Soul Possession(39)

“Will she be able to walk?” Kirsten cut in.

“Usually I’d say that depends on the patient, how successful the surgery is and how motivated the patient is to recover. But in Miss Callahan’s case, I’d say without a doubt she’ll likely walk, and not only walk but soon. She’ll need rehabilitation and she’ll use a wheelchair or crutches at first and graduate to a cane. But given just how determined this young lady seems, I fully believe she’ll make a complete recovery. Will the knee ever be as good as new? No. But then she’d already sustained injury to it. But neither will it be a catastrophic injury.”

“Can we see her?” Truitt interrupted.

“I don’t see why not. She’s been given pain medication. She’s slipping in and out of consciousness. We want her to be as still as possible so she doesn’t further injure her knee. It’s currently immobilized until we can take her to surgery. But as soon as they’re through stitching her up you can go in to see her for a few minutes before we take her up.”

“Thank you,” Rick said.

The doctor walked away and the three stood waiting, impatient. Truitt, unable to remain still, paced a tight perimeter, from one wall to the other, his gaze never leaving the door.

Fifteen minutes later, it opened and a nurse motioned them in. Truitt pushed off the wall and entered on the nurse’s heels, Rick and Kirsten right behind him.

Truitt went to her bedside, Kirsten at his elbow, while Rick went around to the other side and carefully navigated the array of equipment.

Jessie looked completely fragile. One leg was bandaged from knee to hip and the other was immobilized and secured in a large plastic splint. The hospital gown didn’t cover much of her. Just her br**sts and part of her left side. Down her right was thick bandaging where the long cut had been stitched.

She lay completely still, eyelashes resting on her cheeks. Her respirations were so light that Truitt had to lean down to reassure himself that she was breathing.

There was so much stuff everywhere, an IV in each hand, that he honest to God didn’t know where he could touch her. He finally opted for cupping his hand over her head and then he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“Jessie,” he whispered achingly. “We’re here, baby. You’re okay now. They’re going to take good care of you and then Rick and I are going to take you home.”

She didn’t stir.

He stroked her forehead, smoothing the hair from her eyes. For a long moment he simply stared down at her, his chest tight and his eyes burning.

Then he leaned closer so only she would hear.

“I want you to know I love you, Jessie. I’ve loved you since I first saw you but the idea of saying it always scared the shit out of me. I’m not afraid now. All I’m afraid of is you not being with me.”

He kissed her temple and she stirred ever so lightly.

“You aren’t alone anymore, Jessie. Rick and I will be here. We won’t leave. We’ll be waiting when you come out of surgery. We’re going to be there for you during your recovery.”

Her eyes opened slowly and she stared at him with sleepy, drugged eyes. But then she smiled. It was such a bone-achingly sweet smile that his heart did flip-flops in his throat.

“You’re here,” she whispered.

“Where else would I be?” he whispered back.

“Where’s Rick?”

Rick touched her cheek, causing her to turn slowly in his direction.

“I’m here, Jessie. We both are. And Kirsten too.”

Jessie glanced down the bed and smiled. “Hey, you.”

The words came out quiet and pained.

“How are you feeling?” Truitt asked gently.

“Happy.” It came out more as a sigh than an actual word.

It wasn’t the word any of them were expecting. Truitt frowned, wondering if the drugs had turned her brain to mush.

“I’m alive,” she said in a whisper. “I survived. I swore I would. Nothing else seems important right now.”

“You’re right about that,” Rick said gruffly.

Jessie turned her gaze up to Truitt, her eyes soft and a little dull. “Did you say you loved me?”

He kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent. She smelled of old blood, dirt, and the sterile aroma of the hospital, but he savored it because it smelled of something else. Courage and life.

“I did,” he softly returned. “But we’ll talk more about that later when you aren’t hurting so much and when you’re not so drugged up.”

The door opened and a nurse returned.

“Sorry folks, but we’re going to take her up to surgery now. You can wait in the surgery waiting room and the doctor will come out to talk to you when the operation is over.”

Kirsten pushed by Truitt and bent to kiss Jessie’s cheek. “Hang in there, girlfriend. This will be over soon.”

As Kirsten stepped back both Truitt and Rick leaned down at the same time and kissed her.

“Go kick some ass,” Rick choked out. “Just like you did today. We’ll be waiting for you when you’re out.”

Chapter 18

Jessie awoke to a white, blank void. For a long moment she stared, trying to make sense of all the white space. But then as noise began to creep into her consciousness, she realized she was staring up at the ceiling and that someone was gently calling her name.