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"Yeah" Soft, firret, and what he considered heroic restraint, he put his hands back on her shoulders "Where was I? I irl, this isn’t right"
She slid her hand over his crotch "Then what’s this?"
"The penis has a ed as he took her wandering hand and yanked it up "I should get an award for this A monument Let’s just step back"
"Step back?" Shock and insult leaped out with the words "Why? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"The penis is asking those exact questions But the thing is wait," he ordered, taking a fir is, Cilla, you don’t toss stuff out when you’re churned up Just like when you’re churned up, you don’t lock the barn door"
"It’s just sex"
"Maybe Maybe But when it happens? It’s going to be just you anddown and taking her mouth in a slow, soft kiss "Just me No Steve or Steve’s mom, no Janet Hardy, no letters Just us, Cilla I want lots of alone with you"
She let out a sigh, gave one of the boxes a halfhearted kick "How am I supposed to feel pissed off and rejected after that?" Hooking her thuaze deliberately to his crotch "Looks like that’s still doing a lot of thinking What are you going to do about it?"
"I just need to get a picture of Maylene Gunner in my head"
"Maylene Gunner"
"Maylene was ly as hoht"
No, she couldn’t possibly stay pissed off "Why would Maylene do that?"
"Because I had drawn a very unflattering portrait of her I didn’t possess the talent to draw a flattering one Da Vinci didn’t possess thatand farting Very colorful Little people on the ground clutching the for cover"
"Cruel," Cilla said as her lips twitched
"I was eight In any case, she got wind-so to speak-and ambushed me and proceeded to pound me to dust So when I need to, I just picture that Jupiter-sized face, and" He glanced down, so Retired from the field"
Cilla studied hie et ain Even Maylene Gunner has only so ive you a hand here, then we’ll go see Steve together Between the two of us, we can take hiswhat’s left of that pole laot through the night And Cilla geared herself up for her second visit of the day, and second confrontation with Steve’s ave herself a pep talk
It wasn’t about her, wasn’t about old business, grudges, one-up a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West
It was about Steve
She bounced her shoulders to loosen them like a boxer before a bout, and stepped toward the doors as someone called her naht have been cowardly, but she’d take what she could get Turning, she smiled at Cathy and To Cilla’s arm "How’s your friend?"
"The saain for your help when Steve was in surgery"
"It was nothing"
"It was a lot totoday?"
"Actually, we’re here to see our goddaughter She had a baby"
"That’s nice Well" Cilla looked back toward the doors
"Would you like o up with you first?" Cathy offered
"No, no, I’m fine It’s just Steve’s mother’s probably up there She harbors extreht in that room with both of us in there"
"I can fix that" Cathy held up a finger "Why don’t I go up, lure her away for fifteen or twenty minutes"
"How?"
"Volunteer mode I’ll buy her a cup of coffee, lend a shoulder It’ll give her a break and give you a few minutes alone with your friend"
"She can do it," Tom said with a shake of his head "Nobody resists Cathy"
"I’d be so grateful"
"Nothing to it Tom, keep Cilla company for a few minutes Five should do it" With a cheery wave, Cathy strode into the hospital
"She’s great"
"Best there is," Toive her that head start I was sorry to hear about your friend"
"Thank you" Three days, she thought Three days in a coma
"Do the police have any idea how it happened?"
"Not really I guess we’re all hoping Steve can tell us if when," she corrected, "he wakes up"
She caught a gli lot and, with a shudder, looked away
"I hope that’s soon" To on your place?"
"It’s shaping up He does good work You must be proud of him"
"Every day It’s an arounds, the house A lot of tiets around," he added
"It’ll be worth it You should drop by so you’d ask" He winked at her
"Anytime, Mr Morrow"
"Tom"
"Anyti to sneak up, see if Cathy had any success"
"You can take it to the bank I’ll say a prayer for your friend"
"Thanks"
And this, Cilla thought as she crossed the lobby to the elevators, was the reason to make this home People like the Morrows, and like Dee and Vicki and Mike, the ICU nurses she saw every day People who cared, who took time
People like Ford
Hell, even people like cranky, dyspeptic Buddy
She stepped off the elevator and spotted Mike at the nurses’ station "How’s he doing?"
"Holding steady Kidney functions are normal That’s an iled his eyebrows "Mrs Morrow breezed in and took Mrs Chensky down for coffee You got a clear road"
"Hallelujah"
Bruises still covered his face, but they were turning yellow at the edges Thick stubble masked his jawline and pricked her when she leaned over to kiss him "I’m back It’s hot out this afternoon Strip-it-off weather"
She tuned out the machines, started to turn to theto describe the view for hiress And she saw the sketch taped to the glass wall
"What have we got here? Con the Ilanced back at Steve "Did you see this? Striking resemblance"
Ford had drawn it Cilla didn’t need to see the signature looped in the botto what she supposed was a loincloth, with thick black straps crossing over his chest, and knee boots His hair flew out as if in a strong wind, and his face was set in a fierce, fuck-you grin His hands rested on the hilt of a sword, with its point planted between his spread feet
"Big sword, obvious sy over the ars Con the Ied, doesn’t he?"
Tears rose hot in her throat, were ruthlessly sed down "You’ve really got to see this, okay?" She crossed back to take Steve’s hand "You’ve got to wake up and see this It’s been long enough now, Steve, I h, so stop screwing around and oh God"
Had his hand ined it? She let her breath out slowly, stared down at the fingers she held in hers "Don’t ain You know if I cut loose I can out-bitch yourto coers twitched, curled The lightest of pressure on hers
"Okay, okay, stay there, don’t go anywhere" She reached for the call button, held her finger down on it "Steve, coain" She lifted his hand, pressed her lips to it Then, narrowing her eyes, bit And laughed when his fingers twitched and curled again
"He squeezed my hand," she called out as Mike ca up? Is he?"
"Talk to him" Mike moved to the side of the bed, lifted one of Mike’s eyelids "Let him hear your voice"
"Come on, Steve It’s Cill Wake up, you lazy bastard I’ve got better things to do than stand around here and watch you sleep"
On the other side of the bed, Mike checked pulse, pupils, BP Then pinched Steve hard on the forearm The ar rabbed his face, put her nose nearly to his "Open your eyes"
They fluttered, and she felt another flutter on her chin More than his breath, she realized A word
"What? What? Say it again"
She leaned down, her ear at his lips She caught his slow, indrawn breath, and heard the hoarse, rahisper of a single word He said, "Shit"
Cilla let out a sob that choked into a laugh "Shit He said shit!"
"Can’t blanal another nurse "Page Dr North His patient’s waking up"
"Can you see me?" Cilla demanded when his eyes opened "Steve? Can you see h "Hi, doll"
SHE SPOKE to the doctor, even enuinely at Steve’sof weeping relief After she’d washed her face, slapped on e, she went back to the nurses’ station
"He’s sleeping," Mike told her "Natural sleep He’s weak, and he’s still got a lot of healing to do You should go hoht’s sleep yourself"
"I will If he asks for me-"
"We’ll call you"
For the first time Cilla stepped into the elevator with an easy heart As she crossed the lobby, she pulled out her phone and called Ford
"Hey, beautiful blond girl"
"He woke up" Shelot with a bounce in every step "He woke up, Ford He talked to me"
"What’d he say?"
" ’Shit’ came first"
"As it should"
"He knew me, his name and all that His left side’s a little weaker than his right, just now But the doctor says he’s looking good They have to do tests, and-"
"Looking good works Do you wantho I wanted to tell you I just wanted to say that I saw your sketch, and I was teasing hiht have done the trick"
"Nothing stops Con the I"
"You are so- Oh God! Son of a bitch!"
"What? What was that?"
She stared down at the door of her truck "I’ll be home in a few minutes I’ll come by"
She clicked off before Ford could respond And read what someone had written on the driver’s-side door in black marker
WHORES BEGET WHORES!