Page 48 of Jag

Chapter Fifteen

Jag

“Has she started towake?” River asked as she rushed in the room.

“No. You’re flushed. What did you do, run here?” I asked from the chair beside Poppy’s bed.

“Damn near. We picked up the badges and before I even got mine on, she was gone. I tried to catch up, but the girl is fast,” my dad said when he walked in, clipping the badge to his t-shirt.

“Hey, not my fault you’re out of shape,” River said, and I laughed when my dad raised a brow and glared at her.

Each day that passed while we’d been there, I watched River and my dad grow closer. At first, I admit, it made me a bit jealous that she seemed to be growing closer to him than me. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that she goaded him as a way to get him focused on something else when the stress seemed to be getting the best of him.

That’s when I noticed she did the same with me, but instead of goading me, she touched me. It was anything from resting her hand on my arm to moving the hair off my forehead, or she’d place her hand on my back and rub over the muscles that would tense while I watched the medical team wheel Poppy away for tests. I learned a long time ago that it was the small things that, when added together, made the biggest impact.

“I told you on the phone that it wouldn’t happen right away. They stopped the meds that were keeping her under along with all the other stuff that was hooked up to her. Except for the monitor. Besides, the doctor said it was better for her to come around on her own than for them to force it,” I said and smiled as I watched her run her fingers in the tiny curls on my daughter’s head. I wondered briefly if Poppy felt as soothed as I did when River touched me.

“Oh my God, Dom, I think I saw her eyes twitching behind her eyelids,” River said, touched Poppy’s hair, then said, “Come on, sweet girl. Don’t you want to meet your daddy and grandpa?”

River had no clue the effect she had on others. Or it was possible the effect she had on Amara men. I glanced across the bed at my dad and knew I wore the same expression on my face to River’s words.

“Did you get ahold of Norman?” my dad asked.

“Yeah, he said he would be here as soon as the graveside service is over for Simone.”

One week had passed, and at times it was monotonous. I spent every spare second I had at Poppy’s side. When I wasn’t with Poppy, it was to either run to the hotel to shower or getting the things done for when I’d get to take her home.

There were times I wanted to punch something, like when they came in and changed Poppy’s bandages. It was hard to watch, but for her, I’d do it. Her head was revealed, and I’d gotten my first look at the stitches and the bald spot where her head had been shaved. They removed the one on her arm and the sight of the skin bruised, and sporting road rash down the length of her arm had my hands clenching into fists. I only relaxed after the doctor said that her head and arm were healing nicely.

Simone’s penance for high-end items paid off in the stroller she’d bought. The padding on the head guard kept Poppy’s head injury from being so much worse. Just as the padding on the side saved her arm from being broken. She’d only gotten the road rash they guessed by her arm falling out before the stroller had stopped skidding.

I was over questioning. At that point, I was glad she survived, and nothing else mattered.

One bright spot of the week was the photo album Norman brought in for me. It was filled with pictures of Poppy from birth to a few more current ones from last month.

Norman had other news that day, too. The bastard that ran the red light was charged with Vehicular Manslaughter. He’d spend at least one year, possibly three in jail. He told the cops at the scene that the light had just turned yellow as he was going through it. The tape on the intersection showed him on his cell phone and the light turning red before he reached it.

A little jail time was better than nothing to me. I’d only feel satisfied if he’d gotten the death penalty. Norman already started the paperwork to file a civil suit. Anything granted would go in a trust account for Poppy.

From the time River saw the first twitch, five hours had gone with only three other instances.

“I’m glad I didn’t miss her waking up and sad that she wasn’t awake when I walked in,” Norman said as he stepped closer to the bed. “When you called this morning and told me that they were taking her off the drugs to let her wake, a little part of me thought it was a sign. How stupid am I to have thought Poppy would wake as I said goodbye to her mom today?”

River turned her face into my chest, and I rubbed her back while she cried at Norman’s words. I placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and squeezed, what anger I felt toward Norman left me.

“Hey, look!” At the anxiousness in my dad’s voice, I glanced at him. He was focused on Poppy.

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