo.”

“That’s what psychotic killers do.” Gracie grabbed her forehead. No wonder she felt groggy. “I need some water.Narcotic-free water.I see now I need to specify.”

The front door burst open and slammed shut.

“Sorry it took me so long to get back.” Mona kicked off her high heels, talking a mile a minute into her purse. “I take it Matt got you inside okay. You need anything? Water? Tea? Sandwich?” Her nose crinkled. “Did someone drop off Chinese?”

When Mona finally looked up, her red lips froze in a circle as her eyes swiveled back and forth between Noah and Gracie, finally landing on Gracie. “What is he doing here?”

“Nice to see you too, Mona,” Noah said in a low, sexy drawl.

Sexy?No.Gracie clutched the sides of her head tighter. See? This was exactly why she didn’t take pain medicine. Not only did it affect her ability to operate heavy machinery, it clearly affected her ability to think rational thoughts around her husband.

Ex-husband!

How was she supposed to fix the ending of her story in this condition?

Mona stomped to the couch, her rosemary scent arriving a beat before she did. “Is this why you won’t get serious with Luke? Because you’ve been planning to let thisbustermove back in with you?”

“Hey. Someone needs to take care of her,” Noah said. “Who’s Luke?”

“He’s not moving back in with me. I can take care of myself.”

“Well, listen here, little missy.” Mona blinked rapidly, which she tended to do when she was flustered. Along with using terms likebusterandlittle missy. “You can’t take care of yourself, not really. But obviously we have things under control here, so as for you,Jack”—She blinked and pointed a finger at Noah—“you can hit the road.”

“Right. You have things so under control you would have left her alone to die if it hadn’t been for me,” Noah said. “Who’s Luke?”

“You would’ve left her alone to die five years ago if it hadn’t been for me,” Mona shot back.

“Nobody’s dying here. Would you both knock it off?” Gracie shifted on the couch and winced. Before she could stop them, both Mona and Noah were in front of her, attacking the pillow and clawing her hair.

“You need that pillow adjusted?” Noah asked.

“Is your hair caught on your shirt?” Mona’s talons snagged several long strands.

“Stop.Stop.” The pain medicine was not only making Gracie fuzzy, it was making her sick to her stomach.

“See?” Mona took over fluffing the pillow behind Gracie’s back with enough vigor to bruise another rib. “She wants you to leave.”

Now Noah’s hands were on the pillow, whacking and tugging. “No. She said she wants you to stop.”

“I want both of you to stop. Good grief, I’d be better off with Kathy Bates’s character straight out of the movieMiserytaking care of me instead of you two.” Gracie fanned her face. “I don’t feel so good.”

“What do you need?” Mona and Noah spoke at the same time, jockeying in front of her for positioning. At least they’d stopped playing tug-of-war with the pillow. “Water? Ice? Fan? Water?”

“You already saidwater.” Mona elbowed Noah’s side.

“I know I already saidwater.” He elbowed her elbow.

The two of them elbowed each other, arguing back and forth about what had been said and not said.

“Can one of you just grab me a trash can before I puke?” Gracie interrupted.

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