Love in the Falls by Rachel Hanna Read Free Book Online

Jenny asked furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. “You didn’t even know Sam.”
     
    “He needs me… wants me here. He gets upset when I leave his side,” Camden said trying not to smile. It was nice to be needed.
     
    “Really? Well, then he must really like you. You know, he was quite the catch in Norton’s Crossing. Every girl wants him… well, wanted him. I sure hope he gets better,” Jenny said peeking one last time into the room.
     
    ***
     
    Sam woke up around 9 AM. Camden was standing right by his side, as usual. Her long dark hair was swept up in a ponytail, and she was wearing a UGA sweatshirt and jeans.
     
    “Well, good morning, sleepy head,” she said. He smiled at her, which melted her heart. She didn’t know why this stranger’s smiles did these things to her.
     
    “Morning,” he said. His hair was tousled and messy, but he wore it well.
     
    “Today is the big day. You get your own room,” she said. She also knew today would be the time they tried to feed him without the IV to see if he was able to chew and swallow.
     
    “Yay…” he smiled again.
     
    “Jenny came by to see you.”
     
    “I know.”
     
    “Oh, yeah? How do you know?” she asked with a smirk.
     
    “Pretended to be asleep.” His voice was low, but she could understand him well.
     
    “What? Why did you do that? Jenny feels horrible!” Camden said giggling.
     
    “Too young... Bad fashion… Immature,” he said with a slight chuckle.
     
    “Well, I can’t argue there. I don’t think you are going to get a second date. Your first date was too dramatic for her,” she said smiling.
     
    “Sticky,” he said.
     
    “Sticky?” Camden was completely confused by the random remark.
     
    “Bath,” he said. Lying in a bed for days on end was making him feel hot and sticky, even though the outside temperature was far from warm.
     
    “I will get the nurse,” Camden said.
     
    “No. You. Please.”
     
    “You want ME to give you a bath, Sam? You’re kidding, right?” Camden was both shocked and amused by his request.
     
    “Not kidding. Washcloth…” he nodded in the direction of a cloth sitting on the tray by the bed. She looked him over and figured she could at least wet the cloth and wipe down his arms.
     
    “Okay. Just a little bit,” Camden said relying on her medical training to guide her. As long as she could think of him like a ninety year old man in her mind, maybe she could get through it without wanting to plant a kiss on his full lips. What was she thinking? She was engaged to Preston, she kept reminding herself. But, should she have to remind herself of her own fiance?
     
    She took the washcloth and ran it under some warm water in the sink next to the door. When she returned to his side, she pulled the blanket down enough to expose both of his arms. Being careful to go around his IV lines, she rubbed the cloth up and down his left arm. She could feel the strength of his arms even in his weakened state. It occurred to her that Preston’s arms didn’t look so masculine. Sam was a working man, and he was built like some kind of rugged cowboy that she had never seen up close before.
     
    “Is that better?” she asked looking at his arms and avoiding eye contact.
     
    “Yes. Much.”
     
    “Good,” she said as she went around to the other side of the bed and washed his left arm. “Can you move this hand, Sam?”
     
    “No.” He looked sad.
     
    “You will. It’s still very early in the process,” she said nodding her head. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.
     
    When she finished washing his arms, she went back to wet the rag so that she could wash his face.
     
    Sitting on the edge of the bed, she softly brushed the rag across his right cheek, down his chin and over to his left cheek. He moaned a little as if he was feeling a sense of relief. She wiped across his forehead and then down his neck before she stopped and looked at him. He had closed his