“You’ve got it,” Sam said, sliding off the gurney. His knees nearly gave out on him, but he grabbed the arms of the wheelchair and gingerly sat down, stifling a groan when he thought his ribs were going to rip through his sides. “Is she awake? Does she realize where she is and what happened?”
“Nothing inside her head appears to be scrambled; she’s awake and talking.”
Dr. Zeus wheeled him out of the room and down the hall a short distance. The chair stopped in front of a door, and the doctor stepped around to face him. “A word of warning, Sam. She’s probably feeling as bad as she looks, but you both must have had angels sitting on your shoulders during that crash. The medics showed me digital photos of your truck. But other than the wrist and a lot of bruising, she’s pretty much intact. So don’t flip out on me when you see her, okay?”
“I won’t.”
Zeus started to step around to the back of the wheelchair, but Sam grabbed his sleeve.
“Will the operation make her wrist as good as new?”
“That will depend on whether there’s nerve damage.”
“Thank you,” Sam said, resting his hands on his lap.
Zeus grabbed the back handles of the wheelchair and spun Sam around, opened the door, and backed him into the room before wheeling him up to the gurney Willa was lying on. Sam smiled at her, even though he felt like crying. She looked so beat up, so hurt . And so very, very fragile. “Hi,” he whispered, reaching out and taking her hand in his, resting them on the blanket so she wouldn’t feel how badly he was trembling.
“Hi,” she whispered in a raspy voice, her eyes drinking him in. “You don’t look any worse than you did when you stepped off the RoseWind .”
Relief bubbled up in the form of a chuckle. “My side of the truck didn’t slam into a tree.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “I’m sorry, Willa,” he whispered, closing his eyes and holding her fingers against his lips. “I am so damned sorry.”
“Um…for?”
He took hold of the rail on her gurney and stood up. He leaned over her as far as his ribs would let him and feathered his fingers over her cheek, the only place that didn’t appear bruised. “I’m sorry for damn near killing you. I tried to veer right to take the blow to my side, but I wasn’t quick enough.”
“From what I saw, you did a smashing job, Sam,” Dr. Zeus said, appearing on the other side of the gurney. “And your truck did its job protecting you. The angle of impact crumpled the front driver’s side nearly to the firewall. Our girl here wouldn’t have gotten a scratch if the impact hadn’t pushed you into that tree.”
The doctor ushered the nurse to the door. “We’ll be close by. If you need anything, hit the button marked Help,” he instructed, gesturing toward an array of buttons on the wall over Willa’s head. Willa lifted her left hand to touch his face. “Are you really okay? Nothing’s broken?”
“It feels like everything’s broken.” He very carefully leaned down and kissed her lips. “Don’t get mad,”
he whispered close to her mouth. “But I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He pulled away slightly and smiled. “I know.”
“You do?” she squeaked, her eyes widening. “How do you know?”
“I saw it in your eyes last night, in front of the fire. Why do you think I rushed us into the bedroom? I was afraid you’d panic and send me away, so I decided to keep you…um…occupied.”
She sighed heavily, her gaze locked on his. “I didn’t want to love you, but it snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking.”
“God, Willa,” he breathed, touching his nose to hers. “I nearly lost you. I am so damn sorry you got hurt.”
“Quit apologizing,” she rasped. “And sit down before you fall down.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, kissing her nose before he carefully lowered himself into the wheelchair. He slid his hand, palm up, under hers lying on the blanket. “Is that why you were looking for me this morning? To tell me you love me?”
She gingerly turned her head to look at him, giving a slight wince. “I was actually coming to ask you to help me with Jennifer.”
“Don’t strain your neck,” he told her. “I can hear you just fine when you’re looking up. What’s the matter with Jen? Did the boy back out of their date tonight?”
“No,” she said, closing her eyes. “Jen came down to the cottage this morning, and…and we talked.”
“About?”
“Can you reach that water on the table?”
He could reach it, but he had to stand up again to hold the straw to her mouth. The whole thing took several minutes to execute, and Sam sat back down with a sigh of relief. “Did they give you something for the pain?” he asked when he realized whatever they’d given him was starting to make him dizzy.
“I’m fine, Sam. I want to tell you about Jennifer before she and Shel and Emmett get here. It’s important.”
Sam hadn’t even thought about anyone else, but he realized next-of-kin must have been called by now. He should call his brothers, maybe while Willa was in the operating room. “What did you and Jen talk about this morning?” he asked, sliding his hand under hers again.
“About her resenting me,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Jennifer doesn’t resent you, honey.”
“Yes, she does, because I’ve ruined her life. First by mangling her foot so badly they had to cut it off, then by making her feel guilty about it.”
“Aw, honey.” Sam stood up again to cup her face. “You did not ruin Jennifer’s life. I’ve gotten to know her pretty well these last couple of weeks, and that girl has everything going for her.”
“Except for not having a right foot,” Willa whispered, more tears leaking out. Sam brushed them away. “She doesn’t seem to realize it’s missing,” he said, straightening to give his ribs some relief. “Jen’s fine, Willa. She’s okay right now, and she’s going to be better than okay in the future.”
“Will…will you help me convince her of that? I need to find a way to tell her she shouldn’t feel guilty about me and that she has to go after her dreams.”
“I’m not sure telling her will do anything to change her mind, honey. I think you’re going to have to show her.”
“But how?”
He ran his thumb across her cheek. “By forgiving yourself , Willa,” he whispered. “You can’t spend the rest of your life beating yourself up with guilt and not expect it to affect everyone who loves you. I know it’s hard, honey. I have a nasty case of the guilts myself right now.” He took as deep a breath as his ribs would allow. “I pretty near killed you.”
“The accident wasn’t your fault.”
“Neither was yours.”
“Yes, it was. I wasn’t paying attention. I was upset because I’d just walked in on David and another woman. And I had my eleven-year-old niece with me at the time. Jen saw them, too.”
Sam realized she was getting upset, which was the last thing he wanted. “How about another sip of water?” he asked, picking up the plastic cup. “Damn, it’s empty,” he said, looking around the two-bed exam room. There must be a sink on the other side of the curtain. “I’ll be right back,” he said, shuffling away.
His IV tube brought him up short, and he set the cup on the wheelchair seat, then wheeled the chair around the curtain.
He had just reached the sink when he heard the door open. “Okay, Miss Kent ,” an unfamiliar voice said, moving toward Willa. “I’m Dr. Blaine, the OB-GYN Dr. Zeus called in.”
Willa gasped, and Sam went perfectly still.
“I understand congratulations are in order,” the man continued. “You just relax, and we’ll see how the little tyke is doing before you head upstairs. Dr. Zeus is guessing you’re only two or three weeks pregnant. Is that about right?”
Sam felt very dizzy all of a sudden and sat down in his wheelchair. Willa was two weeks pregnant ?
“There’s been some sort of mix-up. I’m not pregnant” she said. “Sam? Sam! I’m not pregnant!”