Page 28

His mom sucked in a shocked breath, and he said quickly, “Just kidding Mom. Too soon, huh?”

“Yes, Cameron, way too soon.”

Oh, oh, she’d brought out the Cameron. She was worried. And pissed. “Sorry, Mom. Give Fee a kiss for me and tell her I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?”his mom asked.

“Tell her the truth. If she freaks out, bring her over to Delnor so she can see that I’m okay. I’m still in the ER, but I’m sure they’ll move me to a room later.”

“I’ll make sure she knows you’re okay. And that she’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”

“That sounds good, Mom,” he said, barely able to keep his eyes open. “Thanks a bunch. Give Fee a kiss for me.”

“Will do, honey. You rest and get better.”

“Working on it,” he said, then ended the call.

As he shifted on the gurney, a faint hint of Jo’s scent rose in the air. Not perfume. He inhaled slowly. A combination of her shampoo and skin cream? It was citrusy and floral and smelled like summer. He closed his eyes and as he fell asleep, he remembered Jo leaning over the gurney, her scent blocking out the hospital smell.

Chapter 9

Jo knocked on Cam’s hospital room door at ten o’clock the next morning. After a long moment, she heard him say, “Come in.”

She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Cam was sitting up in bed, decked out in a blue and white striped gown. He turned his head slowly toward her.

“Jo,” he said, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you home, Cam. Don’t you remember talking about it yesterday? I said I’d be here at ten.” She tapped her phone. “It’s ten right now.”

“The doctor was here a while ago. He needs to look at the CT scan they did this morning.” Cam was speaking too slowly, and Jo moved closer. “Then he’ll tell me if I can go home today. I have to get home. I have…” He pressed his lips together, as if afraid some secret would leak out.

Instead of asking him what he had to do, she sat in the chair beside his bed. “How do you feel this morning?”

“Like hell,” he said. “My head feels like it’s gonna explode. And I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday, because I’m afraid I’d puke it right back up. I’m exhausted. They woke me up every hour to check my eyes. Asked me to read a line on a card. And they wheeled me down for a CT scan at the butt crack of dawn this morning. All I want to do is go home and sleep.”

“Wow,” she said. “Are you always this much of a pain in the ass when you’re sick?”

He stared at her for a long moment, then laid his head gently on the pillow. “Sorry, Jo. I’m acting like a spoiled kid because I hate being sick. But that’s not a reason to take it out on you.”

“No one likes being sick. Or being stuck in the hospital,” she said, brushing her fingers over his too-warm hand. She liked touching him, she realized. She curled her fingers into her palm to stop herself from touching him again.

“You’re entitled to be pissed,” she said. “Someone targeted you. Deliberately hit you. I get it.”

She eased away from him, unhappy about the breathless tone of her voice. As if she was panting after Cam Pierce, for God’s sake. She closed her eyes, remembering how she’d lain awake half the night, worried about him.

Only because he’d looked so pale and… and in pain yesterday morning.

“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” Cam said, opening his eyes.

“No buts.” She managed what she was sure was a strained smile. “You had an accident. It was deliberate and you were injured. You get a free pass on being a PITA. Offer good for today only, so take advantage of it.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Yes, Ma’am. I’ll be the grumpiest possible version of myself today.”

“Good, although it makes me feel sorry for whoever has to take care of you.”

“I can take care of myself,” he said, glaring at her. “I don’t need anyone hovering. Fussing. Asking me every fifteen minutes how I feel.”

Jo raised one eyebrow. “So you’re going to monitor yourself? Get yourself to the hospital if something isn’t right? You, the guy who didn’t want to go to the hospital at all yesterday?” She shook her head. “Sounds to me like a recipe for disaster.”