Las Vegas Sidewinders: Drake (Book 2) (6 page)

“I am
so
going
to die of embarrassment!” Erin moaned.

“I am
so
going to
give him shit at Thanksgiving,” Mack twittered.

“This is awesome!” Kate
was still laughing, happy to see her friend experiencing some semblance of
normalcy.

 “So, how soon do
you want to do it?” Mack turned to her calendar.

“I’m supposed to be
back at work Monday, but since this is related to my injuries in Afghanistan, I
can call my CO—commanding officer—now and tell him I’ve decided to have another
surgery. He’s a good guy—I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”

“If you can get the
time off, let’s do it Tuesday. I can take some blood work today to make sure
there are no surprises; we’ll get the results by Monday and I can take you on
Tuesday if everything is good.”

“That works for me,”
Tessa said, whipping out her cell phone. “My mother-in-law can take Raina Tuesday
so I can be with you, and then my mother usually takes her on Wednesdays so
that’s two days I can devote to anything you need.”

“And I can just work
from here,” Kate added, also looking at the calendar on her phone. “No events
next week require my attendance.”

 “Dr. Riser?”
Tessa spoke so softly they barely heard her.

“Please call me Mack.
At this point, you’ve all basically seen my brother naked—at least in your
heads—so we might as well leave out the formalities.”

Erin flushed red again
as Kate laughed out loud, but Tessa looked so earnest.

“What is it, Tessa?”
Mack asked softly, noting her discomfiture.

“What do you
really
think? We have to know. Erin is going to agonize, and we need to be prepared
for what happens next. It’s been a horrible two years—if you think it’s
probably not going to work, we need to be prepared for that. Really prepared.”
Tessa’s blue eyes were filled with tears as she squeezed Erin’s hand.

“I am 95% sure I can
fix her eye and her hairline. I am 60% sure I can make her face better—if I see
the same things I saw during the other failed procedures, I will concentrate my
efforts on the side of her nose and the skin under her eye so that at least the
basic features look normal again. And finally, I don’t know if I can make
any
improvement in her arm and leg.” She looked around the room. “Those burns are
extensive and as deep as the muscle. This procedure is only my fourth on an
adult. If you’d like to wait another year, after I’ve done more research and
other procedures—”

“No!” Erin shook her
head vehemently. “I’m not putting my life on hold anymore. I’ll be 30 next year
and I’d like to have a baby someday. I need to put my life back together. I
also need to be a normal, contributing member of society again and I can’t do
that until I’ve come to terms with my face and body. I have faith that you will
make some kind of improvement. That has to be enough for me. If and when, in
five or ten years, you’ve made some new breakthrough, then we might do more,
but right now, you and your new procedure are what I want.”

Mack held out her hand
and Erin shook it. “I’ll have my nurse give you the information for the lab
work, and I’ll talk to you Monday.”

“Thank you.” Erin stood
and then reached out to hug her.

“You’re
welcome.” Mack hugged her tightly.

Are you awake?
The phone buzzed and
Erin smiled at Drake’s text late Monday night. It was actually already Tuesday
morning since it was after midnight, but an hour earlier in Las Vegas. They’d continued
texting and talking several times a day, and she liked him more and more. He
was smart, funny and easygoing; she couldn’t help but want to know him. It was
also fun watching him play hockey on TV; she had Kate and Tessa becoming fans
of the Sidewinders too. Seeing him play and having him text her after the game
was really fun for all of them.

Can’t sleep. Where are
you?

Just got back from the
arena. Lost again. Two in a row.

But you scored…

How do you know?

Have you ever heard of
a TV?

Smartass.

You looked so intense
on the bench.

We spent the whole game
chasing them—it sucked.

Does your coach yell at
you?

Tonight he did. But not
much.

You were on the ice a
lot. Is it exhausting?

Not really. I stay in
pretty good shape. How are you holding up?

I’m terrified.

I know, babe. I’ll be
by the phone all day tomorrow. My sister will call me as soon as you’re done.

I wish you were here.

You do?

Yeah. Kate and Tessa
are great, but sometimes you need a big guy kind of hug. Am I being dorky?

Nope. I’d love to wrap
my arms around you right now and promise everything is going to be okay. But no
matter what, my sister will take care of you.

Still wishing you were
here…

I could be. I can tell
Coach it’s a family emergency and come.

No. I’ll need you more
after the surgery. Especially if it doesn’t work.

You’re going to let me
see you? All of you?

Yes. I just don’t know
when.

You should sleep, babe.
Then it’ll be all over.

I’ve been trying.

Text me any time. I’m
here for you.

Thank you.

Good night, Erin.

Erin came awake slowly.

“Hi, sweetie.” The
nurse who had been with her before surgery was smiling down at her now. “You’re
awake. You have lots of people out there waiting to see you. How are you
feeling?”

Erin frowned slightly.
“Okay, I think. Nothing hurts.”

“No, ma’am.” The nurse
smiled even broader. “Dr. Riser doesn’t let her patients suffer. She orders up
just the right pain meds. She’ll be in to see you soon, okay?”

“Thank you.” Erin
closed her eyes, slowly drifting in and out.

“Erin, are you awake?”
Mack’s soft voice forced Erin to open her eyes again. “Hi there. Your nurse
said you were awake.”

“Kind of.” Erin smiled
faintly.

“We did well,” Mack
squeezed her hand. “I think you’re going to be really happy with your eye and
your hairline. Your nose is going to be even more perfect than before, and I
was able to leave the new skin on the side of your face. So far, I’m not seeing
the angry red marks I saw with the other rejections. It’s still early, but with
the others I was seeing signs of rejection even before I finished; yours went
without a hitch. I’m really excited, Erin.”

“I’m too tired to be
excited,” Erin whispered.

“You just rest. When
you’re fully awake we’ll call Drake, okay? He’s been pestering me every 15
minutes! And Kate said Liv has called over and over, so you might want to let
her hear your voice.”

Erin was smiling as she
drifted back to sleep.

Sitting up in bed later
that evening, Erin ate the chicken soup and soft roll that Tessa had brought
her. She’d slept through dinner at the hospital, but Tessa had come back with
food before leaving for the night. Kate was going to sleep in the chair at her
side, even though Erin told her not to, and Mack said she would be sleeping in
the doctor’s lounge. She would be up checking Erin’s face every hour or so for
signs of rejection, but so far, everything was going better than expected.

“I know you want to
talk to Drake,” Kate said with a smile. “I’ll give you some privacy and go take
a walk. I’ve been sitting all day.”

“You should go home,”
Erin protested.

“Shut. Up.” Kate just
laughed before disappearing around the corner.

Erin reached for her
cell phone and dialed Drake’s number. He answered on the first ring. “Erin?!”

“Hi.”

“Mack said it looks
good. She said yours has gone longer than anyone else’s without being
rejected!” His voice was full of genuine excitement.

“I know. I’m trying not
to get my hopes up.”

“She said she fixed
your eye and that was your top priority.”

“It was. If my eyes
look normal, I can use makeup to cover the rest and people won’t be as
uncomfortable when they look at me. Now, when I meet someone new, they do a
double take when they look at me.”

“I didn’t.”

“I was wearing a mask.”

“I still asked my
sister who you were. Sometimes you just know.”

“Know what?”

“What did you feel the
first time you met Shay?”

She smiled, though he
couldn’t see her. “Like I’d just been run over by a truck, but in a good way.”

“And that’s how I felt
when I looked across the room and saw you. There were lots of beautiful women
there that night, but it was you who caught my eye. We click, Erin.”

“I know. It’s kind of
scary.”

“Yeah, but scary in a
good way, right?”

“Is there such a
thing?” She laughed softly.

“There is now!”

“Okay, who’s making my
patient laugh?” Mack demanded, coming into the room wearing clean scrubs and
sneakers.

Erin handed her the
phone.

“Hey, kiddo.” Mack was
smiling since she figured Drake was on the other end.

“Hey, Sis!”

Mack rolled her eyes.
“I’ve talked to you more today than I have in the 31 years you’ve been alive!”
She handed the phone back to Erin with a wink.

“I’ll talk to you
tomorrow, Drake.”

“I’ll call you before
we leave for the airport.”

“Good night.”

In the morning, Mack
was in Erin’s room bright and early. She was smiling from ear to ear as she
brought in a breakfast tray.

“It’s been almost 24
hours,” she said excitedly. “I don’t think it’s going to reject!”

Erin squeezed her eyes
shut. “I can’t allow myself to think that way. I keep telling myself the eye
and the hair are enough—anything else is a bonus.”

“It is, but that
doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy this!” Mack put down Erin’s breakfast and sank into
a chair. “I spoke with your ex-mother-in-law this morning. I didn’t realize she
was paying for the hospital stay.”

“We think the insurance
might pay for it, but because it’s not a military hospital, they probably won’t
cover it all so Jan said she would pay for it just because she knows I can pay
her back when I get Shay’s money.”

“Explain who this Shay
person I keep hearing about is?”

“He’s my ex-husband’s
fraternal twin brother. Except he’s the one I should have married, the one I
really loved. He’s the one who died with me in Afghanistan.” Her voice caught
and she took a sip of tea.

“And his mother knew
this?”

“I don’t know exactly
how much she knew, but I know she took my side when Clay divorced me and helped
me get money to buy a condo as well as continued care for my father, who’s in a
nursing home. Without her, Clay would have screwed me out of everything. As it
is, he’s suing me for Shay’s life insurance policy—which is half a million
dollars.”

“Why does he hate you
so much?” Mack wondered aloud. “If you didn’t cheat on him…”

“The only time I ever
cheated was the night before the wedding, but I don’t think he knows about
that.” She sighed. “I would do it again, though. I wouldn’t trade that one
night with Shay for all the years I spent with Clay.”

“Do you have a picture
of this man?” Mack was curious.

“Oh. Yes.” Erin reached
for her phone. She immediately pulled up her favorite picture of the two of
them. Ironically, it had been taken the night of her bachelorette party. They
had their arms around each other sitting at a tiki bar near the beach. The wind
was blowing and they were looking into each other’s eyes. Although it wasn’t
meant to be a romantic picture, there was no doubt in her mind that they knew
they loved each other.

“Oh, he was a handsome
one.” Mack smiled at the picture, thinking Shay had looked a lot like Drake.

“Yeah.” Erin pulled up
her favorite picture of Shay alone, shirtless, playing basketball in
Afghanistan. Though his normally long, shaggy hair was cut short, there was no
denying the killer body and strong arms.

“Holy tamale,” Mack
yelped. “How did you not eat him alive?”

“He was my C.O. And
that’s a
big
no-no when you’re deployed.”

“So he’s been dead,
what, two years?”

“A little over.”

“And your ex, his twin,
blames you?” Mack was nothing if not direct.

“He knows that Shay
loved me, but they made a deal that Clay would get the girl, that one time. The
only way Shay wouldn’t go back on his word about letting Clay have me was if he
got himself deployed, as far away from me as possible. He took one tour after
the other, and this last one, he only took because he knew I was the top
security expert in our division, and he knew that whoever headed up that team
would pick me. He asked for it so that he could watch out for me, make sure I
came home alive. Instead, he died, and Clay wishes it had been me. Deep down,
he knows he lost his brother when he made him give me up, and we were all too
young and immature to realize it at the time. Instead of just admitting he made
a mistake, he continued pretending to love me until Shay died, and then he had
someone he could blame.”

“And you? Do you blame
yourself?”

“For Shay’s death? No.
Shay loved the military. He became a Captain in record time; he lived and
breathed the Marines. I think he loved me because I loved it too; we loved
fighting for our country. He wanted to be there with me because he’d always
loved me and he’d finally figured out I loved him too. I think he was going to
make his move at the end of the tour. We’d gotten close again while we were
there—and even a few of the guys in our unit figured it out. His death was one
of many horrible tragedies that came from this damn war on terror, but if it
wasn’t him, it would’ve been me, or one of the other guys. His death is the
only thing I don’t blame myself for. Lots of other shit, but not that.”

“So what are you
waiting for then?”

“What?” Erin blinked.

“Why did you run away from
Drake after you slept with him and tell him you just wanted to be friends? We
both know that’s bullshit. He doesn’t care about your scars, you know.”

“You don’t know that
since he hasn’t seen them. And even if he could live with it, I haven’t come to
terms with it yet. If I don’t like myself, how can anyone else? My friends are
here because they love the person I was before. I promise you, they don’t
understand or completely like this traumatized, emotional wreck I’ve become.”

“Drake does. I mean,
you definitely confuse him, but he was drawn to you the moment he saw you
across the room. It’s been less than a week and he’s already out of his mind
worrying about you. My little brother is smitten, and I want to know what
you’re going to do about it.”

“I’m going to get
better,” Erin said firmly. “I have to be able to look in the mirror every day
and not see a monster. I have to be able to live alone again without having
nightmares that leave me paralyzed with fear. And I have to have closure with
Clay. I don’t love the bastard, but there are things that have to be said and I
have to be strong again before I can say them.”

“And in the meantime?”

“Your brother is the
most amazing guy I know. I sit here hoping that he’ll wait for me.”

Mack squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry. He will.”

Coming off the ice on
Wednesday night, Drake showered and dressed in record time. He was renting a
car and driving to Chicago. It was approximately four hours from where they
were in St. Louis, and he figured he could get to the hospital in the middle of
the night, sleep in the chair and be there when Erin woke up in the morning.