The Amendment (The Contract 2)

He was arguing with a woman I had never seen until this moment. She was regarding him patiently, a clipboard in hand, not interrupting him as he ranted.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“This lady,” he choked, “tells me she is going to give me a shower. I told her I don’t fucking think so.”

“Language,” I admonished. He had started cursing more since he woke up, and I wondered if it was another subtle change to his personality. His anger flared fast and he started swearing. Again, it reminded me of the man he had been, and I didn’t like it.

The woman cleared her throat and introduced herself. “I’m Doris, one of the day nurses. I’ve been on holidays, so I have yet to have had the pleasure of meeting you both.” Her eyes twinkled. “What I told your husband was I was going to help him get to a shower. I didn’t plan on getting naked with him.” She winked. “Not that I would complain.”

I covered my mouth, trying not to giggle. Richard looked so scandalized, I couldn’t help it. Fighting back my amusement, I patted his hand.

“You’ve been begging for a proper shower, Richard. And a shave.” He was off all of the equipment now, free from IVs and oxygen.

“In private,” he snarled. “I’m not flashing the goods to some stranger.”

This time, it was Doris who laughed. “Mr. VanRyan, goods like yours, as you so delightfully refer to them, have been flashed on the ward a great deal. You have nothing I haven’t seen before, young man. So, you have two choices. Sit there and bitch about me seeing your naked ass for a moment, or let me help you get into the shower. Then I will leave you in your wife’s capable hands.”

He crossed his arms. “Are you aware I can’t walk?”

She met his surly gaze. “Are you aware we have a machine that will lift you from that bed and seat you safely in the shower?”

“No,” he muttered.

She set down her clipboard. “And obviously, you are not aware I’m a trained professional. No matter how spectacular ‘the goods’ are, they are nothing but anatomy to me. I have dealt with hundreds of men and their egos. So, when you decide, let me know.”

I stopped her before she could walk out. “He wants the shower.” I glared at him. “Right, Richard?”

I could tell he wanted to say no to spite her, but looking at my narrowed eyes, he huffed a breath. “Yes.”

Doris picked up her clipboard. “Yes…” Her voice trailed off.

Richard practically snarled out his response. “Please.”

Doris smiled. “I’ll get things ready. I’ll have a waterproof bandage for your incision and I’ll explain the way you’ll be transferred and how to sit properly.”

She left and he glared at me. “I hate this.”

“So you’ve mentioned,” I stated mildly, looking through his toiletry bag that Maddox had brought him one day along with a few shirts and other items.

I didn’t dare show him how amused I was by his reaction to having a shower. Under different circumstances, Richard would have reacted with a grin and a wink and offered to “flash his goods.” He would have had Doris eating out of the palm of his hand. The entire staff, actually. The difficult, humorless man in front of me felt like a stranger at times.

“Where were you?” he demanded. “How long does it take to say goodbye to Maddox? Giving him extra thanks for all his help?”

I paused in my search. “What does that mean?”

He crossed his arms. “You were gone a long time.”

“It sounds as if you’re saying a lot more than that.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Your lips are red.”

I had been chewing on them again, my anxiety peaking. I was trying to hide it, but he was making me angry.

“I’m under a little pressure here, Richard. I was biting them.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical. “As long as it was you doing the biting.”

I gaped at him, his unspoken implication insulting. Before I could reply, he started over again. It happened a lot these days. He’d get a thought in his head and expound on it endlessly.

“You took longer than I expected.”

“I got a phone call, and I took it in the lounge. The reception is better.”

“Who was it?”

I frowned. “A contractor I’m dealing with.”

“So secretive these days, Katy.”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “I’m not hiding anything, Richard. We need to have some temporary changes made to the house for when you come home. I was discussing one of those changes with a contractor.” I drew in a steadying breath. “If you are insinuating something, say it.”

“I’m saying you were gone a long time.”

I was done.

“You are insulting both me and Maddox. He’s your best friend. I’m your wife. He was a huge support to me while you were in a coma.” My voice shook with repressed anger. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”