remained near his temple and on one cheekbone. She wondered if she looked any better. Somehow, she doubted it.
“I’ll tell the doctor she’s come to,” her dad said before leaving the room.
“The mission?” she asked.
“Successful. Hotwire got what we needed. The prisoners and the evidence were delivered to the FBI two hours ago. They plan to move in on the compound immediately.”
“Good,” she croaked and then grimaced. “Thirsty…”
He lifted a cup, putting the straw to her lips, and she sipped at the icy water with real pleasure. When she was done, he took the cup away and settled carefully on the side of her bed away from her injured leg.
He took her hand between his, the warmth in him infusing her with comfort. “I don’t like you getting shot.”
“I’m not real thrilled about it myself.”
“I don’t want the mother of my children to work in such a dangerous profession. Too stressful on family life.”
She stared up at him. “The drugs are making me hear things. You don’t want children.”
“I didn’t before, but now I do.”
“With me?” she asked, just to make sure. She felt too loopy to trust her first interpretation of his words.
“With you.” His hands pressed against hers as if he was willing her to listen to him. “I love you, Josette. I know you think it’s the guilt talking, but I swear it’s not. I need you in my life. Permanently.”
“You mean like get married?” She had to be hallucinating.
“And have babies. Yes.” He lifted her hand to his face and pressed her palm against his lips so she could feel his words as well as hear them. “Will you marry me, Josette? I’ll spend the rest of my life proving I can be a different man than my father.”
Tears that had nothing to do with the pain she was in filled her eyes. “You already have.”
The nurse and doctor came in with her dad. She was examined, poked and prodded until she didn’t feel in the least bit numb. Daniel’s tension grew and grew until he told the doctor and nurse to leave her the hell alone. With both her dad and lover there, looking dangerous and none too pleased, the doctor and nurse listened. The doctor gave hurried instructions for her care and left. The nurse injected a pain killer into her I.V. before going.
Josie didn’t have enough energy to say thank you, but as she slipped into sleep the knowledge Daniel wanted to marry her did more to anesthetize her pain than the drugs.
The next few days flew by. Josie improved rapidly, and Daniel never left her side, going so far as to sleep on a cot in her hospital room. The staff didn’t mention in his hearing that it was against hospital policy since he wasn’t a relation, but Josie heard two of the nurses talking about it.
They also mentioned they wouldn’t mind having him sleep in their rooms. Josie changed the subject when Daniel asked why she was so cool toward the two women when they came into her room.
Her dad and the others were frequent visitors. Even Lise flew in and came to the hospital to see her. Josie had another visitor, her third day in the hospital.
A pretty woman with troubled eyes came into the room with Daniel after lunch. Clinging to her hand was a small blond boy of five or six. He was looking at Josie with eyes that broke her heart.
They stopped beside her bed.
The woman spoke first. “He needed to see that you were alive. Mr. Black Eagle assured us you wouldn’t mind us visiting, but I’ll understand if you want us to leave.”
Josie looked at the little boy and put her hand out. “I’m alive. Feel.”
He tentatively reached out and then touched her hand. His was cold, and she curled her fingers around it.
“You’re warm.”
“Yes.”
Tears started streaming down his cheeks. “Dead is cold. I know ’cuz when the men hunted, the animals they shot was cold when they brought them back.”
“I’m warm and I’m alive.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Some, but they give me medicine to help with the pain.”
“I’m sorry.” His lower lip trembled, and then the tears were audible as well as making wet tracks down his cheeks.
His mother dropped to her haunches beside him, and she hugged him to her.
He threw himself into her body, tearing his hand from Josie. “I didn’t mean it, Mommy. I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s okay, Abel.” She calmed him until the crying had diminished to a few sniffles, and then she looked at Josie over her son’s shoulder. “I know why you broke in to the compound. Most of us had no idea the men were involved in things that dangerous. We thought we were making a simpler, better life for our children, and now that life is in shambles, but I’d rather that than raise my son to kill.”
She stood up, her son held against her. “I’d never seen a person shot before. When the others talked about fighting for our way of life, it was emotional rhetoric. This is real, and Abel and I will have to live with the memory for the rest of our lives.”
“I don’t blame your son for shooting me.”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you.”
“Abel,” Josie said.
The little boy looked at her.
“I forgive you.”
He wriggled down from his mom and came to the bedside. “Can I hug you? Mommy hugs me when I get hurted and it feels better.”
“Sure.” She went to reach down, but Daniel was there, lifting the boy to her so she wouldn’t put any stress on her wound.
He hugged her tightly around the neck, choking her, but she didn’t complain. This little one would live with more trauma from the shooting than she would.
When he let go, he looked at her anxiously. “Do you feel better?”
“Yes. Much. Thank you.”
He and his mother came to see her twice more, and each time, Josie reiterated that she was going to be okay and that she forgave Abel. He’d started smiling again, which his mother tearfully thanked her for. There would be more traumas to come with the investigation into the shooting, but both he and his mother were going to make it through.
Josie could tell. The woman was strong, and her attitudes were changing rapidly. She and Abel were just leaving when the doctor arrived on rounds.
He read her chart and then smiled. “You should be able to go home tomorrow.” He looked at Daniel. “That is provided she has someone to care for her. I’d like her to stay off that leg for another week and then only mild exercise until the torn muscle has healed.”
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t overdo it.”
He hadn’t repeated his marriage proposal in the last three days, but his behavior indicated it was on his mind.
“Good.” The doctor put the chart back in the pocket on the wall. “I’ll draw up discharge orders for tomorrow morning.”
“Can I fly?” Josie asked. “I don’t want to spend the next five and a half weeks staying in a hotel.”
“No. I’m sorry, but plane travel would put a lot of stress on the wound, and a long car trip, even with frequent stops, is out of the question for a while as well.”
She understood the doctor’s reasoning, but she couldn’t mask her disappointment. She wanted the privacy of home.
“What about a personal jet where she could lie down for most of the journey?” Daniel asked.
The doctor’s eyes widened. “I can honestly say that’s the first time I’ve been asked that question. If you can arrange such a thing, I don’t see any reason for her not to be taken home. Just make sure she has follow-up care on
