Page 81 of Choosing My Happiness
Daisy swallowed and looked away. Then she sighed, pulling her hand out of my grasp and leaning on the bed. She had a serious expression on her face as she looked at me thoughtfully.
“How bad…” she started, then stopped herself before changing the question. “What would happen to you if we came clean, didn’t hide, and made our relationship public?”
I dropped my legs off the side of the bed and sat up. “What’s brought this on?” I asked, my heart pounding.
She dropped the swab into a second bowl and stepped between my legs, biting her lips as she rested her hands on my thighs.
“I almost lost you today, and if it had happened anywhere else, I wouldn’t have known.” Her voice hitched. “I could have lost you and never known. I need…”
I grabbed her face and kissed her.
57
Chapter 57: Daisy
Time disappeared.
Jim surrounded me, invading all my senses. The heat from his mouth and body thawed the ice that had swallowed my heart when he stepped out of the ambulance. My hands clenched his hips, trying to meld my body into his, where I belonged.
“Children, we’re in a hospital!” A voice rumbled with fake insincerity, then a low chuckle. “Thought they might have stripped you off by now.”
I jolted back, held steady by Jim’s hands.
“Fuck off, Bear,” Jim sighed with no malice, just a sag in his shoulders before his soft eyes found mine again. “If you’re still wondering what would happen if we came clean, this is probably it. Some will hate us, but most would tease the fuck out of us. Blaze never deserved you. Matchstick was a blind old idiot who couldn’t see how amazing you are, and Molly—”
“Is an egg donor,” I interrupted. “It’s just an egg donor and incubator.”
Jim smiled at me, his eyes crinkling on the edges. “Just an egg donor,” he repeated, then jumped and swore. “What the fuck man?!”
Bear had somehow snuck in, gloved up, and was holding the dirty swab in his fingers.
“You were distracted.” He shrugged. “Best time to clean it. I’ve got experience.”
“Fuck off with your experience. There’s people with qualifications here!” Jim objected.
I laughed as I took the swab off Bear. “Let me numb the area first,” I suggested. Bear huffed.
“Pussy,” he muttered as he ambled to the chair, then frowned at the seat. “Ew, you been sitting there, you shithead.”
“Why don’t you go and keep Horse company?” Jim heckled as Bear reached for some paper towels and wiped the chair.
“Nah, they’ve knocked the kid out. He’s been moved into a ward bed and is sleeping. Besides, it’s unnatural not hearing him make noise.” Bear groaned as he sat down. I looked hard at him. Lines of tension and fatigue were visible on his face.
“How is he really?” Jim’s voice softened.
“Came off lightly. Couple of broken ribs, busted shin. Bike’s totalled. The rest of the boys have been collected and taken back to the Vipers, along with the bits and pieces of the bikes. The Vipers cleaned up pretty well,” Bear rumbled into pensive silence. I took the opportunity to cut away Jim’s t-shirt in the growing tension.
“I can’t go to the clubhouse,” Bear whispered gruffly, interrupting the silence. “I don’t think tonight will be good. The memories are knocking. I could have lost you all.”
Jim looked at me, and then back at him. “It’s okay, Big Guy, we’re here, and we’re not leaving,” he soothed Bear.
“What’s going on?” I asked in a whisper.
“PTSD. We can’t leave him alone. I just don’t know where we can go so he feels safe. Here isn’t really an option either,” Jim’s voice trailed off.
I clenched my jaw. Truth was, I was delaying discharging Jim. Once his wounds were cleaned, he would be done, and I was milking the time for all I could, just to be close to him. But maybe there was another solution. Especially since Bear didn’t seem to be affected by Jim and I being together.
“You could take him to my house. The entry code is the month and day of BJ’s birth,” I said, administering the local to Jim’s shoulder. “You can rest there too. I don’t have any of your jeans, but there’s a shirt of yours there.”
