Page 61 of More Than an Ex-Girlfriend

The door opens again, and the nurse rolls in a big chair. “It reclines. I stole it from another room. No one was using it there. Get some sleep.”

“Thank you. This little chair isn’t made for sleeping.”

She waves and walks out.

I settle into the recliner, drape the blanket over me, and close my eyes. I’ll be better equipped to help Lettie if I sleep.

I doze, but my brain plays out scenarios in my head, some memories of real events and some nightmares, where I’m screaming Lettie’s name over and over as both sides of the house go up in flames.

The fire has dredged up a lot of grief, but I’m beyond thankful that I have the love of my life still with me. I walked into a burning building to carry her out, and I’d do it again, over and over. And it doesn’t make sense that I kept myself walled off from her for these past few months. Did it even matter that she wouldn’t tell me why she broke up? Aside from cheating or murder, neither of which Lettie is capable of, nothing she could say would change how I feel about her.

If I’m willing to risk my life for her, that’s enough. I don’t need explanations.

* * *

The overwhelming generosityof our friends means I have lots to carry out to the truck. Arms loaded with bags, I blow a kiss to Lettie. “I’ll message when I’m at the front.”

Lettie nods. “Okay. I’m ready to get out of here.” She turns to the nurse. “No offense.”

“None taken. Home is much more relaxing than this place.” The nurse smiles.

Clearly, this lady hasn’t heard about the fire, but I’m not going to bring it up. And honestly, in the last two days, I’ve learned a lot about home. Wherever Lettie is, that’s home for me. And the folks on the ranch are family. Some I haven’t even known a year, but no one would guess that.

When I get to the truck, I fish keys out of my pocket and unlock the door. After dropping all our new stuff into the back seat, I pull up to the double doors in front and message Lettie.

In a matter of minutes, Lettie, in a wheelchair, rolls outside, pushed by the nurse. Using her crutches, Lettie works her way into the passenger seat, and I give her a kiss before running around to the driver’s side.

There aren’t many cars on the roads leading back to the ranch, and I’m careful of potholes so that I don’t jostle her too much. “How are you feeling?”

“Everything considered, not too bad. I feel awful that Tessa will be getting up so early. But as soon as I can put weight on this leg, I’m going back to work.”

“Not sure if you’re ready to go by the house. Beau said that your side is mostly smoke damage. Lightning jumped from the tree to my side, and there’s not much left there.”

“I’m so sorry, Hazy.”

“I’ll live.” I reach over and give her hand a squeeze.

“I wonder if the afghan you made survived. I love that thing.” She swipes at tears.

I hate that I can’t kiss them away, but doing that while driving could be problematic. “I’ll make you a new one. Big enough so that we can snuggle under it together.”

“I like that idea.”

“Also, I should probably mention that I called your mom. You were pretty out of it after pain meds, and they were asking about medical history. I didn’t want you to have an allergic reaction to a medicine or anything, so I called. She yelled at me at first. Then I told her that you were in the hospital and I needed medical information. It was like a switch flipped. She wanted to drive down here, but I tried talking her out of it. I guess it worked because she didn’t show up.” I knew Lettie’s mom was under the influence of something when we talked, and I didn’t want her on the roads. “Has she called you? I didn’t want to ask earlier.”

“She texted me. Said that she’s going to rehab.” Tears brim in her eyes, but she’s smiling. “I hope for her sake that it works. I want her to be happy. Like I am.”

I pull her hand to my lips and kiss her fingers. “You aren’t mad at me for staying quiet about our online connection?”

“No. You surprised me for sure. How long have you known?”

“Since the cookies. Emotions were running high, and I was so proud of myself for moving on and talking to someone else. I wasn’t ready to admit that my heart will find you no matter what, so I didn’t bring it up.”

A wide smile lights up her whole face. “That’s pretty romantic when you put it that way.”

“Good. I thought about it a lot while you were sleeping. And I figured framing it that way might help me avoid the doghouse.” I wink at her. “Doesn’t make it less true.”

She nods, then tilts her head back and closes her eyes. “When the nurse said that about going home, I was glad you didn’t mention the fire. But it made me realize that the ranch feels like home. Mostly because of you, but...” She glances into the back seat at the pile of stuff. “Lilith said there is more waiting for us at the house.”

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