Chapter Twelve
My sister came bounding into the bedroom with Lucky. She’d taken him for a walk while I’d finished breakfast. Billy’s kiss last night managed to keep my mind active, but I’d only been in bed for a day and was already going stir-crazy. I couldn’t imagine having to do this for weeks. Not to mention the little things like going to the bathroom or showering had turned into an ordeal not cut out for the weak-minded.
Lucky leaped onto the bed and immediately rolled over for a belly rub.
“So, mom and dad are super excited about coming out next week.” My sister plopped on the bed next to Lucky and handed me my pain medicine.
“I can’t believe this happened.” I groaned into a pillow.
“It could be worse.” My sister patted my leg until I sat up. “You could have to go back to a job you hate like me.”
“Have you thought more about what I’d mentioned?” I asked, stretching my one good leg and washing the pill down with orange juice.
“About what?”
“Doing your own thing.”
She shrugged. “I’ve thought about it a little. I just don’t want to fail.”
“There’s bound to be some failures on your way to success, but you can’t let the fear of failing hold you back. You love what you do. You just don’t care for whom you do it for.”
“True.” She nodded. “But let’s not talk about work stuff. Tell me what happened with Billy.”
“Well, we kissed.” Just the thought of his kiss made my world spin. “And I think we’re both looking for the same thing.”
“Which is what?” She looked intrigued.
“Nothing!”
“Well, great. Another wonderful start to a perfectly healthy relationship,” she teased.
“It’s not a relationship,” I protested. “We’ve been on one date.”
“Speaking of, he’s got you an appointment at an orthopedic specialist he knows for your follow up. The doctor’s on Fireweed Island, and Billy will be here any minute to pick you up.”
I froze. “Billy’s taking me?”
“Well, it made the most sense. That way I can stay with Lucky and he knows where the doctor is so…” My sister’s mouth curled into a large smile. “Is that a problem?”
“No. It’s…” I let out a sigh. “I’m not sure it’s good that I’m around him that much.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s hard to explain.” I threw off the covers.
“But if neither of you are looking for a relationship, what does it matter?”
I hated that my sister knew me so well.
“It’s a tricky situation. That’s all.”
My sister brought me the crutches and helped me hobble to the bathroom down the hall. She’d already helped me shower earlier in the morning so all I had to do was comb my hair and brush my teeth again.
I’d propped myself up against the counter, and she leaned the crutches against the wall right as the doorbell rang.
“Must be your chauffeur.”
“Great,” I said through a mouth full of toothpaste.
“Don’t try to come down the stairs without me. I can only handle one emergency room trip per visit.”
I rolled my eyes and let out a garbled laugh as I continued brushing my teeth.
A few seconds later, I heard my sister and Billy laughing and chatting quietly before it became silent.
I wiped my mouth off and reached for my crutches to pull toward me, but instead I bumped them, and they fell over clanking against each other on the way down.
I let out a frustrated groan and hopped on one leg to be able to reach them. I was bending down to pick them up about the time Billy and my sister arrived behind me.
“You scared me to death,” my sister said, attempting to catch her breath.
“Sorry. I knocked them over. I’m not quite used to everything yet.” My gaze landed on Billy. “Thanks for finding me the doctor. And taking me.”
“My pleasure. He’s an old friend.”
“Well, it’s really nice of you to uproot everything you’ve got going for me.”
“I’d actually planned on taking this week easy.”
“Well, still. It’s nice.” I smiled and began crutching my way out of the bathroom until I got to the stairs and a thought occurred to me. “How’d I get up to my room after the hospital?”
“Billy carried you,” my sister explained. “If it wasn’t for him, you’d still be in the recliner.”
I stared at the steps and wondered what the best way down was. It wasn’t just that using the crutches was bad; it was that I couldn’t put all my weight equally on each crutch because I had a bum wrist.
“Why don’t you hand your sister the crutches and I’ll carry you down?” Billy slid his hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve got to figure out how to do this,” I said stubbornly.
“I totally agree.” He nodded. “But let’s not start on a day when we have to catch a ferry.”
The way he said we made me overly happy, making me annoyed with myself.
“You know my sister well.” Stacy laughed, and I cast a dirty look in her direction, which only made her laugh harder.
Stacy took the crutches away and before I had time to even situate myself, Billy scooped me into his arms and lifted me up with my legs hanging over his forearm like he did this every day.
“You seem a little too used to carrying around helpless women.” I looped my arms around his neck.
“First of all, you’re not helpless. I’d never fall for that trick.” He grinned as I looked into his eyes, and he carefully carried me down the stairs. “But a chef gets pretty used to carrying around large potato sacks and flour bags.”
“So I’m like a potato sack?”
“Similar but cuter.”
We got to the bottom of the steps and my sister came right behind us, carrying the crutches. Billy cautiously stood me on the floor and made sure I had my balance as my sister handed me the crutches.
How sexy.
“Did you need anything else besides your purse?” My sister gave Billy my bag, and I hid a smile watching him confidently hold a pale-pink leather tote.
Lucky finally lumbered down the stairs to see what the commotion was about.
“Nope, I’m all set.”
My sister gave me a quick hug and waved as Billy helped me out the door.
By the time I got to the car, my ankle was throbbing and my wrist had a dull ache, pain pill or not.
After Billy had climbed into the driver’s seat, he noticed me fussing with the seatbelt with one bum arm and quickly clipped me in. His hand grazed mine, and I felt the instant spark again, even with the pills. His eyes held mine captive, and my pulse began to climb at the thought of getting another kiss.
What was it about this man that made my mind so easily swayed?
“You’ve got a little toothpaste right here.” His thumb wiped away the grit, and I laughed.
“Of course I do.” I wondered if I’d ever be put together in front of this man, but before I had a chance to really worry about it, his lips touched down to mine.
I kissed him back, my pulse soaring with some kind of unexpected hope.
He was trouble.
Billy pulled back slightly, and I opened my eyes to see him watching me carefully.
“It’s really hard to be in close quarters with you,” he nearly grumbled as he put the car in reverse.
“The same could be said for you, and I’m not the only woman who feels that way.” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and he grinned.
“I went to culinary school with the woman from that night.” My body tensed at the sudden admission as he drove toward town where the ferry terminal was located. “We’d gone on a couple dates before I’d met someone who…”
He stopped himself and cleared his throat. I turned in my seat to get a better look and was surprised at what I saw.
Sadness.
“Who I’d dated seriously,” he finished.
I caught a break in his voice and noticed his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“She never quite got over me not calling her again after I’d met the other person. Regardless, she stayed in touch through the years and always pops up when I least expect it.” He glanced at me. “She’s not a bad person. Just not exactly the most socially aware.”
“So the kiss?” I asked.
“It was awkward and unwanted on so many levels.” He smiled. “I was taken aback by the whole thing. She actually lives in Chicago so I never expected to see her.”
“Your brother seemed amused,” I teased.
“I’m sure he was.” Billy slowed at the terminal and rolled down his window to hand over the ticket.
The timing was perfect, and we drove right onto the already-loading ferry.
“We haven’t ever slept together if that’s what you’re wondering.”
I nearly choked on my own breath. “I wasn’t sitting here asking myself that question. No.” But I might have asked it several other times. “But I’m glad you cleared that up.”
He turned off the car and shifted in his seat to see me better as the ferry took off for Fireweed Island.
“I know I sound all over the place when it comes to dating.” His eyes searched mine for understanding. “But the truth is, I don’t do it much. I’ve been so busy growing my business, I haven’t made it a priority.”
“Is that all there is behind not wanting to date?”
Pain etched his features and my chest tightened.
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
He might always be the happy-go-lucky guy around his friends, but I could sense there was a lot more behind his expression and his reason for keeping dating light or nonexistent as he claimed.
“I guess where I’m going with all this is that I enjoy your company. Being around you is fun; it’s refreshing, even when you’re the walking wounded.”
“But?”
“There’s no but.” He touched my cheek, and I felt that familiar pull. “I hope we can keep finding excuses to see each other.”
“You mean like emergency room visits?” I joked, and he laughed. “I’m in the same boat. I haven’t dated for a long time, and I’m not really looking for anything long-term so this spending-time-together thing with no expectations is nice. It takes the pressure off.”
“For a whole week.” Billy smiled.
“Yeah. See? I think I can handle something with that kind of time line.”
The ferry pulled up to the Fireweed terminal, and I rested my head on the seat.
It felt like Billy was trying to tell me something more or maybe I was imagining it. I thought back to the first time I ran into him with Lucky sailing through his food truck and hid a chuckle. Nothing about these encounters had been normal.
“So how long have you known the doctor I’m seeing?” I asked.
“Since I broke my wrist snowboarding a few years ago.”
“Ouch.”
“It wasn’t so bad.”
“Of course, Mr. Macho Man.” I laughed and looked out the window as we drove into town. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, and pumpkins had been placed at nearly every storefront. These islands embraced the seasons and even made the Laundromat feel welcoming.
I let out a sigh, having to adjust my leg every few minutes or it got too uncomfortable, but it was getting to the point of wanting to jump out of the car.
Thankfully, the doctor’s office wasn’t too far from the terminal. It was one of the newer buildings on Fireweed. There was an urgent care, a dentist, and a few other specialty clinics.
Billy found a place to park and hopped out of the car as I opened the door and attempted to climb out myself.
“Come on, make it easy on me.” Billy grinned, helping me out of the car and handing me the crutches. “I really don’t need to be scraping you up from the parking lot.”
“The faith,” I joked as I hobbled into the building with Billy by my side.
The doctor I was seeing was on the main floor, and I quickly checked in and took a seat while Billy held my crutches for me.
The waiting room was bustling, and I wasn’t exactly sure how Billy got me an appointment so soon.
“Want something to read?” Billy asked, scanning the latest gossip magazines.
“Nah. Your company alone is entertaining enough.”
Billy laughed as a nurse came out and called my name. Billy immediately helped me up, and I started wending my way on crutches toward the woman when I realized Billy had stayed behind.
“You can come with me,” I told him, glancing over my shoulder. “Maybe I’ll get special treatment.”
“You never know,” Billy said as he followed us back to the rooms.
The nurse took down my information, checked my vitals and promised that the doctor would be right in before leaving us alone.
The room was filled with diagrams and posters hanging on the pale-peach walls. A large ficus sat in the corner.
“Do you think this counts as our second date?” Billy asked, smiling as he looked at the anatomy of a knee joint.
“If you want it to, it could.”
The doctor tapped lightly on the door and made his way inside the small room, introducing himself to me and instantly recognizing Billy.
“Thanks for getting us in so quickly. I know your appointments book out there a bit.”
“Anything for you.” The doctor shook Billy’s hand and took a seat on the stool. His salt-and-pepper hair made it difficult to determine his age. “So, I had a chance to look over your x-rays and go over the chart from the ER. I agree with their assessment, but I don’t agree with staying off your leg for quite so long.”
“Oh, thank God,” I sighed out. “The thought of having to stay in bed for weeks has been killing me.”
“I think you should keep it elevated for five or six days and then slowly begin to get back to your regular routine.” His eyes settled on my arm brace. “What is it you do for a living?”
“I’m a pet sitter.”
“Well, that could complicate it a bit. I want to keep you in the plaster cast for the next four to five weeks so getting leashes tangled in the crutches adds a bit of concern. And your wrist?” he asked.
“It’s a sprain.”
“Do you need me to write a note for your employer explaining the situation?” The doctor’s brown eyes were filled with compassion, and a few creases spread around his eyes as he smiled.
“No. I’m self-employed. I might get one of my employees to take over my current job.” The thought of leaving Lucky made my heart literally hurt. Billy placed his hand on my shoulder, which surprised me, and I wondered if he knew what I was thinking.
“Okay. That should work.” The doctor’s gaze landed on Billy’s hand and surprise filtered through his eyes. Billy really must have quite the reputation for staying unattached. “I’d like to see you back here in five weeks when we can fit you with a walking cast.”
“Sounds good to me.” I was still reeling from the idea of leaving Lucky. There had to be a way to get through the next few weeks with crutches, a leash, and my new favorite friend.
“Can I count on you as her escort then as well?” the doctor asked Billy.
“Actually, he’s leaving in a few days for a road trip,” I informed the doctor whose expression fell slightly.
“Is that so?” The doctor tilted his head slightly. “Alone?”
“One lucky Lady is getting to go with him.” I grinned and the doctor looked confused. “He just got a cute little Pomeranian named Lady.”
“Now that’s a surprise.” The doctor chuckled and Billy squeezed my shoulder. “And here I thought she might be the lucky lady.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Not that lucky. In fact, this is only our second date, isn’t it”
Billy groaned and shook his head, stifling a laugh.
“What a way to make an impression, Billy.” The doctor stood, smiling and shook Billy’s hand and then mine. “I’ll see you, Miss Bailey, in five weeks. Good to see you again, Billy.”
“Thanks again,” I called after the doctor.
“Well, I’d take you out to lunch to finish off our second date, but you heard the doctor. Foot up for the next several days.” He helped me up and handed me the crutches.
“That’s okay. I need to start figuring out what to do about Lucky.” I shook my head. “The thought of leaving him and Hound Island just kills me.”
“You don’t have to do either.”
“How do you figure? You’ve seen the acrobatics that dog can pull. If I’ve only got one good leg…”
Billy laughed as we walked into the hallway. “No doubt about it. You have an agile mutt, but there’s no reason you have to leave him if you don’t want. Your sister told me your parents planned to be here for three or four weeks and you’ve got this week covered so if there’s a few days at the end, I’m sure we can find some help to make it work until you get your walking cast.”
My heart swelled with unexplained emotion. After all, Lucky wasn’t even my dog, yet I nearly wanted to cry.
I looked away, hoping he didn’t notice.
“You okay?”
“Totally. Just got something in my eye.”
He opened the door and the chill in the air made me shiver as I clunked my way down the ramp. I wasn’t ready to try the stairs and I think Billy was secretly happy I didn’t try to attempt it.
“There’s something really special about the islands, isn’t there?” I asked, as he opened the car door for me.
“There is.” He nodded, helping me inside. “I’ll be curious to see if it’s anywhere else in the country.”
“I doubt it.” I smiled, and he closed the door, making his way around to the other side.
The throbbing in my ankle was intensifying so I reclined the seat and laid back.
“How’s your leg?”
“It’s been better. But I think I could say that about life right now.” I turned to look at him and was caught off-guard by the mix of worry and sadness in his eyes. “While I love Hound Island, it seems the place has made me a bit of a hot mess.”
His calming laughter filled the car, and my body immediately relaxed, the throbbing slowing to a dull ache. It was funny. Even his laugh was lovelier than I remembered. It was slowly starting to dawn on me that just about everything about Billy made me happy.
“And you’re sure that’s the island?” he teased. The worry had been traded for amusement.
“Possibly not.” I scowled. “How much have you and my sister been talking?”
“Enough.” He pulled onto the road leading to the ferry terminal.
“Enough to know I’ve always been a hot mess?”
“I plead the fifth.”
“You would.” My eyes began to get heavy, and I wasn’t sure if I’d make it back without falling asleep.
As we pulled onto the ferry, my mind was racing with thoughts of Hound Island, Lucky, and Billy. It was like I couldn’t calm my mind. It was probably the medicine, but it was something I wasn’t used to. I looked out the window and saw the waves churning against the pilings and little splashes coming over the open-air windows where we’d parked.
“It’s okay if you fall asleep,” Billy said.
“I can stay awake,” I nearly whispered, feeling the exhaustion seeping through my system.
He leaned over the console and softly kissed my forehead.
“There’s no need to. I’ll take care of you.”
Before his words had a chance to sink in, I fell asleep.