“What?” He sat up, almost dislodging the Jell-O she’d given him.
“There are two pictures here. Your phone must have gone off again when you got hit,” Kara answered. “Nick, there’s a picture of your uncle holding my dad’s sledgehammer.”
“We’ll get another warrant,” Kyle said dryly. “Send us a copy of that, would you?”
He heard Kara clicking his phone and then the whoosh of the photo being sent.
“What happens now?” Kara asked.
“Now, you two sit back and let us do our jobs. We’ll keep a guard on your room until you’re released,” Gary said. “Or until your uncle and the others are picked up.”
“Thanks.” He held out his hand and a few seconds later, someone shook it.
“Get some rest, son,” Kyle said. “I’ll be right outside.”
“Thanks,” Kara added.
“I’ll leave you two as well. I only came down to inform you that… Well, we can talk once you’re home. Merry Christmas,” Stephen said and then left.
“Damn, it’s Christmas Eve.” He sighed. “I… had the entire day planned out.” He felt her hand slip into his again.
“Oh?” she asked. “Tell me what you had planned.”
“They aren’t by any chance going to let me out of here today, are they?” he asked instead.
“No. The doctor said he wants to keep you another day. At least,” she answered, and he tugged on her arm until she sat on the edge of the bed. Then he pulled her again until she was lying next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his forehead in the nape of her neck.
“There,” he sighed. “Now, this is what I had planned. This and some really good food. Roasted wild turkey, which I hunted myself and made a point not to name.” He heard her chuckle. “My mother’s sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. Mashed potatoes from my own garden. Stuffing. The whole works.”
“That sounds good.” He heard her stomach growl.
“Want some of my Jell-O?” he asked and heard her chuckle.
“No, they’re bringing us both breakfast.”
“Okay, then,” he continued. “After eating, we were going to sit by the fire, open presents, and…” He shifted and tried to focus on her face. “Then I was going to propose to you.”
He felt her stiffen for a brief moment, then she relaxed again.
“Oh? Is there a ring?” she asked, causing him to smile.
“It’s wrapped and sitting under the tree,” he assured her. “But you’ll just have to figure out which box it’s in. There are twenty of them under there for you.”
“Twenty?” she gasped. “You bought me twenty presents?”
“I sure did.” He relaxed back. “How many did you get me?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Four. No wait. Five. I added a last-minute present.”
“Oh?” he asked, shifting until he was lying down a little more. He was suddenly more tired than hungry.
“Yes. You’ll just have to wait and open all of them tomorrow. But first, you need to rest.” She kissed him on the forehead as he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Kara watched Nick sleep and was thankful he couldn’t see her. She was still a mess from last night. Liz was on her way with a change of clothing and some much-needed makeup to hide the bruises she’d gotten when Larry had kicked her and broken free.
Her cheek was a dark purple at the moment. She was even sporting a black eye. Her left hand was wrapped in gauze. She’d been assured the burn was minor, but the pain had caused her to ask for something to help dull the ache.
She hadn’t eaten anything the night before, too afraid to take her eyes from Nick as he’d slept. Each time he opened his eyes, she was there, even if he wasn’t really conscious.
Before he’d woken, Kyle had informed her that the barn fire was out, but the structure had burned completely to the ground, taking the chicken house with it. She hadn’t wanted to ask if any of the hens had survived. She wasn’t sure if Nick had put them up for the night, and she hoped that some of them got away.
Kyle had told her that Gobble and Giblets were alive and that they, along with the rest of her animals, had been rounded up and moved to Nick’s place.
She’d called her parents and had left them a message. Her mind hurt too much to try and calculate where they were or what time it was there.
Instead of telling them about the fire, she’d just left a message to have them call her when they could. She hadn’t wanted to spoil their trip. Besides, what could they do that she wasn’t already doing herself?
She had enough worry and anger to fuel herself through the worst of it. Especially after seeing the picture of Wilbert holding the bloodied sledgehammer.
When she heard a light knock on the door, she rolled away from Nick and opened the door for Liz.
“I brought—” Liz started, then she gasped and rushed to cup Kara’s face in her hands. “Oh my god. You said you were bruised, you didn’t say it was this bad.”
“I did tell you I got kicked in the face by a horse,” she joked. “This is what that looks like.”
“Right.” Liz frowned. “Okay, everything you need is in here.” She lifted a bag. “Go clean up.” She motioned to the bathroom. “I’ll sit and watch over our hero.”
“Thanks.” She took the bag from Liz, but before disappearing into the bathroom, she hugged her friend. “Thanks,” she said again.
She dropped the bag inside the bathroom, peeled off her ruined clothes, and tossed them in the trash can. Everything she was wearing was either ruined or smelled so bad of smoke, she didn’t want to try to salvage it.
She’d already seen her reflection in the mirror several times, so she didn’t bother looking again. Instead, she stepped into the small shower and let the lukewarm water wash away as much as she could. She was thankful she and Liz used the same shampoo. The familiar scent warmed her and helped her relax even more.
Even though they were best friends, Liz was a great deal shorter than Kara, so the yoga pants she’d brought her hit her mid-calf. The baggy sweatshirt, however, was soft and exactly what she needed.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, Nick was sitting up and eating from a tray of food while Liz was chatting about what she’d gotten her parents for Christmas.
“Hey,” she said, stepping beside Nick.
“Do you feel better?” Nick asked.
“Much.” She sat beside him.
“Why didn’t you tell me Larry kicked you?” His hand reached up to her face. “Is it bad?”
“No,” she lied.
“Yes,” Liz said. “She’s purple. From the tip of her chin to the top of her cheekbone.”
“Tattletale.” She stuck her tongue out at her friend, who laughed.
“If I didn’t tell him now, when he gets his vision back, he’d never trust anything I said again,” Liz pointed out. “They brought you a tray of food too.” She motioned to the tray on the table.
“Here.” Nick moved over. “We can have breakfast together.”