Love Slave for Two: Family Matters (13 page)

Chapter Nine

Nevvie gave her keys to Karen. “Drive my car while you’re here. I’ll drive Tyler’s.” Saying the words nearly choked her up. She couldn’t bear the thought of driving Tommy’s Ridgeline. She tried to sleep and couldn’t, even with the boys’ pillows stacked around her.

Curled alone in their bed, her mind drifted back to that very first day when she moved in. She’d been cleaning for the boys for six months when they asked her to move in as their assistant, afraid to confess their feelings for her. She’d eagerly agreed, but then Alex beat her to a bloody pulp when he spotted a necklace the boys had given her for her birthday.

When she didn’t show up as arranged, the boys came looking for her. She remembered the stormy anger in Tommy’s sweet eyes as he pushed Alex off her. The worry in Tyler’s face as he protectively scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the rat hole apartment.

Forever theirs from that moment on, although it took awhile for the boys to admit their feelings to her.

She vaguely remembered sobbing in this very bed as her boys held her, the pain in her bruised and battered body vying with the relief she felt to be safe with them.

Her boys.

She couldn’t lose them.
Please God, don’t take them from me.

Nevvie couldn’t sleep. She called the hospital every hour to check on them, tried to control the emotion in her voice. Ben was sweet and understood how upset she was.

Carol took over again for the day shift. Nevvie drifted through her day, shuttling between her boys and the waiting room, drinking what felt like gallons of coffee to stay awake, making calls, answering as many of Bob’s questions as she could in regards to Tommy’s business, fielding calls between Tyler’s agent and publicist and all their friends. Pete and Eddie again brought dinner over. Finally, a little after nine and at everyone’s urging, Nevvie went to bed and tried to sleep.

Around three a.m. she gave up and took a long, hot shower. Even that simple act invoked sad thoughts. She hadn’t been alone like this in…well, since her hospital stay after the second attack when Alex stabbed her. Since being with her boys she always slept with one or both men at night, never alone.

She left a note for the others and quietly let herself out. With the roads empty, she made it to the hospital in less than ten minutes. She brought two paperbacks with her, the ones Tyler and Thomas were currently reading.

Ben was on duty again. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No. Not without my boys. I figured it’d be quiet here now, maybe I could visit longer.”

“Sure.” He glanced at the desk. “I’ll run interference. Just pull the curtain.”

She went to Thomas first and pulled a chair close to the head of his bed so she could lean in and be inches from his ear. She turned to the page he’d bookmarked. In a soft voice, she started reading to him.

An hour later she kissed him on the forehead. “I need to go visit our guy now. I’ll be back later. Mom and Karen will be here to see you today, too.”

Restraints had been placed on Tyler’s hands. Startled, she looked for Ben. “It’s okay,” he reassured her. “They’ve backed off on his pain meds and sedation. They can’t pull the breathing tube until they know for sure he’s stable. It’s standard procedure. Some patients claw at the tube. We don’t want him ripping it out. Once he’s awake and the doctors are happy, they’ll remove the tube and the restraints will come off.”

Nevvie took up her position by Tyler on his right side and read to him. A few minutes before six she prepared to leave as the shift change started. She squeezed Tyler’s hand. “I need to go, sweetie. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

He squeezed back.

Startled, Nevvie froze. “Ty,” she whispered, “do that again.”

He squeezed.

“Ben!”

The nurse ran in, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“Watch! Tyler, honey, squeeze my hand.”

He did.

The nurse checked his vital signs. “That’s good.”

“His eyes aren’t open.”

“That’s okay. He’s responsive, that’s a good sign. Mr. Paulson, can you squeeze your wife’s hand again for me please?”

He did.

Nevvie choked back a relieved sob. “I love you, Tyler. I love you so much. You’re going to be okay, baby. I’m going to take care of you, and you’ll be okay.”

He squeezed her hand.

Carol came on duty again. Between her and Ben they bent the rules and kept the curtains shut and let Nevvie stay with Tyler during the shift change. Tyler kept squeezing her hand on command. Nevvie sat staring at Tyler, whispering to him, begging him to open his eyes. A few minutes before seven, he finally did.

“Tyler! Oh, sweetie!” She cried with relief. He was back.

His eyes fluttered closed again and she felt him pull against the restraint. She held his hand. “Don’t do that, honey. Once they take the breathing tube out, they’ll take these off.”

He opened his eyes again and looked around the room without moving his head, then back to her. His deep blue eyes were the best sight she’d ever seen.

She knew what he wanted to know.

“It’s two days later. Tommy’s…asleep.” Okay, technically the truth. “It’s around seven in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. Bob and the doctors helped me get the rules bent so I could come in when I wanted.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed as he fought his way through the drugs’ foggy grip.
Nevvie
, that gaze said.
Tell me the truth.

She forced a smile. “Everything’s okay. You had a heart attack. Peggy gave you CPR and they had to do surgery, but you’re going to be fine.”

His eyes closed again. He squeezed her hand, hard and long, before relaxing.

“You’re in Tampa Community.” He looked at her. “You want to know what’s funny? You’re next to the bed I was in.”

He couldn’t laugh but his eyes crinkled slightly in amusement.

“I knew you’d like that,” she said. She glanced to make sure they were alone and leaned in closer. “You scared your little slave, Master,” she whispered. His eyes squeezed shut in what she recognized as an attempt not to laugh.

“I’m sorry, but I had to say that.” She smiled. “See? If I can crack jokes, you know everything’s all right.” She met his eyes and couldn’t hold back her tears. “You really scared me. I thought I’d lost you. The EMTs had to use the defibrillator to get your heart going again.”

He squeezed her hand, then let go and shook his, as if trying to signal something.

“What?”

He mimed writing.

“You don’t need to work, for Christ’s sake! Let’s get you home first.”

He rolled his eyes, grabbed her hand and squeezed hard, then mimed writing again. It finally hit her.

“Oh! I’m sorry. Hold on.” She found Carol, who brought her a clipboard, paper, and a pen. Nevvie held the clipboard for him while he wrote.

Where’s T?

Nevvie forced her face and voice to remain steady. The spooky connection she had with Tyler wouldn’t help her in this case, it would make things worse.

“I told you, he’s sleeping.”

His eyes narrowed. He wrote again.

Lie.

“I’m not lying.”

He tapped the clipboard with the pen and glared at her.

“Tyler. You have to calm down. You’re just waking up from the sedation. Karen flew down from Savannah. April and Cheryl will be down today, everyone’s back at the house. Bob’s even spending the night.” She took a deep breath, needed to distract him. “They didn’t want to leave me alone. I had a pretty bad meltdown before you got out of surgery.”

He closed his eyes for a moment then wrote again.

Sorry.

“No, don’t apologize. I just felt…overwhelmed. I didn’t handle the stress very well.”

Tyler knew she’d lied to him. He didn’t understand why, but Nevvie couldn’t lie to him any more than he could lie to her. Not successfully, at least.

If Thomas was around and all right, she wouldn’t
be
left alone. She wouldn’t be speaking as if Thomas wasn’t around. Tyler knew she didn’t realize what she’d said.

He gripped the pen tighter.
Love you.

She kissed him. “I love you, too. Baby, you don’t know how much I love you.”

A?

“Uncles Eddie and Pete.”

OK

Nevvie reached across the bed. “I want you to have this back.” She slipped his wedding band onto his finger and squeezed his hand. “You’re not allowed to scare me like that ever again, got it?”

He nodded. That’s when he noticed her right hand and felt a chill wash through him.

She wore Thomas’ wedding band on her thumb. Thomas never took it off, except to work on the car. He wouldn’t have it off now.

He’d be standing by Nevvie’s side, with her, not letting her go through this alone.

Whatever had happened while he was unconscious, Tyler knew he wouldn’t find out from her. He wrote again.

Go eat. Now.

“I don’t want to leave you.”

Their one-sided discussion was interrupted by rounds. The cardiologist sounded cheerful and positive.

“We’ll get that breathing tube out of you soon, Mr. Paulson, then we can get you up and out of bed sometime today. I know it’s uncomfortable, but as I told your wife, it’s necessary.”

Tyler nodded, trying not to stare at Thomas’ ring on Nevvie’s hand. There was only one reason Tyler could think of that she’d be wearing it, and he didn’t want to contemplate it.

As the doctor left, Tyler noticed Nevvie glanced out of the room. He tapped the clipboard again.
Go eat. Now.

She finally smiled. “Okay. I’ll be back soon. Everyone wants to see you.”

You take nap.

“We’ll see.” She kissed his forehead, stroked his cheek. “I love you. I thought I was going to lose you.”

He tapped the paper.
Love you.

He noticed she closed the curtain behind her as she left, so he couldn’t see where she went.

* * * *

Nevvie slipped into Thomas’ cubicle with the doctors, pulled the sliding doors shut behind her, and kept her voice low as she spoke with them about his condition. Thank God for the solid walls and doors between the bed areas. Still wait and see. Nothing that could be done short-term except monitor him and wait for the swelling to go down.

“Okay. Please, remember, I don’t want Tyler knowing he’s here.”

Tyler still had the breathing tube in place when Nevvie visited an hour later. The restraints had been loosened enough he could easily write but still not reach the breathing tube. He’d taken the time to write a few things on the clipboard. He tapped it, showing her.

What’s going on? Where’s T? What aren’t you telling me? Be honest.

She looked at him, tears in her eyes. “Everything’s fine. Don’t you trust me?”

He studied her. Of course he trusted her. He also knew she would withhold information, thinking it would help, probably worried the news would give him another heart attack. He wrote on the pad.
Tell me.

Her eyes flicked to his, then away. More confirmation of his suspicions.

“There’s nothing to tell. Peggy and everyone else will be here in a little while. I need to talk to your doctors, and I need to take care of some things. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

He nodded. Before she could leave again he tapped on the clipboard to get her attention.
Leave curtain open pls.

“Okay.” She kissed his forehead and quickly left.

Now he had a clear view of the duty board attached to the side of the nurse’s station. He’d glimpsed it off and on all morning as people came and went from his bed area. Finally, he could read it. Unfortunately his earlier views proved correct.

He knew he occupied bed twelve, and there he was, listed on the board:
T. Paulson, Carol, HOCM/SM, Robertson.

In bed thirteen, the line below his name:
T. Kinsey, Carol, TBI-m/c acc, Gonzales/Spivey.

Tyler closed his eyes and cried.

* * * *

He’d composed himself a few minutes later when Carol returned with a doctor.

“Mr. Paulson? We’re going to remove your breathing tube.” It felt like they spent forever checking his breathing before finally pulling the tube. Carol removed his restraints and after some coughing and gagging they raised his bed so he could sit up and gasp for air.

“Are you okay?” the doctor asked.

“I wish to stand up,” he croaked.

“Let’s let you settle for a little while. Just relax. We’ll let you get out of bed in a few hours but we need to pull your catheter first. Right now, sit up in bed, don’t rush it.”

Tyler croaked, “Water?”

The doctor nodded. “A few sips at first. Take it slow.” He noted the chart and left.

Carol brought him a cup of water and a straw, holding it for him while he drank.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, Mr. Paulson.”

He grabbed her hand. “Where’s Thomas?”

The nurse froze. “Mr. Paulson, I’m not sure who you mean.”

She was lying, he sensed it. He released her. “My partner, Thomas Kinsey. He hasn’t been in with Nevvie.”

“Do you want me to call your wife for you?”

“You took care of Nevvie before, didn’t you? I recognize you.”

“Yes.”

“Where is he?”

She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Mr. Paulson, I’m sorry, but I need to check on my other patient.” She quickly left. It looked like she went into the cubicle next to his. If he remembered the layout correctly, it would be bed thirteen.

He laid back and tried to relax. He hurt like hell, almost felt like his chest had been cut open from breastbone to bollocks although he didn’t have the nerve to look or touch the area yet. He dropped off to sleep for a while. Over an hour later, when Carol returned, he pushed the issue.

“I wish to stand up. I need to use the bathroom.”

“I can get you a bedpan.”

“No. I wish to get up.”

She finally relented. “Let me check with your doctor first to make sure it’s okay. If it is, I need to get some help.” She returned a few minutes later with an aide. They removed Tyler’s Foley catheter, unhooked his monitor leads and juggled his IV poles around so he could use the small recessed toilet in the corner. When he finished he stood and, holding on to the bed for balance, he slowly shuffled toward the front of the cubicle.