Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River #16)(28)

When she was completely sure he wasn’t coming back, she pulled herself out of bed. She hopped over to the door and threw the dead bolt. Then went back to the bed where she sat on the edge for balance and stripped down to her panties. She was planning a good scrub and reassembly.

She started by figuring out how to kneel. With her hands on the rim of the tub, she lowered herself carefully, first onto the knee of the splinted foot. Then the other knee. Painless. Then she started the water and prepared to wash her hair. Ahhh…scrubbing her scalp felt like pure heaven.

Next came a real bath. Despite the discharge nurse’s recommendation that she make do with sponge baths out of the sink for a week, she was overdue for a good soak. Keeping her wrapped ankle dry while getting in wasn’t that easy, but she used her head—she lowered herself into the tub before there was too much water, which kept the splash manageable. Likewise, she had to let most of the water out before attempting to leave the tub.

She felt like a new woman!

She had to use her blow-dryer and apply her makeup while seated on the bed—although her balance was exceptional, she didn’t trust herself to stand on one leg for more than a minute at a time. Next, she had to find a sharp knife in one of Denny’s kitchen drawers to use to open a seam in her jeans—the only way she’d get into them.

Finally, she donned jeans, one boot, one of Denny’s socks pulled over her splint to keep her toes warm, a turtleneck and bright purple sweater, then sat on the bed beside the phone. She thought for just a moment before dialing Doug’s cell number. She punched in the private-caller code first. The last thing she needed was for Doug to call this number and have Denny answer!

You have reached the cell phone of Doug Carey. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you.

She actually sighed in relief. She cleared her throat. “Hi, Doug. Just checking in. We had to get off the phone so quickly yesterday because you were getting on the plane that I didn’t have a chance to tell you there’s hardly any cell-phone reception around here. I can use the phone at the restaurant sometimes and you can leave a message on my cell and I’ll pick it up when I have a signal… But I’m fine and I’ll call when I can. Have fun with your family!”

She realized she hadn’t said the obligatory I love you before hanging up.

“Oops,” she said to no one.

With a sigh, she pulled on her jacket and looped the strap of her purse over her arm. She used the crutches to get out the door, then stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at the long, frightening descent.

Then she sat down on the top step. She slid her crutches down and carefully lowered her butt to the next step. And the next. And the next.

And she laughed.

She even practiced going up a few steps using the same method.

There was no reason to risk falling and breaking the other leg. If she could stay upright while riding a twenty-foot wave, traveling twenty miles an hour, she could get up and down these stairs without doing further damage.

Yup, she thought. I don’t need no steenking baby sitter!

Jack’s Bar was only a couple of short blocks from Denny’s little efficiency. Under any other circumstances, that might’ve felt like miles on a pair of crutches, but Becca was so pleased with herself she didn’t feel tired at all. When she faced the porch at Jack’s and the three steps up, she gave them careful consideration before taking them one slow step at a time.

Another victory! When she made it inside, she was wearing a smile brighter than the sun.

“Hey,” Jack said from behind the bar. “I was expecting a call from you! Denny said you’d need a little help getting down the stairs.”

She hefted herself onto a bar stool, lifting her leg onto the one right beside her. “Hah! Fooled him, didn’t I?”

“Becca,” he said, putting a coffee cup in front of her. “You shouldn’t take chances. What if you’d gotten hurt? I mean, more hurt.”

“Jack, I didn’t take any chances,” she said. “I was very careful and went down the stairs on my butt.” She grinned and tapped her cup. “Oh, please, coffee. I was so busy getting cleaned up—in private—that I never even looked through Denny’s cupboards for coffee!”

He chuckled at her and poured. “How’s it working out with your new roommate?”

She took a sip of the steaming coffee. “Poor Denny,” she said. “If it wasn’t bad enough I crashed his party, then I became his invalid to take care of because he feels at least partially responsible. What a load, huh?”

“Why does he feel responsible?” Jack asked.

“He was picking at me, so I told him to pull over and I…” She made a face. “I jumped out without looking.”

Jack frowned. “He shouldn’t be doing that—picking and arguing. If I do that with Mel, it never goes the way I think it will. Big mistake.”

“You do that?” she asked.

“Been known to, yeah.”

“I’m amazed,” she said. “You really don’t seem like that kind of guy.”

“Because I’m ninety-five percent sweetheart and five percent ass**le.” He smiled, pushing the cream and sugar toward her.

“This coffee is so wonderful, I don’t even need the cream and sugar, but that’s how I usually fix it. Spoon, please?”