Maybe Baby Lite by Andrea Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

his heel and
left the room.
    “ Don’t let him get to you,
Ty,” Ray consoled me. “You know it upsets him to think about what
might have happened last Friday. He’s been up here with you nearly
24/7. And, he has been trying like crazy to contact your mom. Have
you spoken with her?”
    “ No, not since she drove
me to the bus station in Louisville to come here,” I
answered.
    “ Are you sure you wrote
down her correct number on your emergency contact form?”
    “ I think so, but I’d have
to see it to be sure. I have her number programmed into my cell
phone, though.”
    Ray probably thought it
was strange that I didn’t call my mom and she'd not called me. It
had been several weeks. That’s just the way it was between Mom and
me.
    “ Where’s your cell
phone?”
    “ Back at my
cottage.”
    “ Okay,” he said, “we will
fetch it and bring it to you this evening, okay? You need to let
your mom know where you are and that you're okay. She’s probably
been calling and worried sick about you.”
    “ Sure, okay,
Ray.”
    Boy, he did not know my
mom; that was certain.
    “ Ray, what day is this?” I
questioned softly.
    “ It’s Wednesday, darlin’,
you’ve been in here for five days.”
    Sweet Jesus!
    Five days in the hospital.
That would probably drain my trust completely. I couldn’t think
about that right now.
    “ And Derringer hasn’t
eaten in three?”
    “ That’s right, but don’t
you worry about him, okay? Trey knows what he’s doing with
Derringer. That’s Trey’s horse, you know?”
    “ So I’ve been told,” I
replied dryly.
    “ Ray?” I asked
again.
    “ Yes, darlin’?”
    “ You know there are rumors
floating around the place about Trey and some scandal with his
former fiancé. I wondered—”
    “ Damn gossip,” Ray
interrupted, frowning. “Ty, that's all it is. I don’t know the
particulars of what you’ve heard; all I know is that Trey is
someone that I trust completely. You should, too.” Our conversation
stopped as Denise came bouncing back into my hospital
room.
    “ Good news for you,
girlie,” she said with a broad smile. “Your nurse will be down in
just a few minutes to remove the catheter. After that, I'm cleared
to help you with a shower. We’ll get your hair washed and
conditioned, and who knows, maybe add a pinch of my magic dust to
it to give you a bit of a new look, that’s if you’re game and trust
me with it.”
    “ Oh my God yes, Denise!” I
laughed. “Please make me look better!”
    “ Great!” she chirped.
“Okay, Ray baby, fetch my case out of your car, please? Then you
may take your leave until I call for you. We girls have some magic
to work!”
    “ Yes, dear” he replied,
trying his best to sound like the over-burdened
boyfriend.
    “ Oh, and Ray, I called the
stables and asked Jenna to grab a clean nightie and pair of panties
out of Tylar’s cottage. I told her that you'd get them from her.
Please bring them when you pick me up later today? These hospital
duds just don’t cut it.”
    “ Yes, dear,” Ray repeated,
feigning annoyance. “I’ll get your cell phone when I’m back there
Tylar.
    “ Thanks, Ray,” I replied,
smiling. “
    “ Be right back with your
case, ‘Neecie.”
    The shower felt exquisite.
It looked like I'd lost a little weight through this ordeal. I
lathered my hair with shampoo, twice, then rinsed and conditioned.
Denise had found a fresh hospital gown, which would have to do
until Ray returned with my clothes.
    Once I’d toweled off,
Denise had me sit on the bedside chair while she combed out my wet
locks. “Now, I’m going to spray on a little detangler here, honey,”
she explained. I felt so good under her careful hands.
    “ Honey, are you
particularly fond of wearing your hair this long and with this
blunt cut that you have?” she asked me, wrinkling her nose
slightly.
    “ Why?” I asked, eying her
a bit suspiciously, noting she wasn't fond of my current
hairstyle.
    My thoughts strayed back
to my