Tell Me What Is Priceless (Siren Publishing Classic) (19 page)

Helen stood staring at her for a moment and then stormed from the room. A young PA came hurrying in and stopped in the doorway. “Nurse Glane said that you were having trouble breathing. Are you?”

“I think I’m okay. My mother was here, and she really upset me. I’m still sluggish from the pain meds, and it’s a bad combination. Can you please take the name of Helen Zeal off my visiting list? I don’t want her up here again.”

The PA walked in, taking his stethoscope and listening. “Well, you seem to be all right. I don’t hear any congestion or heart problems. Is Zar your fiancé?”

“Yes, he is. Is there a problem?”

“No, your mother stopped me in the hall and questioned me about your sanity. She said that Zar was nothing more than a casual acquaintance. I found that slightly unlikely, but I had to ask. You seem fine. If you have any problems, just hit the buzzer. Do you need something for pain?”

“No, thank you. I’m kind of hungry, though. Could I have some Jell-O or something? Maybe some fettuccini Alfredo baby food would taste good.”

“How about Zar takes a walk down to the nurse’s station and gets you some strained fruit? I had some put in the refrigerator for you earlier. I will be off duty shortly, but you know Kevin. Call if you need him.”

“We will.” Zar slipped off the bed. “I will be back in a few minutes.”

Blaze watched the two men head out the door and leaned back onto the pillow. Zar had been at her side since she woke up. His patience and understanding with her seemed endless, and he always seemed to know what to do or say for her. Maybe being engaged to him wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Zar came back in with a tray containing three jars of stage-one baby food. “Hungry? We have strained spinach, chicken puree, and peach cobbler.”

Blaze stuck out her tongue in distaste. “No fettuccini, huh?”

“Sorry, it’s not on the menu. I promise as soon as you can eat solid food we will go to the best restaurant around.”

He sat down in the chair and opened the jars, filling a spoon with green goop. Blaze took it, swallowing in disgust. “Oh, this shit’s bad. Green, bland mush. Maybe if they would let me put some butter and garlic on it. Oh, what I would give for a piece of cheesecake.”

Zar fed her a spoonful of chicken and then handed her the spoon. “You are supposed to be feeding yourself. I’m not doing you any favors by feeding you.”

She wrapped a shaky hand around the spoon and struggled to get it into the jar. Zar held the container, and she asked, “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“About being my fiancé? I don’t recall you asking me to marry you.”

“Marry me, Blaze.”

“That is crappy way to propose. I want something dramatic and daring. Make me want it,” she said with a green grin.

“Finish your spinach. I need to think about that. Give me a hint if you will say yes.”

“Maybe.”

“You can be a real ball breaker, Blaze.”

“I’m not breaking your balls. I’m serious. You have no ring, no flowers, nothing to make your proposal stand out. You do magnificent presentations for companies to look at and feel overwhelmed. I get ‘Marry me, Blaze.’ I want a better presentation before I say yes. I adore you, but I want to remember the night you proposed. I want the memory to make me smile.”

“Fair enough. Now eat.”

She used both hands to get the spoon to her mouth and then swallowed as he watched her. Some of the food ended up on her shirt, but most made it into her stomach. Zar took the tray away and then cleaned off her shirt and face. “I think a facial and hair wash would do you good. Interested?”

“What does my eye look like? Is it normal, or is it discolored? I haven’t looked in a mirror since the accident.”

“I know. Your eye looks normal. The scar on your cheek is noticeable, though.”

Blaze had forgotten Nan saying that her face had been cut. She put her hand to her cheek, running her finger over it to find the scar. “Get me the wheelchair, please. I want to see my face.”

“Why, Blaze? It doesn’t look that bad. You are only going to get upset about it.”

“Because it’s my face, and I want to see it. Please?”

Zar moved the chair over to the side of the bed and helped her slide into it. He wheeled her into the bathroom and pushed her up to the mirror. Blaze used her good arm to pull herself up and stood staring at the scar. “I suppose it could be worse. It’s at least flat and not directly in the front of my face. If I turn a little to the side, you can’t see it. Of course, I’m almost blind in one eye anyway, so it’s probably only the way I see it.”

Zar pushed her back into the chair and glared at her. “Knock it off. Self-degradation is not becoming. Your cheek doesn’t look all that bad, and it will fade more with time. If your eye doesn’t improve, then you can have a lens put in it. The doctor said it was because your outer eye is still scarred. He said it might still clear up.”

Blaze leaned her head back to look up at him. “Are you angry with me?”

His shoulders sagged, and he leaned his forehead to hers. “No, I’m not angry with you. I’m tired, and I didn’t need to be stressed out today.”

“What happened?”

“Jenny had two days off from the hospital. Her and Kale took a ride back to Massachusetts to see a few of her friends. She went into labor. Kale just called me, and he is a nervous wreck about being up there alone when Jenny delivers the baby. I really want to go up and be there to support him, but I don’t want to leave you.”

“Go. I’m not the only thing in life, and I’ll still be here when you get back.”

“I’ll be gone at least one day if not more. If I leave now, I can probably be back sometime tomorrow night. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I promise, I’m not going anywhere. The drugs will knock me out anyway. Zar pushed her back to the bed, helping her to get into it.

Blaze smiled at his concerned gesture. “Will you do me a favor and call for your limo? I don’t want you driving all the way up there if you are half-asleep already.”

Zar nodded and made the call. He lay down next to her, pulling her closer as he kissed her. “It will take them a while to get here. I’ll stay until you fall asleep. I love you, lady, and I wish you would answer me.”

“Nope, not without a decent sales pitch.”

“I’ll give you a decent sales pitch,” he threatened as he poked her side to make her jump. Blaze chuckled and kissed him again, running her fingers leisurely through his hair.

“Hey! Up and at ’em. My time is money, and you are sleeping late. Where is your sidekick?” asked Ralph.

Blaze opened her eyes and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

She heard Zar reply and searched for the source of his voice. His tablet was propped up on the bedside table, and his face was displayed on the screen. He appeared haggard. “I’m dealing with Jenny, who wants the baby out, and Kale, who is wearing a path in the hospital floor in her room because he is so nervous.

Blaze giggled. “Can you see me?”

“Yes. I hooked my phone up with the tablet before I left. I wanted to be able to see you sleeping. It made me feel better. The hospital may get a bit pissed that I tapped into their Wi-Fi and disabled the shut off mechanism, but…”

His chagrined expression made her laugh. “Ralph is waiting to torture me. I’ll call you later on the phone unless you want to watch me grunt and groan.”

“No. I’ve seen enough of that,” he replied with a teasing grin. “I’m going to try and get Kale to relax. Hopefully the baby will come soon and I can come home.”

“Call me with all the details as soon as it happens. Tell them that I love them.”

“I will. If you miss me, call, too.”

“Of course I miss you, and I will. I love you.”

“I hate you,” he retorted playfully as he gave her a huge smile and then disappeared from the screen. Blaze reached over and turned the tablet off before looking back at Ralph. “Sorry for the delay.”

“It was amusing. Grab your phone.” Ralph helped Blaze into her wheelchair and headed her toward the rehab center. It was a grueling day for both of them. Blaze ate her dinner, and then watched some television. Zar didn’t call again, and no matter how hard Blaze tried to stay awake, she dropped into a drug-induced haze.

* * * *

Zar snuck into the room in the middle of the night and headed to bed. He had no intention of waking Blaze to tell her the news. It could wait until morning.

* * * *

Zar woke, finding her snuggled up to him. He shook her lightly, and Blaze moaned, opening one eye. “What?”

“Marry me?”

“Maybe.”

“How did you get over here?”

“I hobbled.”

“By yourself?” he asked in surprise. “Are you insane? You could get really hurt if you fall.”

“Ralph gave me permission to move a short distance by myself. I use the crutch to keep my balance. I’m tired of asking for help to get to the bathroom.”

Zar pulled her tighter to his body. “How did therapy go?”

“Good enough for me to take half a pain pill. What happened with the baby? ”

“They are fine. They had a beautiful little girl, seven pounds, eight ounces. Her name is Clair. Jenny and Kale are the doting parents, and I left them lying in bed together with Clair. They are gonna stay up there and come home in a week.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and went to the picture app, showing Blaze all the photos he had taken of his new niece and the new parents.

Dr. Gillette opened the door and stuck his head in. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” replied Zar.

“I think if Blaze wants to go home, she is ready. There is nothing we can do for you, and as long as you have had no more incidents with your breathing, I’ll release you. Ralph says that you are doing excellent, and he should have you walking in no time. You can either come here for therapy or go up to Branford to his office. I want to see you in two weeks. Give yourself a few more days on stage-one food, and then try the stage two. If it upsets your stomach, then go back on one for a few days. I think four or five days on each level food should do it, but it’s up to your body. The nurse said that you had a bowel movement, and that is good. It means everything is going in and coming back out okay. Want to go home?”

“Yes, I want to go home. I’m free?”

“As a bird. I’ll call and make you an appointment for two weeks. Until then, hopefully, you won’t see my face. How is your eye doing?”

“It’s still blurry.”

“I’m going to give you some drops. Put them in three times a day and see if they help. If not, we will discuss surgery as an option, but not yet. Now call a ride and get out of here,” he said in a teasing tone.

Blaze smiled at him, and he shook his head. “I see why you love this lady. She has the brightest smile. Go home, Blaze, and keep working.”

“I will,” she replied, rolling away from Zar. He hopped out of bed, going for her chair and helping her into it. “There is no need to call a car. Mine is in the garage. I took the limo home and got it. Want to go for a ride? See the real world?”

“I would love to. But I have nothing to wear.”

“Yes, you do,” he said, going in the closet and pulling out a bag. “I stopped and got you something two sizes smaller than what you had in the closet. I think it should fit.”

“Is this my proposal?”

“We will see, won’t we,” he said with a mischievous grin.

Dr. Gillette threw Zar a nod of good luck and went out, closing the door.

Zar pulled a dress from the bag and held it up before her. Blaze stared at it and moaned, “Oh, Zar, that is beautiful. Where did you find it?”

“It’s from a little shop in Upstate New York. I thought you would like it, and it’s in the colors of your book. Red and black silk. It looks very medieval, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does. Am I really that skinny?”

“You are really that skinny. I’m actually afraid that it might be too big, but I didn’t want to get it too small. Let’s see how well you balance so we can get this on you. It laces up the back, and you are going to have to be standing.”

“Give me the crutch. Ralph taught me how to get myself up into a standing position. Part of my problem is that my brain has forgotten how to make my feet walk. I have to mentally concentrate to put my heel down first and roll to my toes. It’s hard to not remember how to walk.”

Zar pulled the dress over her head, supporting her as she put her arms through. He laced the back up and then pulled it tight. It was slightly too big, but the cut of the dress looked great on her. “So?” she asked.

“You look like a princess or a queen. I suppose I should change so I don’t look like a total slob.”

“Strip!” she commanded, accenting her words with a toothy smile.

Zar rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Strip I can do, but I’m not much in the way of hip rotation. I would make a lousy stripper.”

“I think that you are a very sexy stripper, and I like to watch you undress. Your body is quite interesting to watch as it flexes. You have a really muscular and quite edible physique.”