Stitch by Jaime Lewis (ebook reader online .txt) 📗

Suddenly she let out a gasp and touched her lips. Had Stitch really kissed her last night?

Before she could put any more thought into it, she groaned, feeling the need to use the restroom. She was content and didn’t want to move, but her bladder was going to burst if she didn’t relieve herself soon. She could see the bathroom door just a short distance away, but with the way her body felt, it may as well have been a mile away. She wasn’t even sure if she could walk. But if she didn’t find a way to get her ass out of bed, she would have a messy and embarrassing situation on her hands.

Slowly, and with a lot of small movements, along with a few expletives, she was able to get her legs over the edge of the bed. Trying to use her core muscles to sit up was another story. She tried to channel happy thoughts while battling through the pain and agony until she was in an upright position. She even gave herself a weak fist pump for the little feat, though it felt as if she just conquered the world. The impromptu celebration quickly faded to a thing of the past when she realized the bed was so high off the ground. Her feet didn’t even reach the floor. She hadn’t remembered the bed being this high when she got in it, but then again, last night had been a complete blur.

Her mouth dropped open when her eyes landed on the clock sitting on the nightstand. She had slept almost the entire day. In the next hour or two, it would be getting dark and time for bed again. Not that she would complain, because she still felt exhausted.

Scooting her butt closer to the edge of the bed, she damned her bladder. She just wanted to curl back up in the warmth of the fluffy comforter and go back to sleep. Once she got far enough off the edge and her toes touched the hardwood floor, she pushed off. She had no chance of standing as her legs felt numb and gave right out from under. She crumpled to the floor with a hard thud. “Sweet baby Jesus,” she whimpered when the pain erupted through her body. Tears filled her eyes.

She wasn’t sure how long she had laid on the floor, trying to calm her breathing and racing heart, but she gasped when a set of strong arms lifted her. She was cradled against a warm, broad chest.  Without opening her eyes, she knew it was Stitch. His scent gave it away.

◆◆◆

Stitch and Blake were putting away the groceries that Stitch had ran out and picked up. Ace and the others had left around noon to head home, and since Mia had still been asleep, he decided to make a quick run to the store to pick up some food and fill the prescription that Doctor O’Neal had left for Mia. Sheriff Prescott had stopped by to see how Mia was doing, and since he was there and wasn’t on call per se, he offered to stay at the cabin while Stitch ran out to the store.

“I told Tink to let his Detective friend in New York know that if I can be of any assistance to reach out,” Blake said to Stitch.

Stitch stopped what he was doing and turned toward him. “I appreciate that. I just want to find out who was responsible and make them pay. They need to be caught.”

“I agree.”

Suddenly, there was a loud thump from upstairs. Stitch dropped the box of noodles he had in his hand, and both he and Blake took off running, taking the stairs two at a time. When Stitch got to his bedroom, Mia’s sobs from inside the room ripped through him. When he pushed the door open and found her on the floor, he rushed to her side.

“Mia?” He questioned as he lifted her into his arms and sat on the edge of the bed. Her low gasp and tense body signaled to Stitch that she was in tremendous pain. He felt bad for making her hurt worse, but dammit, what had she been thinking trying to get out of bed by herself. Doctor O’Neal told her she needed to take it easy and let others help her.

“Mia.” He said, brushing her hair from her face. “Talk to me, Mia. What happened?”

She opened her eyes and met his gaze. The agony that filled her showed in her eyes. He adjusted her body as she leaned against him.

“Ow, ow, ow.” She whispered in a raspy voice.

“How can I help?” Stitch asked.

“I don’t know. Everything hurts.” Her body was tense, and he could feel her holding her breath. When he looked down, her face was all scrunched up, and she had closed her eyes again.

He pulled her close to his chest, and soon he felt her body start to relax as her warm puffs of air could be felt through his shirt. When he brushed her hair off her face, her cheeks felt a little warm, and he wondered if she could be running a low fever.

“I’m so sorry that you’re hurting,” he told her as he looked into her brown eyes.

“I can’t move a muscle without something hurting.”

Blake cleared his throat, and when Stitch looked up, he was standing in the doorway. Stitch didn’t miss the slight twitch of the former Marine’s lips before the man nodded his head and left them alone. Blake was the one person who Stitch had confided in about his attraction to a certain woman, though he never revealed who the woman was. They had been out having a few beers when the subject was brought up about Stitch settling down.  Apparently, the alcohol that night had been truth serum.

He turned his attention back to the beauty in his arms. When their eyes met again, the rope around his heart tightened even more. He hadn’t lied