Lex (Unconventional Hearts) (56 page)

But Lincoln, I don’t know how he remains the
pillar of strength that he does. I crumble at the sight of him. He
is the only one that got any lasting effects from this traumatic
event, a bilateral amputation of both of his legs. The one buckshot
shell unloaded directly on his left leg severing it immediately.
Pieces of the buckshot hit is other leg and when the second shell
unloaded, it somehow miss fired or something. I don’t know what
happened exactly, but that was the shot that grazed Gage’s neck and
ended up hitting Lincoln in the opposite leg in a few spots. Police
think some of it might be ricochet. No one can explain it really. I
can’t remember much. I just know the outcome.

Originally, the doctors just took off the
bottom of the left leg, up past the knee. There wasn’t much left to
have to surgically remove by the time they performed the operation.
I’m going off what I was told. This isn’t my firsthand view. Then
six hours later, they were unable to restore proper blood flow back
to the right calf. So, they wanted to just amputate his calf down.
Lincoln, in a medical haze, ordered them, apparently rather
bluntly, that they were going to ‘
Even them out’
. Or that’s
how his nurse Molly explained it to me. The technical term of what
Lincoln has undergone is called a bilateral trans-femoral
amputation. And it’s my fault!

“Lex, stop thinking about that day.” Lincoln
shakes me, yanking me from my thoughts.

“I can’t, I ruined your life.” I tear up, and
his arms come around my side and tug me onto his lap. I frantically
try to get away.

“Dammit, Lex. Stop.” He orders, holding me so
tight I can’t move.

Emma stands up and grabs my face in her
hands. “Mommy, it’s okay,”

I hate that she has to see me like this. We
go through this some days and other days I can handle it. Emma,
even though she doesn’t know this, has been the one to make me pull
through. If it wasn’t for her, and having to take care of her and
watch movies together and eating breakfast in the mornings as a
family, I don’t think I could have survived. When people say having
children makes your life seem whole. It’s true. Emma is the part of
me that makes me feel complete; she’s the missing link to my life.
Her and Gage are. My life was aimlessly skating along before they
came into my life and now, I would do anything to keep them here.
And
keep them safe.

Two weeks after the incident, Gage and Emma
moved into what is now our home. Roni had hired cleaning crews and
carpenters to fix the foyer, to rid it of the bloodied mess. It was
perfect by the time we got back from the hospital exactly a week
from when the incident occurred.

In the mornings, all three of us and Roni,
along with Bob, all have breakfast in the kitchen’s nook. I’ve even
started to learn to cook biscuits and gravy, per Roni’s request,
being the pregnant woman and all. Then Gage and I both take Emma to
school, we usually come home afterward. And most mornings when we
do, we make love. On a few occasions, we can’t even make it to our
bedroom before we are tearing each other’s clothes off, so we’ve
been trying out new spots all over the house. Me, bending over the
kitchen counter happens to be one of my new favorites. Although it
does make for quite a messy clean up. Either way it’s worth it.

“Lex.” I break from mental trance and realize
I’m cuddled into Lincoln’s lap. I’m now completely relaxed and
melded into him. Glancing down into my eyes, he offers me a gentle
smile.

“My girl is back, it’s nice to see her. I
missed you.”

I muster up a faint grin. “I missed you
too.”

Looking over to the grass, Emma is gone!
Where’d she go?! I try to break away from Lincoln’s abrasive hold.
Twisting and jerking. I need to find her! She can’t go running off!
What if something happens to her?

“Stop! My Molly just came and took her to get
some chocolate milk, to give us some alone time.”

Forcing myself, I relax again and snuggle
into his giant man chest. Trying to forget why I’m at the hospital
and just relishing in the fact that I am cuddling with my best
friend.

“Hey you two.” I hear the sexiest voice
call.

“Hey bro,” Lincoln says and Gage takes a seat
next to us on the bench right outside the hospital. The bench that
Lincoln is strapped to with a belt around the waist through the
back slats so he doesn’t fall. If the nurse isn’t out here with
him, she forces him to wear it, although he hates it. Relinquishing
power isn’t his strong suit and Nurse Molly is his biggest pain in
the ass. She cares for him more than Bridget or Rodger do
combined.

“She freaked out again didn’t she?” Gage
asks, Lincoln.

I feel him nod, “Yes, swimming in her head
again, blaming herself. Emma said she cried again last night. Is
she at least allowing you to take the pain away?”

This is the conversation Gage has with
Lincoln every four days or so, when Gage is able to make it out
here with us. He’s been busy with work. Mainly he’s busy putting
Melissa, his ex-wife behind bars for good. She’s in police custody
and her lawyer is trying to plead insanity in court. Gage is trying
to prove otherwise so she isn’t stuck in a comfortable mental
hospital. He wants her stuffed into a maximum-security prison. I
don’t get involved much. I let him do what he thinks is right. I
trust his judgment and his ability as a lawyer. Whatever happens to
Melissa will never be enough, not through my eyes anyhow.

“Yes, I try to take the pain away a few times
a day. It seems to regulate her sadness when I get her to come. I
do think she’s getting better though. Her doctor said she’s going
through stages of grief. The crying is much less and she smiles a
lot more. Has even started to cook and she never sways from
spending time with or taking care of Emma. As long as we keep her
from my dad’s wife, I think we’ll be good.”

His dad’s wife, arg! Don’t get me started on
that home wrecker. We go to Gage’s father’s house every Sunday for
lunch or supper. His dad Henry loves me, as does his sister,
brother in-law, and his nephews, who have crushes on me. It’s cute.
Then you have Maxwell, who basically dotes on me and flirts from
the time I walk in, until the time I leave, drives Gage nuts. Then
you have Chelsea, the woman who spends more time trying to seduce
Gage than she does breathing. Low cut shirts, short shorts, sexy
comments, and that’s just the tip of the sleazy slutbag
iceberg.

Two weekends ago when we went to his dads. We
walked inside and Tasha was cooking. I go to help with what I can,
knowing it can’t be much, but I really enjoy her company. However,
I shouldn’t have left Gage’s side. Ten minutes after arriving I’m
walking to the bathroom, and inside I hear Chelsea saying, “Come on
Gage, just a little, I just want a little taste.”

Gage sternly replied with a clear grumble in
this tone, “Let me out of this bathroom, Chelsea. I’m with Lex and
you’re my father’s wife. If that’s not enough to convince you that
what you are doing is trashy, then let me be more forward. You’re
not my type. I’m not attracted to you. If we were both single, I
still wouldn’t touch you.” He was fairly calm and collected, I
wasn’t. I stood outside the bathroom, frantic, and so angry I
wanted to gut the slut. — Pardon my French.

She argued with him a few moments about
showing him a good time and about five minutes later the door swung
open. They both came out and she started to fix her hair and skirt,
winks at him and licks her lips. Acting like something had just
happened. The scared shitless expression on his face told me he
thought I might believe her slutty little show. And when he opened
his mouth to try to explain, I turned to her. That’s when something
came over me. I grabbed her skimpy light blue tank top, shoved her
against the hallway wall, and glared, making threatening eye
contact.

“Don’t you ever and I mean ever, touch or try
to touch what is mine again. Gage is not interested in you. Take
the hint. When a man says you’re trashy, it’s not a good thing.”
That’s when I glanced over to Gage, conveying with my eyes how much
I love him, and he finally loosened his edgy stance.

I released stupid Chelsea and she scampered
off. Then Gage and I ended up back into the bathroom, making out
like hot and horny teenagers. Lifting me onto the bathroom vanity,
he entered me, and we heatedly got lost in a passionate moment of
sheer unadulterated ecstasy. I came so hard I had to bite his
shoulder to keep from screaming. Needless to say, the rest of that
day she stayed away from Gage and never uttered a single word to
me. Tasha noticed something off and I told her what happened. Not
sure, what Tasha did after that, but I knew she was livid, and it
wouldn’t have surprise me if she didn’t put Chelsea in her place,
as well. Chelsea though, much to our amazement, hasn’t peeped a
word about me being who I am to anybody. No rumors, no stares,
nothing but the normalcy you expect from a small town that feels
like a close-knit family most of the time.

“Angel, did you want to tell Lincoln the good
news?” Gage interrupts my musings. I’ve spent more time in my head
the past month, than I have since Brian held me captive. I really
need to snap out of it.

“Sure.” I peer up to the delightful
expression marking my best friends face. You couldn’t tell he was
hurting even if he was. Even though he swears, his life is fine.
No, it’s not. It’s my fault and Lincoln has paid the ultimate
price. A feeling I am quite certain I will never get past.

“Go on.” Lincoln’s head comes down and kisses
the top of my head.

“Lucy is doing well in her training. I spoke
with Mike at the facility and he said that she would probably be
able to complete the program and be a certified service dog in
another six months. But he wants to start in a few weeks to bring
Lucy to see you so you can start one-on-one training. He thinks
since she was already your dog before we entered her into the
service program and since you’ve had her in training previously; it
would be better this way.”

Lucy, three weeks ago, after pulling a huge
amount of strings, was admitted into a program for service dogs.
They don’t typically accept Pit Bulls or dogs that weren’t bred
specifically for this cause. However, Lincoln was adamant and
refused to use any dog other than her. Lincoln being a cop and
military veteran, they bent the rules and took her in. I got a call
last night from them stating that she is doing unbelievably well
and adjusting better than they’d hoped.

“That’s great. I miss that pup.”

“Daddy!” I hear my princess yell and I turn
to see Emma walking beside Molly on their way out of the hospital.
Both of them skipping, holding hands. Molly really is a great
nurse. I like her way better than the rest of Lincoln’s nurses,
maybe it’s because she keeps him on his…. Okay…not a good idea to
be talking about toes.

Running and jumping into Gage’s lap, all four
of us are now seated on the bench. Molly stands next to us.
Observing Lincoln and then looking to me and back again, three or
four times. A smile spreads across her youthful face. Molly a few
years younger than I am. Curvy in all the right places and
exceptionally short. She has the prettiest light caramel long hair
that she always wears in a ponytail and her eyes are the most
unique shade of green that I’ve ever seen. It’s like a mix between
the color of fresh grass and a burst of olive green around the
pupil. I once asked her if they were contacts. They’re not.

“Looks like somebody needed to cuddle with
Lex today. Better than what you were doing last night. That had
nurse Abby refusing to be your nurse ever again.” The dark comical
edge to Molly’s tone is a mix between serious and joking, although
it wouldn’t surprise me if Lincoln turned off some of the nurses.
He’s been a handful.

“Let me guess, Eva?” I ignore the fact that I
am in Lincoln’s lap when I address Molly. I know he doesn’t like
discussing his extracurricular activities with me. He convinced his
other two regular nurses never to speak to me about his perversions
that take place a few nights a week in his hospital room. Lucky for
me, spicy nurse Molly refuses to withhold any secrets from me. This
has made her one of my new best girlfriends. Lincoln hates it.

“Don’t you.” Lincoln warns, bringing out his
Dom tone. And I laugh.

“Eva?” I question again and the arms around
my waist tighten. Molly notices and she grins, a naughtiness
sparking in her lovely eyes.

“Yes. Eva. I was off last night but when I
came in this morning to relieve our fill-in nurse, she was more
than willing to share the juicy details.”

I raise a brow, suppressing my need to bark a
laugh. Lincoln’s breathing accelerates and Gage stands up from the
bench, taking Emma with him and setting her down on the ground.
Emma starts to wander towards the gravel path that completes a
circle around the hospital.

“You two talk about that. Emma and I are
going for a walk.” Gage gives Lincoln a sympathetic glance and
bends down to kiss me on the cheek. “Love you. Be nice.”

“Yes, daddy.” I wink at him and he
growls.

“Don’t start here.”

I bat my long eyelashes and bite my lip,
which I know drives him mad. “I don’t know whatever you are talking
about. Take my daughter on a walk.”

Gage corrects me, “Our daughter.”

“Daddy…” Emma whines, standing a few feet
away.

“Okay, our daughter. Now take her for a walk,
so I can talk with my new best friend.”

Suddenly Gage darkly smirks and a spank hits
my bottom, shocking a wave of hot pain to radiate up through my
body.

“Ouch!” I snap at Lincoln, shoving my
shoulder into his chest. “That hurt.”

Lincoln’s punishing hand then begins to
lightly rub the same spot he just turned into a soft burning
sensation. “Stop asking questions about my life and what I do. And
stop teasing your man.” The Dom voice commands.