Ginny laughed at herself for being nervous to get undressed. Gavin had not so much as given any hint that he saw her as a woman. She had practically begged him for compliments a couple times, but she might have been wearing jeans and her favorite sloppy sweater.
Turning on the shower, she washed off, managing to avoid getting her hair wet. She had washed it late last night, and she didn’t want to disturb Gavin if he had fallen asleep by running the blow dryer.
She slipped into a grey night shirt and pajama bottoms, and tied her housecoat closed after brushing her teeth, then tiptoed out of the bathroom to find Gavin leaning back on his bed. His only attempt to make himself more comfortable was to take his boots off.
“The shower is yours,” she said, sitting down on the side of her bed facing Gavin, as she started to listen to the international news he was watching. The more she listened, the more afraid she became.
“Are we going to be all right?”
“We will be when we get to Treepoint.”
Watching the news coverage wasn’t as frightening as Gavin’s grim visage.
“I meant everyone, not just us.”
“Time will tell. Go to sleep. Worrying about it tonight won’t make it better tomorrow. People have been living through pandemics since time began. We’ll survive this one too.”
Ginny had to swallow her fear down. If anything happened to any of her brothers, Trudy, or Willa, she didn’t know if she could bear a loss like that again.
“Ginny ….”
Taking her eyes off the television, he gave her a reassuring look. “It’s going to be all right. Get some sleep. I want to try to drive through tomorrow without stopping for the night.”
“Okay. Good night.”
Taking her housecoat off, she slipped under the covers, expecting Gavin to turn the lights and television off.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?” she asked.
“I will in a few minutes. I want to finish watching this special report.” Leaning to his side, he turned the light off, then lowered the volume on the television.
Rolling onto her side, she closed her eyes. After driving for so many hours, she fell asleep after a few fitful turns.
In the middle of the night, her full bladder woke her from a dead sleep. Sitting up in bed, she turned to the side to get up and saw Gavin was still awake. The digital clock on the nightstand between their beds showed it was two in the morning. She had fallen asleep at ten.
“You haven’t gone to sleep yet?”
“I’ve been texting Viper. I’m waiting for Shade to call.”
“He’s probable asleep, and so should you be. You’re exhausted, Gavin.”
“No, I’m not. I don’t need much sleep.”
“Keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, the circles under your eyes look like someone sucker-punched you.”
Throwing her covers off, Ginny stomped into the bathroom. Relieving her bladder and washing her hands, she came out, prepared to give him hell, only to find he had dozed off, his exhaustion finally winning. She silently took the TV remote and muted the television, afraid if she turned it off, the sudden darkness would wake him.
Lying back down on her bed, she lay on her side, watching him sleep sitting up. She waited for thirty minutes until she was sure he had fallen into a deep sleep before noiselessly getting out of bed to go to the foot of his.
Gently taking the hem of his jeans, she pulled the legs down until he was sprawled out on the bed. Moving to the head of the bed, she gently placed a pillow under him.
The lines of exhaustion on his face tugged at her heart. Unable to resist, she traced her fingertips over his upper lip before jerking back when he rolled to the side.
Getting back in her bed, Ginny watched him until she started dozing off.
Waking with a start at the noise coming from Gavin’s bed, she worriedly sat up, seeing him thrashing on his bed, the pillow she placed under his head laying on the floor. Carefully getting up, she moved closer to the bed, unsure whether to wake him from the bad dream or not. He needed sleep ….
Gingerly sitting down on the edge of his bed next to his hip, she placed a gentle hand on his chest when he gave a heartbreaking groan. “Shh … You’re okay … I’m here,” she crooned softly.
At her touch, Gavin expelled a deep breath, then started to breathe easier. Ginny sat there until she thought he had fallen into a deep sleep again. Slowly removing her hand, she started to rise, but she didn’t even make it off the bed before he was twisting and turning again, nearly knocking her off the bed. Putting her hand back on his chest, she started talking to him again.
“You’re okay, Gavin. I’m here. Sleep, baby, sleep. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again,” she promised, through tears in her eyes from his moans.
His chest started rising and falling so fast, she was afraid his heart wouldn’t be able to take the pressure he was exerting. It was painfully obvious why he wasn’t sleeping.
When his thrashing around knocked her hand away, Ginny didn’t know what to do. Then she remember what she and Leah used to do after they watched a scary movie.
Lying down next to him, she wrapped her arm around his waist, snuggling up against him. “Shh … Sleep, Gavin. I’m here. I’m never going to leave you.” Using her free hand, she reached for his other pillow and placed it under his head. Finding a spot on his shoulder, she rested hers.
Gavin stopped moving around, his body becoming heavier under hers, as if his tense muscles were relaxing.
Ginny closed her eyes, snuggling closer to Gavin. Dozing off, she woke up every so often when Gavin started to toss around again. At one point, Ginny threw one of her legs over his to hold him still, and placed her head on his chest, using her body weight to show him that she was still there.
“I’m here, Gavin. I’ll always be here for you. Sweet man, sleep … I love you.”
Each reassurance she gave him made his breathing easier and seemed to comfort him into staying asleep.
“I’m never going to leave you ever again. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I always will.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ginny lifted heavy lids to see sunlight filtering through the bottom of the curtain. Lying still with the steady beating of Gavin’s heart beneath her ear, she was determined for him sleep as long as he could.
She lovingly memorized each of the tattoos visible to her to pass the time ticking away. At ten a.m., she propped her chin on his chest to relieve the pain in her neck, discovering a ridge on his nose, which must have been broken at one time. Laying her head back down, his hands caught her eyes. She liked his hands. They were strong, with callouses on his fingertips.
At eleven a.m., she distracted herself by talking to God, telling Him she was still angry with Him, but if he could take the pressure off her bladder for a little longer, she would work at forgiving Him, but she wasn’t making any promises.
By twelve, Ginny guessed it wasn’t good enough, because her bladder was at a four-alarm stage. The next thirty minutes were spent regretting the two sodas she drank yesterday. When they hit the drive-thrus today, soda was off her list.
At one, Ginny knew she couldn’t hold out any longer.
“I love you, baby, but I gotta go.” Whispering so she didn’t wake Gavin, she began slowly moving away from him one deliberate movement at a time. With each movement, she watched him carefully to make sure he wasn’t waking up before making another movement. It was time-consuming but worth it when she was standing over the bed and Gavin remained sleep. Ginny didn’t know what to thank more—that he was still asleep or that he hadn’t woken to find her in his bed.