Page 90 of Back To Our Beginning

I winced. I recognized that tone of voice. After three days back at her house, that fake calm tone became very familiar. She was so close to ripping my head off, it wasn’t even funny. Okay, it was a little bit funny.

“Fine, we’ll shower together. How does that sound?” I waggled my eyebrows.

Her eyes widened in alarm. “I want to shower alone,” she said through gritted teeth. So much for calm.

I mentally counted to ten. “At least let me check your bandage. Make sure that it really is watertight.”

“I’ve already checked.”

Yep, calm had left the building.

I changed tactics. “Please, Maddie? For me?” I asked softly. “I know I’m driving you crazy, but I’m still waking up nights covered in sweat, remembering that helicopter ride to the hospital. Won’t you please let me check your bandage?”

She dropped the folded towel, walked to me, and put her hands on my chest. “I should have thought of that. I’m sorry, Beau. I was selfish to just be looking at things from my point of view.”

I covered her hands and kept them tight against my chest, not wanting to lose our connection. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing.”

“How about for being a raging bitch?”

“Damn, Maddie, if that’s what you consider being a raging bitch, I’ve fallen into a bucket of shit and come out smelling like a rose. Seriously, you are one of the kindest, most even-tempered people I know.”

She dropped her head on my chest. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Does that mean I get to shower with you?”

She looked up at me from under her lashes. “Don’t press your luck.”

I laughed. “Lift your shirt so I can check your bandage.”

“Yes, doctor,” she sighed.

I knelt down in front of her, and she lifted her sleep shirt the bare minimum amount to let me see her wound. She was wearing cotton panties with bunny rabbits. Who knew bunnies could be so sexy?

Cool it, Beaumont.

“Is today your animal day?” I teased.

“Huh?”

“Bunnies and giraffes?”

She giggled. “Tomorrow is flowers.”

I checked her bandage and saw that she had applied the watertight covering exactly right. I stood up. “You’re good to go.”

“Told ya,” she said as she quickly dropped the hem of her sleep shirt.

“Just go slow. Lean against the shower walls if you need to. If you need me, I’ll be right outside the door, so don’t think twice about hollering for help. Okay?”

She stroked my chest. “Okay.”

She went into the bathroom and left the door mostly open. I went and leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door. For some reason, she didn’t want me to see her naked, hence not having the door all the way open. I didn’t know why, but I respected it. I’d get to the bottom of it when she was feeling better.

* * *

It was a houseful. Evie and her two boys. Trenda with her daughter Bella and her infant son, then Zoe, were all visiting. I suppose I could have made myself scarce while they visited Maddie, but I was too antsy to leave her alone. She’d only been out of the hospital for five days. So, in order to horn in on this little soirée, I was making food for all of them.

“Me and Zephyr want french fries,” Holden said as he walked into the kitchen.