Chapter Thirty-Three
The Sahara was wetter than her throat right now.
Maggie scraped her sandpaper dry tongue over the roof of her equally dry mouth.
Gah!
Never in her life had she wanted water more than right now. What had she done last night, eaten a pile of sawdust?
Cracking her eyes open, she glanced around.
This isn’t my room.
Where was she?
A beeping sound came from somewhere, and everything smelled like bleach and sickness. It looked…like a hospital room.
Everything came rushing back to her. Deloris, her shop, the old woman raving about Maggie stealing what was hers. Or some such nonsense. A gun. A big freaking gun. Colton and gunfire.
Oh God, Colton!
“Col—” She tried to get the words out, but her throat was so dry. She could barely croak out a syllable before a hacking cough racked her body.
“Maggie! You’re awake.”
Suddenly, enveloped in his strong arms, she inhaled his musky, warm scent. Colton was here. He was okay.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, as he pulled back. Those beautiful sky blue eyes roamed over her body, checking for injuries.
“Throat…hurts.”
He smiled, gently cupping her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb.
“They had to put a tube down your throat during surgery. It’s going to be a little sore for a while, they said.” He turned, grabbing a cup from a side table. “Here.”
He placed something on her tongue. It was cold and square and began to melt immediately. Ice chips.
“They won’t let me give you water just yet, so you’ll have to make do with these. Sorry, sweetheart.”
The ice chips were cool and did quench some of her thirst, but not fast enough. She’d kill for a giant pitcher of water.
The synapses in her brain fired again. More memories came rushing back. Jumping in front of Colton. Slamming into Deloris. The sound of a gunshot and both of them falling. Had she killed Deloris?
“What…happened?” She grimaced at the pain those two words cost her.
His smile turned into a scowl. “What happened is that you nearly got yourself killed. What the hell were you thinking, Maggie?”
“Save…you.” Stupid man, what did he think she’d been doing, seeing if she could dodge a bullet for fun?
His forehead dropped to hers. Firm lips brushed against her own in a soft kiss. She wanted more, deeper, longer, but he pulled away. Those sapphire gems glittered with anger, fear, and best of all, love.
“Thank you for saving my life, but don’t you ever do anything that stupid again. My life is worth nothing if you’re not in it, Magpie.”
Tears welled in her eyes. He was alive; she was alive. They were in love, and their future hadn’t been taken away by some crazy old woman.
“Owed you…saved me…few times.”
Deep laughter rumbled from his chest. He gave her another kiss.
A longer one this time.
Still not enough.
“Let’s just call it even okay?” he whispered against her lips.
She nodded.
“I see the patient is awake.”
Peering around Colton, she saw a bald, middle-aged man in green scrubs and a white doctor coat. If not for the outfit, she would have thought her doctor was Patrick Stewart.
He approached the bed. “I’m Dr. Simmons.”
Colton moved to make room for the doctor, but he stayed close by. She was glad he wasn’t leaving. Everything was still a bit fuzzy, and it helped having him nearby.
“Do you remember what happened?”
She nodded. “Mostly…bit fuzzy, but I remember—I think…shot?”
The doctor nodded, pulling a penlight out of his coat pocket. He shined the light in one eye then the other. “Yes, in the abdomen. You were very lucky though. No major organs were hit, and there should be no long-term damage. But you’ll need to take it easy for a few weeks.”
That might be difficult.
“She owns and runs a bakery,” Colton answered for her when she tried to speak again.
She sent him a soft smile of thanks.
“I would suggest you have your employees run the shop for at least a month. Exertion and standing for long periods of time will slow down the healing process and may cause more damage.”
School was almost out. Jamie did say she could work full time, but she didn’t want to spoil the girl’s last summer before moving away to college. Plus, with the blogger’s review coming out, she was expecting more business to come in this summer. What was she going to do?
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I can send a hand or two down to the shop to help out. I’m sure Jamie can boss them around just as well as you.”
She glared, but he did bring up an idea she had been meaning to talk to him about. She grimaced as she shifted and started to speak. Colton immediately shushed her and placed another piece of ice on her tongue. The cool, frozen chip started to melt immediately and helped ease her painful throat.
“Save your voice, Magpie.” He smiled, looking far too sexy for the bedridden position she was in at the moment.
He was right. They could talk about Tony and the young man’s culinary talents later.
The doctor continued his examination. Checking her limbs for reflexes and noting whatever was going on with all the machines beeping around her.
Colton leaned down to brush his lips against hers. “Don’t worry about the shop. We’ll figure it out.” He kissed her again, lingering longer this time.
Dr. Simmons cleared his throat, reminding them he was still in the room. Colton straightened, with a shameless grin on his face; her own cheeks heated.
Damn man wasn’t embarrassed about anything.
“Well, you seem to be coming along nicely. No complications that I can see. We want to keep you another forty-eight hours for observation, and then you will be released. You’ll need to stay with someone until the stitches are ready to come out.” The doctor glanced at Colton. “Your fiancé has offered. The nurses will explain your recovery process to him before you leave.”
Fiancé?
Maggie gave a sideways glance to the man standing by her side. When did that happen? She was still a bit groggy from the anesthesia. Did he propose while she was unconscious? There was a part of her, a bigger part than she wanted to admit, that reveled in that word “fiancé.” They may not have been dating long, but they’d known each other forever, and she had been in love with him since the day she met him. There were more than a few times, in her youth, when she’d planned out their wedding in her mind.
The doctor made a note on her chart then left the room.
“They wouldn’t let me see you unless I was family,” Colton offered in answer to her unspoken question. “Some hospital procedure bull.”
Oh.
She shouldn’t be disappointed—after all, every woman wanted to be conscious for their proposal—but she was. The word “fiancé,” had made her heart soar in her chest. Now, it fell to her toes.
Stupid.
Tired, she closed her eyes. Just because Colton said he loved her didn’t mean he was ready to marry her. Guys took their time with things like these. Especially guys like him.
She already agreed to move in with him. Marriage might come later, down the road. Until then, she decided that every day with her sexy cowboy was one to be cherished. The future could take care of itself. No use worrying about what might happen. From now on, she would only focus on what was happening at the present.
Amazing how almost dying could change a person’s perspective.
Maggie opened her eyes at the sound of footsteps entering the room. A nurse came in then and gave her a glass of water approved by the doctor. She greedily drank the cool liquid, her throat feeling a million times better. The silver-haired woman checked her vitals and smiled at them both before leaving.
“I know you said you’d move in with me before, but we can stay at your apartment if you prefer.”
“I think the ranch is better.” She took another sip of water before continuing. “If I’m not going to be working for a month, there’s no reason for me to be at my apartment. If I stay at your place, your day won’t be interrupted as much.”
He scowled. “Forget the ranch. I’m taking care of you, Maggie.”
She rolled her eyes. “I won’t need twenty-four seven care, Colt. Besides, you can’t take off all day just to sit by my side. You need to help your brother. I’ll be fine.”
He eyed her suspiciously as she took another sip.
“I’ll sit on the porch swing all day reading books. That way, you can see me lazing about. I have a stack of novels I’ve been meaning to read anyway.” She held up a hand to swear to it, but winced as the motion pulled on her wound.
He moved in until their noses touched. “If you move that sexy ass of yours one inch off that swing without calling for me, I’m locking you up in my bedroom with no clothes. And I’ll make sure you stay in bed. All. Month. Long.”
She gulped. “Sexy ass, huh?”
“Damn sexy.”
Maggie grinned, then his mouth descended on hers. The kiss was deep and hot. His tongue stroked along hers, making her burn and ache in private places. His kiss held all the love he professed.
One of the monitors in the room started to beat faster. It must have been connected to her heart because at the moment, it was racing so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest.
“Jeez, Colt, she was already shot. What are you trying to do, give the poor woman a heart attack?”
Colton pulled away, but didn’t turn. “Go away, Dade.”
“Can’t.” His voice held amusement. “Someone’s here to see the patient. That is if you’re done mauling her.”
He sighed. Her face burned hot, probably beet red again. Colton, however, seemed more put out than embarrassed to be caught making out in a hospital bed.
“Gee, boss, you look like crap.”
Glancing at the door, she saw Jamie standing next to Dade, a tentative smile plastered on the young girl’s face. She clutched a bright yellow teddy bear to her chest that held a sign stating, Feel better BEARY soon! Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“Oh, sweetie. I’m okay, I promise.”
The youthful face appeared even younger as the girl burst into tears and her sobbing employee ran across the room.
She bent to give Maggie a gentle hug. “I was so scared when I heard you had been shot.”
Maggie braved the pain to hug the girl back, stoking her hair and murmuring softly to her.
“Good to see you awake, Maggie.” Dade stepped fully into the room, placing a hand on his brothers shoulder.
She saw the two exchange a glance—they had both been worried for her. Jamie had been worried for her, too. She had so many people who cared for her.
Happiness filled her. Deloris was wrong. People did care. People wanted her here. She was home, and no one could ever make her leave.
Ever.