Page 18 of Trial By Fire
"You have no idea," he murmurs.
His words remind me just how close he came to never making it home again, and I swallow hard. Pregnancy by comparison? A solvable problem. Death? Not so much. That's a perfective I need to take to heart. Especially since I've only got one life to live. "Let's get you inside so you can rest. We'll figure out the rest of the stuff later."
"You'll call Bronwyn? Fill her in on the plan? I don't want her or Gabe coming after me."
"Why would they? It's a good idea that solves both our problems."
"Yeah, well, Bronwyn might not see you staying with her as a problem," Kace argues. "She seems pretty chill about it."
"I didn't say it was a problem for her. Only that I have to do this my way." I swing my legs out the door to stand but pause when I catch sight of Kace watching me. "What?"
"Are we a bit of a control freak?"
"We like a plan," I say. "This is mine."
"Fine. But I don't want them thinking I pressured you into this."
I laugh at that. "Well, the good news is Bronwyn knows me well enough to know I'm the one making the moves on you. I mean?—"
Kace's chuckle and the way he looks at me in the expanse between our seats leaves my belly fluttering and not in the hurling kind of way.
Get a grip, preggo.
I force myself up and out of the car. Good thing I know we're about to have a family meeting on boundaries because right now? I need the reminder that I'm already knocked up by a man. I do not need to add fuel to the complicated fire that is my life.
It takes us a good twenty minutes to get Kace into his house. First there's the unloading of the wheelchair and getting it open and mobile. Then figuring out the leg extender thing that wasn't hard to fold up but seems to need a user manual to unfold and lock into position. Then there's actually getting Kace's large body out of the vehicle when one arm and one leg are out of commission, and they're on opposite sides of his body. Oh, and the leg? Casted from toes to thigh.
The orderly helped Kace into the vehicle at the hospital but now? It's all on me. And I'm half his size and beginning to feel sick due to the heat of the day and the little monster nugget of surprise inside me.
Kace can't put any weight on his right leg, which means being his support as he twists and shifts to get out of the vehicle, but because his left arm and side are wrapped and in a sling and his mobility limited due to the pull of the burns he suffered, he's off kilter.
I help get him to the edge of the seat and after a few failed attempts, I add my weight to help get him upright and standing on his left foot. Doing so puts me up close and personal with his very hard body and broad chest as he huffs and groans from the pain. My heart breaks for him because he's trying to suffer through. The white line around his mouth and locked jaw gives him away, as though the sounds escaping him aren't enough.
Carefully, he hobbles on one foot as I pivot, and together we turn him round using me and the car door for balance.
I'm tucked under his good arm with it around my shoulders when I look up and discover our mouths only inches apart. His face is racked with pain and dripping with sweat, and I'm sure I'm beginning to turn green as nausea continues to build. We're a study in the pathetic, and undoubtedly a sight to behold. "One of these days, this'll be funny."
His groan-tinged laugh is rough and gravelly.
"If you say so."
Finally—finally—we get him lowered into the wheelchair. Leg out, chest heaving as he drags in exhausted breaths. I lean weakly against the arm handles, my head spinning like a merry-go-round while I try to ignore my rolling stomach. Barely holding it together, I use the wheelchair and his good arm for support as I move behind him so he doesn't witness the extent of my overwhelm.
"You okay after that, beautiful?"
Kace leans his head back as though to see me but can only go so far without pulling the burns at his neck. It's sweet that, despite his pain, he's thinking of me. "Peachy. Just thinking about how you really need to hit the gym. Bulk up before you blow away."
He huffs a laugh and stretches his good arm and hand back until he finds mine wrapped around the handle of the wheelchair. After a sweaty, gentle squeeze that shows his thanks and means more than he'll ever know, I swallow back the urge to hurl and turn to shut the door.
"Helllllo? Anybody gonna let me out?" Dani says from the third row.
I gasp and see Kace's daughter looking more than a little put out by her so-called caretaker's forgetfulness. If I'm going to survive in Kace's world, there are some things I need to learn fast—before I let his girls down, or worse, start needing them right back.
Chapter
Eight
Kace
