Irritable by Joanne Locker Read Free Book Online Page A

at home and was trying to get out
of bed and get dressed when Cleve walked into her room and settled the matter
in his own way... by giving her bottom a firm little swat and telling her to get
her fanny back in bed or he'd open her gown and spank her bare tush in front of the nice nurse. Kelsey wanted to be
indignant, but the young nurse's expression made her giggle instead. The
nurse left the room, half in a huff that a man dared to spank her patient and
relieved that he talked Kelsey into being cooperative and staying in bed.
    "How
are you, honey?" Cleve asked, kissing her right cheek again. Her pretty
face was so bruised and swollen and had to be sore.
    "They
gave me a pain shot and I feel great right now. They said it would make
me sleep, but I'm wide awake," she announced with a giggle. "Did you see
the nice nurse's face when you swatted me? Wasn't it funny?"
    Cleve
smiled when she closed her eyes and went right to sleep. The shot was
working, but he knew she would feel like hell when it wore off. The man
inflicted a lot of pain on her, and she'd managed to get in a few good shots,
too, according to the paramedics that were charged with hauling him to the
ER. Cleve didn't give a damn and hoped the son of a bitch couldn't move
for days without hurting.
    Cleve
glanced up a few minutes later when another man walked into the room wearing
sweats and said, "I'm Kelsey's Doctor, Paul Malone. You are?"
    "Cleve
Blankenship, the man Pebbles is going to marry when I can convince her of it,"
Cleve stood and offered his hand.
    To his
surprise the other man grinned and whispered, "I can't believe Kelsey lets you
get away with calling her that. She does seem to get a bit irritable at
times."
    "I
have a good cure for that," Cleve said quietly, but didn't elaborate.
"How is she doing? I know you're not supposed to tell me without her
permission, but is she all right?"
    "Her
tests were all good and we'll release her in the morning if she feels like
going home," Paul answered with a smile. "I came to see if she was still
in a lot of pain, but it seems as though the shot is working. She's going
to need some care over the next few days. Can you see to it without
setting off her temper?" he asked directly.
    "Done."
    Paul
looked at him speculatively, and then nodded. "I think you are exactly
the person Kelsey needs in her life."
    "She's
the person I need in my life, too," Cleve replied. He spent the night in
the chair by her bed and when she woke in pain, he held her hand until she
drifted off again.
    "I
don't like hospitals, Cleve. Will you call Dr. Paul and see if I can
leave now?" she asked at five AM.
    "It's
too early, honey. Let the man sleep a couple more hours and I'm sure
he'll let you leave. If you wake him up right now he'll make you stay
another day or two to get even with you," Cleve teased her.
    She
closed her eyes. "I think of my Mama when I have to be in one of these
places, and all she went through. I don't want to start crying and make a
fool of myself. So, I'll probably start getting real irritable and
snapping at everyone. I don't want to be like that. It's a habit I
got into to keep from crying."
    "I'll
stop you, honey. Just hold my hand and we'll talk."
    She
immediately took his hand. "Tell me what happened to him. Did you
realize he was the guy in the parking lot at the grocery? He admitted he
let the air out of my tire, and he was furious when you interrupted his plans
for me."
    "He
found out where you live by following you. He had a complete list of
victims in his van," Cleve said, but he didn't mention that he claimed he'd
simply walked into Pebbles' home because the door was unlocked. He was
still trying to control his temper over that! The little fool...
She'd been so angry with him that she put her life in danger. What if she
had already been in bed instead of working so late? What if he had been
out in the living room watching television instead of in bed trying to sleep
when she pulled the cord to her headphones?