Carolyn Faulkner Heartsong (pdf)

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fine pulp.
Was it that bad? he asked, only half kidding.
She turned back towards him, too quickly, and winced. No, no, of course not. It was
wonderful. It was fantastic -
And let begin here and now the apologies I will be making forever in the future, too
I m sorry for falling asleep right after we made love. I shouldn t have. I should have
stayed awake and cuddled. I m better trained than that. But, I was just exhausted, not that
that s an excuse
Mina interrupted his heartfelt mea culpa. It was fine. I mean, I wouldn t want it to be a
continual habit, but I m not mad or anything.
So, it wasn t that either, then. Hunt leaned forward and put his hand on her hip one
of the few places not encased in either plaster or gauze. Tell me what it was that drove
you away from me, out into the night.
If every muscle she owned hadn t hurt, Mina would have shrugged. As it was, she settled
for avoiding his eyes and compulsively folding the hem of the starched to within an inch
of its life hospital sheet. Nothing in particular.
He didn t say anything for a few seconds, then issued a loud. Ahem. I m not buying it,
so try to sell me something else. Like the truth.
Claire.
What about Claire? he asked, figuring he already had a good idea, but knowing she
needed to be prodded into talking it out.
It tore at his heart when he saw her eyes fill with tears. I just I just felt like like I d
betrayed her, you know?
He knew. He knew very well exactly what she was talking about, because he d felt it,
too. You could have gotten me up, and we could have talked about it, he cajoled,
instead of sneaking out on me.
The idea of talking to him about it had honestly never occurred to her. It was probably
the last thing she d ever consider, frankly. When she thought about spilling her guts, it
wasn t to Hunt. David, maybe. Hunt, no. But, she certainly couldn t say that to him.
I didn t feel like it. That was no lie. She hadn t felt like it. I wanted to be alone. I
needed to work some stuff out.
Although he didn t want to, he did understand what she was saying. Next time, he
growled huskily, I m going to stay awake, and I m not going to let you leave my side all
night long. Hunt couldn t see anything on her skin but purple bruises and red scrapes,
but he knew that she was blushing nonetheless.
Now. Back to this David character.
Did I hear my name being taken in vain? The owner of the voice on her answering
machine knocked once on the open door and waltzed in as if he owned the place, running
up to Mina s other side and kissing her loudly on the cheek.
Oh, honey, I m so sorry! I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?
He hadn t so much as acknowledged Hunt with a glance. All of his attention was focused
on Mina, and Hunt was seeing red, especially when the man reached out and caressed her
hair as if he had every right to. She s going to be fine. Hunt stood, and took his place
on Mina s other side, his hand on her shoulder staking an indisputable claim.
The other man s response to all of what Mina would refer to as macho posturing was to
smile from ear to ear and hold out his hand. You must be Hunt Gallagher. I m so glad
you were here for her.
It was too much of an ingrained response to take another man s hand when it was
offered. Hunt shook hands with the man he considered his closest rival for Mina s
affections, noting reluctantly that he had a good, firm handshake. He didn t want to like
anything about this man, dammit.
Mina looked back and forth from one man to another, and instantly recognized Hunt s
expression for what it was jealous outrage. She wanted to put her hand on his chest, but
he was standing next to the arm that was in the cast. Hunt, this is David Maddox. He s
one of my best friends, and absolutely no threat to you at all. He and I are not
romantically involved in any way, so you can put down your caveman club any time
now.
His mouth twisted at her depressingly accurate interpretation of his feelings, but he
wasn t going to stand down just because of what she said. He intended to size up the
stranger, himself. Hunt did sit back down again, but he also kept his big paw on her
shoulder, just in case Mr. Maddox got any ideas.
At least, he didn t stay long, and, as far as even Hunt s narrow definition, he didn t say
anything he shouldn t have. In fact, he was very loving and affectionate towards Mina,
but in an almost neutered way. He couldn t find an objection to that; Mina needed all the
loving support she could get.
David kissed Mina goodbye on the lips, lifting his head and winking deliberately at a
nonetheless outraged Hunt. Non romantic relationship or not, he felt that he should be the
only one of the opposite sex who kissed Mina on the lips.
Mina found it amusing to watch him fume as long as it wasn t at her. When he fumed
at her, she ended up getting up close and personal with way too much carpeting. A
nurse s assistant came in with her lunch, and she sat up more than she had, but she was
till disinterested in food. Unfortunately, the guard dog beside her wasn t about to let her
skip a meal.
Hunt spent her entire hospital stay three days with her, night and day. He didn t even
go home to sleep, preferring, he said, to instead suffer through his nights on one of those
atrocious chairs that converted into some semblance of a bed, although he never looked
like he d gotten much in the way of sleep in the morning. He did everything for her,
usually before she even thought of it herself. She had to try to dissuade him from feeding [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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