The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(88)

“You’re going to need stitches,” Nikki told her. “Let me get the paperwork started. Are you right-handed?”

Sunshine nodded, trying to ignore her wooziness.

“That’s good because you won’t be able to use your left hand for a while. Still, have your husband fill out the paperwork. You can just sign it at the end.”

She handed a clipboard to Declan before stepping out of the room.

Sunshine leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “You should tell her we’re not married,” she said quietly, wondering if she really was going to throw up. Blood wasn’t her favorite, but it didn’t usually bother her. Of course she could be in shock or maybe she’d lost a lot of blood. Either way, her hand was throbbing something fierce.

“I think that’s kind of the least of it,” he said, taking a seat. “Let me get this filled out.”

He wrote in the basic information, then asked her if she was allergic to any medications and about any past medical conditions.

“There’s nothing,” she said, her head spinning a little. “And no family history of anything.” Not that she knew about. Her great-grandmother had been well into her nineties before she’d died quietly in her sleep. As for Sunshine’s father, well, they didn’t know anything about him. Which was a stupid thing to be thinking about right now, she told herself, even as she tried not to cry.

Nikki returned with several pillows so Sunshine could keep her hand elevated. She put in an IV.

“Fluids and something for the pain,” she said. “Do you remember your last tetanus shot?”

“No. I think I was a kid.”

Nikki smiled. “You want to keep up with that. The guidelines are for every ten years. We’ll get you a booster.”

Great. A shot and stitches. Of course she already had an IV in her arm, so maybe that was the worst of it. She looked at Declan. “What about the party?”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you fixed up and then I’ll deal with the prep work.”

“You can’t do it all yourself. This is Connor’s birthday party. It’s huge.”

“I’ll manage.”

He sounded confident, but she was less sure. “Margot was going to help tomorrow anyway. I can call and ask her to come early or even today,” she began.

“Stop,” he told her. “Let’s get you through this first and then we’ll assess, okay?” His voice was gentle but firm. “Sunshine, you’re my main concern. If Connor were here, he would completely agree with me. The party will happen. Let it go.”

Nikki smiled. “Honey, you’ve got yourself a keeper.”

Sunshine turned to the nurse, ready to correct her. Declan shook his head, then winked.

“You’re right,” he said cheerfully. “She is one lucky lady to have me.”

Before Sunshine could respond or even acknowledge the sudden and powerful wish that she really was that lucky, the sliding door to her room opened and a tall, attractive, dark-haired woman stepped in, a tablet in her hand. She smiled and said, “Hello, Sunshine. I’m Dr. Kumar. You seem to have had a bit of an accident.”

“I’d wave but it would get messy,” she said, hoping she didn’t look like she was about to cry.

Dr. Kumar laughed. “We don’t want that. Let me take a quick look, then we’ll fix you right up.”

  Several stitches, a prescription for mild painkillers and some discharge papers later, Sunshine found herself back at home. Her hand was still numb from the local anesthetic, but she had a bad feeling it was going to hurt like crazy once that wore off.

“You should go lie down,” Declan told her as they walked into the kitchen. “You need to take it easy.”

“I cut my hand. I didn’t get in a car accident. I’m completely fine.”

“You have no color in your face and you look like you’re going to pass out any second. Lie down for a couple of hours and then we’ll see how you feel.”

“No. We have to get ready for the party. We have nine kids arriving at eleven tomorrow morning. There’s too much to do.”

“You wrote out a master list. I can follow it.”

“No. My notes won’t make sense to you.”

She had more to say but suddenly felt a little light-headed. She swayed in place, thinking she should probably sit down. She’d barely taken a step toward the stools by the island when Declan jumped to her side and put his arm around her waist.

“Thank you for demonstrating my point,” he said, his voice gentle. “Come on, Sunshine. You have to take care of yourself.”

“I’m fine.”

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? You’re fine?”

He was standing so close, she could see all the colors in his irises. He was a lot taller than her, and strong, and having him hold her felt really good. Like she was safe and taken care of. She wanted to lean against him, she wanted to have him just hang on forever and...

She pushed away the ridiculous thoughts, telling herself she was injured and not at her best and any warm fuzzies were simply the result of the trauma and not the least bit real. She had to get a grip.

She turned and sagged onto the stool.

“Please bring in one of the lounge chairs from the patio,” she said. “You can move the kitchen table to the side and put the lounge chair next to it. Once I’m settled there, you can bring in a couple of pillows from my bedroom so I can prop up my hand.” She shrugged. “It’s a compromise. You need me to help you figure out what to do and you want me to rest. This way we both get what we want.”