Page 31 of Their Haunted Hearts
Whistling came from the utility room as they headed to the sheriff’s locker room. Jenna glanced inside to see Raven pushing his clothes into one of the washer-dryers. She nodded at him as Kane followed her into the locker room. “It looks as if Raven has already showered and changed. Did I take that long driving down the mountain?”
“Well, you drove slowly.” Kane eased himself down onto a bench seat. “I wouldn’t expect you to drive like a maniac. You haven’t driven the Beast for some time.”
Jenna ignored him and busied herself pulling off his boots. By the time he stepped into the shower she could see the extent of his injuries. He had bruises all over. She said nothing and turned on the shower. “I’ll be in the next cubicle if you need me.”
Shivering, Jenna peeled off her soaking boots and clothes. She dropped all their wet sopping clothes into a large plastic bag. She’d take them home to wash and dry. The boots she placed beside the radiator to dry. She showered like lightning and wrapped a towel around her as Kane stepped out of the shower. She smiled at him. “I sure hope Wolfe can wave his magic wand and take away some of the pain. I wouldn’t like to be in your body right now.”
“I’m alive.” He cupped her cheek and smiled at her. “That’s all that matters. I’m starving so that’s a real good sign.”
She dressed quickly and collected up the towels. “I’ll dump these into the washer-dryer. Why don’t you grab an energy bar and a cup of coffee? It’s going to be some time before we get home and we haven’t had lunch.”
“Okay, and I’ll call Susie. She’ll have a takeout order ready for us by the time we head home. I’m not planning on cooking tonight and you’ll be tuckered out by the time you’ve fed the horses.”
Jenna headed for the door. “Okay.”
Ten minutes later they’d arrived at the morgue and Wolfe went to work using his medical equipment to check every inch of Kane’s battered body. Sipping her to-go cup of coffee and nibbling an energy bar, Jenna stood beside Wolfe as he scanned Kane. Images came up on a screen and he pointed out injuries. He turned to smile at her. “There’s nothing to worry about but he’ll be sore for a few days. He’ll want to move the shoulder but it needs time to heal. I’ll give him a corticosteroid injection along with a long-acting local anesthetic. It will relieve the pain for a time but it will get sore again. The joint is very inflamed and will take time to settle. Although I can’t see any permanent damage there. The key to his full recovery is keeping the joint immobilized. You know how stubborn he is, but if he doesn’t follow my instructions, it could lead to permanent damage and weakness in that arm. He would have considerably less strength.” He narrowed his gaze at her. “He listens to you and you’ve nursed him through worse than this. I’ll follow up the steroid injection with anti-inflammatory pain medication that won’t affect his concentration.” He sighed. “We’ll ice it as well.”
Concerned, Jenna folded her arms across her chest. “If he does all this, how long to full recovery?”
“Normal people would feel much better in one to two weeks but can’t do vigorous exercise or lift heavy weights. The next couple of weeks they usually can start gentle exercise but won’t regain full use of the arm for at least ten to twelve weeks. But knowing Kane as I do, he’ll be back to full strength in less than six weeks—if he follows my instructions.”
Nodding, Jenna waited for Wolfe to tell Kane to get off the scanner bed. “He knows his body. I don’t believe he’ll risk permanent injury but he’s stubborn. Why does he have a faster recovery rate than most people? Is there something I need to know?”
“No.” Wolfe grinned at her. “He’s one hundred percent human but he’s trained his body not to respond to pain and other things like cold and wet. He can hold his breath underwater for a long time. He would survive torture and never give in. He moves faster, reacts faster than a normal man, because he’s been highly trained and he keeps up his training. All these things are taught and he is the best at what he does. The fact he is in such great physical shape is the reason he survived. How many people do you figure could survive that fall? He hung on to the cable with a dislocated shoulder. It’s mind-blowing when you think about it. Most people would say it’s impossible but there he is alive and with minimal damage considering the injuries he sustained.” He switched off the machine. “I’ll need to inject him under ultrasound, so head along to the door marked imaging and I’ll get the injections ready.”
Emily came along the hallway as Jenna stepped out of the room. She smiled at her. “He will be fine. No permanent damage.”
“That’s good to know. I have his meds here. I picked them up from the pharmacy on my way.” Emily handed a paper sack to Jenna. “Make sure he takes the anti-inflammatories on a full stomach or they’ll give him a bellyache. The penicillin, he needs to take the entire course.” She walked beside her. “The others are sedatives. You should give him one once he’s eaten so he gets a restful night’s sleep—today and tomorrow night as he’ll be in pain and he won’t complain. Sleep is better than suffering. Watch his leg as well. Any redness, bring him here fast.”
Peering into the sack, Jenna lifted each bottle of medication and examined it. “Okay.” She walked beside her and wondered about Wolfe’s middle daughter. “I haven’t seen Julie for a time. How is she doing at college?”
“She’s away on a course at the moment.” Emily smiled at her. “She is trying to decide her career path. She’s at a conference right now. I figure she wants to work with children. She’ll be coming home in a day or so. She is flying in from Helena.”
“There you are.” Kane stepped into the hallway wrapped in a robe. “Next I get stuck with needles.” He smiled at Emily. “Thanks for stitching me up. You did a great job. I doubt I’ll have a scar.”
“Anytime. Just take the meds and rest.” Emily gave him a hard glare. “Even a tough guy like you can’t fight septicemia.” She squeezed his arm. “And I need my Uncle Dave, so do as you’re told.”
“I will.” Kane grinned. “Just for you.”
* * *
Half an hour later, Jenna had collected the takeout from Aunt Betty’s Café and they’d headed home. Along the way Kane demolished two hamburgers and fed Jenna fries. The injection that numbed his shoulder had put him in a really good mood. He’d even listened to Wolfe’s stern instructions about what he could and couldn’t do. Jenna looked at him. “Now you’ve eaten, take the meds in the yellow bottle. Those are anti-inflammatories and will help with the pain and bruising. You don’t need to take the antibiotics until the morning.”
“Hmm, and these others are to make me sleep.” He buzzed down the window.
Jenna slammed on the brakes. “If you throw those out of the window, I’ll call Wolfe to come by each day and give you a needle to put you to sleep.”
“I’d like to see him try.” Kane snorted and then buzzed up the window. “I don’t need drugs to sleep, Jenna. I sleep just fine. Who will protect you and the kids overnight if I’m in a drug-induced sleep?”
Jenna glared at him. “I’m fine at protecting my kids, and in case it slipped your mind, Raya is a highly trained FBI agent. We have a home like Fort Knox. No one is getting inside our home. To make a full and fast recovery you need to sleep and heal. You’re taking the meds even if I need to crush them and add them to your food, the same as we do for Duke.”
“Were you ever trained as a military interrogator?” Kane raised one eyebrow.
Jenna shook her head. “Of course not.”
“You could have fooled me.” Kane leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
Thirty-One
