Maya’s Triple Dare(Divine Creek Ranch 6)(111)
She longed to thread her fingers through his silky hair but resisted the impulse so he could rest. According to the clock on the wall it was nearly midnight. She reached for the cup on the bedside table and grimaced at the pain in her side. Taking a drink eased the dryness of her throat.
When she shifted it must have awakened Richard because he looked at her and then quickly sat up.
“Hi,” he whispered, his voice laced with sleepiness. He laced his fingers through hers and glanced at the clock. “How do you feel?”
“Groggy. What happened? I’m having a hard time remembering coming here.”
“You had a through-and-through gunshot wound to your side. They did exploratory surgery to make sure there was no internal damage and made some repairs. They removed the bullet from your shoulder. The wound in your arm was a through-and-through also, but it did some damage to the muscle and your humerus, which is why your arm is in a temporary cast.”
“After he shot me it felt like it didn’t work right. That explains it. What about Frank?”
“Hank locked him up. He’s being charged with attempted murder. They’re going to reinvestigate Morgan’s death, and if they can find enough evidence they’ll charge him with murder as well. Any idea why he would do this?”
Grief and confusion swirled through her grogginess. That hotheaded bastard had murdered her husband, probably for his money. It made her head ache as she tried to piece the puzzle together. “I don’t know. It makes no sense. One day he’s telling me we belong to together and the next he’s trying to—he put a GPS on my car.”
Richard sat back and reached into the bedside table for a notepad and pencil. He jotted down what she’d told him. “We’ll let the police know so they can check it out. Did he say anything else you thought was odd?”
“Nothing comes to mind right now. My head feels like it’s full of cotton,” she said, grimacing when she felt her hair. It was full of grit from the inside of the tree and from crawling through the brush.
“Yuck. I need a shower. Did they say when I can go home?”
Richard smiled at her in commiseration and said, “They want you to stay for two more nights. We’ll help you get cleaned up. But that’s waiting until the morning.”
The night nurse quietly came in to check on her, and Kendall and Boone sat up, wide awake, when she turned on the lights. It was then that Maya noticed the lovely rose arrangements sitting on her windowsill.
Kendall, Boone, and Richard stood at the foot of the bed while the nurse did her job and administered pain meds to Maya.
The nurse, who looked like the no-nonsense type, wrinkled her nose and said, “She’s not supposed to still have visitors in her room this late at night. Don’t you want her to get well?”
Kendall grinned and turned on the charm for the nurse. “Of course we do, ma’am. She only just woke up a second ago.”
The nurse had a twinkle in her eye when she glanced at Boone as he stretched and his spine crackled. “You should go home and get yourselves some rest. Those uncomfortable chairs they put in these rooms are meant to keep people from staying too long, I think.”
“Oh, we’re just fine, ma’am,” Kendall replied, giving Maya’s hand a gentle pat. “We had a close call with this beautiful lady and can’t seem to pry ourselves from her side.”
“All of you stink to high heaven. You could at least go take a shower.”
“That is the eau du skunk of the varmint that saved Maya’s life,” Kendall said as he sniffed his shirt and grimaced. “Guys, she may have a point. We are obnoxious.”
“The skunk saved her life?” the nurse asked doubtfully.
“He sure did.”
“So, is one of you her husband?”
Maya suppressed a giggle and waited to see how Kendall handled that one.
Kendall grinned and said, “Nope, but we will be.”
The nurse, who had to have seen some pretty crazy stuff working in a hospital, arched her eyebrows in mild surprise. “We? Who?”
Maya caught Boone rolling his eyes and smiled. Kendall chuckled and replied, “We—us.” He gestured at his brothers with his thumb.
The nurse grinned and doubtfully said, “All three of you?” Maya knew a nurse wouldn’t normally get into such detailed conversations with visitors in a hospital but made allowances since this was a small town and her curiosity was clearly benign. There was no judgment in her posture or voice. Chances were, Maya would probably get to know her well if she worked for Dr. Guthrie.
“Yes, ma’am. All three of us.” Kendall replied, clearly the spokesman for their group.