Page 48 of Forever Your Touch

“Thank you.” She pulled in a breath, the sound gasping and full of tears. “Here’s Mase. I can’t talk anymore.”

She didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the conversation. All she could feel was the blinding pain in her leg. Why had she even tried to cut the damn grass? She knew she was prone to accidents, being the biggest klutz on the planet. It was such a stupid move on her part, but she’d been mad.

Pissed off at Ray. That was all she seemed to be anymore.

He’d come home, apologized for his behavior, and then gone to his parents’ for a couple hours instead of being with her. Then this morning, when she’d asked if he could cut the grass, he said he was going fishing with his dad.

Again, everything but being with his girlfriend.

She’d told him she’d cut the damn grass, and he’d just nodded and said “Thanks” while he got his fishing gear together. Didn’t stop even once to think about her inability to stand on two feet for very long.

A part of her was starting to think maybe Keith and the rest of her family were right. Ray loved her; she knew that. She saw it in his eyes. What they’d gone through, well, it bound them forever. But sometimes love wasn’t enough. Maybe the past should be left in the past. The more she was here without anyone telling her what she didn’t want to hear, the more she was starting to realize they were right.

Especially since Mason came into her life.

He’d been so angry she hadn’t woken him up to the cut the grass. Had Ray been standing there, she had no doubt Mason would have beaten his ass. And right now, she might even welcome that. Ray knew she could get hurt, and he hadn’t cared.

But she was stupid enough to try to do it. It was as much on her as it was Ray. She knew better. Especially after the last time she’d tried to mow the lawn back home and this nearly happened. Her dad had saved her from any real harm. He’d been as upset as Mason too, but she’d only been trying to help out. He’d been so tired that day.

She felt the ambulance stop. The pain radiated all the way up her leg when it did. Jo knew without even seeing the x-ray and whatever other kind of test they ran she’d really screwed up this time. God only knew what kind of damage she’d done to herself.Stupid, stupid, stupid.

She was rushed to a trauma room and away from Mason. She tried to explain what happened while they worked to get the bleeding stopped. It hurt like hell, but she was already woozy from blood loss. Once that was done, she was taken to x-ray and then to have an MRI. During all this, not once did they give her anything for the pain. Bastards.

All this took about an hour, and she was grateful when they finally took her to a room in the ER to await the results. They came and did blood work too.

“Miss?”

“What?” Jo blinked, not realizing the nurse was even in the room.

“Do you have insurance, honey?” The nurse was young, not much older than herself. She seemed nice, her smile sympathetic.

“I do. I just don’t have my purse with me. Can I have someone bring it in later? Or maybe call my dad. My insurance is through him since I’m still in school. He might be able to give you the policy number.”

“That will work. What’s his number?”

Jo rattled it off and then started answering the nurse’s questions. One of her jobs must be admission work since Jo was taken to a trauma room instead of check-in on arrival.

“You go to school at NYU?” the nurse asked when she inquired about Jo’s occupation.

“Yeah. I’m a sophomore there.”

“Me too.” The girl grinned. “I’m getting my RN. I got my LPN license at the vocational school my senior year in high school. My name’s Beth.”

“Nice to meet you, Beth.” Jo had met a couple of people since school started, but none she liked as much as this nurse. It was weird. She’d barely met the girl, but something clicked the way it had with her best friend back home. “I just moved here, actually. Great way to ruin the semester.”

“I’m sorry.” Beth scrunched her face in sympathy. “Tell you what, once we get you out of here, why don’t you come meet me and my friends for a cup of coffee or something? We’ll show you around.”

“That would be really great.” At least one good thing came out of this crappy day. She might have found a new friend.

“You decent, Josephine?” Mason called.

“Yeah, come on back.” She shifted, and a little hiss escaped her from the pain.

“Didn’t they give you anything for the pain?” Mason asked as soon as he saw her face. She shook her head, and he looked mad enough to hit something. “I’ll take care of that right the fuck now.”

“Boyfriend?” Beth asked as she turned off the computer and turned around.

“No. He’s my brother’s best friend and has declared himself my fill-in big brother. I’m just glad he’s here. My boyfriend, Ray, is fishing with his dad.”

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