Page 98 of A Twist of Faith
Ma Mitchell sidled up next to Dee’s mother and placed a gentle arm around her. “Will you help me find a nurse, Marion, and we’ll be right back with something.”
“Do you want something to drink, baby?” Dee’s mom squeezed her hand. Thankfully it was the right one. “Are you sure you’ll be okay if I leave.”
Dee swallowed through her dry throat and nodded. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll be right back. Don’t you worry.” Her mother scuttled out the door, but not before looking back over her shoulder at least four times. Dee wasn’t sure what was worse—having an absent mother or this present one.
Ma Mitchell offered a wink before the door closed behind them, providing yet another contrast between the two ladies. Maybe with Grace Mitchell around to ease her mother’s rough edges a few more miracles awaited.
If …
Dee pushed a shaky hand through her hair, looking anywhere else but at Reese. “I probably look like I’ve been in a fight, don’t I?”
“You had a fight between life and death, darlin’. It ain’t pretty.”
“Fantastic.” His words registered and she shot him a look, then relaxed back onto the bed, exhausted from the slight movement. “Ain’t is not a word.”
Reese leaned forward, his dark eyes a chocolatey pool of compassion and warmth. “Now Iknowyou’re going to be alright.” His grin broadened. “So if I stick around and use bad grammar long enough, I reckon we’ll have you out of this hospital by tomorrow.”
“I hate hospitals.”
His expression gentled with understanding. “Yeah, that’s how I feel too. Bad memories.”
They sat in silence a moment and she studied him. “You need to shave.”
“I’ll make a wager with you.” He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his chin. “I’ll shave my face as soon as you can go home.”
She tried to smile but wasn’t sure it worked. Her eyes proved heavy all over again. “I don’t make wagers anymore. They only hurt the people I …” She swallowed and avoided looking at him again. “People I love.”
He hesitated, then sat down in the chair next to her bed. “How ’bout we make a list, then? What do you say about that?”
She adjusted herself in the bed to sit up straighter and winced at the pain in her foot, her head throbbed in time with the pulse in her leg. Oh, the humility!
His hand smoothed against her shoulder. “Easy now. Doc said you had a broken foot.”
“I’m not the best patient.”
“Now, ain’t that shocking?” He couldn’t hide his sarcasm, not that he tried too hard.
She raised an eyebrow to him in warning. “What kind of list do you suggest, Mr. Pleasant?”
He leaned in close again and pushed back another errant piece of hair. She must look frightful, but the sweet look in Reese’s eyes never let a clue of it. Hope turned a whirl in her stomach, right next to the nausea.
Reese held up one finger. “Number one, you need to eat something. It will make you feel better.”
“You sound like your mom.”
“Smart woman.”
“Number two?”
“You get some good rest tonight so you can get to number three. Going home.”
Her dry mouth became dryer. “And after that? After I get home?”
“We have the talk we meant to have before you decided to drive your car into a river.” One side of his lips inched back up.
“I was on my way to you.” She pressed forward, words breaking apart and tears blurring her vision again. The beeping in the room sped up too. “Reese, I’m sorry—”
