Unpredictable Love (8 page)

“
I’m not going anywhere.”

Nan pushed up from her seat, patted her
niece on the arm, and said, “Good girl. Your mom would be
proud.”

Jory stopped on her way to the living room.
“Hey, this is no charity case.”

“
Isn’t it?”

“
No.”

“
Then, what is it?”

Jory shrugged. “Must be that unpredictable
love you mentioned.”

Nan chuckled as she headed for her car.

Jory tucked the book under her arm and
locked the door. She rolled down the windows of the vehicle to
breathe fresh, morning air. The sun was shining, and she hummed a
favorite love song as she drove slowly, ambling along a winding
back road to the paper. Roses twining around the white picket fence
marking the Dailey’s property were in full bloom. Jory admired the
brilliant, pink blooms stretching their petals to the sun.

Laura waved from her kitchen. Jory raised a
palm to Maude Finch, the local librarian, and several other
townsfolk she knew and liked. The fresh air and warm temperature
lifted her spirits. Impossible to be sad or depressed on a day like
this. Birds sang. Joy filled her heart. She had fallen in love with
the countryside and a banged up Marine.

After work, she climbed into her 2010 Toyota
and steered for the hospital. She thought about topics to discuss
with Trent as she maneuvered over the fifteen miles of country
road.

She turned off the ignition, but kept
singing “Can’t Smile Without You” softly as she made her way down
the hall. Nods to familiar faces brought smiles in return. It had
only been ten days, but she knew everybody there.

Busy nurses and volunteers were relieved to
have her taking over entertaining SSGT Trent Stevens. One of the
nurses confided in Jory that she was his only visitor. The news
squeezed her heart. Marie, her favorite nurse, stopped her before
she turned the corner by the water cooler.

“
You might want to wait,” Marie said,
turning her head to stare into an empty room.

“
What? Why?”

“
Well, there’s somebody in there.
Military.”

“
Oh, you mean a superior? Giving him
some confidential information?”

“
Uh, no. I doubt that. But, well, just
the same. I’d wait, if I were you.” Marie shifted her gaze away
from the young woman again.

Before Jory could ask her any more
questions, a doctor signaled Marie, and she scurried off to join
him. Not afraid of much in this world, and curious as hell, Jory
proceeded slowly toward Trent’s room and stopped a few feet from
the door. She heard voices.

“
Glad to see you’re doing okay,” a
woman said.

“
I’m holding my own.”

“
About us…”

“
Hey, forget it. There is no
us,
remember?”

“
I know what we agreed, but I didn’t
want you to think I didn’t care.”

“
Thanks for stopping by. You don’t owe
me anything, Sheila.”

“
Yeah, an Afghanistan
thing.”

“
That’s what we said. And it still
stands.”

“
As long as you’re okay with
that?”

“
Of course. You’re a great lady. I
hope you find the right guy.”

“
Thanks.”

“
At least one who’s in one
piece.”

“
A good place to start.”

Trent and the woman laughed together for a
quick moment then silence.

“
I’ve got to be getting
back.”

“
Shipping out?”

“
Tonight.”

There was silence then a faint sound, which
Jory figured might be kissing. Heat flamed her cheeks.
Eavesdropping had never been her thing, but she needed to know.
When she looked up, a tall woman in full military dress halted
abruptly. Jory was blocking her way.

“
You must be the girl who reads to
him. Candy striper?” Sheila asked.

Anger burned in Jory’s chest. “Not a candy
striper. And not a girl. A woman and a friend.”

“
Oh. Sorry. I see. Thanks for taking
care of him.”

“
Don’t thank me. I’m not doing it for
you,” she said, her spine stiffening.

“
Hey, chill. I’m not your competition,
lady. A pair of eyes might be.” Sheila brushed by Jory and strode
down the hallway.

“
What the hell do you mean?” Jory
called after her.

The woman stopped. “I mean, when he can see
again, he can do better than you.”

“
Bitch,” Jory muttered to
herself.

Forgetting completely about his condition,
she stormed into his room. After slamming the book down on the
chair, she fisted her hands and placed them on her hips. “Who the
hell was that?”

* * * *

“
Jory?” Trent pushed up on his elbows,
only to fall back down, moaning in pain.

“
I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Don’t sit up,
Trent.”

“
Could you raise the bed,
please?”

Jory pushed the button that raised the head
so he was sitting up.

“
There. Better. What are you so mad
about?”

“
Who was that woman?”

“
Sheila? A friend.”

“
Friend with benefits?”

She watched a blush fill his cheeks. He
fidgeted with the seam on the sheet.

“
No answer?”

“
Look, Jory, she was long before you
came along.”

“
Really? She didn’t look that long
ago.”

“
Honestly. We had a…a…thing. She was
in Afghanistan too. There was nothing to do. We got to talking. You
know how these things go.” Still the red didn’t drain from his
face.

“
No, actually. I don’t know how those
things go.”

“
Didn’t you say you just broke up with
your boyfriend?”

“
Yes, but—”

“
Well, there you go. So, you were
knocking boots with someone, probably while you were writing to
me!” He pushed up a little straighter, his face paled.

“
I wasn’t sleeping with
him.”

“
Yeah, right.”

“
I wasn’t!”

“
I wasn’t born yesterday. If you’re
not sleeping with someone, you say you’re dating. If he’s your
boyfriend, you’re sleeping together.”

“
Oh, and when did you make up this
rule?”

“
It’s common knowledge.”

“
Okay, then. We were
dating.”

“
I don’t believe a guy hanging with a
girl who looks and smells like you do did
not
make a pass. Several passes.”

“
You’re right. He did. Got turned down
every time, and that’s why we broke up.”

“
How come you turned him
down?”

“
Because he was never anything but a
friend.”

Trent’s voice softened. He reached for her
hand. She laced her fingers with his.

“
Would you turn me down?” he said,
almost in a whisper.

Now, it was her turn to have heat in her
cheeks. “Don’t ask me that. You can’t anyway. So what’s the
point?”

“
I wanna know. I’m not always gonna be
in this hospital bed.”

“
Please don’t ask me.”

“
Oh, right. I get it. Sorry. I didn’t
mean to put you in that position. Hell, I wouldn’t want to sleep
with a gimpy, blind guy either.” He withdrew his hand.

“
That’s not what I meant!”

“
Sure. I get it. Don’t have to knock
me on the head with a baseball bat. I don’t feel like reading
today. You can go.” He turned away from her.

Frustration welled up inside her. How could
she tell him that he’d not want to sleep with her when he found out
she didn’t look like that picture? “Maybe you wouldn’t want to
sleep with me.”

“
After seeing that picture? There
isn’t a man alive who wouldn’t want to sleep with you.”

She trapped her lower lip between her teeth.
This wasn’t going the way she wanted. “I’d love to make love with a
gimpy, blind hunk who gave his all for his country,” she
muttered.

“
You mean that?” He faced
her.

She nodded.

“
Are you nodding or shaking your
head?”

“
Sorry. Nodding.”

A sexy grin spread across his face. “Well,
what are we waiting for?”

“
Another trip to surgery, Staff
Sergeant,” Marie said, striding into the room, armed with her tools
to take his vitals.

“
Really? Again?”

“
Yep. Tomorrow morning. Jory, would
you skedaddle, please?”

“
Aye, aye. See you tomorrow. We
start
East of Eden
as soon as
you’re able.”

“
He might be pretty loopy tomorrow.
Stop by and visit, but save the book for another day.”

Jory nodded. She gave Trent’s hand a squeeze
and headed for her car.

While she drove home, she made a decision.
At the dinner table, she shared it with her sister and her
aunt.

“
I’ve decided not to tell Trent the
truth yet.”

Both women looked up from their plates.

“
Really?” Nan said.

“
Yep. Not until he’s better. When,
actually, if he gets his eyesight back, I’ll tell him then. And bow
out of the picture. Right now, he needs me. And it’s where I should
be. Where I want to be. So, no need for any great, heartfelt
confessions. The poor guy has enough to deal with.”

Amber nodded. “Makes perfect sense to
me.”

“
Me too. Your secret is safe with us.
Right, Amber?”

“
Yep. My lips are sealed.”

Jory let out a breath. She may not have a
lot of family, but what she had was the best.

* * * *

Jory returned the next day at six. Trent’s
door was closed. She opened it slowly. He was asleep, his handsome
face pale, his leg freshly bandaged. He tossed for a moment,
causing her to stop dead, fearing she’d disturbed him. He quickly
stopped moving and lay as still as a cadaver.

The journalist stole softly to his bedside.
She touched his face. His skin was cool, so she pulled up the
blanket, covering him to his shoulders. Then, she bent over and
kissed the scruffy cheek. His breathing was even.

“
My poor baby,” she whispered to
herself. Jory ran her hand gently through his hair and kissed his
forehead.

He stirred. “Jory?” His voice was husky.

“
I’m here. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
wake you up.”

His hand groped for her. She moved to the
edge of his bed and touched her palm to his. He closed his fingers
around hers.

“
When I get out of here, when I’m
well, I’m gonna make your dream come true,” he mumbled.

She leaned closer to hear better. “What
dream?”

“
The white picket fence.”

She smiled. “Oh, that dream!”

“
I’m gonna give you everything you’ve
been missing.” He raised her hand to his lips.

She touched his face. “Don’t worry about it.
I’m fine.”

“
Gonna love you. Take care of you.
You’ll see.”

As quickly as he had awakened, he drifted
off.

She sat still. His even breathing indicated
sleep. She gently slid her hand from his and eased up from the bed.
She blew him a kiss and tiptoed toward the door. As she was
leaving, Marie turned the corner and almost smacked into the young
woman.

“
How is he?” Jory asked, twisting a
tissue in her hand.

“
Fine. He’ll be okay. Surgery went
well.”

“
Good. I’m glad.”

As Jory drove home, his words repeated in
her head. Emotion gathered behind her eyes, causing her to pull
over more than once to dry them. Having a man to take care of her
had been so beyond her reach, she’d stopped wishing for it. Could
she have that someday? Would Trent possibly be the one? She shook
her head. He had so many hurdles of his own to jump.

“
First things first, Jory. The man
needs to walk and see,” she said, aloud.

She had a quiet evening with her family,
making popcorn and watching a movie. It seemed odd not to be with
Trent, sipping water to wet her whistle for reading. And he’d be
lying on his side, shifting to his back, trying to get comfortable
and continue listening.

They’d talk a bit too. He’d ask her about
her job, and they’d talk about birds. Jory had put all the feeders
back up. She shared bird stories, relating which species was being
too aggressive and which ones had learned to share. He laughed and
offered advice. Having him in her life elicited smiles and cheerful
expressions from the reporter.

Two days after the surgery, he was up for
visitors. She entered as he was unwrapping a package.

“
Dan gave me this,” he said, pulling
off the paper to reveal an electric razor.

“
A razor? What for?”

“
I’m military. I’m used to being clean
shaven. This may be fashionable, but I don’t like it.” He rubbed
his jaw.

Jory liked the dark stubble shading his
cheeks, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

“
I can’t do this myself.”