Hate You Not

She pulls the blankets down, revealing a plain white shirt and thin gray pants I must have gotten at the hospital—and my giant black boot.

Then her eyes fly back to mine. “I’m serious, Bug. Is that really Mr. Puppy Surprise?”

“Yes.” If my voice is snippy, it’s because I’ve been hit by a horrifying memory.

“What’s the matter?” Leah frowns down at me.

“Nothing.”

“You are acting so weird. Maybe it’s the drugs. What are you taking?”

“I’m not acting weird,” I lie. “But I do need to pee. Like immediately.”

Leah rambles nonstop as she and one of my brand new crutches help me to the bathroom. Then it’s time to sit down, and she’s staring at me.

“Turn around, you Looky Lucy.”

“How’re you going to lower yourself down onto the—Buggie! Did he do that?”

“Do what?” My ankle is pounding.

“There are rails on your toilet! You’ve got those old people rails.”

I look down—she’s right; I do—then look back up at her. “Well, hot dog.”

“He had to have done it. No one else has been at your house.”

“What time is it? And turn around.”

She turns around, revealing ombre hair that fades from dark brown then to medium and then to blonde down at the bottom.

“It’s half past noon.”

“Y’all left me out here by myself till noon?”

“He’s your brother’s best friend now, girl. Shawn has got a keg for tonight.”

“What?”

Leah flashes a lipsticked smile over her shoulder. “Oh yeah. Shawn and Mary Helen are ready to marry you off to Mr. Moneybags. That or Shawn’s gonna go gay for him. But if that doesn’t work out, imma get my claws in him. You said you hate his blood and guts, right?”

I shut my eyes again and finish doing my business. Then I stand up, using the rails.

“Are you sure you didn’t bring these?” I ask.

“Sure as shit, babe.” She steps closer, frowning at the rails attached to my toilet. “It’s not a these. It’s like…a this.” Leah squints like she’s trying to understand the entire manufacturing process for the potty handles.

Then she looks at my face. “Hun, you look like death. I think we should get you back in bed and I can bring some of these dumplins that MH sent.”

“You went by Mary Helen’s house?”

“Oh yeah—and I got cards from your darlins. Real cute, too. I’ll grab my purse and get ’em out. It’s in the den with him.” She says “him” with arched brows. While she helps me back into the bed, Leah regales me with the tale of how she had forgotten Burke would be here, and she found him in the yard with Tink and Petey. “Girl, he didn’t have a shirt on. It was masterful.”

That makes me laugh. “You know his last name, right?”

“Nu-uh.”

“Masterson.”

“Well I understand. He is a masterpiece of sculpted man meat. I could lick that six pack. Might of even been an eight pack.”

“Leah, this is outright disloyal. You and Shawn and MH.” I told Leah and Mary Helen in particular—before the rodeo—to steer clear of the devil.

“Bug, maybe you were wrong about him.”

At that moment, there’s a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I call. Then I flop back on my pillow. Better to make him think I’m half asleep. Maybe then he’ll leave.

Leah turns fully away from me so she can smile at him. I can hear the smile in her voice. “Well hello there, Mr. Masterson.”

Burke looks gorgeous, damn him all the way to Hades. He’s got on a sort of snug gray T-shirt and those dark jeans and those black boots, but what’s such a show stopper is his face with stubble on his jaw. There’s a pair of aviator glasses hanging from his shirt collar, and his dark brown hair looks windblown.

“How’s it going?” he asks softly, taking a few slow steps into my room. His eyes find mine. “How’re you feeling, June?”

“Like she just got hit by a Mack truck,” Leah supplies.

“I brought another one of these.” He holds a pill up, and I let out a sigh.

“I don’t really think I need it, honestly.” I’m looking at the ceiling. Better there than at his devil blue eyes.

“You don’t?” He steps closer to my bed, and I can feel him looking at me, even as I refuse to look at him.

“Nah.”

“You sure?”

“I’ll take some ibuprofen. Leah knows where it is.”

As soon as I say that, I wish I could slap my own face. Now I’ll be left here with him!

“I can show you,” Leah coos.

The little hussy.

She walks toward the door, and when Burke doesn’t follow, she’s got tact enough to carry on by herself. Or I could choose to view it as her choosing to abandon me.

“Are you sure you don’t want it?” he asks. “You don’t have to take too many more of them, but right now, it’s still a fresh break. Lots of pain the first day or so.”