Bring Me Home For Christmas

“I’ll be very careful,” he promised.

“I’ve had a run of bad luck lately. Owwww!” she wailed as he carefully slid the slit boot off her foot.

Her foot dangled there at a very odd angle, pointing inward and limp. And it was already starting to swell. He lifted his eyes to hers. “Oh, man,” he said. “That doesn’t look too good.”

Becca tried to hold back her tears all the way to the hospital and Denny tried to see how often he could apologize for being a total idiot. “I have no idea why I baited you like that,” he said. “I really don’t know. I think I’m still a little upside down that my old girlfriend is here with the guys.”

“I don’t even want to hear it,” she said. “Where’s the goddamn mute button?”

Denny laughed.

It was a long way across the mountains, through Virgin River and down the mountain to reach Valley Hospital. Denny lifted her carefully out of the truck and carried her into the E.R. From the odd angle of her foot, Denny suspected a break, and E.R. staff agreed with him. They contacted the on-call orthopedist to come to the hospital.

One of the nurses started an IV and Becca was given pain medication and a sedative, making her much more comfortable. While Denny held both her hands in both of his, the doctor gave her a shot of anesthetic right in her ankle. Then he gave it a sharp pull, setting it right. Becca half rose off the E.R. bed with a cry; Denny pulled her up against him, holding her tight until the pain subsided again.

“We’re going to have to operate on this ankle, Becca,” the doctor said. “It’s a little too swollen right now, but we’ll elevate it, put an ice pack on it and in a few hours we’ll be able to do the surgery. You can stay overnight and go home in the morning.”

“Operate?” she asked.

“A small plate and screws.” He smiled. “You’ll be good as new.”

“I don’t want to stay all night,” she said. “I’m miserable!”

“I can appreciate that, but there’s no alternative. What you really need is to go to a room where a nurse can get you out of those nasty clothes and get you washed up, into a hospital gown and comfortable. I’ll come back in a few hours and we’ll fix you up. You’ll go home with a splint and crutches. I’m afraid you can’t put any weight on it for six weeks—that’s going to be the hard part.”

She shifted her eyes to Denny. “Denny?” she said softly in a shaky voice.

“Easy, honey, you need to get taken care of. While you get cleaned up and put on some dry clothes, I’ll call Jack’s and make sure Big gets a message.”

“Becca’s going to need clean clothes to leave the hospital in,” the doctor said. “Maybe you could do that while she’s getting cleaned up and I take care of the ankle.”

Denny lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Would you like me to do that, Becca? Get you some clothes? Leave a message for Big Richie that you’re here?”

She nodded.

“I’ll see you later,” the doctor said, ducking out of the curtained cubicle.

“Becca, I’m sorry. You can add this to the list of things that are totally my fault. If there’s room on the page, that is.”

She just averted her eyes.

“Are you in a lot of pain right now?” he asked her. “I’ll stay with you till you go to surgery, if you want. I can get your clothes then.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “You can leave. Maybe Rich could bring me some clothes in the morning and bring me back to Virgin River.”

“I’ll do it, Becca. I want to. And I’ll bring back my own truck, which is a lot easier to get in and out of than Big’s truck.”

“Are we going to be able to get along?” she asked with a hiccup of emotion. “Because I’m just not in the mood for any more conflict.”

He nodded. “Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll come back tonight….”

“That’s all right, you don’t have to—”

“How bad is it?”

She shook her head. “It’s throbbing. But it feels far away, like it’s someone else’s foot.”

A huff of laughter escaped him. He ran a finger along her jaw. “You really scared me with that foot, the way it looked.”

“Scared you?” she asked, sinking back into her pillows.

A big orderly pulled back the curtain. “Ready to go for a ride, miss?”

“I hate to leave you,” Denny said.

“Just go on. Tell Rich to absolutely not call our parents. Absolutely not.”

“Don’t you think they’d want to know?” Denny asked.

“I’m going to take care of that. And tell him I’m sorry about getting the inside of his truck all muddy. He worships that truck. He’s going to marry that truck…”

“I’ll clean it up,” Denny said. “Try to rest.”

Before heading to Virgin River, he went through Fortuna, stopped at a full-service gas station and had the truck cleaned up, inside and out. He drove out to Jack’s guesthouse to retrieve his duffel and shaving kit, then went to his room above the Fitchs’ garage and took a shower. Next, he opened Becca’s suitcase and gathered some clothes to take to her. When his hands fell on her silky panties, they lingered there, remembering. God, how he had missed her! Then he folded her bra and panties inside a pair of jeans and a sweater, hiding her lingerie from view. Her camouflage vest was filthy, so he brought a jacket for her.

Then he went to Jack’s. It was still before five, but the sun was setting and the place was starting to fill up with a few locals and some die-hard hunters and fishermen. Denny sat at the bar.

Jack came over. “Where’s the rest of your posse?” he asked.

“I guess they’ll be coming in anytime. I was bringing Becca back here this afternoon and she had a little accident. She fell getting out of her brother’s jacked-up truck and twisted her ankle. Turns out it’s broken. I took her to Valley Hospital for an X-ray, but the doctor says he needs to put a small plate and some screws in it. She has to stay overnight, but she’ll be fine and can be released first thing in the morning.” He looked down. “She’s gonna be on crutches.”

“Well,” Jack said. “I always said, if they’re running away, just kick their legs out from under them. That’ll slow ’em down.”

Denny scowled. “That’s not funny.”

“Not to you, maybe,” he said with an amiable smile.

“She’s in pain.”

“I can imagine. Looks like you’re feeling some pain, too. Need a beer?”

“Beer and a sandwich, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Sure you don’t want some of Preacher’s dinner? Stew. Hard rolls. Cake.”

“As soon as I tell Big where his sister is, I’m heading back to the hospital. She’s fine, but she might wake up and not want to be alone.”

Jack served him up a draft. “Any chance she could wake up and not want to be with you?”