Page 15 of The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Missy

I Must Be Dreaming

A deep voice woke Missy. It was like a man trying to soothe an ache by talking purposefully. Then the pain in her hand began to thrum, and the pressure slowly built like a wave. But the timbre of the man’s voice kept distracting her from focusing on why her hand hurt so much.

“Are they saying he can smell her, but he can’t read her mind?” the deep voice said in a near whisper that made her want to listen harder.

“I guess,” a soft woman’s voice replied.

“So he’s like a normal dude. Which doesn’t make his vampire prowess seem so impressive.”

“Well he did just stop a truck from crushing her, which is more than I think most men could do.” The soft voice was Mrs. Hart’s but she couldn’t place the other one as it whispered.

Missy’s eyes felt heavy and scratchy as she tried to blink them open. The room was dimly lit and unfamiliar, but then she spotted Levi taking up the space under the one lamp in the corner.

“Missy honey, are you waking up? I’ll get Dalton,” Mrs. Hart said.

All Missy could do was stare at Levi with yarn in his lap while holding a large book. “Hi, oh I bet you’re thirsty.” He shuffled to grab a cup with a bendy straw and stretched it out to her lips.

She took a sip, unable to resist, and then tried to sit up higher on the weird bed. But one arm was trapped in some contraption that kept it elevated just above the bed and she ended up falling back on her pillow.

“Are we at the hospital still?” she asked.

“Ya, we brought you in a few hours ago after the accident. Dalton said you needed to stay the night,” Levi said. “So we’re having a reading, knitting sleepover.”

She didn’t know how to respond. And wondered if she was still dreaming.

“Missy,” Dalton said, appearing in the doorway. “You’re up a little earlier than I expected, but you slept a few hours.”

“Why are you all in my room, and why does my hand still hurt so much?” she asked.

“After we cleaned your hand and gave you some pain meds, we immobilized it to make sure you don’t bump it while you slept,” Dalton said.

“And my persistent family thought you wouldn’t want to be alone, so they’ve been sitting here reading to you,” Dalton said.

“Your cousin felt bad he had to get the boys to bed and authorized it.”

Missy smiled as their grandmother held up her knitting. “Levi’s been reading to us while I knit you something cozy.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. She was surprised but also really grateful to have them all there.

“How about you two give me a few minutes with Missy. I need to check her vitals, and she may need another dose of pain reliever,” Dalton said, ushering them out.

“We’ll just be out in the hall if you need us,” Levi said over his shoulder as he exited with Mrs. Hart, and Dalton closed the door.

“They’ve been pretty worried,” Dalton said. “Okay, now I need you to be honest—on a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?”

“I’m about a seven. Is it normal for it to feel like needles are poking my hand?” she asked.

“Yes. Most likely a good sign. All the numbing medicine is wearing off, and now we have to see how much more pain reliever you need.”

“I can’t believe I was so clumsy.”

“Missy, I have to ask, did you get dizzy before you accidentally burned your hand?”

“No.”

“Did anyone push you?”

“No,” she said, surprised at the question.

“Okay, I just have a duty to you as my patient to protect your health and safety and I have to rule out any other causes.”

“No, I’m just a klutz and maybe a little jumpy.”

“Do you want to talk about why that might be?” Dalton said, looking at her as he took her temperature.

“Do I have to?”

“No, but as your doctor, I need to let you know if you are in any unsafe relationships. There are resources. People can protect you, but you have to talk to me.”

“I’m safe now.”

He nodded. “Okay. Can I count on you to let me or Wesley know if that changes?”

“Yes.” She swallowed the lump in her throat.

“As your doctor I also want to say, if you ever want to talk to me or maybe you’d rather talk to Brooke, we’re always available and anything you tell us is protected as part of your medical information.”

“Thank you, Doctor Hart.”

“Okay, I need to go over a few questions on the intake form we didn’t cover yet, but first things first. Do you need the restroom and are you hungry?”

“Yes to both.”

“Alright, now the bathroom is right there and I’m just going to ask Nurse Kelly to step in and help you before her shift is over.”

In short order Missy was back in her hospital bed propped up with more pillows and had a cup of the soup she’d made in front of her. Mrs. Hart sat back in her chair and must have heated up the soup while the nurse helped Missy get to the bathroom.

“This soup better taste amazing after all the grief it caused me,” Missy said to herself just as Levi stepped back in.

“Is it okay if we sit with you?” Mrs. Hart said, looking sheepish.

“Of course—did you have any soup yet?”

Mrs. Hart held up her mug too.

“I know your secret now,” Levi said and she watched as he carried a white paper bag into the room and set it at the bottom of her bed.

“Levi, don’t tease her, she’s injured,” Mrs. Hart said.

“Gran told me your weakness and favorite treat. Key lime pie?”

“Oh that.” She blew on the soup and took a small sip.

“Well you’re in luck because the diner had an entire pie left,” Levi said, picking up the book and sitting back down. “But you have to eat your soup first.”

“I might make a mess of myself trying to eat with one hand,” Missy said, unsure where to place the cup or how to hold it and use the spoon.

Before Mrs. Hart could even sit up, Levi was out of his seat and took the cup from her, then picked up the spoon to scoop up some soup and began to blow on it.

He was leaning over her close enough for her to see his firm lips pursed together to cool off her soup, but all she could think of was if his lips would be soft or firm.

“Ready?” Levi said, holding the spoon just in front of her. She leaned forward and let him feed her the soup.

Even with Mrs. Hart sitting nearby it was an oddly intimate moment with a man she barely knew.

“The soup was really good, for what it’s worth. I had to test it earlier, to make sure it was okay to give you and Gran,” Levi said with a wink.

He had another spoonful ready for her just as the nurse walked in, rolling a tall table that fit right over her bed.

“This nifty table should help,” the nurse said, and she gave Levi a side-eye.

Levi set the cup down on the table and repeated what the nurse said in a mocking whisper.

Missy couldn’t help but laugh.

“Or I can keep feeding you, it’s probably safer,” he said.

“I think I can manage now,” Missy said, pulling the table a little closer to her.

“Great, then I can keep reading and we can find out what happens when this vampire realizes he’s going to outlive his new girlfriend, and just might need to be the one to bite her.”

“You’re reading this month’s book club pick?” Missy said.

Levi picked the big book up and sat back down in the corner of the room.

“You surprised the jock can read or just the fact that I’m enjoying this romcom?”

Missy almost spewed her soup. “I think you mean fantasy romance.”

Levi closed the book to look at the cover and flipped through the pages as if studying every word. “Is that what you’re looking for, little Miss Smarty-pants? A fantasy?”

She gulped but caught the hint of a smirk on Mrs. Hart’s face.

“Well if being spoon-fed soup by the Bad Boy of Baseball before he cuts me a huge piece of my favorite pie and reads me a bestselling romance novel is considered a fantasy, then yes. Yes I am,” Missy said.

“Well played,” Levi said.

Missy took another spoonful of soup to avoid admitting anything she was thinking. But that didn’t stop the fluttering in her stomach. Levi read to them as she finished her cup of soup and then ate a very generous piece of pie before she lay back into the pillows feeling groggy again.

“Thank you for taking care of me tonight, and keeping me company,” she said as her eyes started to drift closed. She wasn’t even worried about falling asleep knowing Levi was close by. If anything he only made her feel safe. Something that would worry her if she wasn’t so tired.