Chapter Twenty-One
Dying was a hell of a lot easier than healing. In that, we all agreed. The guys gathered around my bed had a lot of experience in the subject. They swore I was the worst patient in the history of medicine.
“You went at the ventilator like a banshee,” Manny said.
“I couldn’t talk with that tube down my throat,” I said, still hoarse from the experience.
“And then she tried to rip off the IV,” Wang said gravely, his forehead still scarred from the blow he’d taken to the head.
“I wasn’t really awake yet.”
Some of the doctors and nurses at the hospital may have agreed with the guys, but Ash just smiled. Sitting next to me in my hospital bed, he kissed my hand. “The way I see it, you took two bullets to the lung and came out of an induced coma. You give them hell if you need to, baby.”
“The problem with Lia is that she refuses to follow directions,” Wang said, refilling my cup. “She’s never met an instruction she liked.”
“I’m right here,” I said, “No need to discuss me in the third person.”
“The real problem with Lia is that she hates rules.” Manny sneaked a chocolate bar out of his pocket and, snapping off a square, offered it to me. “Hospitals have a lot of rules and she refuses to comply.”
“Now see?” I seized the tiny piece. “You really know how to ease a girl’s sour moods.”
“She refuses to comply?” Jordan plucked the chocolate out of my hand. “You guys are a bunch of desperadoes and a terrible influence on my patient. Lia, I’m not letting them keep you here a day more than is absolutely necessary just because your blood sugar tests are all over the map.” He dropped the chocolate into his mouth and swallowed.
“Dude,” Manny said. “You’re gonna hog the diabetes all by your lone self?”
“Drink this instead.” Wang delivered the cup of apple juice to my hands. “I got you a different kind today. See if you like it.”
The guys’ kindnesses brought tears to my eyes.
“Oh, no.” Will burst out into a song. “Don’t cry for me Argentina...”
“Goddamn it, stop it, Will.” Manny eyed the door. “We’re going to get kicked out of here again. Hurry up, somebody go find the mean nurse. You can cuss at her, if you like, but please, Lia, whatever you do, don’t cry.”
“Stand down, everybody.” I wiped the pesky tears from my eyes. “I’m fine. I explained this to you yesterday. These are the good kind of tears.”
“Tears freak me out,” Wang said. “I might need a drink after this.”
I laughed and winced at the same time.
“Doing okay?” Ash said.
“Fine.”
“You look tired,” he said. “Visiting hours are done for today, guys. Our gal needs to rest.”
The guys said goodbye and marched out in single file, with Manny leading the parade in his rover and Jordan lingering behind.
“Don’t worry about your animals,” he said. “They miss you, but they’re all doing great. I’ll come back to pick up the Maltese in a few hours.”
Ash threw an empty cup at Jordan, but he ducked it and slipped out the door, laughing.
“Of all the fine breeds out there,” Ash grumbled, “the asshole had to pick a Maltese?”
“Don’t you dare make me laugh,” I said but I was already laughing.
“Okay, then.” He reached over and grabbed his tablet. “Some serious stuff instead. How about we take a look at the plans?”
“What plans?”
“The plans for the house we’re going to build.”
What on earth? “A house?”
“Our new house at the ranch,” Ash said. “The one where we’re going to live. What? Do I hear an objection?”
“No, no objections,” I said. “I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”
“Why?”
“Well, to begin with, I didn’t know you’d come to a decision regarding the ranch.”
“I did,” he said, turning on the tablet. “I re-signed the lease with Woods the day before yesterday. The new contract is plenty profitable and offers robust growth rates for the trust.”
“I bet you Wynona is doing a happy dance in heaven.”
“No doubt about it.” Ash grinned. “She’s a happy angel. Now take a look at this.” He brought up the floor plan on his screen. “What do you think?”
“Wow.” The elegant facade of a sprawling stone, glass and log home was featured on the screen, complete with an extensive floor plan and a site plan that included a redwood barn and fenced-in fields for my animals. He’d thought of everything.
“It’s great, Ash, and it looks really nice. When did you have these plans drawn up?”
“I did it while you were under,” he said, “I couldn’t sit still. Or sleep. Or eat. I had to do something. So this was the next best thing.”
I caressed his face, tracing the stubble along his jaw. It was just like him to focus on hope amid the grief.
“Ash, I—”
“Don’t you dare say anything nice to me,” he said. “I may yet break and you’ll have to pick up the pieces and do something with the mess.”
“You’re fine,” I said. “You’re more than fine, you’re holding your own. Think about it. You’ve gotten through the last couple of weeks without Neil by your side.”
“I won’t lie,” Ash said. “I miss that insubordinate son of a bitch. I can’t wait for him to come home. Jordan says he’s recovering well, but I swear, between you and him, I’ve got no more terror left in me.”
“But he’s going to be fine, right?”
“Neil’s a trouper and a pro and tough as they come. He followed our scent for twenty miles. He must have galloped all the way. I think Neil would’ve died for sure if Jordan hadn’t been right there on the scene when he got shot.”
“Lucky dog,” I said.
“That I am.” His eyes lingered on me. “Lia, I... If you hadn’t made it...”
“I made it,” I said, bracketing his face between my hands. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m good,” he said. “That’s what’s strange. I haven’t needed Neal to deal with stuff. I haven’t had problems coming and going to the hospital, or into town, or wherever the hell I’ve had to go.”
“That’s good progress.”
“It is,” he said. “I’ve also been talking to the shrink on the phone. That helps. But enough about my crap. Now it’s all about you. By the way, Gunny Watkins came to visit while you were out.” He gestured toward the flowers on the table. “She’s responsible for that horrendous cactus over there.”
“A cactus, eh?” I cracked a smile. “Perfect...coming from her.”
“She said they’re a reliable plant. Resilient too. She said they’re her favorite.”
“I hear they’re hard to kill.”
“In that case,” he said, “I find them sexy as hell.”
I laughed and planted a kiss on his lips. “What did the doctor say about your foot?”
“We all know it’s got to go.” Ash looked out the window, before returning his stare back to me. “I’m just biding my time until you come home.”
I caught a glimpse of the pain the decision caused him, but also of the determination that made him such a remarkable fighter. “Are you okay with that?”
“You know I hate goddamn hospitals,” he said. “Healing is serious business. I see tough times ahead. But after what we’ve been through, I think we’ve got it down.”
I had to agree. “We’re learning for sure.”
“So here’s my plan,” he said, taking my hand.
“I should’ve known.” I smiled. “You always have a plan.”
“Your hospital, Neil’s hospital, my hospital.” He lifted my fingers one by one. “Then healing and then on to that stuff you promised me.”
“Oh?”
“That nonsense about the best is yet to come and all that.”
I frowned. “I have no idea of what you’re talking about, but I’m not encouraged if you think it’s nonsense.”
“Hey, you promised me and you better deliver.”
“Deliver what?”
“Lia!” He reared up. “Have you forgotten so easily? You promised me an alternative future.”
“An alternative future?”
“Yes, don’t you remember?” he said. “That day, after pizza, at the supermarket parking lot? You said the future could hold as much adventure, challenge and satisfaction as the past. You said that the future could be even better than the past.”
“Ah, yes, I remember now. That future.”
“Well, I’m here to claim your version of the future,” he said. “In fact, I demand it.”
“Lucky for you,” I said. “Futures are always up for grabs.”
“So tell me again,” he said, with a crooked smile. “I need to hear it.”
“Ashton Hunter, we’re a done deal,” I said. “And so that you know, I’m looking forward to discovering the future with you.”
“In that case.” He dug in his pocket and held out his hand. The obsidian pendant rested on his palm, sporting the stylized outline of the frog skeleton. “May I?”
I nodded, because words couldn’t convey the joy in my heart. His hands were strong and steady as he fastened the pendant around my neck. He couldn’t speak either. The smile in his eyes dazzled me with a glimpse of the future he demanded. He kissed me and every part of me rejoiced, not because the future lacked in challenges—no way—but rather because we were both free of the past and ready to tackle a new adventure together, our alternative future.
* * * * *
Look for AT THE BRINK, the first book in Anna del Mar’s new erotic romance series, coming from Carina Press in May 2016.
To purchase and read more books by Anna del Mar, please visit Anna’s website or at
Coming soon from Carina Press and Anna del Mar
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the first book in Anna del Mar’s new erotic romance series