Western Flame

Chapter 42

The hospital was not a quiet place, and Tanner watched a bird hop along the edge of the window of Liana's room while he sat with her, sleep eluding him even though he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. Her breath had evened out, and she was asleep in minutes, the morphine drip doing its job. So he dozed, roused by every cart that went by, every beep and code call.

The ache in his chest blossomed as he looked down at her. It wasn't unpleasant now that he had reconciled what it was. He knew if she asked, he would wade into the biggest storm for her, and would do anything to make her happy. He loved her so damned much, and almost losing her put it into stark perspective.

So yeah, he was exactly where he wanted to be.

She obviously hadn't read the letter, or she would have said something. He'd let her discover it in her own time. The bear was tucked up under her chin. He reached over and picked it up, running a thumb through the soft tan fluff on its belly, before setting it back under her arm. It had been pure selfish impulse to have Caitlin bring it in. He wanted her to wake up to something that would tell her he was there, and always would be, if she woke up alone in th hospital. 

The door creaked, and a nurse poked her head in. "Is she asleep?" she whispered as she padded in on silent feet. Tanner was always amazed at how quiet nurses could be when they walked. Caitlin always snuck up on him.

"Yeah. the pain meds hit her all at once," he replied. "It's okay that I'm here?"

"Honey I wouldn't move you in a month of Sundays," she said and she flipped through Liana's chart, setting it back down and smiling at him.

She moved around to the far side of the bed and pulled back some of the gauze on Liana's hand as carefully as possible, looking in through the halo and pins. Tanner saw the angry red skin, swollen and puffy, the gash across the inside of her wrist. He looked away as the nurse touched the back of her hand, pressing down.

"Good," she muttered and put everything back. "She's got strong hands. Already seeing improvement. She'll heal well."

"She's a hairstylist, runs her own salon," Tanner told her, not knowing why he did. "She's worried about that. Uses her hands for a living."

The nurse frowned and met his eye. "That's a big blow. She'll be months recovering from this, not gonna lie. Every damned bone in that wrist was broken, and the ligament nearly severed from something. Plus all her fingers were dislocated. What on earth happened to her?"

"I haven't gotten the whole story yet," Tanner said. "Not sure I want to."

The nurse came around the bed and put her hand on his arm, and he tilted his head at her. He normally wasn't so open with people he didn't know. Maybe it was the quiet setting, or her natural friendliness.

"I know she'll be in good hands. I was here last night when she came in and assisted in her surgery prep. You were a madman, covered in smeared blood, fighting the orderlies to let you in with her in the OR. Your twin brother had to hold you against the wall to keep you from smashing something."

"I—" he started, and looked down at Liana's sleeping form. "Yeah. Not my finest moment."

"We see that all the time here, honey. You were terrified. It is perfectly normal. She kept asking for you until we gassed her out. She loves you, you know."

"Thank you," he said and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, emotion poking at him. "I love her, but it's complicated for us. I hope I'm what she'll need."

"I'm pretty sure you already are," the nurse said and patted his arm. "I'll be back in an hour to change out some of the dressings. We may get some images of it tonight too, see how things are doing in there, if the swelling is down enough."