Page 18 of Forever Your Touch (Manwhore #4)

“Nice to meet you, Beth.” Jo had met a couple of people since school started, but none she liked as much as this nurse. It was weird. She’d barely met the girl, but something clicked the way it had with her best friend back home. “I just moved here, actually. Great way to ruin the semester.”

“I’m sorry.” Beth scrunched her face in sympathy. “Tell you what, once we get you out of here, why don’t you come meet me and my friends for a cup of coffee or something? We’ll show you around.”

“That would be really great.” At least one good thing came out of this crappy day. She might have found a new friend.

“You decent, Josephine?” Mason called.

“Yeah, come on back.” She shifted, and a little hiss escaped her from the pain.

“Didn’t they give you anything for the pain?” Mason asked as soon as he saw her face. She shook her head, and he looked mad enough to hit something. “I’ll take care of that right the fuck now.”

“Boyfriend?” Beth asked as she turned off the computer and turned around.

“No. He’s my brother’s best friend and has declared himself my fill-in big brother. I’m just glad he’s here. My boyfriend, Ray, is fishing with his dad.”

“At least you have someone here. I’ll come check on you in a bit. My shift’s almost over, but let me get your phone number. We’ll hook up for lunch when you’re feeling better.”

“Sure.” Jo scribbled her number down in the little notebook the nurse carried, along with her name.

“The doc will be in shortly,” Mason announced, coming back into the room. “Fuckers. I told them to get their asses in gear. There is no excuse for letting you sit here in pain.”

Beth’s eyes went round when she finally saw Mason. They glazed over a little too. It was something Jo was used to. She couldn’t not be and spend any time around Mason. He wasn’t merely cute or handsome. He was gorgeous, but more than that, his personality drew people to him like flies.

It always amazed her he enjoyed spending time with her at all.

Jo was a very boring person. She knew this.

Hell, she could go hours without saying a single word.

She’d rather stay in and read than go to a party.

Sure, she had a lot of fun playing video games and interacting with her subscribers, but deep down, she was pretty bland.

Mason was as far from bland as you could get.

Maybe that was why they balanced each other out so well.

He pulled her into fun things, and she reminded him not to go so overboard he got into trouble.

“You know what’s wrong with your leg yet?”

“No.” She nodded to Beth. “This is Beth. She goes to NYU too.”

Mason’s eyes flickered to Beth, and he jutted his chin out in greeting. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she squeaked and then blushed. “I have to go.”

He rolled his eyes when she scampered out of the room. He didn’t care what kind of effect he had on women. He seemed to be more and more irritated by it these days.

Mason pulled a chair over to her bed and sat, taking her hand. “How ya doin’, moye dragotsennyy ?”

“Not so good. I’m woozy and in a lot of pain.”

He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Josephine. I don’t think my heart can take it. Plus, Keith will beat me black and blue if anything happens to you.”

“He said he was coming.”

“Yeah. He’ll be here in a couple of hours. I already got one of the brothers at the frat locked down to go pick him up when his flight gets in.”

“Can I see your phone?” He wasn’t going to like this, but…

“Why?” His eyes narrowed.

“I need to call Ray and tell him what happened.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he exploded, and she flinched. “That fucker is why you’re here right now!”

“No, he’s not. I’m here right now because I chose to try to cut the grass, knowing it could turn out badly.”

Mason’s mouth opened and closed several times. Jo saw the war in his eyes. He didn’t want her to call Ray. He blamed him for what happened, and sure, it was partly his fault for agreeing it was okay for her to cut the grass. But not all of it.

“I hate that fucker.” He handed over his phone then stormed out of the hospital room, his back ramrod straight and his fists clenched tightly.

She texted Ray to tell him she’d be calling from Mason’s phone. It took him five minutes to text her back. She was lucky he did. He hardly ever looked at his phone while fishing.

He picked up on the first ring. “What is it?”

She gritted her teeth at his irritated tone.

“Did your mom call and tell you I’m in the hospital?”

“What?” Something rattled and bounced. His fishing rod, maybe. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m at the hospital, Ray, so no, I’m not all right. I was cutting the grass and tripped. The lawnmower ran over my leg.”

“Shit, Jo. How bad is it?”

“I don’t know. Doctor hasn’t come in yet to tell me. It hurts like hell, though. Mason is raising hell trying to make them bring me some pain meds. Nurses can’t until the doctor comes in or orders it.”

“Fuck, yeah. He needs to raise hell about that. They shouldn’t leave you sitting there in pain.” He pulled the phone away, and she heard him telling his dad what was going on. “Thank God Mason stayed over last night.”

“Yeah, especially since your mom didn’t think it was her responsibility to come to the ER with me when Mase asked her to. He was going to follow in his truck. Instead, he ended up riding in the ambulance with me.”

“Mom knew and didn’t go with you?” The puzzlement behind his words was almost laughable. She kept telling him how much his mother disliked her, but he never quite believed her.

“Yeah, Mason made her help him stop the bleeding. I bled all over her towels.”

He was silent for the longest time. “She’s just not sociable, Jo. You know this.”

“Sociable?” Jo laughed into the phone, her pain making her harsher than she normally would have been. “She left your girlfriend in pain and severely injured. Had it been you, any of my family would have been there for you, and you know it.”

“What do you want me to say here, Jo?”

“I want you to take my side. For once in your life, take my side.”

He let out a long sigh. “I’m not going to fight over the phone about this. Call me back when the doctor comes, okay?”

“Fine. Are you heading back now?”

“Why would I head back? There’s nothing I can do right now that will help.”

“Seriously?” she all but screamed into the phone. “I’m lying in a hospital bed, in pain and scared, and you’re going to fish instead of being here with me? What is wrong with you?”

“Jo, calm down. You’re not by yourself. You just said so. Mason’s there.”

“Mason isn’t my fucking boyfriend. You are!”

“Call me when the doctor comes, okay?”

She counted to ten, but it didn’t help. “Do you love me?”

“You know I do.”

“Then why is fishing more important than me?”

“That’s not it, Jo. My dad and I always go fishing on his weekends off. He doesn’t get another for almost a month, and it might be too cold by then.”

“You know, Ray, maybe my family is right, and I’m an idiot. If you don’t get your ass here, then we are going to have a serious discussion about me moving the hell out and breaking up with you.”

“Jo…”

“No. Here are your choices. Stay at the lake with your dad and say goodbye to me or get your ass here to the hospital where you should be because you love me!” She hung up before he could respond.

Asshole.

Why she was even surprised was beyond her. She’d known what he’d say when she called, but she hoped she’d be wrong. Classic Ray.

Mason came in hot on the heels of who she hoped was the doctor.

“Ms. Maxwell.” The older man in the scrubs smiled kindly at her. “Seems like you had a pretty bad accident.”

“I’m the clumsiest person I know, so I’m not surprised.”

He clucked at her. “You’ve done some damage.

The blades severed ligaments and tendons both as well as shredding the muscles in your calf.

I’m not your surgeon, but if I were a betting man, I’d say you’re looking at several surgeries to fix it all.

I’ve got you scheduled to go up immediately.

Your surgeon will meet you there and answer any questions you have.

The sooner we start the repair process, the better.

You also lost a lot of blood, more than we realized.

You’ll need a blood transfusion as well while you’re in surgery. ”

“I need surgery?” Her hands shook. She’d never hurt herself like this.

Before she freaked out, Mason was right there.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her to him, careful not to jostle her leg.

His familiar scent helped to calm her, and when he wrapped his arms around her, she let him comfort her. She needed it.

“Yes, young lady, you do.” The doctor nodded.

“I’ve ordered some pain meds for you. I’m sorry we couldn’t give them to you earlier.

I had a suspicion you might need surgery, and I didn’t want to do anything that would interfere with the anesthesia.

I’ve consulted the anesthesiologist, and he signed off on what you could take and still go under.

The nurse will be in to give you the meds and take you upstairs to the surgical ward. ”

“Where can I wait?” Mason asked and picked up her hand, twining his fingers with hers. It felt so right, she went completely still. Her heart hit a fast beat, and she almost yanked her hand from his. She might have had she not been scared out of her mind.

“I’ll have the nurse show you to the surgical waiting room when they come and collect Ms. Maxwell.” With that, the doctor left them alone.

“I’m scared.” Jo gripped Mason’s hand. “I’ve never had any kind of surgery.”

“It’s gonna be okay, moye dragotsennyy .

I promise.” Mason hugged her, and Jo let herself sink into the embrace.

He was here, hadn’t thought twice about coming, and Ray wanted to stay on the lake and finish his fishing trip.

She was beginning to realize exactly how stupid she was.

The past could only keep her bound for so long.

“Mason?”

“Yeah?” he whispered.

“Promise you won’t leave me alone.”

“Never, Jojo. Never.”

They stayed that way until the nurse came and took them upstairs. Mason kissed her forehead, as was his habit, and gave her an encouraging smile. She could do this. She could be brave.

It was going to be okay. It wasn’t a life and death surgery. They were just repairing her leg.

It was going to be fine.