Cody closed the door. “All right then, but I’ll be sitting on the edge of the bed so I can hear you if you call me.”
* * *
That she didn’t wet herself when she landed on her back was a mystery to Stevie. The last time she’d gone to the bathroom had been hours before the accident, and her bladder felt like she’d drank three pitchers of beer all by herself. She dropped the blanket on the floor and took care of business, then she checked her reflection in the mirror above the sink as she washed her hands.
Her hair was a mess. There was still a little smear of blood on her cheek. Three strips held the head wound together. There could be a scar to go with the freckles. She soaked a washcloth in warm water and wiped away the blood and a smudge of dirt on her jawline, and then noticed the bruises. One on her upper right arm, and one on her left hip.
“I’m lucky I’m alive,” she muttered.
“What did you say?” Cody called out.
“I said that you can go now. I’m going to get dressed,” she yelled through the closed door.
“I’ve seen you in your underwear, Stevie. I’m staying right here,” he said, “your pajamas are still on the end of the bed, where you left them. I’ll help you get into them.”
She threw the door open and glared at him. “I’m perfectly able to dress myself.”
“I’m your doctor right now, and I’ll make that decision.” He met her glare without blinking. “I’m not leaving until you are wearing those pajamas, and your hot chocolate is getting cold. Your choice, love.”
“Oh, all right,” she said, “but only because I’m ready for a cup of something warm.”
“Sit down right here.” He patted the bed.
She took a couple of long steps and sat down. “Guess maybe I do have a concussion,” she muttered.
Cody helped her into the flannel shirt and then buttoned it for her. Every time his fingertips touched her bare skin, she was reminded again of the feelings she’d had when she was younger.
Maybe it wasn’t just an infatuation, the aggravating voice in her head said. Ever think that those feelings could have been real?
Cody kneeled in front of her and slipped each foot into the pajama pants and then said, “Stand up slowly.”
The edges of his palms brushed against her legs as he pulled the pants up to her waist. This is not a teenage crush, she thought.
“Now lean on me, and we’ll go back to the sofa,” Cody said. “When you’re settled, I’ll put your socks on your feet.”
“Thank you.” Stevie stood up and the room did a couple of spins before it finally settled. “How can I be so lucid and yet dizzy?”
“Concussions seem to have a mind of their own,” Cody said as he slipped his arm around her waist and helped her back to the sofa. Her body had warmed up, but his hand still felt hot enough to leave a print on her back. No, sir, the way her heart threw in that extra beat and her pulse raced told Stevie that what she was feeling had nothing to do with the concussion.
Chapter Eleven
Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it. That was just one example of Pearl’s words of wisdom that came to Cody’s mind as he helped settle Stevie on the sofa.
“I’m sorry to be such a bother,” Stevie said. “I hate having to depend on anyone for anything.”
“You’re not a bother.” Cody shook his head. “I should have come looking for you the first time you didn’t answer your phone. I understand about not liking to be dependent, but sometimes you’ve got to let your friends help you.”
“What are you talking about?” Stevie frowned. “I’m glad you came to find me. It would have been a long walk back when I came to, and who knows, as cold as I was, I could have frozen to death.”
“It’s just that you…” he started. “Do I smother you?” he asked.
“No. What brought all this on anyway?” she asked.
Cody raked a hand through his hair. He wasn’t about to throw his brother under the bus, or the tractor as they said on the ranch, so he chose his words carefully. “I’ve learned that when a woman gets cranky, it’s time to let her have a little space. You seemed to need to get away from everyone when you went out on the four-wheeler, so I waited to check on you. That’s all.”
“I. Am. Not. Cranky,” she said through clenched teeth.
Cody bit back a chuckle. “Your words say one thing. Your tone and body language says something else altogether. What was your first thought when you drove out toward the pasture?”
She set her mouth in a firm line and turned her face away from him. “Freedom,” she finally answered.
“Been there. Done that,” Cody said. “In the villages where I worked, I seldom got a free minute to myself. It was too dangerous to walk more than a little way from the hospital, and even then, there were always people around wanting to talk to me.”
“I don’t mean to be unappreciative.” Stevie’s tone changed.
“I know,” Cody assured her.
“Hey,” Mia yelled. “Y’all ready for some chili and a spoiled dog named Tex? If so, someone needs to open the door for me.”
Cody rushed across the floor to let her in and took the box from her arms. He took it to the kitchen, set it on the table, and returned to the living area. Tex beat Mia inside and ran right to the sofa, where he curled up beside Stevie and laid his head on her lap. Mia took off her coat and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair, then sat down in the rocking chair. “Mama says you could have a slight concussion. How are you feeling?”
“If I’ve got one, it’s not a bad one. I’ve had a couple before, so I know how they work. Thanks for supper,” Stevie said.
“How’d you get that cut on your forehead? Do you remember?” Mia asked.
“I thought I was a flying squirrel and could land on a branch of a tree. I went through it and the ice on the limb cut me, then I landed on my back, and it was lights-out.” Stevie rubbed Tex’s head the whole time she talked. “Where have you been, old boy? You could have helped the donkey keep those coyotes away from me.”
“What coyotes?” Mia’s eyes widened out. “Did you have to fight them off?”
“No, the donkey you talked Dad into buying did his job,” Cody answered for Stevie. “But when I got out there, the donkey was braying, and they were out there by that grove of scrub oak trees.”
“I knew that donkey would pay for his keep,” Mia said. “I don’t know where that lazy dog has been, but it wasn’t at the ranch house. He was on the porch when I got here.”
“He was with me and Jesse.” Cody dipped chili into two bowls. “Crackers or cornbread?”
“Crackers,” Stevie answered.
“Do you have a headache?” Mia focused on Stevie. “See double? I had a concussion a year ago when…” She stopped talking and put a hand over her mouth.
“When what?” Cody asked. “You never told me that you’d had an accident.”
She removed her hand, but two scarlet spots dotted her cheeks. “It wasn’t an accident.”