Page 16 of Taming His Honeydoll
“Oh yeah, it’s going to be awhile.”
“Well, keep us posted when they call you,” he said carefully, and then punched the off button.
Emma frowned. “He still doesn’t know anything?”
“He said the firemen are still there, the police are questioning the neighbors, and they will update him as soon as they know something,” he replied, sidestepping any news of damage.
Emma relaxed. If it was that bad, Nat would have told Oliver, she was sure. Unless they were hiding it from her. Her eyes narrowed as she studied her brother. He and Nat were from the“protect the little woman era”and could be holding back. Flaming chauvinists, just like Ty.
“Are you hiding something from me?” She scowled at him.
The doctor chose that moment to enter the room. “I have good news,” the slender man with an Asian background spouted jovially. “There is no fracture to the skull and no concussion. You are going to have a doozy of a headache from the swelling for a few days and look like you went a few rounds in the boxing ring, but your recovery should go well.”
He beamed at them both and slid his dark-rimmed glasses up his nose. “I’m prescribing some meds for the pain, but if you’re the tough sort, you can probably get by with Ibuprofen and Tylenol used alternately for a day or so until the swelling starts to recede. As with any head injury, you need to rest and take it easy. Staying away from computer screens and the like will help with the headaches. Since it’s the weekend, that should help if you currently have a desk job. Do you have any questions for me?”
“Can I go home now?” Emma asked in relief.
“Of course.” He handed the prescription to Oliver along with a small packet. “There are two pain samples in there in case she needs one before you can get to a pharmacy. Four hours apart and they will make her sleepy,” he cautioned. “Are you her husband?”
“No.”
“God no.”
They both answered at the same time, then Oliver continued. “I’m her brother. She’ll be staying with me and my wife so I’ll make sure she follows your instructions,” he replied firmly, shooting Emma an amused look.
“Very good then. I was just going to say she needs extra care and it’s better if she isn’t alone for at least one more night. It looks like we have collected all your insurance information so you are free to go when you are ready.” He grinned and dropped the curtain.
“You could do worse than a husband like me,” Oliver teased with a chuckle.
Emma swung her legs off the side of the bed with a groan. “Not for all the tea in China.”
Sawyer’s handsome face flitted into her mind, his sexy, teasing smile taunting her. Again, a feeling of loneliness engulfed her and she wished for the millionth time that he hadn’t left her behind. The sharp pain of abandonment cut through her heart leaving her bereft once again.
He would never come looking for her, not after what she’d said. Telling him they could never be friends was true though, her feelings went much deeper than that.
It would have been nice to have a husband or a man she was in love with standing beside her bed and promising the doctor she would be taken care of. Loneliness wrapped itself around her like a wet blanket leaving her cold, miserable, and feeling sorry for herself.
Oliver took her elbow and helped her steady herself on her feet. She leaned on him gratefully as he led her out of the ER and into the waiting area where the rest of her family were seated.
Chessy, Ty and Marsha all stood up when she came around the corner with Oliver, but a movement near the window grabbed her attention as a man there turned to face her.
“Sawyer,” she breathed, her heart ready to jump out of her chest. Was he real? She drank him in, her entire body tingling in anticipation. Her ragged, parched emotions were being fed at the mere sight of him.
He was different—no longer a boy, but a rugged, muscled mass of a man now. His hair was shorter, the blond curls gone and replaced with waves. His deep-blue eyes held her gaze, then narrowed as he headed towards her with a firm, determined stride. Joy filled her from head to toe, making her shake all over.
Emma didn’t know where he’d come from, and at that moment it didn’t matter why he’d come. All that mattered is that he was here. The hunger she recognized in every nuance of his body was reflected in her own. She couldn’t stop herself from responding even if she’d wanted to.
Sawyer had come for her.
***
SAWYER SAW THE THREEhe was keeping an eye on stand up and he turned to see if Oliver was coming back. Then he saw her and the years fell away.
Emma!
Avidly he inspected her, his eyes roving and noting every change, no matter how small. Her beautiful, slender figure was a bit fuller in the hips and in her breasts where her mass of tumbled honey locks rested. Her gorgeous eyes were just as he remembered but he didn’t see rejection there—he saw the same raw longing that engulfed him.
Heedless of who was watching, he strode towards her as she flew to him and jumped into his arms like she used to, her legs curling around his waist. He held her beneath her buttocks with one arm and the other around her back.
