Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
I opened my eyes, and I could see that I was on the floor.
But, like normal, I couldn’t do anything about being on the floor.
It usually took me a few minutes once I woke up to get my body to move. There was nothing quite like being awake, but paralyzed, as your brain decided to reboot.
“It says on the internet,” I heard that boy-man’s voice say, “that she should be just fine. Luckily the couch caught her fall.”
Oh, good. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with more stupid bruises. Or another concussion.
Jeez, I’d had so many at this point that they had me under concussion protocols like they did for football players.
“Hi,” Danyetta said as she came into my line of sight.
I blinked.
“Aodhan is on his way back, but he was already thirty minutes away when we called.” She winced.
I blinked again.
I didn’t know what to say to that, so it was a good thing that I couldn’t speak.
“You passed out,” she explained.
I blinked. Yes, I knew that.
I did it often.
“Was it Wake?” she asked.
I blinked.
Yes, but no.
I was suddenly being lifted and moved to the couch, and all I saw was a wall of muscular chest covered in black t-shirt.
“I told you to leave her alone,” Dutch snapped.
“Yeah, but I’m sure it’s a hell of a lot more comfortable on the couch than it is the floor. And I’m not leaving her there,” Wake growled.
I felt that vibration in his chest.
“You’re the reason she passed out,” Dutch said. “I don’t think she wants you anywhere near her.”
I would’ve laughed at this ridiculous conversation had my faculties been all online.
“She passed out because she has a condition. Not because of me,” Wake argued.
“The baby needs you,” Bowie said. “I think she needs changed.”
“How about you go do that then,” Danyetta said.
Her voice clearly said, “don’t argue with me, or else.”
I again would’ve smiled if I could.
“Do you need anything?” Danyetta asked me then, pressing a cool compress to my forehead.
I blinked twice, wondering if she would notice.
“Okay, good,” she said, confirming that she did. “Aodhan said we just hang out with you until you can function normally again. Right?”
One blink.
She nodded as she said, “Your phone has been ringing off the hook, too. Folsom?”
“That’s her best friend,” Wake said. “She also happens to work at the vet with Matilda and Diana.”
“Ohhh.” Dutch snapped her fingers. “This is the best friend!”
I finally got enough feeling in my hands and feet that I could start wiggling my toes.
That feeling spread all the way up to my arms, then shoulders, then feet.
Tingles followed in the feeling’s wake, and I groaned, twisting my head to get it placed better onto the pillow.
“There she is,” I heard said.
I blinked and stared at Wake.
He hadn’t moved very far. A foot and a half at most.
“Sorry,” I said, cringing slightly. How freakin’ embarrassing. “I usually have more preparation than going down that fast.”
“Sounds like you can’t help it,” he said as he backed away. “I’m sorry for putting you into a position where you felt fear.”
I snorted and managed to sit up in a lounge.
“How long was I out?” I wondered.
Wake looked at his watch. It was a big, bulky-looking black number that took up half his forearm. But it was Dutch who said, “Twelve and a half minutes. Do you normally run fevers while this happens?”
I nodded. “My body essentially overreacts. Where my heart rate should’ve just risen at the way Wake startled me, it instead went into ‘I’m going to freak out so badly that you have to pass out’ mode. Sometimes that includes a lot of sweating, a higher temperature, excessive saliva production. It’s just grand.”
Wake snorted, and that’s when Bowie came back in with the child, freshly cleaned.
He sat down on the end of the couch that I lay on.
I pulled my feet toward me, and he sat the baby between us before he said, “That was scary.”
I laughed. “That was nothing. Just wait until I do it in public, and you have to figure out how to scrape me off the floor.”
I winced at that.
I always managed to pass out at the worst times. Such as this one.
“You do that often?” he squeaked.
I laughed.
Which was when Aodhan walked into the door, looking frazzled.
“I should’ve never left.” He took in the scene. “I should’ve thought better of it.”
I snorted and gently moved my feet, hoping not to displace the baby with my movement.
She looked like she was pretty sturdy, but still. I didn’t want her to be falling due to my movement.
Gosh, she was cute.
“It’s not like you didn’t leave me with trusted people,” I admitted. “Though most people wouldn’t say your ex-wife is a ‘trusted person’ but in this case, I think you’re safe.”
Danyetta started giggling.
But surprisingly, it was Bowie who said, “I really messed up.”