Sacrifice (Heart of a Wounded Hero)

She walks over and grabs them before coming back to me. She lays them on the bed next to me and then grabs the shirt, unfolding it. "Do you want me to...?" she starts, and then her voice trails off.

Her face is as red as a tomato, and I take the shirt from her. "No, I can get myself dressed."

She nods and turns her back to me. I struggle through it, pulling off the wires and the monitors attached to my chest before putting my shirt on. I put my legs in each hole of the pants and pull them up my hips before standing up. I ignore the wave of nausea that hits me and finish getting dressed. "I'm done," I tell her.

She turns around and starts gathering up the things that are lying around the room. I don't have a lot of personal effects here, so it doesn't take her long, and she stuffs it all into a half-full box in the corner. As soon as the nurse comes in, she gives us the discharge orders of everything that we need to follow and then sends us on our way. The nurse insists I ride in a wheelchair to the car, and even though I think it’s ridiculous, I follow orders.

When we get to the bottom floor, Ella goes to get her car while the nurse and I wait. As soon as the pulls up to the curb, I’m out of the wheelchair, and before Ella can get out to open the car door for me, I’m opening it myself and getting in with a muttered thanks to the nurse.

Ella is quiet for the whole hour to Whiskey Run. "Thank you. Thank you for coming to get me," I murmur to her.

Her hands tighten on the steering wheel. "I would have been there sooner if I had known, Logan. You shouldn't have been there a month by yourself."

I hate the thought of needing anyone or depending on anybody. "When we get home, I'll be fine by myself."

She slaps her hand on the steering wheel and laughs, "I knew that you gave in too easily."

I can't help but chuckle with her, but she surprises me when she says, "You can forget it, Logan. I told the doctor that I was going to stay with you. So I'm going to stay with you for the week."

"But I seriously am..."

She doesn't let me finish. "I know. I know you'd be fine by yourself, but I'm still not going to leave you. It's not that big of a deal."

"It is to me." I adjust myself in the seat and lean my head back. "I'm sure you have work to do, Ella."

She acts as if it's no big deal. "I can work from anywhere."

When we pull onto our road, she pulls into the driveway to my house instead of up to the detached garage. I'm sure she's worried about me walking. Even as she puts it into park, she comes around to help me, holding my box from the hospital, but I'm already out of the car and walking toward the house. I take the box from her. "Remind me, what do you do for a living?"

I’m a little embarrassed to ask the question. She's lived here for a year now, and up to this point, I've only had small talk with her. She clears her throat and walks next to me. "I have a blog." She looks up at me, and I take in the long lashes behind her glasses.

"What kind of blog?"

She blushes again. "A romance blog. I write reviews about books and sell advertising on my website."

"Romance books?" I ask her.

She nods and walks ahead, unlocking the door and holding it open for me. As soon as we get inside, my cat, Max, is running toward us, and before I can scoop down to pick him up, Ella does it for me, putting Max in my arms and taking the box from me.

Her next move surprises me. She puts one hand on my back and gently pushes me toward the living room. "All right. I need you to rest for a minute so I can get a few things into order."

I don't budge, though. "Actually, if it's okay. I think I might like to lie down in my own bed for a while. My head is pounding, and sometimes sleep is the only thing that gives me any relief."

Her forehead creases. "Do you want some pain medicine?"

I shake my head. "No, I hate to take it. It makes me loopy."

She follows me down the hall toward my bedroom. She stands in the doorway as I sit down on the edge of the bed.

She hovers by the door, no doubt debating whether she should leave me or not. "The discharge note says I need to check on you every few hours, but I'll be quiet and try not to disturb you. All you need to do is holler if you need me."