Page 50 of Eye of Her Storm

“Yeah, you’re stuck with me. Are you really mad?”

“That…we’re…stuck with you?” he asked.

“That I came here without telling you. I didn’t want to… I didn’t want to…” Why were her words so hard? “Shit,” she muttered. “You know what I mean. I didn’t want to…” She waved her hand in a circle then made a fist.

“We know, love.” Seth took her hand and unfolded her fingers. He smoothed his hand over them. “You didn’t want to hurt us.”

“Are you…angry?”

“Yes,” Tai answered simply.

“Tai…” Seth admonished.

“I’m not going to lie. Baby, you better never do anything like that again.”

“Promise,” she answered.

He leaned to her ear. “And when you’re better and we’re home, I’m definitely going to spank you and maybe tie you to the bed.”

“Promise?”

“Oh, I promise.” He stroked her cheek. “Now, you have even more incentive to get better.”

She slowly shook her head. “Everything I need is standing beside of me. I don’t need anything but you two.”

Chapter Twelve

Coming home had never felt so good. River couldn’t contain her grin as Seth drove their truck up the long road to the Cauld’s Well ranch house. She’d been away over a month, and it felt like forever.

Yesterday, at her final post-op, Dr. Collins and her occupational and speech therapists had deemed her recovered enough to come home. Physically, she’d completely healed from the surgery and had no restrictions, but mentally… She’d need to keep working to overcome her side-effects. It could take a year for her cognitive functions to return to tiptop…or a month…or more. Possibly, she’d never regain full function, but she was doing very well, and anyone who didn’t know her wouldn’t realize she had an issue.

She’d improved a lot and rarely had trouble finding her words, but now, she had to write everything down and keep checklists and step-by-step how-tos to get some of her most basic stuff done…like doing laundry and remembering to put in the soap. Her therapist had described it as something like extreme ADHD. She was learning to deal with it.

Seth and Tai had bought her some beautiful planners and pens and had promised to help her stay on track—and she’d promised not to get pissed at them when they followed through. She had a feeling she’d have the tougher end of that deal.

Overall, she had no complaints. She could have far worse issues. She could be dead…or in constant pain like before. Right now, her only pain was unassuaged lust. She hadn’t had her guys since two days before her surgery. Nothing more than a peck on the lips or a pressed mouth to her forehead or cheek. Barely a stroke of fingers along her arm.

River adjusted the brightly colored scarf around her head. She looked like hell. Little teeny hairs poke out all over her scalp that sported an awesome scar. She was also a little gaunt because she’d struggled with nausea for a bit and hadn’t eaten as well as she should have. Her cheekbones were sunken, she had circles beneath her eyes and her clothes hung on her like bags.

Maybe, they just found her too unattractive.

She crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling a little claustrophobic between the two men. She shouldn’t have any complaints. They’d been so great, so perfect. So what if they weren’t acting more…normal…toward her? Since her surgery, they’d been mildly affectionate. They’d taken such good care of her, having taken turns flying to and from California, so one could be here at the ranch while the other stayed with her. She’d never been alone, but they’d both seemed to hold themselves apart from her.

Tears burned in her eyes—damn emotions. Extremes hit her out of the blue, and she had an appointment with a therapist in Gillette in two weeks. The roller coaster was getting better, but it was so frustrating, too. She didn’t want to cry. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be normal. She wanted her guys to love her again.

“If you’d like, you can drop me at Paisley’s,” she offered. If they didn’t want her, she could stay with her sister.

Seth slammed on the brake, jerking them all in their seatbelts as both men yelled, “What!”

“I… It might be better.” She touched her head, feeling the baldness beneath the scarf. “If you don’t…want me. You’ve been so…good to me, but you don’t have to. You’re not obligated. I mean…”

“River, what are you talking about?” Tai was all business now. No “baby”, no soothing voice. He sounded a little pissed. He looked pissed, too. And confused.

“You two don’t seem to want me anymore,” she confessed.

He stared at her blankly, then after a few moments, a smirk pulled at his lips. “And we were supposed to jump on you while you were healing?”

“You haven’t really kissed me. You’ve barely touched me.”

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