Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Durango

My eyes open, and I glance around. No one is in my room. Once I was deemed stable, I convinced everyone to go to CT's place and get some sleep. I shift in the hospital bed, and my foot gets caught up on the blanket. I pull on the blanket with my hand, and it causes a sharp pain in my foot.

Wait.

I have feeling in my foot.

My fingers find the nurse call button. I try to pull on the blanket again. Another sharp pain.

"You rang?" the nurse says as she steps into the room.

"I have feeling in my foot!"

She smiles. "That's fantastic. I'll get the doctor."

"Wait. Could you help me with the blanket first? Every time I pull on it, it shoots pain throughout my foot."

"Of course." She makes her way to the bed and pulls the blanket up and off my foot. "Huh, I see why. You have a large hangnail. I'll get some clippers to fix that for you."

I stare at my foot as she leaves. A hang nail? I'm not sure whether to be overjoyed or embarrassed at the condition of my toes. Excitement wins.

The doctor comes in and examines me. The feeling has returned to both feet, and I am so thankful. It will only be a matter of time until I'm healed, out of these casts, and back to work. The nurse finishes cutting the nail when Willow, Piper, Ozzie, and CT step into the room.

"Wow, you sure look happy," Ozzie says. "Did you get some good news?"

"I did. The feeling came back to my feet."

"That's great!" Piper says.

"I knew you'd be fine," CT says.

But the worry he's had in his eyes tells me the truth. "CT, don't blame yourself. None of this was your fault. If you hadn't stopped for that woman, I would have insisted."

He nods but doesn't say anything. Several emotions cross his face. He's struggling with guilt.

"Now, can someone help me find out when I can get out of here? I'm ready to go home."

Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't willing to discharge me right away. He kept me for one more night. The next day, I was able to fly back to New York with Willow, Ozzie, and Piper. And don't get me started on how the long flight went. I had to pay for first class because my leg with the cast on doesn't bend and wouldn't fit in coach. To make matters worse, I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the flight. Those are memories I want to erase. I'm sure Ozzie does, too. That's right. He was the lucky guy who got to help me.

Now I'm set up in the spare bedroom at Ozzie's apartment. Willow has been by to visit any chance she can, which has really been great. Unfortunately, I discovered last night that this place is simply a different kind of hell than the hospital.

Willow suppresses a laugh as I explain my misery.

"You have to get me out of here," I whisper. "I can't share a wall with those two anymore. They think they're quiet. They're not."

Willow can't hold it back any longer, and she laughs.

The real problem is that since one of my legs and one arm are in casts, I can't get up the stairs to my own home. Here, they have an elevator.

"I don't know. Coff's old bedroom worked for me." Willow grins.

I arch a brow. "Yeah, that was before they were living together. Besides, she's my cousin. I don't want to hear any of that."

"Well, I'm afraid you're stuck here a little longer. You aren't going to get upstairs in your condition. Besides, you need someone to take care of your bedpan. Is that something you want my help with?"

"I don't use a bedpan," I say as Ozzie walks by the open doorway.

He pops his head into the room. "If we have one more incident like the one on the plane, you will." He chuckles as he continues down the hallway.

I groan. This is not the side of me I want Willow to see.

She glances over at the metal bedpan sitting on the floor. Despite my refusal to use one, Ozzie decided to provide one just in case.

"And no, I don't want you doing anything like that for me. It's bad enough you have to see me all weak like this."

Ever since she's known me, I've been strong. I lifted weights in high school and played sports. When we met up years later, I was in top shape as a Navy SEAL. And when she came to New York and we reconnected, I was still in great shape. Now, I can't do anything for myself and have been told to expect a lot of physical therapy once the casts come off. I can feel my muscles shriveling up.

"First of all, you aren't weak. You are the only man who could be flung off of a waterfall and survive."

I meet her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. And I get that you're worried about getting back to work, but the hard part is behind you. You got the feeling back in your toes. And you can put weight on your left leg. That's amazing."

She's right. When I first couldn't feel my feet, all I could think of was my job. I need those assignments. It's a part of me and who I am. I glance down at my toes and wiggle them. Then, I admit a fear I had. "When I was in the hospital, I was scared I wouldn't ever get feeling back in my legs. If I don't have RHS, I don't…I'm lost."

She takes my hand in hers. "If there ever comes a time when you can't perform at your job, you have great friends who will be there for you. And we will all help you figure out your next steps."

I squeeze her hand. "We?"

Her cheeks turn pink. She opens her mouth to say something, but Piper walks into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Piper asks as she hands me two ibuprofen pills and a cup of water with a straw.

"As good as can be expected," I say. I take the pills. As I'm drinking the water, Willow grins at me.

"I think he's tired. Apparently, your lovemaking is keeping him up," Willow says.

I choke on the water. "Jesus." I cough the best I can with broken ribs. "I said get me out of here, not tell them!"

She gives me a sweet smile. "Sorry." But I can see from her grin that she's not sorry. She knows I'd never say anything to them, so she thinks she's helping.

"You heard us?" Piper's hands cover her face. But then she lowers them. "Wait, you want to leave? Durango, you can't."

I frown. "Why not?"

Willow leans forward and kisses my forehead. It's the most physical she's been with me. "Because you need a place with an elevator that is near your soon-to-be physical therapy appointments. This is it."

Ozzie steps out of the bathroom, his hair wet from his shower. His eyes move to the three of us. "What's wrong?"

Piper turns away from Durango. "He heard us having sex and wants to leave."

Ozzie grins. "I'm sorry about that."

"Sorry, my ass. Why are you smiling?" I ask.

"I'm just realizing how lucky I am. If you weren't in all those casts, you'd probably have punched me by now."

I roll my eyes. "I'm not going to punch you. I gave you my blessing. But dammit, I don't want to hear it."

Ozzie's smile drops. "You're extra grumpy today. Are you overdue for medicine?"

"Just gave it to him. Give it twenty minutes."

Ozzie nods. "Willow, are you still okay to stay here for a while?"

"I am," she says.

Ozzie and Piper get ready and leave. They've been cooped up, taking care of me in the evenings and part of the weekends. They hired someone to help me out during the day for the first few weeks. I couldn't stand being fussed over and fired her. Something I regret because I've been living off protein bars for lunch ever since. Willow comes over a couple of days each week, and I appreciate that. The boredom when you can't do anything can be intense.

I finally told Ozzie and Piper to go on a date or something. It can't be good for them to always be stuck helping me during their free time. They agreed to take a Saturday afternoon for themselves if Willow was here looking after me. I don't need supervision. But I'll take any excuse to spend more time with Willow.

Although I don't want her to think she's looking after me. Like I'm some kind of child. "I hate this," I say.

"Hate what? Me being here with you?" Willow asks.

Yeah, I stuck my foot in my mouth again. "No, not that. It's that you all think you have to take care of me. I'm so sick of not being able to do anything myself. I can't wait until Thursday when the casts come off." I shift in my seat. "And this itch is going to drive me crazy!"

"I don't think of it so much as taking care of you. I'm happy we've had this time together to get to know each other again."

I take a deep breath, something I couldn't do weeks ago. "We were getting to know each other just fine before."

She shrugs. "Yeah, but I've never seen this side of you before. I like seeing your soft side."

My brows shoot up. "Are you making fun of all my lost muscle?" I'll admit I'm a bit self-conscious about it.

"No! I mean, I've enjoyed seeing you not always in protective mode. Even when I was in high school and I'd visit your sister, Pricilla, you were always watching, protecting."

I grunt, then wince. Why the hell did I grunt? "I think I was doing much more watching than anything else."

She laughs. "I really never had any idea you thought of me like that."

I hid my crush as best I could, apparently, too well, since she went for Ozzie when we saw her again in Virginia all those years later.

"A few months ago, you said you need time before you would go out on a date. Is that still true?"

She averts her gaze, and immediately, I regret asking.

"Let's just pretend I didn't ask."

She places her hand on mine. "No, it's a fair question. I'm sorry, but I'm still not ready. But I'm working on it."

I bite back my reply. She's been saying she isn't ready for a date since we reconnected. She swears it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with her. It's getting harder to believe her. But in my current condition, I'm not in a place to argue. I couldn't take her out even if she said yes.

"I'm sorry. I really don't mean to keep putting you off," she says.

And now I feel like an ass. I take her hand in mind. "Please don't be sorry. Clearly, you've gone through something and need time. You're worth waiting for, Willow."

Her cheeks flush pink, and she turns her gaze away. I reach out and turn her face back to mine. "I mean it. But if, at any point, you don't want to pursue something with me, please tell me. It will suck, but I can handle it."

Willow stands and walks away from the couch. Her back is to me.

"Willow?"

She turns, and tears are streaming down her cheeks. "You are such a good man, Durango. Thank you."

I want to ask her what exactly she's crying about, but my gut says not to push.