Romanced by the Malones (Haven, Texas) Read online

  “My fiancé was driving the truck. And my friend was in the front seat, she’s pregnant, where are they?”

  The nurse pulled out the port.

  “Ouch!” Flick glared at her as she placed a bandage over it. “That hurt.”

  “I don’t know where your friend and fiancé are, but I’m sure you can ask out front. We need this bed for someone else now, so I’ll get the doctor in to discharge you.”

  Twenty minutes later, the doctor had been and gone and that horrible nurse had gone over her homecare instructions then escorted her out to the waiting room. The woman at the reception desk said someone would come along shortly to take her to West.

  She didn’t want to just sit there. She needed West.

  Worry bubbled in her stomach. How could she have slept through a car accident? Was this how Spencer had started off? Just a few drinks. A way of blocking things out. Then he’d started to drink more and more. He’d gotten angrier and angrier.

  But she wasn’t like Spencer. It was only three drinks. She had to have had some weird reaction or something. Plus, she’d been ill and barely eating or sleeping.

  Okay, none of this mattered. She had no intention of ever drinking again. She wouldn’t end up like Spencer. And right then, the main thing was finding West and Mia.

  Wait. Where was her handbag?

  She rubbed her chest. It hurt where she’d slammed against the firm restraint of the seatbelt. The doctor had said to expect bruising.

  Tears of panic filled her eyes. West, she needed West.

  What if something had happened to him? To Mia?

  Why could she barely remember anything? There was a vague recollection of waking up with a paramedic standing over her. But that was it.

  She couldn’t lose West. He was her everything. Flick was accustomed to loss. Her parents had died when she was young. That had been hard enough.

  But something happening to West . . . to Mia . . . No. No, that couldn’t happen. Her breath came in sharp pants.

  Calm. Take a deep breath. You can do this.

  “Miss O’Malley?”

  She jumped up, swaying as she stood too quickly. The nurse’s face blurred in front of her.

  “Miss O’Malley?” the older man asked. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, yes. I’m fine. Have you been with my fiancé? West Malone. Is he all right?”

  “He’s awake and demanding to see you,” the nurse replied. “Come with me, I’ll take you to him.”

  Oh, thank God.

  She followed behind him. Why did it feel like he was moving really slowly?

  “Where is my woman?” West yelled.

  Relief flooded her. It wasn’t that she hadn’t believed the nurse. She’d just needed to hear him. To know he was okay.

  “Sir, you must remain quiet and calm,” someone replied. “You have a concussion. Sir, you can’t leave the bed. Someone has gone to get your fiancée.”

  The nurse quickly flicked the curtain open and there he was. Relief made her legs go weak, and the nurse had to grab hold of her to keep her on her feet.

  He looked pale and tired. There were stitches along the side of his eye. His clothing was rumpled, and he was frowning fiercely at the nurse who was attempting to make him lie back down on the bed.

  There had never been a more beautiful sight in her life.

  “West! Oh, West.”

  He glanced up. “Flick! Thank fuck! Come here.” He scowled at the young female nurse who stood close to him. “Get away from me.”

  Flick stumbled forward into the arms he held out. As soon as she hit his chest, she burst into tears.

  “Hush, baby. Hush. What is it? Are you hurt? Fuck, did someone do something? What is it? Talk to me.” He shifted, sitting on the bed and pulling her up onto his lap.

  “Sir, you have to lie down, I need to bandage the stitches and you have a concussion. You’re supposed to remain quiet and calm.”

  “I’m busy. My woman is fucking distraught and I don’t know why. Has someone looked at her? Fuck, she could have internal injuries. Flick, baby, hang on. I need a fucking doctor in here!” he roared.

  “Sir!” the nurse snapped. “You can’t make all that noise. There are other patients.”

  Shoot. She had to get herself under control before West got them kicked out of the hospital.

  “I’m fine. The doctor already saw me, and I’ve been discharged,” she told him, trying to pull away from him.

  “You’re not fucking fine. You’re sobbing and shaking.”

  “I was just scared.”

  “Why? Did someone do something? Did they hurt you?” he demanded.

  God, he looked so pale. She reached up with a trembling hand to cup the side of his face.

  “No, I woke up and I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know where you were. I don’t have my handbag or phone. I was so confused and worried about you. I had to wait until I was discharged then I was led out to the waiting room until someone came and got me.”

  “Fucking hell.”

  “Plus, when I woke up the nurse wasn’t that nice.”

  “I want her name,” he growled in a low voice.

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s fine now. I found you.”

  She clung to him.

  “Mr. Malone, can you please lie back on the bed now?” the nurse asked. Flick didn’t know where the other nurse had gone. She guessed he’d high-tailed it out of there.

  “No, I can’t. Can’t you see my woman needs me!”

  “West, please lie back. I’m fine. You need to let the nurse do her job.”

  The other woman was glaring at Flick. She found herself curling in with shame. Could she smell the alcohol on her? Did she think she was a drunk like the other nurse had?

  “Shit! Here you are!”

  She turned at a familiar voice, nearly falling over as the room spun.

  “Flick!” West grabbed her, holding her steady as Jaret jumped forward to help.

  “Flick, you all right, darlin’?” Jaret asked with concern.

  “She’s not,” West said. “I want you to go find a doctor for her.”

  “West, I’m fine! I’ve already seen the doctor; I was just upset because I couldn’t find you.”

  Tanner, Raid, and Butch followed Jaret in until it was completely crowded in the small cubicle.

  “For goodness sake,” the nurse said. “This is ridiculous. None of you should be back here.”

  “Go. Away,” West told her through clenched teeth.

  “Now, now, West, no need to be so rude.” Butch flashed the woman a big smile. “Darlin’, I don’t suppose you could give us a minute? Please? We’ve been so worried about our brother, we’ve searched everywhere for him. Just a few minutes?”

  The nurse actually melted. “Fine. I just need to put this bandage over his stitches then I’ll give you a few minutes.” She even smiled. Then she turned her glare back to West and Flick. “If you could lie back, Mr. Malone?”

  He grumbled but handed Flick over to Jaret.

  “Hold her,” he commanded.

  Flick blushed, but Jaret didn’t blink at having to carry her like a baby. She wanted to protest that she could stand but, honestly, she felt so shaky she wasn’t sure that was true. And the last thing she wanted was to upset West by collapsing.

  West lay back, and the nurse applied the bandage. “I’ll be back soon. Please keep quiet and calm, Mr. Malone.” She left without a word to the rest of them, although she gave Butch an admiring look.

  As soon as the nurse was gone, West sat up. His hand went to his head, and he groaned.

  “West, lie back down,” she scolded.

  “Only if you lie with me.”

  She sighed but nodded. “Fine.”

  He lay back and held out his arms to her. Jaret placed her down next to him and West wrapped her up tightly. Finally, she started to feel safe. Like she could breathe again.

  “What happened, man?” Jaret asked.

  She lo
oked up to find all the guys surrounding her and West.

  “Damn deer jumped in front of the truck. I missed it but must have slid into a tree or something. Don’t know. Knocked myself out. Have you found Mia? Where are the others?”

  “Yep, someone from the hospital rang Alec. He called me. We just came from where Mia is. She’s all right. She banged her head though.”

  “The baby?” Flick asked worriedly.

  “Doctor said the baby’s fine.” Jaret patted her back lightly. “What about you, Flick?”

  She couldn’t answer. She didn’t think she was fine at all. West and Mia could have died while she slept in the back seat. Despite the IV having rehydrated her, she still felt ill and dizzy. Confused.

  “She’s trembling,” West said gruffly. “I want her seen by a doctor.”

  “I can go find one,” Raid told him.

  “No!” she raised her head. “I keep telling you, I’ve already been seen by a doctor and discharged. I’m fine. Just bruised.”

  “Where?” West demanded.

  “Oh, just my chest from the seatbelt. Apparently, I slept through the entire thing,” she said bitterly. “They gave me an IV to rehydrate me.”

  “That’s what the bandage on your hand is?” Jaret asked quietly.

  “Yeah. But other than that, I’m fine. I mean, I’m a bit dizzy.”

  “I want a doctor to look at her again. Go find one, Butch.”

  “On it, Sir grouch-a-lot.”

  Normally their silliness would make her giggle. But not tonight. There was no laughter left in her.

  “Please don’t. Please,” Flick begged.

  “Baby.” West brushed back her hair. “I won’t rest until I know you’re really all right.”

  “The doctor said I was fine.”

  “Flick, you’re the most precious thing in my life. I just want to make sure you’re all right, okay?”

  “I’m going to go back to tell Mia and Alec that you’re both okay,” Jaret told them, then he disappeared.

  “I’ll go find a doctor, it won’t hurt to have him tell West you’re all right, Flick, darlin’,” Butch told her.

  “I’ll come with you,” Raid said to Butch.

  “I’ll go get us all some coffee,” Tanner added.

  They all disappeared, leaving her and West alone.

  “I’m sorry I got drunk and passed out.”

  “Hey,” West told her. “This wasn’t your fault. If it was anyone’s, it was mine.”

  But if she hadn’t gone out tonight, he wouldn’t have had to pick her up. She pushed aside the thought that Mia had been out with her. That there was no way to know the accident would happen.

  Guilt was drowning all logic.

  “If I hadn’t been asleep, I might have been able to help you.”

  “How does that make any sense?” he asked. “We’re all fine, sunshine. There’s nothing you could have done. And I won’t have you feeling guilty. Understand me?”

  She nodded. But somehow, she didn’t think it was going to be that easy.

  4

  Exhaustion made every step seem like she was walking in concrete shoes.

  She needed to sleep but she had a feeling she wouldn’t.

  Mia had had to stay in the hospital overnight so the doctor could monitor the baby as a precaution, but Flick was still worried. At least Alec was staying with her.

  “Sunshine, come here, I’ll carry you up the stairs,” West demanded as they entered the big house. They’d decided to stay the night there since West needed watching for the next twenty-four hours.

  She’d rather go home. It was like they didn’t trust her to watch him on her own.

  Maybe they don’t trust you. Maybe they’re worried you’ll end up like Spencer.

  Argh. She had to quiet that voice of doubt. It wasn’t helping anyone. West had had his way and a doctor had checked her over again. Other than the bruising from the seatbelt she was fine. The dizziness she’d been experiencing had been put down to exhaustion and shock.

  She felt guilty about that too. She’d rather it was her back in that hospital bed than Mia. She bet Alec wished that too.

  Flick gave West a look of disbelief. “I’m fine. You heard the doctor.”

  “You’re exhausted. I don’t want you climbing up the stairs and getting dizzy or tripping.”

  She was clumsy at the best of times, so she understood his worry. But he was pale and sweaty and swaying on his feet. He wasn’t carrying her anywhere.

  “I’m fine. I should help you. Here, let me put my arm around you.”

  “Jeez, the two of you are too much,” Beau complained. He stepped forward and carefully picked her up in his arms.

  West made a grumbling noise, but Beau sent him a firm look. She and Beau had grown particularly close after he’d been shot, and she’d dragged his unconscious body into the stables to keep him safe. That kind of thing built a bond between people.

  “You need to let us help, West. It’s what we’re here for.”

  “You just want to play hero,” West grumbled.

  “Yep. And I make a damn fine hero. I’m handsome, charming, and chivalrous.” Beau winked down at her. “Don’t you agree, Flick? Wouldn’t you rather have a hero like me than an ogre like that one?”

  He nodded over at West who started following them towards the stairs. Tanner and Jaret hovered behind him as they all ascended.

  “I kind of like ogres.”

  Beau sighed. “There’s no accounting for taste.” He winked at her.

  “I really can walk,” she told him.

  “He’s going to freak out if you do, so just let me carry you, and we’ll get both of you into bed quicker, okay?” he whispered.

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  Beau walked into their old room, which was pretty much exactly as they’d left it. He strode to the attached bathroom and set her down carefully. “Right, sweetheart, you do what you gotta do while we make the ogre presentable for you. Do you need something to sleep in?”

  “Keep calling me an ogre, and I’ll rearrange that face of yours, pretty boy,” West growled. “And she can sleep in one of my T-shirts. I left some here just in case.”

  “See, he’s already back to his old self. He’s gonna be just fine.”

  She wasn’t so sure. But she was quick to wash up. Beau knocked on the door and handed her one of West’s shirts. On her, it hung down nearly to her knees. When she opened the door, West was sitting on the side of the bed in his boxers. Only Beau was in the room with him.

  West stood and grimaced. It was obvious he was in pain, but was trying to hide it. She hurried to his side and took his arm.

  “I got it, Flick.” He drew away from her. Hurt stabbed deeply. He shuffled towards the bathroom.

  “Sure you don’t need me to help you?” Beau called out. “Hold your hand or something?”

  “Fuck off.”

  The door shut and she flinched. Then Beau moved next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. “He’s in pain, sweetheart. It makes him grumpy. Even more so than normal, which I bet you never thought possible. That and he was driving when the accident happened, so he’s probably feeling guilty.”

  “It’s not his fault,” she protested. She hadn’t even thought about how West felt.

  How selfish of her. She’d been so concerned about herself and her guilt.

  “Of course not. But I’m just letting you know that’s why he’s being abrupt. It’s nothing to do with you, all right?”

  “Okay.” She wasn’t sure she believed it.

  Beau reached out and tilted up her chin. “You doing okay, Flick? You’re looking a bit peaked and down to me.” Those eyes studied her carefully.

  She made herself smile at him. “I’m fine.”

  Beau grunted. She wasn’t sure if that meant he bought her lie or not. But West reappeared in the bedroom.

  “Beau, go away. Flick, bed.”

  “Can’t do that, I’m sleeping in here tonight,” Beau
told them cheerfully.

  “Like fuck,” West scowled at him.

  “You’ve got to be woken up regularly, man. We did rock papers scissors. I should remember that Tanner always cheats.”

  How did someone cheat at rock paper scissors?

  “I can wake West up regularly,” she protested. Did they think she was useless?

  “No, you’re not,” West growled. “You need to sleep. I’m fine. Beau, go away. Flick, bed, now.”

  Beau put his hands on his hips. “West, you have a concussion. You need watching over.”

  “I can do it,” Flick pressed. “I won’t mess it up.”

  Beau blinked, studying her again. “I didn’t think you’d mess it up. But you were in the accident as well.”

  “I’m not injured. I’m fine.”

  “You need to sleep,” Beau told her.

  “I already took a nap.” She tried to keep the bitterness and regret from her voice, but thought she must have done a pretty crappy job as Beau raised his eyebrows. West sat on the side of the bed.

  “Get out, Beau. I’m fine,” West snapped.

  Beau sighed. “All right, I know when I’m not wanted. But I’m gonna sleep next door and I’m coming in a few times to check. If you die, then Big Dog will have my head.”

  Mia had called Alec Big Dog the other day when he was being particularly overbearing, and it seemed to have stuck.

  Poor Alec.

  “I’ll get you both some water. Flick, you want anything? Pain killers? Sedatives and a gag for the grouch?”

  “Oh, no, I’m all right.” Even Beau’s teasing couldn’t bring much of a smile to her face. She felt like she was weighed down. Every thought came to her through thick sludge.

  You just need some rest; everything will seem better tomorrow.

  “Flick. Bed. Now.”

  Beau leaned in to whisper to her. “He won’t rest until you do. Please hop into bed, sweetheart.”

  She nodded. The world spun slightly as she moved. She hoped she could stay awake.

  She wasn’t going to let any of them down again.

  As it turned out, staying awake wasn’t a problem.

  Every time she closed her eyes, she dreamed of the accident. Only, she couldn’t find West, no matter how long she searched for him. He was lost to her.