One More Time (31 page)

“Yes,” I lied. “Please tell me he’s okay.”

“He’s going to be just fine,” he said. The relief from his words bowled me over and I had to stop and catch my breath. I felt the doctor’s hands on my back. “Breathe, Mrs. Whitaker, your husband is a strong man.” After a few deep breaths I straightened up and thanked him. He led me down the hall to a closed door. “Let me fill you in before you see him. Your husband was stabbed. Lucky for him, it wasn’t deep. However, it bled into his abdominal cavity. After draining the blood, I searched for signs of internal bleeding and found none, so I stitched him up. He has a mild concussion, which will need to be watched for the next few days. His shoulder was dislocated, but has been stabilized. I want an orthopedist to look at it before clearing him. At first look, the laceration on his face appeared worse than it actually was. We stitched it up and it should heal cleanly with little to no scarring. All in all, your husband is a very lucky man. Now, I want to warn you, it does not look good.”

“He’s going to be okay, though?”

He smiled and opened the door. “He’s going to be just fine.”

There on the bed lay an unconscious Dillon. I took him in and my eyes welled. His face was full of purple bruises. The gash across his cheek was covered with some sort of clear tape. I could see the tiny black stitches underneath it. His hair was matted with dried blood and he looked pale and lifeless.

“Can I touch him?” I asked, as I made my way over to his bedside.

“I would advise leaving his right hand alone until the orthopedist has a second look at that shoulder, but his left is just fine.” Scooting a chair up to his bedside, I grabbed Dillon’s hand and sat down. “If you don’t have any questions, I’ll send in the nurses and check back in later,” he said.

“Thank you,” I told him.

As soon as he was out the door, I lay my head on the side of the hospital bed and sobbed.

“I’m so sorry I left you there,” I cried.

A hand stroking the top of my head caused me to look up and into my man’s beautiful grey eyes. Before I could get a word out, two nurses breezed in and introduced themselves.

“It’s good to see you awake, Mr. Whitaker. I’m Becky and this is Rhonda. Do you mind moving for a second, Mrs. Whitaker, while we get your husband’s vitals?” Dillon’s eyes shot to me as I moved from his bedside to give them room.

Not sure how long they were going to be or what to do, I said, “I’ll…uh… just go and tell everyone you’re awake.”

“Don’t go,” Dillon rasped.

“Mr. Whitaker, you need to slow that pulse back down or we’re going to have to place you back on oxygen,” Nurse Becky warned.

“Don’t go,” he repeated. His pleading grey eyes broke my heart.

“I’m right here,” I told him. “I won’t leave you.”

He settled back against the bed and closed his eyes as the nurses maneuvered around him. When they were through poking and prodding, they told us to expect the orthopedist to be in soon and left. Finally, we were alone.

As I sat back down in the chair beside his bed, I captured his hand in both of mine and started talking. “The minute I walked away tonight, I knew it was a mistake. It took the car ride home and a talk with Sally to get my thoughts together enough to pick up the phone and call you. By then it was too late.” His eyes roamed over my face as I explained. “Whatever it is that took you from me doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care about it. I care about you. I love you. I want to marry you and be your wife. I’m so sorry, Dillon. I was scared,” I whispered. Not wanting to let go of his hand, I bent my head and wiped a stray tear on the side of the bed.

“I want to propose but I’m not,” he rasped. My heart plummeted into a free fall and I let out a strangled cry of despair. His hand squeezed both of mine. “Look at me, Ibby.” I didn’t want to look at him. I wanted to run and hide. Finally, I did what he asked. When he got my eyes, he repeated, “I’m not proposing until after I tell you why I left and what I’ve been doing.”

“I don’t care…”

He cut me off before I could finish. “But I do. I have to clear the air before we start our lives together. I have to tell you what I did and I have to know you are okay with it. I need this for me.”

A wave of relief washed over me as more tears escaped. “Okay, Dillon. We’ll do whatever you need to do,” I told him.

He squeezed my hands again and rested his head back on the pillow. “Are Bobby and Cas in the waiting room?”

“Yes, everyone is there.”

“Will you please go get them? I need to tell them what happened while it’s still fresh in my head.”

“Are you sure? It can wait until tomorrow.” I was worried he was going to over exert himself.

“I promise I’m good. They need to know.”

As I stepped out, the orthopedist was coming down the hall.

“Do I need to be here for the consult?” I asked Nurse Becky.

“I’ll let you know what they decide,” she answered.

Wanting to be back in the room with Dillon, I hurried to the waiting room to fetch Cas, Bobby and Tut. I quickly explained to everyone what was happening. Then I gave Piper and Ellie a hug and assured them Dillon was okay. Before heading back to the room with the boys, I made sure Sally would help Sarah take care of Amelia for me.

The orthopedist was leaving when we arrived back at the room. They needed to do x-rays and scans of his shoulder before completely clearing him. Apparently the x-ray technician was backed up, so we had to wait.

“Hey babe, while I talk to the guys will you please call Adam and fill him in.”

Crap!
I had completely forgotten about Adam. As soon as he gave me Adam’s number, I stepped out into the hall to call him. Adam was understandably upset. I didn’t have much to say, as I didn’t really know anything except he was attacked and they had two of the four in custody. Adam said he would head to Charlotte first thing in the morning.

When I finished with Adam, I stepped back in the room and listened to Dillon explain in detail what he could remember of the incident. It was late when we finished talking and everyone was exhausted, especially Dillon. The guys left with promises to touch base with the police and to keep us posted on any and all news. The nurses were kind enough to set me up a cot. I didn’t have any of my things, but I didn’t care. I was with Dillon and he was alive and breathing. After three doses of pain medication, he finally drifted to sleep. I, however, did not.

*     *     *

One Week Later

“Please tell me
he has released me from this hell.” Dillon stated, yet again.

“They are working on it,” I repeated for the hundredth time.

“I’ve done everything they asked me to. I’ve eaten every meal, passed gas a hundred times, crapped in the toilet, pissed in every cup they have handed me and made a thousand laps through the halls. What else do they want from me?”

If there was anything I had learned this week, it was that Dillon Whitaker was a crappy patient. The x-rays and scans showed no tears or breaks to his shoulder. He got the sling off on Wednesday. However, due to the possible internal bleeding and concussion, they made him stay for the week. This was a trying time for the both of us. Not only were we stuck in a hospital, but we had had zero privacy and therefore had not been able to properly clear up any of our issues. The stress and the lack of sleep upset my stomach. I was beyond exhausted. If Dillon wasn’t begging me to hop on and ride him, he was begging me to go home and get some sleep. Not only did I not want to get caught having sex in a hospital room, I didn’t want to leave him alone. The last time I left him, he’d almost died.

On a positive note, Dillon’s friends visited every day. I even got to meet Doctor Parker. It was sweet to watch everyone fuss over him. A few times, however, Ellie, Joss and Piper had to stop me from throttling my stubborn man. For instance, Cas, Bobby, Tut, Max, Gage and Kurt showed up with the police the afternoon after Dillon was attacked and Dillon made me leave the room. I did not want to leave. Dillon needed to heal, not worry about what the police were doing. Of course, he wouldn’t listen to me. When Adam arrived, he made me leave again and I almost lost it. Thank goodness the girls were there to talk me down. I knew Dillon was keeping things from me and I didn’t like it. I decided not to push him about it until he was released and I had him safely at home.

The only time the whole Dillon leaving me incident came up was on day three. Sally had dropped off Amelia for a few hours. She and Adam went to Piper’s to get some of Dillon’s things and pick up burgers for us. Amelia had just started sitting up on her own, so Dillon and I had her performing like a circus clown on the middle of his hospital bed.

“I have missed so much,” he said.

The sad note in his voice made my heart hurt. “She just started doing this last week. You haven’t missed that much,” I assured him.

“I want to come home. I want to sleep in our bed and wake next to you each morning. I want to see our baby girl grow up while it’s happening, not a week later.” He grabbed my hand to get my attention. “Please say yes?” he pleaded.

“O-of course you can come home. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I told him.

Hearing my slight hesitation, he said, “I’m not leaving again, Ibbs, I swear.” The conviction in his voice let me know how serious he was…but still, I was afraid.

“Okay, Dillon, I believe you.” I glanced down at Amelia and smiled. “We both want Daddy home, don’t we? Daddy is the best doody diaper changer isn’t he?” Amelia’s squeal made us both laugh and the tense moment was over.

Max and Ellie had come by yesterday right as Adam was about to head back to Charleston. They invited us to the first annual MMG Fourth of July party this coming week. Adam agreed to come back to town for that, which made Dillon happy.
Poor Adam.
Dillon had been pushing him to sell their aunt’s house and move to Charlotte all week.

We were now at day five in the hospital. Both of us were chomping at the bit to leave.

As if reading my mind, the doctor walked through the door.

“Mr. Whitaker, I hear you are getting out of here today?” he announced.

A blinding smile appeared on Dillon’s face. “Thank Jesus,” he said.

For the next ten minutes, the doctor went over instructions on how to care for his abdominal wound. After that, Dillon signed release papers and we could go home. Dillon Whitaker was a very lucky man.

The drive home was uneventful. I had been to the house earlier this morning and had everything set up for Dillon’s return. All he wanted was a home cooked meal and a beer, both of which the doctor had approved. I, however, needed answers. After our meal and beer, Sally was going to take Amelia and I was going to finally talk to my man.

We arrived home right at dinner time. By the time I got us unloaded and Dillon settled on the sofa with dinner and a beer, it was late. After dinner, I helped him up to the bedroom. It was obvious his side was hurting and we were both exhausted. I no longer wanted to talk. I just wanted to curl up next to my guy and sleep. Dillon brushed his teeth and took a pain pill while I went to check on Sally and Amelia. As I pulled all of the pillows off the bed, I heard him let out a groan of pain from the bathroom and I felt sorry for him. By the time I finally settled into bed, he was already asleep. For the first time in what seemed like ages, I fell asleep with a full heart instead of an empty gaping hole in my chest.

Sometime later I awakened to a tongue on my neck and a hand in my panties. It was pitch dark in the room and all I could hear was heavy breathing behind me.

“I need you,” Dillon whispered in my ear. I could feel his hard cock pressed tightly against my lower back. As he slowly pumped his hips up and down, it rubbed against the crease of my ass, making me wet and very wanting.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I panted. His thumb and forefinger clamped down on my swollen clit and I moaned.

“Does it feel like I’m in pain?” he rasped.

His hands were turning me into a frenzied ball of lust. “I need you, too,” I panted.

“On your stomach,” he quickly commanded. His hand lost purchase between my legs as I started to roll onto my stomach, and I wanted it back. Before I could tell him so, he shoved two pillows under my stomach and had my panties halfway down my legs. I tugged them the rest of the way and opened for him. His solid warmth blanketed me from behind and he licked the shell of my ear. “Please forgive me for hurting you,” he whispered.

“Yesssss,” I hissed. I felt him start to enter but then pull back.

“Dillon!” I whisper-shouted.

“Tell me you don’t want Zane,” he said.

“What? Please tell me you’re kidding,” I glanced back at him and huffed. I could tell from his tense muscles he was dead serious. I also knew he wasn’t going to give it to me until I answered. “Fine! You already know the answer to this, but no, I do not want Zane. I never did.”

His muscles unlocked as he relaxed and he slowly entered me from behind. It had been too long. I was tight and greedy for him to give it to me but I didn’t want to hurt him. Once in, he gently pulled out and languidly pushed back in. In and out he pumped, setting a slow, easy pace and I wanted more. As if sensing my need, he dropped down onto his elbows and sped up his thrusts. His hand slid back between my legs and I gasped in bliss. It felt so good, almost too good.