The Davenport Christmas Chronicles - Piper Davenport Page 0,60
now,” I countered. “If we talk now, you won’t yell at me for not telling you where I was going and what I was doing.”
“Yeah, well, you got that fuckin’ right.”
“How did you know I was here?” I demanded. “Did Rem blab?”
“No, Remington did not ‘blab.’ Finch did.”
“Same diff.”
He sighed. “Why the fuck would you ski Devils Crotch, alone, Kennedy?”
“I wasn’t exactly alone.”
“Swear to Christ, woman, you better stop fuckin’ with me and start talkin’.”
I pulled my hand out of his, but he pulled it back, kissing the palm again.
“It’s not like I’ve never skied it before, Mouse,” I pointed out.
“Babe, I know you can ski your ass off. But you’ve been here for barely a day. You don’t think you might want to warm up to it?”
“Yeah, well, my bad.”
“Jesus,” he hissed. “You seriously fuckin’ makin’ light of this?”
“No. I’m high.” I groaned. “Obviously.”
“Are you in pain?”
“No.” I blinked back tears. “I’m just really scared.”
He sat on the edge of the mattress, making sure he didn’t jostle me, and leaned over to meet my eyes. “Why are you scared?”
“Because it’s major surgery. They said if I hadn’t gotten airlifted off the mountain when I did, I could have lost my leg. Skeeter saved my life.”
“What the fuck is a skeeter?”
“Chip Reed,” I said. “I met him a few years ago when we came on our family trip. He’s an instructor who works the circuit in the winter so he can surf the rest of the time.”
“You close?”
“We’re friends,” I said, squeezing his hand. “We’ve never been anything more.”
Mouse sighed and I could tell he was relieved, but I could also tell he was holding back.
“What?” I pressed, wrapping my hand around his wrist.
“Nothin’.”
“I’m really sorry,” I whispered. “I should have told you what I was doing.”
“I woulda come with you, baby.”
I tried the pain pump again and felt instant relief, as my eyelids drooped. “You can’t ski.”
“So?”
I smiled, unable to keep my eyes open. “I love you.”
* * *
Mouse
My heart soared and I grinned wide as Kennedy fell into oblivion. She probably wouldn’t remember her declaration of love, but I would, and it meant we had a fuckin’ chance.
I leaned over and kissed her cheek gently, smoothing the covers over her before settling into the chair by the bed. Her surgery was in two hours and to say I was nervous was an understatement. Her break had been significant enough that they’d called in an ortho specialist who was driving down from Denver. Waiting a few hours wasn’t going to kill her, but she wasn’t going to be able to fly for a while.
Luckily, I had a plan.
I stepped out of the room to let Kennedy sleep just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I slid it out and saw it was Doc calling. “Hey.”
“Hey, brother. How’s Kennedy?”
“Okay, I think. We’re just waiting on the surgeon.”
“I hate to say this, but it’s a damn good thing she broke her leg in Colorado, Mouse,” he said. “Dr. Warren’s the best orthopedic surgeon in the country, if not the world.”
“So they keep telling me.”
He sighed. “She’s gonna be good, bud. Swear to god.”
“I hope so.”
“Talked to Sundance. You’re welcome to stay at the cabin as long as you need, but Aero and Violet have also said you can both stay with them. They built on the property.”
“I’ll talk to Kennedy. I have a feeling she’s gonna want me to stay somewhere she’s not, so we may need to negotiate terms.”
“Been there,” Doc grumbled.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Right. Sundance said you can come any time,” he said. “You don’t need to give him a heads up. Let Kennedy know that I’m available to answer any questions she has. If she wants me to look over her chart, she can sign a consent form there and Dr. Warren will share everything with me.”
“Thanks, brother. I appreciate that.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“I will, Doc. Thanks.”
I hung up and stepped back into Kennedy’s room as quietly as I could. She was restless, but she didn’t seem to be awake, so I slid her hand into mine and she quieted. I kissed her palm gently, then took the seat next to the bed, keeping our connection.
Two hours later, a nurse walked in and woke Kennedy. “The doctor’s here and we’re ready to take you down to the operating room.”
Kennedy nodded, then glanced at me. I took her hand again and leaned over her. “You got this, baby. I’ll be right here when you get back.”