Crash Into You by Cara Ellison Read Free Book Online Page B

but an actual bed?  I’ll give you all the privacy, security and medication you could ask for.”
    Her eyes were already closing.  
    Mark waited a beat to make sure she was asleep and wouldn’t wake up alone, then stepped out of the room.   He spotted a collection of people wearing lab coats and scrubs and ID badges at the end of the hallway, gossiping and chatting at the nurse’s station.   One glanced up and saw him waving her over.
                  “I’m taking her home,” Mark said.  “Can you call the surgeon please?”             
                  “I’ll have him come down to talk to you,” she replied.
                  He nervously paced the corridor,  arguing with himself about what he was going to do.   Before he came to any real conclusion, the stubble-faced surgeon that he recognized entered the room.  Mark explained the situation then asked for prescriptions for morphine, antibiotics, and a lighter sedative like demoral.
                  “You’ll have to sign an AMA,” the doctor said.   Mark already figured this was way, way against medical advice.  He waved away the surgeon’s concerns, then   signed the paperwork, assuming responsibility for Lauren Spanner.
     
    What the hell had happened to him?   Such a total personality change could signal a neurological disorder.  It couldn’t hurt to have himself checked out by a psychiatrist.  
                  He had come to Montana in part to escape the expectations and obligations of women.   Yet he had just signed up to be the round-the-clock caregiver to one.   What the hell was he doing?
                  Either he really was going crazy or the iceman was melting.  Melting into mud.  
                  Taking responsibility for the care of a gravely injured woman didn’t strike him as very intelligent under any circumstances.   Yet as he drove back toward the ranch, careful to avoid potholes and rough patches of asphalt that might jostle her, he felt better than he had in months.   Lighter, freer.  He had a purpose – at least for the short term.
                  Lauren was unconscious, laid out across the bench seat in the back, and covered with a blanket.  He had wedged a hospital pillow between her and the seatback to help brace her cracked rib.  
                  Arriving at home, he parked in the garage and remotely shut the door behind him.  He stepped out of the truck and opened the back door.    She looked out of it, still doped up.  He checked her pulse with his fingertips.   When she didn’t stir, he gently shut the door and walked inside the house.
    May trotted behind as he walked upstairs to a guest room, where he pulled down the down comforter and soft, overlaundered sheets from the headboard of the log-post bed.   Back in the garage, Lauren was asleep when he picked her up, but stirred briefly in his arms. 
    “We’re at my place,” he whispered .  It was impossible to tell how much she understood, but he felt that it was important to talk to her, to let her know what was going on.
                  She sighed and shut her eyes again.
                  She stayed unconscious and limp as he carried her up the stairs.  He gently placed her on the bed.   She still wore the gown and blue fuzzy socks the hospital had issued to her.   Her vulnerability struck him straight in the heart.   Having removed her from surgery in such a weakened state, she really was his responsibility.
    But what could they do for her convalescence that he couldn’t?   While he wasn’t set up for any emergencies, he was still a good enough doctor to monitor her meds.
    As he hauled the blankets over her, she opened her eyes to slits. 
                  “Hi there,” he said.  “I’m going to run back to town to the pharmacy.   Just sleep.  I’ll be back