Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,112
underwater cave.”
“Miscalculations with our dive equipment.” Brian shrugged. “We knew it was time to head back, but Ellen stumbled upon this cave entrance by accident. We knew we wouldn’t find it again, so we had to go in. Don’t you see?”
“And that’s when we found it.” Ellen sighed with pleasure. “It was so beautiful—caskets of precious gold. We can tell you exactly where it is. You’ll be a legend.”
“I’m not sending anyone else down there to die,” I said crossly.
“You’ll be rich,” Brian promised.
I pulled around to the front of the hospital and saw Danny already outside, sitting in the wheelchair. For a man who'd put up a pretty good fight about not needing one, he looked damned comfortable, chatting and joking around with the orderly. His expression brightened when he saw my car.
“I already am,” I said softly.
That was as far as the good feelings lasted. Before I could get even halfway up the drive, Danny managed to get out of the wheelchair and wave the orderly off. I threw the car in Park and hustled out of the driver’s side, not even bothering to close the door behind me.
“Could you wait a bloody minute?” I posed the purely rhetorical question as he carefully walked a few more steps. Obviously, he wasn’t as sure that he could manage as he’d initially thought.
“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Healthy as a horse.”
“Yeah, a horse that should’ve been put out to pasture a long time ago.” I put an arm around his waist and after a moment of stubbornness, he leaned on me. “There you go. Easy does it.”
The short distance to the car seemed to take an eternity. I could only imagine how it felt for Danny, who was already a little pale and sweaty. After days of being laid up with little to no activity, I might as well have asked him to run a mile.
He leaned heavily against the car as I struggled to open the door. It would’ve been open already if he hadn’t been determined to play the role of Captain I’ve Got This. I bit down on my tongue, hard, to keep my uncharitable thoughts to myself.
I finally got the door open, and we did a bit of maneuvering to get him in—minus one leg. I crouched down to lift his leg in the car, but he waved me off. He swiped at the trickle of sweat on his brow. “Just give me a second.”
“Lemme guess,” I said dryly, planting my hands on my hips. “You’re fine.”
“Yep.”
“Wow, he’s a touchy sort, isn’t he?” Brian remarked.
“But kind of dreamy, isn’t he?” Ellen sighed.
I ignored them both and tried to pretend I wasn’t looking at Danny while he caught his breath, but I damned well was. It was a little disconcerting to see him so shaky and tired. Danny was known to run a mile or two just to ‘get his blood pumping’—whatever the fuck that meant. In my experience, running a mile or two usually got my heart gasping.
I cleared my throat delicately. “Are you sure you're—”
“Going to kill you, if you keep asking me how I’m doing? Yes. I am.” He sent me a scowl. I bit down on my tongue again to keep from responding in kind. I had a feeling I'd be doing that a lot while I nursed him back to health—no one had ever accused me of being naturally nurturing.
He sighed. “I'm sorry. I'll do better accepting help. I always give you shit for that, and I guess it’s my turn. The shoe is on the other foot.”
My mouth quirked. “Yes, the other boat-sized foot.”
“Yeah, well, we can't all have feet with perfect arches.”
“We can all operate a toenail clipper, can't we?”
He laughed. “I almost died, you know. You're supposed to be nice to me.”
“Sorry, Irish, it's just not in my DNA.”
He caught my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the inside of my wrist. Something on my hand caught his eye and he stilled. “You're wearing it.”
Oh. That. “I am,” I confirmed unnecessarily.
Not only that, but I realized I'd been stupid to hesitate even for a second. You never know how much time you have with the ones you loved and tomorrow was never guaranteed. I grimaced. That sounded like a quote you’d find in an inspirational journal. Maybe that’s why it never resonated with me. Someone should’ve put it more bluntly, in terms I understood… something like, death is a motherfucker and isn’t big on giving notice.