Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter as Jules scowls.
“In my foot?”
“I can’t reach your arms,” he reminds her. “It’ll be a quick poke, and then it’ll be over. You have great veins here.”
She grins, and then giggles. “Stop tickling my foot.”
“Keep flirting with my wife, and see where it gets you.”
I can practically hear him roll his eyes. “I’m touching her foot,” he says. “That’s involved in placing an IV. Okay, quick poke.”
“That’s what he said,” she whispers, making me smile.
At least she still has her sense of humor.
She winces, but then her face calms.
“That was easy,” Blake says. “I’m going to pass the bag of fluid to you because they need to be up high. Can you reach down to grab it?”
“I think so.” She catches her tongue between her teeth and reaches down, and then she has the bag in her hand. “Got it. Wow, it’s warm.”
“I can add the medicine down here.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I feel a little floaty. And my leg doesn’t hurt.”
“Good. Hey, Brooks?”
“Yeah.” I wish I could see him, but I’m not willing to leave her. I need to be up here, by her side.
“She’s cut on the outside of her thigh from her knee to almost her hip. I can see where the wood has sliced into her. The bleeding is mostly stopped, but that wood is still sitting pretty deep in her upper thigh. I’m tempted to say we leave it in there and we get it out in the ER.”
“Jesus.” I pull my hand down my face.
“I want it out, Blake. I don’t want to wait for the ER.”
“Let’s see how things go down here, okay?”
Finally, Bridger and Beckett return with saws and tools, and after an hour of painstaking work, Jules is cut free, and my brothers lower her to the floor.
I back out of the attic slowly, not wanting to be the next victim of this cursed house. Finally, when I’m down with Jules, and she’s on the stretcher, I tug her against my chest and kiss the top of her head.
“I love you so much,” I growl into her ear. “You were so fucking badass up there.”
“Let’s get her to the hospital,” Blake says. “I can’t treat you there, sweetheart, because you’re my sister-in-law, but I’ll be there.”
Jules nods, and Bridger and his team whisk us out of the house, taking her carefully down the stairs that I’m so glad we reinforced last week.
“Oh my God!” Harper cries out as we step onto the porch. “Oh, sweetie, are you okay?”
“We love you so much,” Skyla says, brushing away tears.
“Jules.” Billie’s crying, but Jules reaches for her.
“I’m okay, Bug. I’m okay, friends.”
“Where is she?” Ava demands as she comes running onto the property. “Where’s my girl?”
“Hey.” Jules smiles at all of them, and then her pretty blue eyes fill with tears again. “I’ll be okay.”
“We have to go,” Bridger says. “She’ll be home soon, and then you all can spoil her.”
“Good,” Dani says, and they all huddle together as they watch us leave. “We’ll come see you as soon as you’re home!”
“I love them all so much,” Jules whispers.
“We all love you back, Wildfire.”
Chapter Thirty-One
JULIET
Brooks was afraid to leave me home alone today while he went to work. In fact, I’ve been home for two days, and I’m feeling much better, but he still didn’t want to leave me.
He didn’t have to worry.
Because I have people in our house pretty much around the clock, whether he’s home or not. Harper and Ava just left after dropping by with breakfast from my restaurant. They stayed for an hour, chatting and eating with me, making sure I was okay before they left to each go to work.
My crew has been incredible. Noah’s fine with working on the baking side of things for the foreseeable future even though I assured him I’ll be back next week. My staff has basically informed me that they can handle everything for as long as I need them to.
They’re sweet, and I appreciate it, but I’ll be going back to work as soon as the doctor gives me the okay.
I’ve just hobbled out of the bathroom—shit, this leg still hurts like a bitch—when my phone rings with a FaceTime call from Darby.
With a smile, I sit on the couch and accept the call.
“Hey, friend.”
“I hear you’re causing all kinds of trouble over there,” she says with a frown. “Falling through ceilings and having séances and shit.”
I snort at that. “No séances but falling through the ceiling is true enough.” I reach for my water and take a sip. “That wasn’t fun, let me tell you. I assume your sisters filled you in?”
“Yeah, and it scared the shit out of all of us.”
“Same, girl. Same. But I’m going to be okay. I need to rest for about a week, and then I'll be able to return to work. My leg took the worst of it. Bad cut up the outside of my thigh, thanks to a jagged piece of rotten wood.”