Page 18 of Desire

“Well, while you’re here, we’ll gladly show you things to hopefully make life easier when you go home,” she tells us both. “So, definitely feel free to ask questions!”

“Thank you, Joya,” I reply. Looking at Sebastian, I state, “Gonna need that Mexican pretty soon, honey.”

“Guess that’s my cue to head out,” he says. Standing, he kisses me like he means it, uncaring that Joya is still in the room, then leaves.

Once he’s gone, she looks at me and grins. “He looks like he’s a keeper.”

I’m a bit drowsy because she just added pain meds to my IV, but I still manage to say, “He is and I’m keeping him forever and ever.” Then? It’s lights out.

Sebastian

My heartstill feels as though it’s going to come out of my chest. Seeing her covered in whelps and unconscious while the medical professionals worked on her to reverse the allergic reaction is something I pray I never see again. Once I’m out to my truck, I hit the hands-free button and say, “Call Rayne.” I know they’re all waiting to see her but none of them know yet that she’s being admitted.

“How is she?” he asks without saying hello.

“Slight complication before surgery, but she’s doing well otherwise,” I reply.

“What kind of complication?” His voice is tense sounding, and I can hear the worry behind his question.

“She’s apparently allergic to the antibiotic they gave her before surgery. Her medical records have been updated and I’ve already ordered a medical alert necklace for her,” I state.

“So, when are y’all gonna be home? Jacey wants to bring over dinner, so you don’t have to cook since you’re going to have your hands full.”

“Her doctor has admitted her for a few days since they had to pump her full of shit to reverse the reaction. It was bad, man,” I say. “Scared the ever-loving fuck out of me.”

“Why didn’t you call?” Rayne asks.

“Because as soon as they got all that in her, they wheeled her off for surgery. When she was in recovery, they brought me in to be with her and told her what happened. I just did get her settled into her room.”

“Can she have visitors?”

“I don’t see why not. I’ll be staying up there but am going to grab her some Mexican to eat since they said she could eat what she wanted.”

“Okay, we’ll give her a few hours then come up and see her if that’s okay,” he says.

“I think she’d like that. This isn’t a bad thing, Rayne. The nurse said they’ll show me how best to take care of her and maybe she’ll lose the embarrassment she’s harboring.”

“I think out of all my sisters, she’s the one who is the shyest about that sort of thing,” he replies. “I mean, we all pretty much change in front of each other before shows except for her. She changes in either a dressing room or a bathroom. Every single time.” I laugh at his words. Having been around them all these years, that’s something I noticed long ago about Justine. She may have had her fun times, but she was always discreet. Not liking where my thoughts are going, I decide a change of subject is in order.

“Have you told Hadley about the boys yet?” I ask.

“Fucking Billie told her, and I ran her over to see them this morning. You’re an ass, Sebastian, because now my daughter wants doggies ‘just like Auntie Justine has’ and of course, there are none at the shelter like them!” he replies.

“Have Jacey do a search for a basset hound rescue if there are none at the shelter, man,” I tell him, pulling into the parking lot of Justine’s favorite Mexican restaurant. “Gotta run, I have food to get for the starving woman.”

“We’ll see you guys later. Don’t be surprised if the parental units show up before that since I’ll be reporting on her status when we hang up.”

“I don’t think she’ll mind, Rayne. She just didn’t want everyone waiting around at the hospital. You know how she is.”

He chuckles before he says, “Yeah. Again, she’s somewhat of an anomaly when you think of the rest of us. But that’s okay. Take care of her, Sebastian.”

“Planning on it.”

Chapter Nine

Sebastian

I arrive backat the hospital with the double Texas fajitas nachos that Justine prefers, along with drinks for the both of us. Grabbing that bag along with my duffel bag, I make sure my truck is locked up and pocket the keys before I stride back into the hospital and to the elevators. Several minutes later, I walk into her room to see her sleeping and her mother standing by her side. “Mrs. Wilde,” I say, setting everything down. She’s brushing Justine’s hair back from her face and I walk over to Justine’s bag and search through it to find a hair tie. “This might help,” I say, holding it out to her along with a brush. She quickly and adeptly brushes Justine’s hair, braids it and places the hair tie at the end.

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