She would never again settle for less than complete commitment.
At the end of the week, the doctor gave her a clean bill of health and scheduled her for discharge the next day. She lay awake during the long, empty hours, listening to Gabe's quiet, even breathing from the cot next to her bed. He'd refused to leave her side, even at night. Surely that was a good sign.
But what would happen when she went home?
* * *
Chapter 19
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The next morning, a rumpled, yawning Mel arrived at the hospital extra early bearing a sapphire-blue silk lounging outfit with matching panties and hard-soled dark blue slip-on mules. Tessa warmly embraced her groggy friend and thanked her for the twofold gift. Mel wasn't a morning person under the best circumstances, and ever since she'd lost her job as an attorney, she'd been strapped for cash.
Giving Tessa privacy to change, Gabe steered Mel out the door, promising to return her thoroughly caffeinated.
Dressed and ready, Tessa perched on her bed, the combination of leaving the hospital and the long-awaited chance to be alone with Gabe tying her stomach into conflicted knots of anticipation and dread. A knock sounded on the door. "Come in."
Her favorite nurse, Hailey, entered, pushing a wheelchair. "Good morning. I know I don't have to ask if you're happy to be leaving us."
Tessa eyed the wheelchair warily. "What's that for?"
Hailey's smile morphed into her no-nonsense-nurse face. "It's policy."
Tessa wrinkled her nose. "I'm strong and fit, and can walk just fine."
Gabe and Mel breezed in, Mel restored to her bubbly, cheerful self. Gabe's glance swept over Tessa's mutinous expression, and he laughed. "Causing trouble again, I see." He tweaked a curl that trailed over her shoulder, his knuckles brushing enticingly close to her bare breast under the sapphire silk. "Plant your cute little six in the chair, Houdini, and let's get the hell out of here."
His touch made her breath hitch in her throat. She was going home. With Gabe. She obediently sat, no longer bothered by the wheelchair.
When they reached the car, parked outside the front door, she was surprised and touched to see her doctor and nurses had turned out to see her off. They gathered on the curb, bestowing hugs and encouragement. Everyone voiced amazement at her "miraculous" recovery.
Tessa knew better. Gritty determination and gut-wrenching courage deserved the credit. And she didn't discount divine intervention. She had survived because Gabe needed her. She knew for a fact the Man Upstairs understood that.
The ride went by in a blur. As each familiar street passed, her tension grew. Would she finally be able to get Gabe to talk? What did he have to say? Did she really want to hear it? He unlocked the door, and she walked inside. Mel followed with armloads of apricot roses.
Tessa breathed in the fresh, lemony scent of her apartment. "Home, sweet home."
"Sit down and take a load off, Houdini." Gabe's voice sounded gruff.
"I'm not tired. I'm so glad to be here, I could leap tall buildings in a single bound." She kicked off her mules and strolled to the window to gaze at the dreary winter skyline, her happiness at getting out of the hospital outweighing her anxiety over Gabe. "Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous?"
Mel wrinkled her nose. "I thought you quit the pain meds."
Tessa chuckled. "Days ago, and you know it." She flung out her arms. "It's beautiful. Life is beautiful." She turned just in time to see a crooked grin waver across Gabe's face.
He cleared his throat. "Some chow sounds beautiful to me."
Mel laughed. "Now that he has his appetite back, good luck keeping the big guy here full. That's a project in and of itself." She laid the roses on the counter. "I wish I could stay, but I have to get to work."
Tessa hurried to hug her friend. "I feel guilty about you missing so many shifts at the cannery to be with me."
"Hey, you were there for me in spades when my life blew apart. The cannery can get anyone to stir vats of Hood River peas." Melody returned her hug. "Besides, Gabemeister loaned me enough to get by. I will be paying it back however."
Gabe extracted three large vases from the cupboard. He turned to the sink to fill them with water. "I already told Trixie Tornado that's not necessary."
"And I told you—"
Laughing, Tessa held up her hand. "You two sound like Bert and Ernie."
Mel gave her another squeeze. "I gotta go. I'll see