Her Gentle Giant, Part 1: No Regrets
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batting an eyelash, then helped her back to bed. Rachel knew then that he was right. She did need help. She’d laid back down on the bed in a cold sweat, completely wiped out by the short trip.
Now here she sat on her way to her parent’s ranch feeling like an invalid. It galled her that she would need someone to help her with the basics for a while, but that wasn’t what caused the pain she was in right now. She felt like a big baby.
Tears filled her eyes, and she caught him look over in her direction with concern in his eyes. A hitching pain clenched in her chest.
“Angel, you can do this. It won’t be for long, and then you can be on your own again. Your mom promised not to hover. She knows you like your independence. It’ll be okay.” He covered her hand with his, where it lay on her lap, restrained by her cast. “I took your laptop out to the ranch, with your clothes and other stuff earlier. If you feel like it, you can do some writing later. Time’s going to fly. You concentrate on resting and healing, and you’ll be back in your own place before you know it.”
“It’s not that, Eli,” she said softly, still hoarse from the wound to her throat. It was deep but had not damaged her vocal chords and was healing nicely. The doctor said the hoarseness might linger and would persist if she used her voice too much.
“What is it, angel? Do you need a pain pill?” He reached for the meds her doctor had prescribed for her pain.
“No. I mean, yes, when we get to the house I’ll need one, but that’s not what’s bothering me.” She turned carefully. The tears spilled from her eyes, and she said, “I’m going to miss you so much.” Her lips trembled, and a sob escaped. She gingerly wiped the tears away before they soaked the bandage over her cheekbone.
Because she’d been self-conscious of all the wounds and lacerations she’d suffered, he’d helped her look under all the bandages. She had been able to see for herself that they were all healing well and that she wouldn’t look like Frankenstein’s creature when the healing process was through. Eli had reminded her with tender kisses that he was just grateful that she was all right and would recover fully.
He pulled over to the shoulder of the road and slid across the seat to her.
He gently cupped her cheeks in his hands and said, “Angel, I’ll miss you, too. Especially at night. I haven’t slept worth a damn since I’ve been
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sleeping alone. But I’ll be out there all the time when I’m not working.
Your dad and mom will probably get sick of seeing me all the time. You’ll even get sick of me. Don’t worry. You’ll be back on your own in no time,”
he said, smiling down at her. She sobbed painfully, and more tears spilled over her cheeks. He looked confused and said, “Rachel, what did I say? I didn’t mean to upset you. Tell me.”
“I don’t care about being on my own. I need you. I’ll never be able to sleep if you’re not there,” she whispered hoarsely.
She felt silly and ashamed as she looked into his eyes, unable to get a better handle on her emotions. She couldn’t believe what a ninny she was being. His face registered a mixture of surprise and sympathy and something else she couldn’t quite pinpoint.
His fingers were gentle as he lifted her chin. “I want you with me, too.
Promise me you’ll be good and work hard on recovering for me and then we can be together, just the two of us. Will you do that?” he asked, beaming down at her. Rachel looked into his eyes, and what she saw there made her feel hopeful. She smiled up at him and wiped away her tears.
“I love you, Eli. I’m so in love with you.” She rested her forehead carefully on his chest and sighed shakily, her breath hitching a little from her tears.
“If you only knew what you do to me. I love you so much my chest hurts.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips then brushed his lips over her uninjured cheekbone. She sighed contentedly and wrapped her good arm around his waist.
“Let’s get you settled.” He released her and slid back behind the steering wheel, buckled in, and continued down the road. “I talked to my dad yesterday.”
“Oh, yeah?” Rachel replied, sniffling as she dried her eyes with the back of her hand. Her heart felt much lighter, like a burden had been lifted from it.
“He’s coming for a visit around the end of October.”
“I hope it cools off for his visit.”
“I do, too. Maybe by then you’ll be home?”
“I’m planning on it, big boy.” She smiled when he said “home” like that. Yeah, he was her home.