we see how funny it is when I hit you so hard you actually lose your memory?”
“Uh-oh,” a pretty dark-haired nurse said as she walked into the curtained-off area. She wore light blue scrubs, and her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, like Piper’s. “It sounds like Mr. Dutch didn’t listen to my advice. You must be Piper. I’m Felicity, and I’ve had the pleasure of helping your boyfriend.”
“Thank you for taking care of him, but he’s not my boyfriend. He’s like a stray dog I made the mistake of feeding and refuses to go away.” Piper scowled at Harley, who was still chuckling, and said, “But since he’s already here, can I knock him around a bit?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to do that,” Felicity said lightly.
“Told you she was wild,” Harley said a little slowly. He waved a hand at his body. “She wants all this.”
Piper rolled her eyes. “That’s enough, Casanova.” She was used to his teasing. He joked around like that all the time.
“You want me. Doesn’t she look like she wants me, Felicity?”
“That sounds like the pain meds talking. I think I’ll stay out of this conversation.” Felicity handed Piper a couple of papers and said, “These are Harley’s discharge papers and his prescription. He’s going to be on pretty heavy pain meds for the next two or three days, so you might want to prepare yourself if you’re going to be taking care of him.”
“Oh, that’s not the pain meds talking. That’s straight-up Harley, and I will not be taking care of him.”
“She will be,” Harley said casually.
“I have a life,” Piper reminded him. “And it doesn’t include playing nursemaid to a man who has refused stitches more times than I can count.”
“Don’t make me come over there.” Harley sat up and shifted his legs over the edge of the bed, swaying a little.
“Whoa, slow down.” Felicity put a hand on his arm as another hospital worker pushed a wheelchair into the curtained room. Then the woman left the room, returning a minute later with a walking boot and crutches.
“Thank you,” Felicity said as the other woman walked away.
Harley pointed to the wheelchair. “Who’s that thing for?”
“That’s for you,” Felicity said. “The doctor doesn’t want you putting any pressure on your ankle for a few days.” She looked at Piper and said, “He has a splint on under the wrap.”
“I hate the splint,” Harley said like a rebellious boy.
“You need it for stability,” Felicity said sternly. “You can use the walking boot when you feel more stable, but you shouldn’t try to use the crutches while taking the heavier pain medications over the next couple of days. I’d like to show you how to use the crutches.”
“I know how to use them. I had a football injury or two back in the day.”
“Okay. If you have any trouble, you can see your primary care doctor for a follow-up appointment.” She went over instructions with Piper for his medications and how to care for his injury.
Harley looked pleadingly at Piper and said, “See, Pipe? I can’t walk Jiggs. Not only do I need you now more than ever, but he needs you, too.”
Piper had a soft place in her heart for the pit bull Harley had rescued three years earlier. Harley spoiled Jiggs rotten, and Piper swore he was needier than her six-month-old niece, Emerson. “I’ll walk Jiggs, but you can take care of yourself. Can we please stop wasting Felicity’s time and get on with this? I have to get back to work.”
“She means she has to take me to pick up my nieces,” Harley said a little groggily.
“Shoot. I forgot you were taking care of Delaney’s girls.” He’d been taking care of Jolie, who was twelve, and Sophie, who was ten, since Delaney’s surgery. Piper glanced at the clock and said, “If we leave now, I’ll have just enough time to get you home and then pick the girls up and get your prescription.”
“Let me help you get him into the wheelchair,” Felicity said, moving to Harley’s other side. As they helped him into the wheelchair, which was like putting an enormous, floppy bear into a high chair, she said, “Before he took the pain meds, Harley and I were talking and he said you know my brother, Porter Lawton.”
“That delicious-looking man is your brother? I met him through my friend Remi Divine.” Remi was an actress and had recently gotten engaged. She and her fiancé, Mason Swift, had